Wow, I finished this chappie and prepared to update, and I already had three reviews anyways! Yay! This chapter's one of my longer ones in you look at the word count, and I hope you all enjoy it. I hope this quick updating makes up for all the time I spent neglecting this fic!

Thank you's:
Vitanie Tora: Hope this update came soon enough! I love using cliffhangers. ;)
fangimation: I'm sorry to tell you that I can't just hand out answer like that, heh. You'll just have to keep reading!
Angelkitsune-Naomi: My favorite reviewer! I'm dedicating this chappie to you, because without your continuous support I don't know what I'd do. Seriously, no one has ever made me feel so good about my writing as you have, and I truly appreciate it!

Disclaimer: I don't own YYH, just The Feline Curse. Remember three reviews until I update!

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN – HIEI VS CATALYN

Kurama and Kuwabara struggled to their feet, with cuts all over their skin and clothes. Yusuke was still standing, and hadn't been hit by Zankoku's winds. Hiei raised himself to his knees, but he was too shaky to get up any further for the moment. Catalyn, too, was still on her knees. They all glared at Zankoku, who was still grinning. Catalyn had had just about enough of that grin.

"Well," Zankoku said, "I see that you've all just about had enough. Now I get to kill you." Suddenly he gave a small "oh" of surprise, and a large green plant burst free from his closed wound, engulfing his body and trying to suffocate him. It didn't stay that way for long; one blast of wind and the plant was shredded to bits. "Tsk, tsk," Zankoku said, looking at his wound oddly. It closed up again. "I'm afraid you'll have to do much better than that. What a pity."

Kurama glared at him. Catalyn was a bit surprised to see Kurama wear an expression like that on his face. But still, she could understand if he was upset. Though seemingly docile, Kurama's attacks were very dangerous. He had a right to be mad if his attacks were blown aside like they were nothing.

Catalyn looked back at Zankoku. "And now," he said. "Time to end this."

Suddenly, the wind picked up, and each of the spirit detectives became surrounded by a mini whirlwind, spinning faster and faster. At first, Catalyn had a wide area of free space, but the whirlwind constricted itself and came in closer and closer. That's when she realized just how weak she'd become. The scars on her arms – some of them bleeding anew – were itching like mad. Oh no, she thought in a panic. This isn't good… The wind swirled dangerously close to her.

Around her, on either side, she could hear soft grunts of pain coming from the guys, and a sort of growl in Hiei's case. The whirlwind prevented her from seeing them, but she knew that their winds had touched them already. She'd be next. The wind grazed her slightly, stinging, but it didn't leave any cuts – yet. The worst, she knew, was yet to come.

"Now I get to stand her and watch you suffer!" Zankoku yelled. "This is the perfect way for you to pay for what you've done!"

The wind swirled in around Catalyn, closing in even more. The stinging turned into jolts of terrible pain, shredding her clothes. Everything seemed to be covered in red. Her vision swam in and out of focus. She closed her eyes and tried to shield her face. Her mask was shredded and she fell forwards into the wind, but caught herself so that only her arms were cut. She gasped in pain, but it woke her up, at least a little.

I can't be defeated here, she thought desperately. I must keep fighting…Relying on every ounce of energy she had left, she filled her mind with these thoughts. I can't die now. I must win! Excruciating pain filled her arms, and she let it run through, not trying to fight it. And as her scars itched even more, she felt the pain turning into raw power. Perfect.

"I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED HERE!" she screamed.

With this newfound power, her body became engulfed in a fiery aura and the whirlwind disappeared. Zankoku stared. She was overcome by her burning desire to kill this fiend before her. She drew her bokuto, and it flamed up even more.

"DIE!" she shrieked, and she charged ruthlessly.

The boys couldn't see her, and they were still trapped, but they could still hear her. "Catalyn, whatever you're doing, stop it!" Kurama cried.

