Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or it's characters. I do not own the music. I do own Angela.

Legend:

Music

Noise

-Telepathy-

-Thought-

/Flashbacks/

/Visions/

Chapter Nine

"...'With the blood of Angels I shall return'..." Koenma said, as he and the others sat in the big room, going over Angela's vision. "What does it mean?"

"Do you think maybe it means that it'll come back as one of the Angels?" Kuwabara asked.

Koenma shook his head. "I don't think so. We've researched and studied everyone in Angela's family. No one else has woken up or is even emitting any energy."

"Maybe he means by spilling the blood of Angels, like a sacrifice," Yusuke said slowly.

"Then Angela would be its first target," Kurama said, worried.

Hiei spoke up, "Speaking of, why did they attack her and then create a dopple ganger of her?" The group paused.

Kurama shook his head. "I still don't have an idea. If they wanted to sacrifice her, why make a stand in for her. It's almost like they didn't want people to think that she was dead." They were silent for a moment.

Finally Hiei broke the silence. "This just means that we need to speed up her training. Kurama are you almost done training her." Kurama nodded. "Then I can go ahead and start her training in fire and her psychic ability," Hiei said, getting up to leave.

Kurama stalled him. "I don't think she has telepathy, I think it's more empathic than telepathic."

"Yes, yes Kurama. I noticed that," Hiei replied aggitatedly. "I also noticed that she can see the future and the past. You don't need to lecture me on what I should teach her." Hiei disappeared outside the sliding door and into the night.

Koenma stood up and stretched. "Well, I guess that means I'll have to ask Mukuro to let me borrow Jin and Touya very soon. It's about time for me and Botan to split, I need to return the manuscript. I promised to bring it right back, but first I'll make a copy of it. It's too bad that they didn't have anymore details about the sealing or the ritual," he said as he and Botan left.

"Seeya," Yusuke said. He too stretched. "I guess I'll hit the sack as well. Night Kurama, Kuwabara."

"Yeah, night, Kurama, Yusuke," Kuwabara said, walking to his room.

"Night you two," Kurama said, staying where he was. He sat there for a few minutes, thinking to himself. Finally he got up and left for his apartment.

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The next morning, Angela woke up feeling more refreshed than she had in a week. "That stuff sure did the trick." As she got dressed she looked out the window. -Oh no! My flowers!- was the first thought that came to her as she looked at the first snow of winter. Then the thought of how pretty it was came to her. She changed her mind on what clothes she was going to wear. She quickly put on blue jeans, and one of her thicker shirts and grabbed the coat that she had bought on her last trip to the mall with Shizuru and Yukina.

She walked to the kitchen, taking in the tranquility of the morning. In the kitchen she found Yusuke munching on a bowel of cereal. "Where's everyone else?" she asked, getting her own bowel of cereal.

"Kuwabara, Yukina and Shizuru went to town to get some salt to defrost the walkways and the front pavement. Kurama's getting his finals tests ready, and Hiei is around here somewhere," Yusuke replied.

"Oh." She sat beside him. "What did ya'll make of the vision?"

Yusuke looked at his bowel. "Uh, not much...Nothing for you to worry about," he said, looking up and smiling at her.

Angela didn't say anything but she knew he was hiding something. -I'll get it out of him or out of someone else sooner or later.- At that moment, Hiei came in. "Hi," Angela said.

"Hn. Finish eating, your training starts today," he said.

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Ten minutes later, Hiei was taking her into the woods.

"Why is it I'm always training in the woods?" she asked.

"Because it is away from distractions," he replied. They ended up in the glade that she and Kurama always trained in. "I assume that Kurama taught you how to meditate. That's what we'll be doing."

As they meditated, Hiei taught her how to guard her thoughts. "If you must, visualize building a wall around your mind." Angela visualized building a brick wall, for extra measures she built another wall, trying to double her protection.

