Wowness four reviews so quickly! But I'm sorry to say that this chapter probably will be disappointing after reading Catalyn's match with Hiei, and I really can't help it. Though I don't always enjoy doing it, I think that stories should have parts where things are more calm, because I like building up on the characters as well as the plot. Anyways, I hope you understand and enjoy this chapter.

Thank you's:
Vitanie Tora: Hiei really is a pyro pixie, haha. But yeah, I know last chapter wasn't a cliffhanger.I won't always put a cliffy, but when I do I love it.
Angelkitsune-Naomi: I'm so glad you liked that chapter! I was hoping I'd be able to make it so that people could visualize it, and I honestly wasn't expecting it to turn out so good. Thanks for the support!
daisyashley: Thanks very much for the compliment! I'm glad to hear it!
blackie-chan: I think it's perfectly normal for Catalyn to recoil when Hiei draws his sword like that. It kind of shows her calculating personality. She knows the odds. If Hiei suddenly draws his sword, she's going to back down to defend herself. But to answer your other question I do have a sequel series all planned out, and I will put it up if I get enough requests for it.

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

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN – A NEW MEMBER

Catalyn was still fuming after Hiei left the training area, so she was startled to feel Kurama's hand on her shoulder. "You're a very graceful and accomplished fighter," he said with a smile.

"T-Thanks," she stuttered, a little flushed. "It took a long time to develop my moves. I wouldn't have been able to do it without my sen– my serious training, every day." She had just remembered that the gang didn't know about her sensei. They thought she'd been kidnapped by him, not trained by him! Her lie was unfolding!

To her immense relief, Kurama didn't seem to notice anything peculiar with her choice of words. They joined the rest of the gang in the kitchen for lunch. While everyone was eating and chatting together (except for Hiei who remained silent as usual), Botan came in and announced that Koenma had a visitor in his office that he wanted them to meet.

Their curiosity eating at them, they all left for Koenma's office. Catalyn stayed behind, for Kurama had held her back.

"Catalyn," he said slowly, "before we go, there's something I need to talk to you about."

"What is it?" she asked, nonplussed. It seemed like something big.

Kurama searched for the right words, then began, "Well, there's something strange I noticed while we were fighting Yami, and it happened again with Zankoku. You seemed to…well, go into a sort of rage, I guess, but both times, it nearly got you killed."

She gulped, looking into his calm but anxious green eyes. Oh, no…he's onto me!

He continued, "If we get another mission, I'm worried you'll act that way again. You weren't yourself when you got like that. I don't want to see you get hurt like that again."

Catalyn's heart pounded hard from its confinement in her chest. She felt touched by Kurama's worry for her. "What you just said means a lot to me," she told him softly. "But don't worry about me anymore. I've got everything under control. I promise that it will never happen again."

They smiled at each other. "Good," he said. "Then let's go."

They hurried to rejoin the others, and reached them just as they were about to open the office door. Waiting next to Koenma was a tall girl, about Catalyn's age, with red eyes and layered white hair…

"Kashi," murmured Kurama.

Catalyn stared at him, then back at Kashi. Kashi? she thought. So this is the girl who…?

"Hey, aren't you the one that snuffed Zankoku?" Kuwabara asked with a frown. She nodded.

"Hey, toddler, what's she doing here?" demanded Yusuke, also frowning.

Koenma gave a huff at the word toddler, but answered, "This girl, Kashi, has brought me valuable information concerning the demon we've been tracking."

Catalyn stared at the toddler in surprise. "You mean…?"

Koenma nodded. "We've pinpointed the demon cat's exact location." Before Catalyn could start jumping up and down, he continued, "In fact, it's in proximity to where Kashi's been living these past two months, and she's familiar with the area. She's offered to serve as your guide once you get going."

Catalyn could hardly contain her excitement. "When do we leave?" she asked breathlessly. She was going to be human again. She was going to be human again!

Koenma chuckled. "Take it easy, Catalyn. I know you're excited, but there's still plenty of time. You'll be leaving tomorrow at noon, so you can pack up today and also take some time to get to know Kashi."

When the group left Koenma's office accompanied by Kashi, Catalyn was in a state of total happiness. It was almost too good to be true. After being stuck with demonic powers for so long – not to mention a terrible curse – she was finally going to be free. "Can you believe it?" she said to Kurama. "I can't wait to be human again. Then maybe they'll let me back into the martial arts school."

Kurama noticed the wistful tone in her final sentence and smiled kindly. "I'm sure they will," he assured her. "I'm very happy for you."