But Catalyn wouldn't stop. She'd waited too long for this, and now she finally had her chance to kill him. Zankoku brought up his winds to stop her, and though her bokuto snapped in half, she threw it aside and kept going. Zankoku was in total shock. Her whole body was flaming, and she could feel all that power waiting to be released. Her vision was almost completely gone, but she prepared to deliver the final blow. Almost there…

"RAAAARGH!" she yelled. And then…and then…

Zankoku couldn't move for the shock. He didn't understand what was happening. Her eyes seemed to show madness…but in one single, short moment, that was it. Just as she was about to reach him, his body exploded into flames and became a pile of ashes. At the same time, Catalyn's eyes fully closed and she fell limply to the ground, covered in a pool of blood. The whirlwinds around the boys vanished, and they (except Hiei) instantly rushed forwards.

"Did she do it?" Kuwabara asked incredulously.

Kurama bent down beside her. "She's lost a lot of blood…again. Yusuke, get Botan. It's safe now." Yusuke nodded and ran for the door.

In one quick movement, Hiei had unsheathed his katana and threw it at a shadowed area beside Zankoku's throne. It was knocked back into his hand, and a person emerged from behind the seat.

It was a girl, about Catalyn's age. She was tall, about 5"9', with a pale face and red eyes. Her layered, shoulder-length hair was completely white, and her teeth were like fangs.

"A half-demon," Hiei said with a frown.

Kurama understood immediately. "It wasn't Catalyn, was it? It was you."

The girl nodded and said in a quiet voice, "You should get her back. She'll be needing medical attention."

Botan hurried in, followed by Jet and Mari, who both yelled, "Sister!" and hurried towards Catalyn's unconscious form with wide, worried eyes.

"She'll be okay as long as she is treated properly," the strange half-demon said. "Make sure she stays in bed for a full week this time."

The boys looked at her suspiciously. "'This time'?" Yusuke said.

"How would you know that?" asked Kuwabara. He got no answer.

"Are you the one testing us for no reason?" Hiei demanded. He still hadn't sheathed his katana.

The girl shook her head. "I'd best be off," she mumbled, and turned to leave.

"Wait," Kurama said. "Who are you?"

She didn't turn back. "Kashi," she muttered, and leaped out through the roof and out of sight.

-Some time later-

Catalyn woke up slowly in her room. She didn't sit up right away; she was too tired. Through her blurred vision, she could make out Kurama's form sitting in a chair next to her bed.

"Kurama?" she asked hoarsely. She couldn't seem to find her voice.

"It's me," he said softly.

"Is it over?" she asked weakly. He nodded. Things felt so mixed up in her head then. "I'm tired…" She sighed and fell back asleep.

-Six days after the fight-

The next time she woke up, there were two total strangers by her bedside. They were both girls. One of them looked to be her age, with short brown hair and a cute face, and the other was small and slim, with long spring green hair and gentle red eyes. Despite having these strangers in her room, everything felt much clearer.

"You're awake," the brunette said. "How do you feel?"

Catalyn squirmed a little under her blankets. "Better," she said. "Who are you?"

"Oh," said the brunette. "I'm Keiko. I'm a friend of Yusuke's. And this is Yukina."

Yukina smiled softly. "I'm an ice maiden, and an acquaintance of the spirit detectives. I wanted to use my healing powers to help you…I hope you didn't mind."

Something clicked in Catalyn's head. Then she realized that this petite girl was Hiei's twin sister. She was so surprised that she didn't know what to say. "Oh, uh…it's okay…thanks."

She didn't have to say anything else, because the door opened and Kurama came in. "Catalyn!" he exclaimed. "We were worried about you. How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good," she said. "How long have I been asleep for?"

"Six days," Keiko said. "Almost a week."

"Six days?" Catalyn yelped.

"Easy," Kurama cautioned.

She remembered what happened last time, after the vampire demon. She took a breath to calm herself, but she felt very jumpy. "And Zankoku? Did I get him?"

Kurama's smile faded. "You fainted before you got to him, I think. But another half-demon with fire powers showed up and killed him. Her name is Kashi. Does that ring a bell at all?"

She shook her head. "I've never heard the name before. Is she here?"

Kurama shook his head. "She left right away."

Catalyn looked down at herself. She was almost completely covered in bandages. The ones on her arms were still a bit bloodstained. "I sure made a mess of myself again, huh?"

Kurama chuckled. "Don't worry about it now," he said. "Yukina's done an excellent job on you."

Yukina blushed a little. "I just came to check on you," she said. "I've done all I can now. As long as you rest some more, you'll make a full recovery."