"Hn, nice try," Hiei said, still able to read her thoughts. "After awhile you'll even be able to block me. But not at the moment." After that he taught her to focus her mind on controling her psychic abilities, starting with her empathic ability. Soon she was able to sort of feel Hiei's thoughts and feelings without having to touch him or be in close proximity. Hiei gave an inner smile. -Just as I thought, great potential. And the training she got from Kurama has prepared her for everything else, teaching her won't be so hard.-

After two hours, Hiei started her training in fire. "You do have a lighter with you, don't you?" he asked though he already knew the answer.

"Yes," she replied.

"Take it out and light it," he ordered. She obeyed. "Now, concentrate, focus on the fire, feel it with your being, soon you'll find a similar feeling that you felt when you found your earth power." After a several minutes she nodded. "Good, now focus on the fire, make it grow, control it."

She focused really hard on the fire, too hard she guessed because the lighter exploded. "Ouch!" she said, pulling her hand to her chest, craddling it.

"Hn. After awhile you'll be able to control it easily, even hold it in your hands," Hiei said, getting up and leaving.

Angela quickly followed him, but half way to the house she turned left. "Hn, where are you going?" Hiei asked.

"To check on my flowers," she said, not looking back. Hiei followed her.

She was surprised to find her garden in perfect condition. In fact, there wasn't any snow on the ground. "How?" she asked.

"With your power and continuous care you created a little green house, just without the house," Hiei said.

"Oh," was her amazed reply.

"Now let's get back to the shrine, if you get a cold I'll be the one in trouble."

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For a week she trained with Hiei. Soon, like he said, she was able to hold the flame in her hand. She was able to make the flame grow to five inches tall on the lighter before she ran out of lighter fluid; in her hand she was able to grow it to the size of a soft ball. As for her psychic training, she was able to fully sense the thoughts and the feelings of those that hadn't guarded their thoughts. She might have been able to pierce through the guards but she didn't think that was polite.

As she trained with Hiei, she found that he wasn't really cold hearted, he just guarded himself from others and usually stayed away from getting close to someone. The only ones he really cared about were the Spirit Detectives, Yukina and Mukuro, whoever that was, and in a sense he had become used to the DT gang over the years.

-Is it because of his past? I guess I'd feel the same if I had been thrown out of my homeland,- she thought, looking at him closely as they walked back to the shrine one day.

Hiei caught her looking. "Hn, what?"

"I was just thinking. Why do you guard yourself from others? And why don't you tell Yukina that you're her brother?" she asked innocently.

"Hn, in my past I've led a bloody life as a criminal. She doesn't deserve a brother like that."

"You know, she's not stupid. She'll figure it out someday. She already suspects." Hiei looked suspiciously at her. "It's true, I feel it," she insisted. Hiei paused. Angela continued. "You do realize that when she finds out, that she might think the reason you haven't told her is that you don't want her as a sister. She'll be hurt."

Hiei just looked at her, then turned back to walking. "Hn."

She stood there for a moment. She thought about telling him more, but decided against it. She ran to catch up with him.

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That night she had forgotten to take the herbal tea Kurama had given her. Her nightmares were viscous. Everyone was woken up by the shrieking. Hiei was the first in the room, trying to wake her up, Yusuke was the second, and Kuwabara, Yukina and Shizuru were the last.

"Holy shit! What's happening!" Yusuke said, helping Hiei try to wake her. Yusuke looked at her nightshirt, there was blood seeping through, he pulled up her shirt, scratches were appearing all over her body. Hiei saw it and made a quick decision. He pulled off his bandana, his third eye glowing. He grabbed Angela's head. After a minute she stilled, and the scratches stopped. Yukina ran to get the medical kit.

Angela opened her eyes, she started crying, "It was horrible," she sobbed.

Hiei stepped back as Yusuke sat beside her and held her. He looked at Hiei. "What was that?"

"I think it was a dream demon. It nests in a person's dreams and grows in power as it sucks the life from the host," he explained, thinking hard.

"It sounds like a tree-eater," Yusuke said, rocking Angela.

"I think it's a cousin of the tree-eater. It chases the person's dream self and any wounds it inflicts materialize in the waking world," Hiei said, indicating the scratches.