Back in her room, Catalyn prepared to pack her belongings. If all went well, she'd never have to return to Spirit World again – that is, until she died of old age, but that wasn't about to happen anytime soon. Then she realized with a small pang that she was going to miss the guys, mainly Kurama. He'd been so kind to her throughout the past month or so she'd been with them (it was hard to believe it had been only a bit over a month; she felt like she'd known them for much longer). But as much as she liked Kurama, she wasn't about to stay on his behalf. She had a dream to pursue, and the only way for her to accomplish it was to go back to the martial arts school and redeem herself. She sighed loudly as she stuffed her pyjamas into her bag, the one she'd told the boys belonged to Junsei Muzai, another captive of her sensei's. Once she became human again, she'd leave the name of Catalyn behind and take up her true name once more. And life would resume its normal course once more.

There was a knock on her door. "Come in," she called.

It was Kashi. "Hey," she said softly, taking a few steps in.

"Hey," Catalyn replied brightly. She knew that the gang was still suspicious of Kashi, but she saw no reason to. Besides, she wasn't about to ruin her perfectly good mood. Kashi was a half-demon, just like she was, and she wanted to get to know her. She launched into conversation. "Thanks so much for finding Kitkit for me," she said earnestly. "I really hate being part demon."

Kashi didn't look surprised to hear this, but she did say, "I find it quite enjoyable."

"How so?" Catalyn questioned, interested to hear this new point of view.

She answered, "Well, I get to travel all over the demon realm and experience loads of new things. My mother was a fire demon, and my father was human. My father never found out."

Catalyn understood why Kashi enjoyed being a demon. She was born that way, and was used to it. She wasn't cursed. "I suppose the fangs are from your demon side, then?"

Kashi laughed loudly, which startled her; she'd had such a soft voice. "Nope," she laughed, speaking more loudly than before, her two fangs really showing through. "Believe it or not, they're from my human side."

Catalyn laughed with her. She liked this girl. "Don't you miss the human world at all, though?" she asked once she'd calmed down.

"No, not really," Kashi said. "I like the demon lands better. And if I hadn't chosen to live there – well, move around there, more like – I'd never have found your cat."

There was another knock on the door. Without waiting for Catalyn to say anything, the door was pushed open, revealing Yusuke, Kurama, and Kuwabara. "Hey, Catalyn," Yusuke drawled. "What's up?"

"Just getting to know Kashi," Catalyn replied. "She's an awesome person."

Kashi looked at her, startled, but she smiled with what seemed like pride.

"So, what kind of skills does she have?" asked Kuwabara anxiously.

Catalyn slapped him across the face. "You're acting like she can blow you up at any moment!" she accused.

Kashi added in, "If you want to know, you can always experience it firsthand." With that, she glared at him, and his sleeve instantly caught fire.

"YEOW!" he yelped. He ran around in circles, slapping his sleeve. "Fire! Fire! Fire!"

Kashi gave an in-your-face laugh, and then shook her head, causing the fire to subside. Kuwabara rushed for the bathroom and rinsed his whole arm in the sink. Kashi laughed harder, causing the others to stare at her. "I can't believe it!" she gasped. "You should've seen the look on your idiotic face! It was priceless!"

Catalyn gave a small giggle, then tried to analyze Kashi's show of power. Kashi shot her a look. "If you want to analyze my powers, why don't you have one of your friends fight me? That'll do the trick."

Catalyn stared in surprise. Kashi's personality had completely changed from that of only a few minutes ago. She was suddenly so much more upbeat. Maybe she'd just been a bit shy at first. This was probably her true personality. And she was kind of fun. She already had something in common with the gang: a love for teasing Kuwabara.

"Well?" Kashi said impatiently.

Yusuke, who'd flopped down on the bed earlier, jumped up. "I'll take you on!" he said, flexing his muscles.

Kashi grinned. "All right. Just wait. I'll show you the meaning of power!"

The gang got up and moved to the training ring. Hiei was already there. Somehow, he'd known what was coming. So, Yusuke and Kashi stepped up into the ring and faced each other. Kurama was once again acting as referee. "Three, two, one, GO!"

Kashi grinned wickedly as Yusuke charged for her. Catalyn got ready to analyze her powers, and found it surprisingly easy to do. Kashi wasn't even hiding anything from her. Was she that confident in her abilities? A second later, she didn't need to wonder about that anymore. Kashi glared at Yusuke, and his pant leg caught fire. He dropped down and rolled, then leaped back up again (stop, drop, and roll: elementary basics, learn them well). Catalyn knew right then that Kashi's skills with fire far surpassed her own, perhaps even Hiei's. Heh, she thought with a smile. I'd love to see her fight against Hiei. That would be awesome.

"Yusuke!" she called out. "You gotta keep moving, or she'll set you on fire again!"

