Oh my gosh, SEVEN reviews! I guess this means I should raise the bar, huh? From now on, five reviews, then I update. Thanks to everyone for their support! By the way, sorry if this one's a little short.
Vitanie Tora: Originally, in the quizzes, I had completely forgotten about Jet and Mari, but to change that would throw the story off a little, so I planned something else. But there is a mention of them in this chapter.
daisyashley: I'm glad you liked it!
TwitchyEars007: Catalyn is actually my favorite character out of all the people I've ever made up because of how realistic I made her. She's not perfect, and I had so much fun developing her. And about your email concerning Kashi, yes she's got bangs, but in truth I never did really plan an outfit (bad Nariko, bad). When I think about it, I think of some sort of shirt with no sleeves and pants, but feel free to be completely creative with that aspect.
fangimation: I never fully closed the Zankoku deal, it's true, but he had a certain weak spot that if was hit, he'd die, like Suzaku in the Four Beasts arc. Kashi just knew exactly where it was, and got in when his guard was down. But Kashi is a pretty powerful character.
Youko-Kokuryuuha: I hope this update came soon enough! I'm actually having trouble keeping up!
blackie-chan: Kashi isn't Kitkit, and I'm telling you this now. Kashi's half fire demon, half human. Kitkit was a cat, remember?
Angelkitsune-Naomi: I'm better at correcting others than myself, too! Sorry that I'm taking so long with your story, but it's taking so long to write these chapters and that's all the time I get on the computer lately. I've got a nice, busy-free day coming up soon. Please have a bit more patience!
Disclaimer: I don't own YYH, just The Feline Curse. Five reviews till I update!
CHAPTER NINETEEN – SECRET'S RISING
When Catalyn and the others jumped through the portal, they found themselves in a calm area of the demon world. They were standing on a dirt path in a grassy valley. A clear stream of water flowed to their left. Up ahead, a mountain stood looming over them.
"We're to follow this stream up the mountain," Kashi explained. "Follow me!"
"Hey, I'm the leader around here!" Yusuke objected, and the two of them led the way while bickering loudly.
Catalyn sighed loudly as Kuwabara somehow joined the argument. "Complete idiots," she heard Hiei mutter, and she stifled a giggle.
Suddenly she remembered something. "Kurama," she said, "what happened to Jet and Mari? I can't believe I forgot about them!"
Kurama smiled. "I'd been wondering when you'd ask," he said. "They stayed there, where they belong. They're very happy now that they're free. They asked me to tell you that they'll never forget what you did for them."
Catalyn smiled too. "That's good to hear. I wonder if I'll see them again."
"I'm sure you will," he assured her.
Then she stopped short, her eyes wide.
"Catalyn? What's wrong?" Kurama asked instantly.
Catalyn gave him a fake smile. "Oh, nothing. I just felt a shiver down my spine, that's all. It's completely random, don't worry!"
Kurama gave a small laugh. "This reminds me that there's so much more to you than I probably know," he said.
She turned away and let her smile fade. Inside, she was in a panic. The curse is acting up again, she thought wildly. Why now of all times? Oh, no… I've gone too long without… But what can I do? I swore I'd never use them again… She shook herself over. Well, there's only one thing I can do for now. I'll just try and fight it off and hope we reach Kitkit before anything bad happens. Or, if it's really necessary, I can sneak away in the middle of the night…but I'd still be breaking my vow. And if they catch me, I'll have no choice but to confess! I can't let them know about the things I've done! I've kept too much from them… Unless Kitkit releases me, I've got to keep my mouth shut. I just hope I'm strong enough to last…
"Catalyn?" Kurama asked.
She snapped out of her reverie. "Huh?"
"Deep in thought, I see," Kurama said knowingly. "But you seem upset about something. Is everything okay?"
Damn it all, she thought viciously. He's starting to figure me out! I shouldn't have let him get that close to me. "I'm fine," she told him. "I've been thinking about Kitkit, that's all."
He nodded in understanding. "Of course. But don't worry about it. We're all here to help."
"Except Hiei," she corrected, throwing Hiei a dirty look. He frowned. Kurama sighed.
Yusuke, Kashi, and Kuwabara suddenly stopped arguing. Then Kashi smacked Kuwabara in the face. "I warned you once already!" she said loudly. "Try anything stupid, and I'll set your whole body on fire!" She winked at Catalyn.
Catalyn couldn't help but grin back. Kashi's upbeat personality really helped her mood. Maybe if her good mood held up, fighting off the curse wouldn't be so bad.
-Meanwhile, in Koenma's office-
Botan entered the room, looking a little perplexed. "Koenma sir," she began, "I've just had a chat with Lena and Ayame (A/N: They are the other grim reapers of Spirit World.)."
Koenma leaned forward. "What happened now?" he asked.
"Well, do you remember Catalyn's story?" she said. "She and another girl were enslaved, and the other girl was killed by the kidnapper." Koenma nodded, so she continued, "But the so-called Junsei Muzai was never picked up. None of us have brought her ghost to heaven. We have no idea where it is."