"Can you get rid of it?" Yusuke asked.

Hiei shook his head, "Only the host can do that, and it's very tricky. It makes psychic anchors into the brain of the host. You first have to break the anchors and only the host can find those, if you don't, it'll be like parts of your brain have been ripped out. The areas that it anchored in will become brain dead. I can help her but she needs to be the one to exorcise it." He looked at the girl. "She'll need training on how to control her dreams and use her powers in them. It should only take a week or two." He looked at Yusuke. "After it's exorcised it will materialize in the real world, you must kill it before it escapes into another host." He started to walk to the window that he had come through. "It should be weak, since it hasn't been able to suck her life due to the fact that she hasn't been dreaming, if she continues to take the herbal tea, it won't be able to grow." He jumped out.

Kuwabara whistled, moving out of the way for Yukina. "Rarely does the shrimp talk that much, and usually it isn't about helping someone." -Sheesh, I've never seen him be this caring for any other female besides Mukuro and Yukina...And why is he so nice to Yukina anyways? I don't think he has a crush on her or anything.- Kuwabara thought about it some more. -But he treats Yukina differently than he treats Mukuro or Angela. It's almost like he treats her like a sister...Does he have a sister?- Something niggled at the back of his mind. -...Wait, I remember Yana telling me about the questions Yusuke asked when he was kidnapped by Yana and his friends. One of them was asking Hiei about his sister...Could he be...It makes sense...Yusuke is always teasing him when ever Yukina asks him to stay with us. And Yusuke and Kurama always act weird when ever I talk about Yukina's brother.- He looked out the window. -And then there's how he hasn't been able to find her brother, even though he was more than likely at the Demon Tournament for king.- Kuwabara left the house and went to find Hiei. -Only one way to find out.-

Yusuke thought about what Kuwabara said. He looked at Angela as Yukina put alcohole on the scratches. -Does Hiei really have feelings for her?- The thought of Hiei with Angela made him sort of jealous and protective. -Jealous? Why am I jealous? Do I like her?- He looked at Angela, at how she tried not to wince as the alcohole stung, reminding him of how brave she was, also at how stubborn she was. -Just like Keiko...Do I like her because she reminds me of Keiko? Or is it something else?-

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"Hey Hiei!" Kuwabara called into the trees, "I have something I need to talk to you about!" He walked through the woods, going by Hiei's usual haunts. He finally found him. "Hiei, I have a question about you and Yukina."

Hiei glared at him. -What does he mean?-

Kuwabara took Hiei's silence as a permission to continue. "You're her brother, aren't you?"

Hiei nearly fell out of the tree. -Who told him!- Hiei thought, quickly doing a scan through all the minds of those that knew. No one had told him. Hiei looked at Kuwabara. -I guess he isn't the big stupid oaf I always took him for.- "If you tell her you're dead," he threatened in a cold voice.

"I was right then!" Kuwabara said proudly.

Hiei jumped down. "How did you guess?" he asked.

Kuwabara looked at him. "Man, you can be transparent at times. Like how you feel about Angela. I noticed. And that got me to thinking about who else you acted so caring about. I came up with two other women, Mukuro and Yukina. But then I realised you treat Yukina differently than you treat the other two. Then I remembered Yana saying something about you having a sister, not to mention how Yusuke teases you whenever Yukina invites you to stay with us. I put two and two together. I just needed one more thing to confirm it."

Hiei just stared at the man. After awhile he said "What do you mean about what I feel about Angela, or how I treat her and Mukuro?"

Kuwabara rolled his eyes. "Like I said, you're transparent. I think everyone can see that you care for Angela, and then there's all that talk about you and Mukuro being an 'Item'." Kuwabara laughed. "I wonder how Mukuro will feel when she hears how you've developed feelings for Angela?"

Hiei had enough, he jumped into the trees and disappeared.