Yusuke promptly began to run around in circles, closing in on Kashi ever so slightly. If he got close enough to fire his spirit gun, he'd gain the upper hand. But Kashi, though unmoving, seemed to be following his every move with perfect accuracy. Yusuke fired his spirit gun, but Kashi was ready for it. In a blur of motion, she was right next to him, and kicked his arm to the side, sending the blast for Catalyn. Catalyn hurriedly dived out of the way. When she looked back up, Yusuke had been knocked out of the ring.

"Kashi's the winner," Kurama said in a startled voice.

Kuwabara ran over to Yusuke. "Urameshi!" he yelled, stupefied. "You were clobbered!"

"I'd like to see you do better," Yusuke snapped, rubbing his arm.

Kashi grinned at him. "I told you I'd show you what power was!" she said.

Catalyn was no longer impressed with Kashi's skills. She was in shock. She recognized the kick Kashi had used to knock Yusuke out of the ring. It was one of her moves! But how could it be possible?

Kashi noticed her expression. "Something wrong?" she asked.

Catalyn shook her head hard. "No, nothing," she said with a fake smile. "Anyways, I have to finish packing." And she left for her room.

She tried as hard as she could to force the thoughts of Kashi from her mind as she packed, but every few minutes, she was reminded once more. How could Kashi have used once of her kicks? Was it just a coincidence? Perhaps her mind was playing tricks on her.

She shook her head and zipped her bag shut. Then she noticed that she'd forgotten something on the desk. It was the photo of her parents. Even though it was only a picture, she felt herself getting lost in her father's blue eyes…the eyes she inherited. But her eyes had changed. They were that of a demon now…

-Start flashback-

Her parents had been driving her to the martial arts school, where she would begin her training to be a martial arts master. After a ten-hour drive, they'd finally arrived. She had one suitcase with her, with her most cherished belongings and not too many articles of clothing.

The master greeted her at the door. "Welcome to our fine school," he said warmly. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

Catalyn bounced up and down, her hair tied in little pigtails. "I'm gonna be the best martial arts master in the world!" she said proudly.

The master smiled down at her. "You will have to work very hard to accomplish that, child."

"I will!" she assured him.

She was showed to her room, and on the way there, she met Vladomir, who later became her fiercest rival.

"Ew, a girl!" he exclaimed.

"I bet I'm better than you!" she told him. (In the end, it turned out to be true.)

Then it was time for her to say goodbye to her parents. She wasn't going to see them for a very long time, not until she finished her training. It would be almost ten years. But she didn't shed a single tear. She gave them both hugs, saying, "I'll make you proud!" and that was that.

-End flashback-

I hope I find Kitkit soon, Catalyn thought. Then I'll be able to face my parents again.

There was a soft knock on the door, and Kurama entered. "How are you doing, Catalyn?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Okay, I guess."

"Of course you're not," Kurama said wisely, putting a hand on her shoulder. He looked at the photo in her hands and understood immediately. "You must miss them a lot."

"I do," Catalyn agreed sadly. "I haven't seen them since I entered the martial arts school." She lay her head on Kurama's shoulder without realizing she'd done it. She was a little tired, probably from her fight with Hiei. "And I sure as hell can't see them like this."

"My mother doesn't know I'm a demon either," Kurama said. "I can't bring myself to tell her. It would break her heart." He smiled. "You'll see them again soon. I promise we'll all do everything we can to help you become human again."

Catalyn sat up straight. "Just don't make any promises you can't keep," she said. "I know Hiei doesn't care."

Kurama sighed. "I think it's about time you both try and stop hating each other," he said. "You are both good people. There's no reason for your animosity."

She stood abruptly. She hated hearing that. "I'm going to eat something," she said in a somewhat mechanical voice, and she left the room.

-The next morning-

Catalyn woke up feeling refreshed and ready to go. She went to the kitchen, made herself some toast, and left again without stopping to say good morning to Hiei (who was already there).

"Catalyn."

She turned back, for Hiei had called her name. "What?" she snapped.

His usual frown didn't seem as hard as usual. "Don't make a fool of yourself today," he said.

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Worry about your own actions, runt."

"Don't count on me to save your neck again if you mess up," he replied.

Her fists clenched. That ungrateful little…! "Go on dreaming," she told him. "Because in case you didn't notice back at the Ten's castle, I saved your sorry life." Without waiting for the retort which she knew would be coming, she left the room for good.

-Later, in Koenma's office-

The portal stood waiting next to them. Everything was set. All they had to do was jump through the portal, and the journey would begin.

"Don't be idiots while you're there," Koenma warned them. "There won't be any time for rash actions."

"Keep your pacifier in, toddler, we'll be fine," Yusuke said.

Kashi jumped through the portal and, one by one, the others followed. Catalyn was last. She hesitated before jumping through. She looked at Koenma.

"Thanks."

And she was gone.