ShadowDove87: hello everyone! I realise this chapter took a little longer to bring out than the last one...then again, this is only the third chapter. :P Oh well, blame it on me being lazy, I made it take two extra days sweatdrops. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

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A Battle with Memories

Chapter 3 – Obese Cats and Unwanted Sisters

Authors: Qiruama and ShadowDove87

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The next morning was a blast. The girls were woken by Yusuke's pounding on the front door. "C'mon girls, it's raining out here!" he cursed as he continued banging, almost causing it to fall in.

The whole team stood outside Tara's house, waiting for one of the two to let them in. Tara growled as she threw her feet over the side of the bed and forced herself up. Trudging down the stairs she pulled the door open and let them in, glaring at Yusuke. "Happy now?" she snapped as she closed the it behind them.

"Yeah yeah," the teen mumbled as he pushed his way past her and into the kitchen.

Kurama looked at her apologetically. "You'll have to excuse him, he's been in a bad mood all morning,"

The young thunder demon frowned and gave Yusuke a hard look. She hated early mornings and at that moment she found she hated Yusuke just as much. She stood in the doorway, looking at the four dripping boys standing in the middle of her kitchen. "It's only 11, couldn't you have waited at least a few hours?"

"Sorry miss perfect, but we're in a hurry, remember?" he growled, making it very clear to her, and everyone else, that he was in a very bad mood.

"Yeah!" Kuwabara nodded enthusiastically, all the tension seemed to pass right over his head. "We get to kick butt!" the others only sweatdropped. It seemed that not even the weather could dampen his spirits.

"Hnn," Hiei grunted, leaning against the wall, retaining an indignant air about him even with the puddle of rainwater forming at his feet. "It sounds more like someone's planning their own funeral,"

Kuwabara stared at the shorter demon for a moment before slowly getting to his feet, obviously offended. "I dare you to say that again shorty!"

Tara sighed, shaking her head as she chose to ignore their constant bickering. It was getting really old really fast. "I'll go get Soraya then," leaving the noisy kitchen, she walked down the hall and up the stairs, hitting the lights as she went. The storm clouds made her house look dark and gloomy. It didn't comfort her in the least.

Soraya, hating the rain, had curled herselp up into a ball under the sheets. She had forced herself out of bed earlier when the banging had woken her and, when realising who it was, she went promptly back to bed, hoping that, if they didn't see her, they'd forget she was there and just let her sleep. She soon found that sleep was but a distant dream. Their raised voices had swept up the stairs and into her room, keeping the sand man far from her no matter how she hid under the covers. Her hopes dwindled when she heard a knock on the door.

"Soraya?" she lifted her head out from under the sheets when she heard Tara's voice, promtply curling up again.

If I don't say anything, maybe she'll go away...

"Soraya, you have to come down...the boys are here," Tara managed before yawning, leaning against the wall a little as she spoke.

"I don't wanna...!" Soraya muttered from under the covers. It had taken her a while to get confortable the night before and now, that she had finally made her nest, she wasn't about to leave it.

Now leaning against the door, the young thunder demon pleaded with her through the thin wood. "Please don't leave me alone with them!"

Finally giving in, Soraya stretched and pushed herself out of bed. Shaking off the covers she found her clothes, which she had kicking off the night before, and got dressed. Finally opening the door, she found that Tara reflected her own exhaustion right back at her. "Once this mission's over..." she mumbled, lacking imagination in her sleep deprived mind. Her ears flattened against her head when she noticed the clock in the hall, slowly turning to look back at Tara. "But it's so early..." she whined, watching Tara start down the stairs.

"Tell them," she said, nodding in the direction of the kitchen.

Yusuke, who had never been in Tara's house before, looked around curiously. "So she lives here alone...?" he half muttered to himself. He hadn't believed the rumor before now, everyone else he knew had at least an older sibling to care for them. It was clear though, through the abstract way the house was decorated, that no older generations lived there. He scratched his head a little, staring at the curtains and carpets, couches, chairs, tables...how could she afford it all? He knew she didn't have a job, or at least he thought he knew.

"Cool!" Kuwabara chirped, staring at the huge living room. "We could have parties here!!!" no one commented, the rest of the group ignored the beaming human.

Finally, the girls wandered down the stairs, neither looking all too happy. Both were now dressed, albeit in lose, comfortable clothes, which would explain the time it took them to finally come back down.

"Who gets up at this time?" Soraya asked, looking annoyed as she sat down on the couch.

