The group stared out the window.
"Hmm... I always got the impression she had a thing for Hiei."

The group turns and stares at Botan. Tier shakes his head, "No."

Grimm looked at him, "I got the same vibe."

"Well she wasn't."

Grimm raised her eyebrows, "Well then, what was it, Sagome?"

Tier's icy blue eyes stared out at the girl he once called his own in another man's arms, "She wanted someone who wouldn't hesitate when she needed it the most."

Mads tilted her head, "How do you mean?"

"I mean that Reaper is trying to gather back-up for when Tempest hits. Hiei and Kurama aren't the only ones she's trying for."

Staring out the window, Yusuke's voice breaks through the stunned silence, "So are you telling us that she could be using him?"

"She wouldn't do that."

This time it's Grimm who's put under the group's scrutiny. Tier glares, "What makes you so certain?"

Stepping forward, Grimm's eyes narrow, as she points her finger accusingly at Tier, "You may have known her longer, but obviously you don't know her. Reaper doesn't manipulate people like that. She hates manipulating people's emotions. I'm guessing she was like that before this Tempest thing ever happened."

The pair stood there, silent. Kurama's face was buried in the crook of her neck as they stared out at the forest.

Reaper's eyes began regaining their green-yellow sheen, as the cold breeze blew.

"Koenma could-"
"No, he couldn't."
"You don't even know--"
"Yes, I do."
"I hate it--"
"When I do that."
"Stop it."

Reaper turned, staring up at the darkening sky, "It's snowing."
Kurama looked up as well, watching as the fluffy white snowflakes began drifting down heavily, "Yes, it is."

A flash of lightning streaked through the sky as they watched.

Turning back to the forest suddenly, Reaper began to walk away.
Kurama followed, grabbing her wrist, "Why are you still leaving?"

Reaper looked back, her eyes focusing on his shoulder, "There's at least two days. Tell Sagome that. I have some things to do. I'll be back by noon tomorrow."

Kurama's eyes narrowed, "What things?"
Reaper shrugged, "Things. That people do before the second apocalypse to hit in a two week span."

"It's snowing," Mads commented.
"Wow. You're a quick one," Yusuke retorted.

"HEY! AT LEAST I PASS MY CLASSES!"
"Barely."
"I'M GONNA KILL YOU URAMESHI!"

The other looked on, bemused, as Mads chased Yusuke around the room, dodging low-level spirit bullets, while throwing low-level fireballs.

Grimm turned back toward Tier, "Sagome?"

Tier looked at her, wondering how long it would take the others to find that Sagome would be gone for awhile, "Hm."

"If you do know Reaper as well as you claim, why the hell would you say that?"

Tier stared out at the snow, silent.
"Only cowards use silence as their refuge when their actions are called into question."

"Reaper has remained silent on occasions such as this."
"She's had her reasons."
"And what makes you believe that I don't have mine?"

Stuck at a stalemate, Grimm's glare was reflected by Tier.

Reaper looked down at Hiei's sleeping form. The sleeping draught she had slipped into the sodas the fire demon, kitsune, and elemental had been downing would keep the others sound asleep, without any of the telltale side effects.

At least the kitsune's penchant for making potions and such comes in handy. He'll never even notice that bottle in his room has gone...

Reaper stepped out of the Yellowstone Lodge. Her eyes were a dark emerald green, as she glanced around to make sure that the elemental they had come to find hadn't sensed anything and come running.

Reaper knew she had felt his presence there, and she didn't need anyone running interference when they got the girl back to Koenma. She needed that potion, it was the last resort.

Darting through the forest, Reaper appeared as a dark green blur, dressed in an emerald hoodie, and dark jeans.

She suddenly came to a halt at the entrance of a cave.
Reaper walked in, "You have a sick sense of irony, Raja."

The Puppet Master stepped out from the shadows, thick bandages wrapped around his stomach, "Yeah, well. It passes the time."

Reaper's green eyes looked him over as she leaned against the wall, "You really pulled a number on the girl. They all think you're dead. So what'd you use this time? Follower in your stead, replace yourself with a puppet at the last minute; I don't think you have that bandage because it looks cool."

Raja smirked suggestively at the assassin, lifting up the bottom of his shirt, "You think it's cool, huh?"

Reaper raised an eyebrow, "I think it's sufficient enough to cripple you so I make sure that you do die this time."

Raja stepped forward, "Tut tut, mouse, you shouldn't talk to the one you love like that."

Reaper scoffed, "Love? What a useless word. Almost as useless as you are."

"You weren't saying that last month."
"You weren't exacerbating Editor's Note: You can thank the advanced broadcasting class at my school for that word me last month.

Raja stepped forward, "Oh, and what fun we had last month."

A dagger nicked his ear, "You'd do well watching how you talk to me."

Raja leaped forward, burying his fist in her stomach, causing her to bend over and gasp in pain, "You'd do well remembering your place. Especially when talking to the one that has the ability to grant you more pain past even your capabilities, and keep you alive still."

Coughing, blood trickled out of the side of her mouth as Reaper glared up at him, "Bastard."

Grinding his fist into her midsection, Raja's mocking voice echoed through the dimly lit cave, "Choose your lovers more wisely, mouse, I don't like being pushed aside. And what you're planning doesn't interest Tempest. What you're after isn't strong enough to stop her. I'm here, however, to make sure that you don't get any ideas with that damned kitsune around again."

Reaper remained silent as she felt her rib underneath his fist begin cracking.

Raja continued, "But you've learned your lesson before. Haven't you?"

He stepped back, letting his fist fall to his side, turning to leave. Reaper began to stand upright again.

Turning back, Raja grabbed the girl, shoving her into the wall of the cave as he kissed her harshly.

Letting go, he tapped a finger against her forehead, "Remember, mouse, I can find you wherever, whenever." He turned away, as a portal appeared before him. He glanced back one last time, "Spirit detectives are only good for one thing- to achieve your ends. Remember that."

Well after Raja had disappeared to whatever God-forsaken place he was headed, Reaper staggered out of the cave, holding her side. It would heal rapidly, as per Tempest's abilities that Reaper had unabridged access to, but it would still cause her some problems on the morrow.

Leaping through the trees back towards the lounge, the assassin's green eyes narrowed as she thought on the puppet master's words.

He's right on one thing. Spirit detectives are only useful when one manipulates them properly. They can't be trusted further than one could throw them at twenty times the Earth's natural gravity. The only thing they responded to was something or someone, they cared about, and they always hurt the things, or ones, aforementioned.