Shi: Hey, everyone! I'm getting my tail in gear and getting this chapter typed up!

Aki: It's about time...
Shi: I've been busy.

Aki: -rolls her eyes- Suuuurrrreeee...

Shi: Hey! I posted your bday one shot early!

Kit: Sorry I'm late guys...

Shi: You still not feeling any better?
Kit: No... -blows nose- I hate being sick... and I can't take any medecine... -blows nose again- Okay, enough about that... what chapter are we on now?
Aki: Shi's got chapter 27 right here.

Kit: Yay!

Shi: Okay, Mizuki's meeting up from someone from her past in this chapter! Enjoy!

Kit and Aki: We know who it is! -chants- We know who it is!

The Slyest Thieves
Chapter 27
by
Shi

The group returned home safely after getting past all the guards, and the next day, they spent the day resting. Mizuki, Aki, and Takara agreed to hide the book they had stolen from Tekatoki somewhere in the temple, and no one would know except them and Genkai. So the next day they went to find a good place to hide it.

"Hey, Grandma, keep the guys outside for training, alright?" Aki asked poking her head into the sitting room.

"Sure," Genkai nodded and pushed herself to her feet. "Alright, boys, let's go! Time for training!" she called through the temple.

"How come they," Yusuke aske jabbing a finger in the direction that Aki, Takara, and Mizuki stood grouped together, "don't have to train with us too? They are our trainees after all..."

"We've got something important to do," Takara stated, and she looked to her sisters. They nodded to one another and left the room while Sesshoumaru, Hiei, Kurama, Yusuke, and Genkai left to train outside.

"Okay, where should we hide it?" Aki asked absently and looked around the hall.

"Somewhere no one would ever expect it to be... hm..." Takara murmured and tapped her chin in thought.

Mizuki's eyes brightened. "I know a place that no one would EVER look for it.." she grinned, and her sisters crowded around her to listen to her whisper the one place. They're faces brightened, and they all laughed and took off to hide the book.

Just as they finished, Hiei came up to them. "We have to go to Koenma's office," he stated boredly and started off towards the portal.

"What for?" Takara inquired as she, Mizuki, and Aki caught up with the short demon.

He shrugged, not saying a word, and stepped through the portal. The Robbed Trio exchanged looks then hopped through the portal.

"Good, now that everyone's here," Koenma spoke as Mizuki, Takara, Aki and Hiei sat down somewhere, "let's get to the mission.. You see, there's a demoness wandering through the human world, but we can't seem to pinpoint exactly where she is. Sometimes she'll disappear and reappear maybe 100 miles from where she was... This is what we hear when she is close to one of our hunters..." he pushed a button on a small remote, and a screen clicked on.

A shadow against the bright moon stood atop a darkened hill, and the group heard a long, sorrowful howl coming from the figure.

The group was completely confused, but Mizuki and Aki listened intently to the howl. Mizuki frowned as something tugged at the edge of her mind.. It was as if.. as if she knew this voice... Suddenly, realization hit her, and her eyes grew wide, her body beginning to shake.

Aki tilted her head to the side and carefully listened. "Hm... it's some form of canine communication, but certainly not for any regular canine... Hey, Mizuki, I'm pretty sure it's wolf. Can you understand it?" she asked her wolf sister, who looked really pale.

"Mizuki? Are you okay?" Takara asked in worry as she noted the wolf's pale and strained face. She gently wrapped an arm around Mizuki's shoulder. "What's wrong?"

By now, everyone was looking at her, and she began to tremble a little bit worse, tears coming to her eyes. She hugged her arms around herself and sunk to her knees. "I-I know that.. voice," she stammered quietly, staring wideyed at the shadowed figure.

"Who is it, Mizuki?" Kurama asked softly and kneeled down in front of her.

"My daughter.. where are you? I've been searching all the worlds for so long now... Surely you are here somewhere... Come to me if you can hear my voice! I miss you! I love you..." the howl echoed from the speakers of the office, boring into Mizuki's mind.

With her voice barely above a whisper, the wolf murmured, "It's my... mom..." Memories rushed back to her. Why was she recalling some of her old memories NOW? There were just snippets of a few memories with her mother, and with each new memory, her head began to ache, and she clenched her eyes shut and rubbed her forehead with one of her hands.

There were a round of gasps from around the room, and Aki snapped her gaze to Koenma. "Where is this coming from? When was the last place this demon was spotted?" the dog demoness demanded.

"Not too far from Genkai's temple. About six miles away," the prince answered.

"Alright, come on, Mizuki, Takara. We're going to get Mizuki's mom!" Aki grabbed the two girl's arms and yanked them out of the room. "You guys just stay here!" she called behind her.

Mizuki and Takara soon picked up the pace and pulled out of Aki's grasp to run alongside the inu. "Hey, guys?" Mizuki asked to get Takara and Aki's attention, and when she did, she said, "Thanks!" They all grinned and rushed off to where they could hear the sad howling.

"Go on ahead, Mizuki," Takara said when she and her two sisters came to a halt at the base of the hill that the mysterious wolf demoness stood on top of, "Aki and I'll stay here and wait for you."