"So," Tara started as she sat down next to the cat, their expressions identical. "Any luck finding the guy we're looking for?"

The fire demon shook his head, his eyes closed, arms crossed. "None,"

"Yay," Soraya muttered sarcastically. "So the reason you got us up this early, was...?"

"So we can go out and look for him, smarty," Yusuke retorted, standing in front of the mirror with a comb, trying to slick his hair back again, but the rain had washed out too much of the gel for it to stick.

"And if we can't find him," Kuwabara ventured, distractedly trying to grab onto the black tail swishing back and forth in front of his face. "Maybe we should just wait 'till he shows himself...he'll try to kill us eventually, right?"

Soraya glared at him, moving her tail out of his reach, thinking about what he'd said for a moment before nodding. "He actually has a point..."

"Oh great," Tara sighed, stretching a little. "And when he finally shows up, how are we supposed to deal with him?" she hated the idea of fighting a demon in the human world. What if something went wrong and the humans found out? The again, the humans were stupid and refused to believe what they didn't want to admit was real. If they saw something, perhaps they could shrug it off and blame it on the weather or stress. Hopefully.

Soraya sighed, looking around the room. "Look, we know that Ginta's weakness is women. Now if we could somehow find out the weakness of his cardinals then-" her voice trailed off as she frowned, sitting up a little, tentatively sniffing the air.

Kurama glanced at her curiously when he saw her doing so, well aware of the fact that an animal youkai's senses were sharper than most other demons'. "Soraya? Is something wrong?"

Her eyes narrowed as she continued sniffing the air. "I smell a cat," she began slowly.

Hiei raised an eyebrow. "A...cat?" he could only imagine she meant a demon. The girl sensing a household feline would just be a nuisance.

"Big, ugly, evil...you know the drill," she glanced at the boys a little, a hint of a smirk touching her lips. "Traitors tend to have a very distinct and...prominent, body odor," she wrinkled her nose and pulled her head back a little.

It took a moment before the situation sunk into Yusuke's head and he jumped up. It didn't take long for the others to follow him. The first cardinal was on the move and he was close. It was time for action.

Yusuke grinned, his mood finally improving. "Let's get this party started!"

"So they finally found us," Kurama stepped outside with the others, looking around as he tried to sense their opponent.

"Yes, but he's moving away," Soraya started, her smirk revealing her feline fangs, incandescent even in the gloomy weather. "He came here on purpose and now he wants to play," she jumped up, into the trees and ran towards the scent, the others following her as she was the only one at that moment who could track him down.

Big and ugly, a cat, a cardinal. It couldn't be that hard to find him, but where was he? Hiei finally found him, having restorted to opening his Jagan. "Two blocks from here," he stated as they continued to move.

"Uh," Soraya looked over her shoulder, noting the serious, but excited looks on their faces. "Did I mentioned he was ridiculously overweight and probably slow?"

Yusuke laughed. "Is he trying to make it easier for us to kill him, or what?"

Tara couldn't help but smile when she heard him. Never had she seen him like this before. Of course she'd witnessed his fights in the schoolyard with Kuwabara often enough, but this was different. This battle was dangerous and held unmentionable risks. It gave him a rush that no other fight could give him. This time, it was serious.

"They're more reliable than they look," Hiei reassured the thunder demon.

Tara glanced at Hiei for a moment, unsure of how to interpret the unsually kind words. She smiled a little and nodded, sweatdropping when she heard Kuwabara repeat what Hiei said...in an overly loud voice. A short run later, they came to a halt, face to face with their opponent. "Oh god," Soraya grimaced, falling back towards the group a little. "I wish he wasn't a cat..."

Hiei smirked, watching the kitten in an amused way. "Hurting your pride?"

"That and...if he wasn't a cat I wouldn't be able to smell him as well," she wrinkled her nose again, wincing a little as the cat wobbled towards them.

Kurama laughed when he heard her, turning to look at her with a calming smile. "I think cats are beautiful creatures...at least some of them," she looked back at him gratefully and smiled.

Tara frowned a little as she looked at the cat. He really was big and ugly and didn't look very nice. The again, he did seem like an idiot. In spite of the rain and the fact that they were still in Ningenkai, she had started building up energy. After not having trained in years she had no idea how much help she would be to the rest of the team, but there was no better time than the present to find out. Her hand glowed blue for a few moments before a short sword of pure energy materialised in her outstretched palm. "Now you can count me in...!"