So, in order to make sure she really made a full recovery, Catalyn stayed in bed for another week. Kurama was with her for most of the time she was awake, and when he wasn't with her, she received daily visits from Yukina and Keiko. She was very happy to make friends with other girls her age, and enjoyed their company. Catalyn could tell that Yusuke and Keiko liked each other a lot but would never admit it, and she couldn't believe how such a sweet girl like Yukina could be related to Hiei. Also, she got to meet Yusuke's mentor, Genkai, for a very brief period. Genkai looked old and wrinkled, but Catalyn knew she was very powerful and treated her with much respect. Genkai even gave her a little tip on a good training exercise before she left.

Even though her days in bed were surprisingly enjoyable, Catalyn couldn't help but feel slightly put down, considering all the trouble she'd been causing. She also couldn't stand the fact that she'd become less independent as she spent more time with the boys. When she was training with her sensei, she learned to rely on herself alone, and not on others. Now, she was starting to rely more and more on the boys, particularly Kurama. And there was still her issue with Hiei. He had never once thanked her for saving his life, so she didn't thank him for saving her. She didn't want to say it anyways, and she didn't know why. To add to that, Kurama had reminded her that once she was better, she would be continuing her training with the runt, something she was not looking forward to at all.

"Can't I train with you instead?" she begged Kurama.

He laughed. "It's better for you to train with Hiei, trust me," he said. "Besides, he's not all that bad, is he?"

She didn't need to give him a vocal response. The look on her face said enough.

Finally, Catalyn's days in bed ended, and, taking it easy, she started to train her body again, doing a few exercises every day, intensifying the training as she felt better. At long last, she made a full recovery. It was finally time for her training with Hiei to begin in earnest.

A week after she was out of bed, Hiei met her on the training grounds in Spirit World. There was a large practice arena there, and so the two faced each other there, with the rest of the gang watching safely from the sidelines.

Catalyn felt amazing. She was completely recovered from her two blood loss ordeals and felt more powerful than ever, and much stronger than the last time she fought Hiei. "You don't have to go easy on me this time," she told him.

"Hn."

Kurama would be acting as the referee for the battle. Outside the fighting ring, he raised a hand into the air. "Three, two, one, GO!"

The two fighters had taken off even before Kurama's go, but it was so close to the call that no one noticed. They both started off with punches at lightning speed. Neither was relying on their demonic powers just yet. It was simply a fair fight filled with martial arts – the way Catalyn loved it.

Hiei aimed a kick for her face, but she grabbed his foot with both hands and attempted to flip him aside. With his hands, he pushed off from the ground and aimed another kick with his free leg, faster than she could block it. Catalyn made a graceful dodge and somersaulted away, and then back again, flipping through the air as she went into a fury of punches and kicks. Hiei had to rely on his arms and his legs to fight off this assault, and they were both led airborne. They kicked and punched like there was no tomorrow, and finally Catalyn landed a kick to his ribs. She jumped away before he could retaliate, and the two fighters landed again.

Hiei looked at his bare chest as if it was no big deal. He wasn't exactly out of breath yet, like Catalyn had hoped, but neither was she. She felt alive, filled with energy and excitement. It had been so long since the last time she fought with martial arts alone. She'd almost forgotten what it was like, but everything came flooding back. Besides, it was with martial arts that she had developed her special techniques. Even though most people would consider her fire powers her special abilities, she didn't devote herself to enhancing those powers. Her special techniques were solely based on martial arts, and she had spent ages developing them on her own, with a bit of help from her sensei. They were all unique and belonged to her alone. Since she recovered, she also made a promise to herself: to never use her fire powers unless it was absolutely necessary, and work on improving her martial arts skills further. That way, she'd be able to get rid of – how to put it? – all the bad events in her life.

"Catalyn, you've improved!" Yusuke yelled from the sidelines. "I didn't think anyone could match the runt for speed!"

She couldn't hold back her smile. She hadn't been praised in so long either, and it felt really good. Maybe, even though she still considered them idiots (except Kurama), they were good to have around. She was finally experiencing friendship, something she'd always wished for.

She flashed Yusuke a teasing grin. "Wait till you see what else I can do!"