"Yeah, we'll be lookouts," Aki smirked and took up what she thought to be a serious pose for a guard. Takara and Mizuki laughed, and Mizuki nodded and ran off up the hill, Takara and Aki standing about 10 feet from where she met her mother.

"Mom?" Mizuki asked softly, unsure of if it was really her.

The figure turned to Mizuki and smiled. "Mizuki... I finally found you," the wolf maiden whispered and took a step toward Mizuki, who smiled and utterd, "Mom..." Mizuki raced into her mother's arms. She had her mother's looks and everything. She really looked nothing like her father, whom she didn't even know.

The two wolves broke down crying and hugging each other. "Whatever happened to you?" Mizuki asked in the silence that followed after a few minutes. "I-I don't really remember much from my childhood, but it's a long story," she added quietly.

"I was captured, and I just escaped after 10 years a few days ago. I've been looking for you... I was.. afraid you were dead," the mother, Lupina, muttered, and that brought on fresh tears. She hugged her daughter to her.

Mizuki was happy until she felt a huge pain erupt in her head. Her mind was being attacked, and she gasped and pulled away from her mother, whose eyes were glazed over, as if in a trance. "No..." Mizuki cried and held her aching head. It had been a trap... someone had used Mizuki's own mother against her.

Takara and Aki sensed that something was wrong and ran up to Mizuki, asking what was wrong, but Mizuki waved them away and croaked, "No.. it's a trap.. Get away, go! Please..!" she squeezed her eyes shut as her mind was further attacked.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here... Three little mice have just fallen into my trap," an oddly familiar voice said, and a sneering Tekatoki stood off to the side and behind Lupina.

Aki growled and clenched her hands into fists. "Tekatoki," she snarled, "this is low... even for you..." Both she and Takara glared at the smirking demon, who laughed and walked boldly forward.

"No, this is not low at all.. Lupina did me no good sitting in my dungeons, so why not use her to get what I really want? The Robbed Trio," he gave them an evil grin and unsheathed a brilliant silver sword with intricate designs on it. "And now, this wolf," he indicated to Mizuki's mother, "has outlived her usefullness. I have you three," he sniggered and summoned a forcefield around them. He then halted the attack on Mizuki's mind, leaving her with little energy, and raised his sword as Mizuki glared up at him.

"Don't you dare touch my mother... You've held her captive for a decade already... Leave her alone!" Mizuki growled in a warning tone and pushed herself to her feet, leaning on Takara for support.

In one fell swoop, he cackled evilly and swung the blade down at Lupina, who's eyes suddenly unglazed and widened. She shrieked as the sword connected with her chest. He then stabbed her in the heart, instantly silencing her as she slumped forward, blood oozing from her mouth.

"Mom..." Mizuki choked and collapsed to her knees again. "Y-You killed her.. Mom...!" She began to sob. She had just got to see her mom again, and Lupina was killed right in front of her... by Tekatoki. Score another reason why the Robbed Trio hated him. When he messed with one of them, he messed with all of them...

"You're gonna pay for that," she snarled and jumped at him, her claws poised to rip through his flesh, but he raised his sword and swung it at the dog, who was forced to avoid the blade and hop away a couple of feet. She cursed, "Why do I feel so weak...?" she asked herself, already getting short of breath.

Takara's eyes widened. "It's this forcefield! It's draining us of our energy," she told Aki in slight panic and hurriedly looked around.

Meanwhile, the guys were still in Koenma's office, and when they saw Tekatoki appear, Yusuke, Sesshoumaru, Hiei, and Kurama took off to save the girls. They ran up to theforcefield and tried to bust a hole in it for them to get through, but nothing they did worked.

"Stand back," Hiei commanded and began to unbandage his right arm. Kurama and Yusuke wisely backed up more than a few feet and tugged Sess with them, for the dog demon had no clue what power lay in Hiei's arm.

He concentrated and released his Black Dragon. It gave an eerie roar and easily broke through the forcefield then raced up to circle around Mizuki, Takara, and Aki, protecting them from Tekatoki, who suddenly let out a curse as he felt his forcefield fall, then he vanished in a flash of light.

As the guys ran up the hill to the trio, the dragon roared mightily and returned to Hiei's right arm, and the fire demon collapsed to the ground, his energy zapped. Mizuki shut her eyes tight for a moment and turned her head away from her mother's corpse then knelt down to help Hiei up. "Thanks," she whispered to everyone and rewrapped the wards around the crimson-eyed boy's right arm. Her hair shadowed her eyes, and she seemed oddly sedated. "Come on.. let's go back to the temple..." she said to everyone in a monotone voice.

Mizuki helped Hiei to his feet and down the hill back to Genkai's temple. Takara and Aki exchanged looks and sighed.

"Is she dead?" Yusuke asked Aki quietly while the others left and indicated to Lupina.

"Yeah.. she's dead," Aki responded and walked off without another word. Yusuke shook his head and followed after the others.

Shi: I'm not so sure about this whole chapter, but... there it is.
Kit: You killed off Mizuki's mom!
Aki: Wow.. that's cruel...
Shi: Heh, that's why I'm not so sure about it, but anyways... review!