Hiei glanced at her, noting her enthusiasm. His energy was already flowing off him in steady waves, eyes trained on the cat, who was looking rather smug in his protective layer of fat.

Yusuke raised his hand, pointing at the cat with an overconfident smirk. "There you are!"

Kurama quickly lowered his arm. "Yusuke, it would not be wise to attack him just yet," his advice went unheard by another member of their team though, and he looked up to see Kuwabara running at him, sword forming in his hand. Pulling his arm back from Kurama, Yusuke followed his friend's example, running at the cat, his finger glowing with spirit energy.

The cat only laughed. He was bigger than them. Much bigger. His fur was thick, gray and clogged with mud, the black stripes barely recognisable. He was ready for them. He figured it would be an easy fight if they were all as simple minded as their human friend who had run straight into a nearby trashcan. He swung his tail forward and grabbed Kuwabara just as the tall boy was scrambling out from the heap. "Look what we have here!" he purred, his attention turning away from the struggling human and to the group before him. "I'm Hiko, the one who's going to kill you maggots! If you're not carefuly, you'll end up like your stupid friend!"

Kurama narrowed his eyes, flicking his wrist, the rose whip forming in his hand. "Rather than howl in triumph, I'd prefer you start talking and tell us where we can find this Ginta," his eyes were carefully trained on Hiko, watching his every movement, but his mind was already forming a plan on how to free the yelling Kuwabara.

Hiko giggled tauntingly, his voice booming over them. "And you think that plant is going to threaten me?" he looked at the rose whip again before howling with laughter, holding his enormous belly.

Hiei growled and drew his katana. No one in their right mind spoke that way to Kurama. Even in his human form, the redhead was a formidable opponent. The cat would pay for the remark. "Don't underestimate him,"

"The shrimp's right you know fatty!" standing behind Hiko was Yusuke, arms stretched out in front of him, smirking as his finger started to hum softly with the energy collected at its tip. While the cat was having his fun with Kuwabara, the spirit detective had used the distraction to run around the overgrown animal. "Spirit Gun!" he fired off a beam of light, aiming straight for the cat's middle.

Hiko laughed as he watched the ball of energy soar towards him, leaning back and drinking in huge gulps of air, his body gradually taking on mass. The spirit energy made perfect impact with their opponent, burrying itself deep in Hiko. It looked as though the short fight was already over, when the attack suddenly shot out of him again, sailing right at Yusuke, who managed to leap out of harms way just in time.

Staring at the crater in the ground beside him, Yusuke blinked, scratching his head. This was crazy! Being fat was good for something now?

Tara growled in anger and agitation when she saw Yusuke lying on the ground, staring dumbfounded at the hole beside him. Turning her attention to the cat, she began to charge at him, her body starting to glow with a light, blue hue as she ran for him. There was no way she would let a fat cat like that make a fool her friends, or well, teammates.

Kurama's eyes widened when he realised what she had in mind. "Tara! No!" but it was too late, she had already raised her arm to attack.

Hiko only laughed. He was obviously enjoying this, laughing more when he remembered how his master had warned him to be careful. "Let's see what you have up your sleeve!"

Tara smirked as she ran at him. What was she smirking for? She would be dead in a few moments anyway, at least at the rate she was going it would be the most likely outcome. The expression on her face only grew more mischevious as the distance between them diminished. "You think you're so good huh?"

Hiko nodded in response, grinning widely, revealing two rose of razor sharp teeth. Glancing over his shoulder he blinked in mild surprise when he noticed the same girl standing behind him. Were there two of them? Twins he hadn't noticed before? No, Tara had created a clone.

"You're too slow!" her clone yelled and jumped into the air, aiming her attack at his throat. At the same time, Tara jumped up from in front of him, knowing he could not dodge both their attacks. Hiko stared at them a moment, temporarily immobilised by the notion that his prey could actually think. He growled a little and fazed out in the last second, appearing in the air, high above them. Glaring down at them he wiped off the blood that dripped from his whiskers from the shallow gashes in his cheek.

Soraya's eyes widened as she looked up. "He...he can still do that? Even with his weight?"

Hiko cackled, now on his way down. The air seemed to vibrate and quake around them as he came crashing back to the ground. Looking up, Tara's eyes widened. She stood directly beneath him and there was no hope for her escape. She would have been killed, if it was not for a certain fire demon's fast thinking. She turned to look at him, still rather pale from the initial shock. "Thank you..."