Koenma jumped up, his eyes wide in understanding. "That must mean –"
Botan nodded. "Junsei Muzai is still alive."
-Back to the demon world-
As time passed, Catalyn found it harder and harder to fight off the curse, and the effort just kept making her weaker. Normally, she'd never let things go this far, but she couldn't do anything in front of the guys. She couldn't defy the curse for long unless she wanted to die for it. That was the only way. The only way she could avoid letting the Beast have its way with her was to obey the curse's commands. So she really had no choice in the matter.
The sun was beginning to set, and the prospect of camping out for the night was very appealing to her. She could wait until they all fell asleep, go off to fulfill the curse's command, and return within five minutes. That way they wouldn't suspect a thing. Until then, she'd pant along.
She only realized just how much the curse had taken its toll on her when she felt Kurama helping her to her feet after tripping over a rock, which she didn't even notice she had done. "Aren't you paying any attention to the things around you?" he asked worriedly.
"What's going on?" Yusuke pestered. "You were fine yesterday."
"Stow it," Catalyn muttered. She shrugged off Kurama and continued on, but Kashi stopped her.
"You know what, guys? We're one third up the mountain already, and the air's only getting thinner from here. We should stop for the night to replenish our energy. Kitkit is at the very top. We'll get there tomorrow for sure." She winked at Catalyn.
As soon as the camp was set, they all ate together around the fire. Not much was said, except for another small argument between Kashi, Yusuke, and Kuwabara, which ended in a serious round of rock-paper-scissors. After, without a word, Catalyn found a comfortable spot on the grass and lay down, observing the stars as they appeared in the sky.
That's when she heard it. Her name had been mentioned. She strained her ears to hear better. The others were talking about her!
Kuwabara: "Maybe her fight with Hiei got her tired."
Kurama: "I doubt it. She still had plenty of energy after that, and a good night's sleep."
Yusuke: "Then what was up with her today?"
Kashi: "Give it a rest. She's probably not used to travelling long distances. Fighting and endurance are two completely different things."
Yusuke: "Maybe. But I doubt it."
Hiei: "Isn't it obvious, detective? That girl's hiding something from us."
Kurama: "Hiei, do you suppose it has something to do with her mood swings she had while battling Yami and Zankoku?"
Hiei: "Maybe."
Kuwabara: "What are you talking about?"
Kashi: "Oh, I know. I was watching you battle Zankoku. She got very violent very suddenly. I knew charging the way she did would kill her, so I decided to step in."
Yusuke: "Well, you're certainly modest."
Kashi: "Got a death wish?"
Kuwabara: "Funny, I never noticed a thing."
Yusuke: "Gee, wonder why."
Kuwabara: "HEY!"
Kashi: "Back to the convo, morons."
Kurama: "I don't know what exactly is wrong with her, but we're all going to have to watch over her carefully."
Hiei: "Hn."
Kurama: "She's going to need your help, Hiei."
Hiei: "Hn."
Yusuke: "Well, Kurama, you seem to know more than us, so why don't you talk to her about it?"
Kurama: "I'll try tomorrow. She needs rest right now."
Kashi: "So do we. Tomorrow's a big day, everybody!"
Catalyn had heard enough. They all suspected something of her now. Damn, she thought. I guess I'll just have to avoid Kurama's questioning tomorrow. Finally, everyone had settled down to sleep. She waited another half hour, just to be sure, after which she quietly stood up and looked around. Four figures lay on the grass, sleeping. There was a forest on the other side of the stream. She made a light jump and slipped into the trees. Then –
"Where do you think you're going?"
She whirled around. Hiei jumped out of a nearby tree. Crap, she thought angrily. I forgot! There were five!
"Well?" Hiei demanded. "Where were you going off to? Trying to get away from us?"
"What, so I'm not allowed to go for a night time stroll?"
"After waiting for everyone to fall asleep?"
He caught her. There was nothing she could do. He drew his katana and raised it, the blade mere inches from her throat. "While you're up, how about you test your skills against me?"
There was no way she could refuse. "I accept."
They moved to open space, and the fight began. Hiei took off instantly, moving like a blur around her. Using her reiki powers, Catalyn surrounded herself with a thin layer of armor shaping around her body, trying frantically to avoid Hiei's attacks. Her senses told her his speed hadn't changed since their last fight, yet he was completely overwhelming her. Why must she be so weak? Then, before she knew what had happened, Hiei whacked her in the back with the butt of his katana. She keeled over, muttering, "Baka."
Hiei stood over her. She looked up, her vision blurring. "I didn't hurt you," he said. "You were already on the verge of collapse. Shape up. If you don't, you'll be killed. Don't count on me to stick up for you."
He walked away and Catalyn lay her head down. It's not my fault, she thought sadly as her eyes closed. I never asked for this stupid curse… Hiei, I hate you. With that, she fainted.