"Hn," said Hiei without any change of expression. "Don't distract yourself."

Catalyn scowled, and they took off again. In the midst of another blur of punches and kicks, she could feel herself gaining the upper hand. Hiei's special abilities lay in his demonic powers, not his martial arts skills. This was where she had the advantage. In all the confusion, she suddenly switched fighting styles, into one she created all on her own, combining offence and defence for an ultimate strategy. All the attack patterns were her own, as well as her combos. She prepared to unleash them on Hiei. She had five special moves in all, and she couldn't wait to use them.

Hiei was concentrating hard to block her blows. It was the perfect time for her to take the upper hand. She launched into the first move, picking up speed, giving Hiei no time to dodge and barely any time to block. She ended it by kicking him squarely in the back, sending him high into the air. She didn't let him react, and leaped up to meet him, launching into her second special move, sending him spiralling for the ground. Once again, she entered right away into her third special move. As she came down to meet him, ready to deliver a powerful kick, Hiei drew his katana.

There was no time to dodge. At the last second, Catalyn focused a barrier of reiki at her foot, collided with the katana, and pushed off again, landing smoothly a safe distance away. Damn, she thought. I wanted to stick to martial arts alone. Oh, well. I can still counter his techniques.

Hiei sheathed his katana. "So," he said, frowning as usual. "You recoil at the sight of my sword."

Her blood boiled at this, but she took a deep breath to keep the rage at bay. "You want me to follow through this time?" she challenged. Then she charged.

Hiei countered with a fist of mortal flame attack, and from that point forward, all his punches were filled with flames. She merely countered with reiki-filled punches, and the fight was even once again. Catalyn was really waiting for Hiei's black dragon technique. She knew for a fact that Hiei had passed out shortly after she did after the battle with Zankoku, so he could hardly get away with calling her weak. Still, for a technique to drain him of that much energy, it had to be extremely powerful. She was dying to experience it for herself, but Hiei wasn't calling on his special technique.

Fine by me, she thought. I'll put him in a position where he's forced to call upon that technique.

And she began her fourth special move, one that was much more powerful than the first three, which were of pretty equal strength. She added her reiki powers to it to render Hiei's flames useless.

The rest of the gang stared in awe throughout Catalyn's assault. "She's better than you, Urameshi," Kuwabara said.

"Say what?" yelled Yusuke.

Catalyn ignored him. She had Hiei on the ropes now. The two of them charged for each other one final time, and she unleashed her most devastating attack of all: her fifth and final special move. She didn't care what kind of damage Hiei did to her, as long as she knocked him out with her final attack. Hiei put on an extra burst of speed, momentarily catching her off guard. So fast! I can't keep up… But she did manage to keep going. Hiei looked like he was planning something big. She pulled into the final kick…and they both suddenly stopped.

She'd just noticed that Hiei's katana was pointing at her throat, her arms frozen in what had been an attempt to block it. Hiei's hands were on his katana, leaving him open to her kick, which she had halted right before his neck. They stayed unmoving in those positions, panting slightly.

"It's a draw," Kurama announced, almost in surprise, but he was obviously pleased with the outcome.

Hiei sheathed his katana at the same time as she lowered her foot. She was glowering in anger. "Why didn't you use it?" she demanded.

"Use what?" he said coolly.

"Your black dragon!" she hissed.

He looked at her oddly. "Hn. You're not ready for it yet."

"Are you saying I'm weak?" Catalyn practically exploded.

He eyed her with a look of supremacy. "If I had used it, you wouldn't have survived. And you wouldn't have faced it either. You'd have recoiled. You still back off at the sight of my sword."

"Well, you backed away from my kick!" she countered.

He shot her a contemptuous glare. "Only because if I had followed through and slit your throat, Koenma would increase my sentence." He turned and walked away, leaving Catalyn fuming.

So, that's it for chapter 17! I don't usually leave a footnote, but I'm sure you guys are wondering what's coming next, since the battles with the Ten are all finished. So, I am letting you know now that there is one more big adventure left for Catalyn before this series is over! At this point I really can't say how many chapters there will be left since it's all in quiz format, but my guesstimate is somewhere between 5 and 10 (closer to the latter, probably). So thank you for sticking with me this far! We're almost through!