"Hnn," was Hiei's only response as he put her down on the ground with the others. He turned his attention back to the obese cat. He was getting annoyed.

Yusuke's eyes flashed, his spirit energy flaring up around him. "You bastard!" he pointed at him again and readied another shot. Before he could execute his attack, a fat tail swept down and wrapping itself tightly around him. Yusuke was flung back and forth, the cat smacking him between two brick buildings. Kuwabara had been abandoned in an exhausted heap at Hiko's feet.

Kurama watched their opponent's movements carefully. Although powerful, his weight, his ultimate defence, slowed him down, resulting in clumsy and sluggish maneuvers. Pulling his arm back he whisked his whip forward, watching the thorned vine wrap around a thick ankle. "Now! Do something!" he pulled back as the cat lifted his foot to try and free himself.

Hiei set off at a jump, pulling his katana out in one, fluid motion, cutting through the tail and landing safely on the ground behind the beast, his sword safely back inside its sheath.

Hiko yowled in pain as his tail plummeted to the ground with Yusuke. Cursing a little, the teen struggled to shove the hairy object off him, sighing when he'd finally freed himself. Getting back to his feet, he turned his attention to the hissing cat, completely ignoring the appendage behind him. Once again, he prepared his attack to fire at the distracted demon. Aiming at the creature's head he did not notice a shadow rising behind him. He looked up when Soraya suddenly ordered for him to duck. He dropped to the ground just in time, hearing the whistle of a kunai as it shot through the air above him. A choking gargle emitted from behind him. The tail had reformed into a neko minor and had raised its claws to slice the spirit detective in two.

Soraya jumped and landed next to the creation, taking her kunai back. "I...I thought that technique had died out..." looking up at the others, she wiped the blood off on her trousers. "We can't amputate him in any way, his limbs will only grow into something like this!" she jumped back to them, landing in their midst. "We'll have to finish him off in one go. If we could trap him somewhere, Yusuke could blast him with a spirit gun. That might do it,"

Tara growled once again, turning to glare at the cat. "I have a plan," she started slowly. "I don't know if it'll work but we have to try," she turned to look at Kurama. "Make sure to hold him down," with that she started to run at the cat, stopping a few meters from him. She glared at him one last time before starting to glow blue again. This time her whole body was enveloped in the light. She closed her eyes as the energy started to flow through her veins.

Hiko, who was still in pain because of the loss of his tail, had reached his limit and his eyes flashing blood red. He stomped towards Tara in a mad rage. "I'll kill you!" He yelled at her. He started to run, causing the ground to shake and crack beneath him.

Hiei narrowed his eyes and was ready to jump in if the cat got too close but was stopped by Kurama. "Don't.. Look at her," he said, not taking his eyes off her.

Her eyes snapped open again, glaring venemously at Hiko, who was only a few meters from her now. "Take one more step and you're dead!" lightning bolts sailed down from the skies, striking the asphalt at the demon's feet. With each passing second the light show danced closer to him, finally striking him with a hard blow.

Screaming in pain, the cat shot himself up into the air. Curling himself into a protective ball of fur and fat he spun down onto the street, creating an even greater crater than the first time.

That was Kurama's cue. He ran to the cat, planted seeds around him and quickly jumped back. He watched as the vines wrap around him, making even the overweight creature unable to move; he was captured.

Tara sighed in relief when seeing Kurama make his move. Her eyes began to droop and she felt herself falling. She turned her head to see Hiei holding her, again. He had spared her another painful impact. "Thank you, again," she said while closing her eyes. That last attack had drained her of her energy and she had nothing left. She had not trained since she had first arrived in the NingenKai and it was finally taking its toll on her.

"Hnn" he didn't look at her, still holding, supporting her. The others looked at Hiei and Tara for some time in surprise, remaining commentless for their own safety. They finally turned their attention back to the captured and struggling cat.

"Now I think it's my turn!" Yusuke lifted his hand one last time, powering up again. He smirked as he jumped into the air, pointing his finger at the cat. "Spirit Gun!" The blast of energy made contact. His struggle to free himself from his plant prison only grew more desperate, but it was too late. There was a bright flash of light and then nothing. After the fog of the attack had settled down, the group saw nothing but scraps of flesh and bone lying on the street where the cat had been. He was finally dead and the fight was over.