-What the hell is he talking about? And he's not the only one to say something about me having feelings for this girl! What are they talking about?- Hiei thought as he jumped from tree to tree. -I don't have any feelings for this girl! And what was that comment about me and Mukuro being an 'item'!- Hiei stopped when he reached a certain tree. He analyzed his feelings for Mukuro. He felt empathy, he understood her, just like she understood him, she accepted him completely. He found he felt something more for her, but he couldn't identify it. -An 'item'? And what about my feelings for Angela?- He thought about the last week he had spent with her, then he thought about the three weeks he spent at school with her. -She can be niave at times, and annoying when she get's to chattering.- He thought some more. -But she is an excellent student. And I can tell her things and she'd understand almost as good as Mukuro.- He analyzed his feelings for her. He felt a sense of protection for her, guilt at not being able to keep her from being attacked, and something else that he had a problem identifying like with Mukuro, but it was different. -What am I feeling?- He had no answer.

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The next day, Hiei met Angela in one of the rooms attached to the shrine. Angela looked confusedly at the bed mat in the middle of the room.

"The training that we'll be doing is going to be in your sleep," Hiei explained.

Instantly Angela shook her head and started to walk out the room. Hiei grabbed her arm and steered her to the bed mat. "Maybe sleep was the wrong word," he amended. "We'll be training in a dream like state. You won't really be asleep. And I'll be there to make sure you don't really fall asleep." Angela wasn't too hip on the idea of 'sleeping', but she trusted Hiei. She laid down on the mat, Hiei at her head. He put his fingers on her temples like he did when he looked through her visions. "Now, calm your mind like you're meditating, I'll do the rest." Angela closed her eyes and meditated.

In an instant she was in her garden. "How did I get here?" she asked.

Hiei materialized in front of her. "We're in the dream world. As for how we got here, your mind picked the most peaceful setting that you know, your garden." He took a seat and motioned for her to sit in front of him. "Now, focus your power and try to alter anything in this world."

Angela looked around her, she picked a flower near her. She concentrated on changing its color. After a few minutes she hadn't succeeded. "Why can't I?" she asked.

"Because your powers work differently here. Now try gathering your power, and feel how it's different and adapt to that difference..." Hiei started, beginning her arduous training.

She thought that it would have been easier since she had already perfected her earth power and was getting proficient in her fire power and psychic abilities, but she soon learned that all of that training meant almost nothing in the dream world. She found out that her power was almost uncontrolable, as if some other force were controling her powers. Hiei said that was her subconcious working against her, giving her obstacles. She had to learn to control her mind, concious and subconcious, and then work her powers. They had been training for eight hours when she had managed to change the flower's color. Hiei nodded. "Good, I think we can call it a day."

She woke up to see Kurama leaning over her. "Hi," she said, as he helped her sit up.

"Hi yourself. I heard what happened," he said softly, concern in his eyes.

"That would explain the 'handle with care' attitude. You know, you really gotta stop that," she said semi-sarcastically. She looked around as Kurama laughed. Beside her was a tray of food, she picked it up and started eating, realizing that she was starving. "What happened to Hiei?" she asked with a full mouth. Then she coughed.

"He left just shortly before you woke up," was the reply as he handed her a glass of water, laughing.

"Is the winter break restful?" she asked after she took a drink.

"Oh yes, for me and my students. They're more than relieved to be away from me, thanks to finals," he said, his eyes mischevious.

"Tell me," she said, smiling.

"Well, the students were practicaly writhing in pain," he said dramaticaly, rolling his eyes. "While I laughed evilly. 'Haha slackers, there's your punishment for not paying attention!'" He laughed along with Angela.

"Sounds like some of my teachers..." She started then stopped, a sad look in her eyes. "I've already missed close to three months of my life. Will I ever get it back?" she asked sadly.

Kurama just looked at her. "Angela, you haven't missed your life, you're just living a different one than the one you normally lived. Do you really consider this as not living?"

Angela looked down. "I never really thought about it like that." She was silent for a few minutes. "But, it's just that I miss my home, family, friends, even school."

Kurama just sat there for a moment. Then he got up."Well, I think it's time for you to get some rest. I hear tomorrow is going to be much the same as today."