-Later in Koenma's office-
"You're right, Botan," Koenma said. "Junsei Muzai's ghost is nowhere to be found. And her death isn't written in the grade book yet. She's supposed to live for much longer."
"Not only that, Koenma sir," Botan said, "but we can't find her human body anywhere."
"Then where on earth could she be?" Koenma yelled, throwing another of his temper tantrums.
"Your breathing exercises, sir!" Botan cried.
Koenma calmed himself down. "Now that I think about it, I don't even know what this girl is supposed to look like."
"I have a picture somewhere," Botan offered. "I'll go find it for you." And she hurried out of the room.
-The next morning, back on the mountain-
It took ten minutes of Kurama's pleading to get Catalyn up that morning. When she finally sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, she saw that he was genuinely worried. He was about to say something when Yusuke came over, laughing. "Catalyn, you look dead on your feet, ha!" She was spared the trouble of moving as Kashi hit him for her.
After washing her face in the cool stream water, Catalyn felt much better. Of course, she would have been even better if the curse wasn't acting up, but she did have some of her energy back. Let's see how long it lasts, she thought grimly.
Ten minutes after they started walking again, Catalyn saw Kuwabara whispering to Kurama out of the corner of her eye. She groaned inwardly, knowing what was coming. Sure enough, a moment later, Kurama approached her, and the others were listening in.
"Hey," she said calmly. "Did you want to ask me something?"
"Actually, yes," he replied. She said nothing, and he began. "We were talking about this last night while you were sleeping, Catalyn. We all noticed you were getting weaker as the day went on. And we all know it's not because of endurance problems. You have great stamina. So we are all concerned that there is something else causing this…something you're not telling us about."
She still said nothing. Remain silent as long as possible, she ordered herself. And if need be, lie to them and tell them it's nothing, even though they'd never buy that.
"Well?" Kurama prompted. "We all know you're hiding something. We won't think any less of you if you tell us now. We'd rather know than not."
You won't think less of me? Ha! That's a laugh. They'd hate me if they found out. I won't tell them, no matter what. Kurama's eyes were calm but filled with concern. "I'm fine," she said shortly. "This is something I can work out on my own. It has nothing to do with you."
"It does now that you've brought us all here with you," Kurama replied smoothly.
Catalyn spoke calmly and fast. "I didn't ask for this. I never asked for Yusuke and Kuwabara to find me. The only thing I wanted was to track down Kitkit. I didn't ask to be a part of your team, and I never asked for your help!" Her last words came out as a fierce shout. Then she realized what she'd said.
Kurama looked shocked at her outburst, and even worse, deeply hurt. Then he regained his composure, but his eyes were sad. "Well, then, I'm sorry for all the troubles you've had being forced to work with us. I can assure you that this is your challenge alone, and we will respect your will and not interfere." And he walked on ahead.
Catalyn stopped walking, shocked by her words. Hiei strolled past. "I hope you're satisfied, baka onna."
She stood rooted to the spot for a moment, and then continued onwards, walking slowly.
-Somewhere unknown, inside a large house-
The room was very dark. A man and a woman stood facing each other.
The man spoke. "Kashi has been to see you three times now, and reported that you requested to meet with me in person. So here I am."
The woman nodded. "I want to know exactly what you want from me and why."
"Didn't Kashi inform you of the details?"
"Yes, but I want to hear it from you."
"Well, here's my reason," the man declared. "There's been enough suffering. I've looked into your past. You've never hurt anyone except for that one single time. Why? What did she do to deserve it?"
"It wasn't her fault," the woman acknowledged, "but I had to vent my anger on someone. Surely you know of the circumstances. I was nearly killed, and I had to take refuge in that filthy human world. I couldn't contain my anger forever. I had to let it out."
"So are you willing to take it back now?" the man questioned.
"Sure," she said in a lighter tone. "But I'll need to know how worthy my victim is first. She needs to pass a test to prove herself."
"My thoughts exactly," the man agreed. "I never expected you to act without knowing her potential. Here is what I have in mind." He whispered something in her ear.
"No, no, this won't do at all," she objected. "It's too simple. How about…" she whispered in his ear.
The man was startled. "But why that?"
"It's the only way," the woman said simply.
The man sighed. "Very well."
-Back in Koenma's office-
Koenma stared in shock at the picture of Junsei Muzai, then at the girl lagging behind the boys on his big screen TV, showing him where the gang was. The same eyes, the same amber hair… They were identical.
"All this time…" Botan gasped. "She was…"
"Right in front of our noses," Koenma breathed, with a hint of regret. "Botan, do you know what you have to do?"
She summoned her oar instantly. "Yes, sir."
"Go and get an explanation right away," he ordered. "I'll be watching. Make sure nothing is left out."
"Yes, sir!" And Botan took off.
Koenma leaned back into his seat with a heavy sigh. "Who'd have thought," he said, "that all this time…that Junsei Muzai was actually her…that Catalyn was Junsei Muzai?"