They all sighed in relief. Kuwabara was still lying unconscious on the ground. Yusuke, who had just enough energy to stand, went over to Kuwabara and heaved him up onto his shoulder. Looking around for a moment, Kurama came to the conclusion that, luckily, there had been no humans in the vicinity during the attack. "Most likely they mistakened the sound for thunder," the redhead explained calmly.

It wasn't until then that they realised it was still storming. Hiko had done a satisfactory job of distracting them from that discomfort. Hiei finally put Tara down on the ground again as he felt her energy returning. As long as she was able to walk, he did not see why he had to carry her. She smiled gratefully in return as she turned to the others, still looking tired.

"We did it," looking around the group another moment she promptly sat down on the ground. She did not have enough energy after all. She leaned against Hiei's legs, closing her eyes a little again. The fire demon only looked at her a moment, but did not move. He crossed his arms, snorting in annoyance.

"Hnn."

Soraya nodded and smiled at Kurama, very grateful to have the plant user with them. "We did it!"

Kurama laughed as he looked at her, nodding. "Yes, it seems we have one less fight ahead of us now."

Soraya frowned a little as she looked at her drenched clothes. "I can't believe I stayed out in the rain for so long," they all laughed and she sweatdropped.

"So what do we do now? When are we gonna fight the next cardinal?" Kuwabara asked, having regained consciousness in time to realise that they'd won.

Soraya shook her head and sighed a little, wondering how the recently comatose human could want to fight again so soon. "Well, the best thing to do is probably to wait until the next cardinal shows up. I know it's frustrating, but it shouldn't take long considering we've defeated the first one. They'll want to stop us now."

Tara finally got to her feet again. She sighed, feeling rather pathetic that she could barely stand on her own two feet. Soraya looked at her and smiled in an encouraging way, knowing what the thunder demon was thinking about. "Don't worry Tara, you helped a lot. If it hadn't been for you we would probably still be fighting that jerk and besides, I'm sure you'll have regained your energy before next fight."

Tara looked back at her and smiled, nodding a little. "Thank you."

They turned to retrace their tracks in the pouring rain. At the back of the group, Yusuke walked with Tara, holding her up and supporting her weight. Kuwabara had enthusiastically suggested that Hiei carry her home, but the thunder demon had blatantly refused, stating that she would be fine on her own, thank you very much. When they finally reached the house again, they found that someone else had come to occupy it. The front door stood wide open. Yusuke dropped Tara as he readied his spirit gun again. The thought that he had no more energy didn't really occur to him. But, instead of a cardinal, a beautiful young woman stepped into the doorway and she did not look happy. Her hair was jet black and her eyes shone a brilliant green against the dark rain as she looked out at them.

Tara stared at her in surprise from her spot on the floor ground, and, when seeing her, a look of relief washed over the new comer's sharp features and she smiled. "Tara, there you are,"

The younger girl proceeded to glare at her. "Amara," the rest of them tea looked between the two of them wondering what it was that seemed to bother Tara so much about her. With a sigh and a quick apology, yusuke helped her to her feet again, the others following her to the front step and into the house.

Amara waited until the group had filed in, quietly closing the door behind them. She ventured into the living room where Yusuke eased Tara onto the couch. "I was worried," Kurama looked at her a little as he tried to sense who she was. Looking a little surprised he turned his attention back to the thunder demon who waved away the helping hands and got back on her feet.

She walked right past Amara and into the kitchen without looking at any of them. "I'm sure,"

Amara sighed, shaking her head a little before turning to look at the others, smiling pleasantly. "I'm sorry, you must be Tara's friends. I'm her older sister, Amara,"

Soraya blinked, a little surprised by the newest revelation. She recalled Tara mentioning that she had an older sibling the night before, but she would expect her companion to be thrilled at the idea of seeing her again. Tara was showing the exact opposite. Slowly getting up as well, she followed her into the kitchen. She titled her head to the side in response to the questioning look she was being given. "You're not happy about having her home?"

Tara frowned and turned back to the countertop where she had been preparing lunch, ignoring the fact that she was still dripping. Soraya offered her a towel that Amara had handed them earlier and the thunder demon took it with a sigh, wrapping her hair up in it for a start. She smiled at her a little before shaking her head. "You don't have to worry Soraya, it's ok, really,"

The cat sighed, watching her prepare the sandwhiches for a while before nodding. "Alright, if you say so," she turned to go, stopping a little when she found Amara looking at them.

Tara didn't have to turn around to know she was being watched. "When will you be leaving again Amara?"

"You still hate me, huh?" Amara couldn't help but force a half hearted smile. "Don't worry, I'll be gone in a few minutes. I just wanted to check up on you, make sure you're ok..."

It was no use, Tara still blatantly refused to look at her, she only nodded. Soraya, deciding it was better if she wasn't in the kitchen, slipped out behind the older girl, walking back into the living room where the others were still trying to make themselves comfortable in their wet clothes.

Walking to her, Amara gently, but firmly, took her sister's arm to get her to stop and pay attention. "You've been fighting?" she looked concerned, knowing Tara hadn't been training and wouldn't be able to hold her own for long.

"Is it that obvious?" she muttered sarcastically, pulling her arm away as she piled the sandwhiches onto a tray.

Amara sighed and took a step back. "I better get going now...Tara, take care and don't do anything stupid," with a small smile, she disappeared, leaving behind a light charge in the air.

Tara growled a little as she grabbed the tray, glaring holes into the ground where the older thunder demon had been standing. She could never forgive her.

After making grabs for the sandwhiches, silence reigned over them. No one said anything for a long time as they at. They looked at each other occasionally, but their first and foremost priority was their stomach. Soraya sighed a while after she'd finished her sandwhich, proceeding to break the silence. "Alrght," her gaze slowly met Tara's, wondering if she wasn't stepping over the line. "Tara...what's going on between you and your sister?" she finally asked.

Tara sighed as she looked at her, slowly lowering her sandwhich. Someone would have asked the question eventually. "She did something I can't forgive," she did not sound angry, but rather annoyed. Annoyed by the fact that her sister had come out to NingenKai to check up on her. Especially because it was completely unnecessary and only left Tara in a bad mood afterwards.

"Eh and...what was that?" Yusuke's mouth was still stuff with food but he had choked it down, looking expectantly at her.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to," Soraya added gently. So far she was getting along very well with the demonness and she had no intention of ruining what could possibly become a promising friendship.

Tara looked at their expectant faces with a sigh. She was never going to finish her lunch. Even Hiei, who usually avoided any sort of casual interaction, was looking at her with mild interest. "She killed our father," she had suddenly lost appetite, putting the half eaten sandwhich to the side. "I don't know why, she never said," she figured it was easier to answer their next question before they had a chance to ask. "Mom died a week later and then my sister moved out, leaving me here. That's all." she got back to her feet and walked into the kitchen, dropping what was left of her meal in the trash.

Yusuke stared at her, mouth agape. He'd never imagined that Tara had gone through something like that. He'd always just thought of her as one of those loners. He'd thought her living alone was pretty cool...until now. "I'm sorry..." he looked down at his empty plate, wondering if he was going to get whacked now for prying.

Tara looked at them, leaning against the doorframe, shaking her head. "Don't be...it was a long time ago. You asked and I answered. No hard feelings," she offered him a half hearted smile, reassuring him that it was alright.

After everyone had eaten their fill and Soraya had rounded the boys up to help clean up the mess they'd left, Kurama agreed to train Tara. They stood outside in the garden, enjoying the pleasant rays of sunshine after the storm. Soraya had declined the offer of training with them and had retired to her room, yawning as she climbed the stairs. Kuwabara had duly followed her exampled and crashed on Tara's couch, literally. The pillows were strewn around the living room, and Tara wondered if she would have to buy a new couch, with all the flailing Kuwabara was doing. The boy slept like a dog. Yusuke had chosen to go home and get some dry clothes. He'd admitted to feeling icky after senseless teasing from the two girls, muttering something about annoying women as he left the house.

Her worries about her furniture were soon forgotten though as she struggled to try and free herself from Kurama's whip. She'd tried everything, even going as far as tapping directly into her thunder powers, her body glowing blue for a moment before she gave up, looking at the kitsune youkai wearily.

Kurama smiled and finally released her from her bonds. "You're very good, Tara," he sat down in the shade of one of the large oaks in her garden. "But you have to be quicker, alright?"

She nodded and smiled back at him, sitting down beside him and relaxing. The grass was still damp against her skin, helping her relaxe after using her powers to such an extent.

Hiei had been silently sitting in the tree, following the progress of the training with mild interest. Although he would never admit it, he was impressed by the young thunder demon. Although she had been close to collapse only that morning, she had recovered the majority of her demon energy in only a few hours. Then again, she was a thunder demon after all...