Another chapter! Yay! :)

I'm glad I got this written today while I had nothing to do. Since I don't have school tomorrow, I'll have time now to get started on the fourth chapter. I hope I'll be able to finish it either today or tomorrow, but if not, it'll be later on in the week before I do...

Anyway, I'd like to thank Madarao for beta'ing for me again. She's such a wonderfully amazing (though not as amazing as me, of course!) person.

Unfortunately, I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, even though I'd love to. But I do own Ashton, Madarao, Tefy, and my villian.

Ashton was not alone, of that she was very sure. Walking through a snow-blanketed valley, she thought several times that she heard the crunch of snow behind her. Each time she turned to look behind her, though, she found that she was alone and that the only set of footprints in the snow belonged to her.

She wasn't exactly sure of where she was. The valley and surrounding mountains seemed familiar to Ashton, but she wasn't sure when or if she'd ever really been there. The grey sky above carried the threat of more snow, but the kitsune seemed unconcerned. Despite feeling like she was being followed and not knowing where she was, she was calm, at peace. There in the shelter of the mountains, she almost felt like she was at home.

Her serenity was short lived.

Hearing footsteps behind her once more, Ashton stopped where she was and looked over her shoulder again. Finding no one, though, she turned her head to face forward. She gasped when she realized that she really wasn't alone any longer. The man standing before her wore a long black cloak. The hood was pulled up so that she could not see his face.

"How does it feel to be back at home, Ashton?" he asked her. His voice was deep, rich, smooth. "How does it feel to see your hometown go up in flames and know that any survivors will blame you for what has happened?" From the folds of his cloak appeared a hand; it was pointing behind Ashton, to the place where she'd come from.

"What're you talking about? There's nothing here!" Ashton replied. She turned to see what he was pointing at, though, and her grey eyes widened. She remembered that there had been no village before, yet there one sat, its homes engulfed in flames. The screams she heard sent chills through her, but the man grabbed her wrist tightly when she moved to go back to the village.

"There is no hope for them." The words spoken in her ear made Ashton fall to her knees. Before she knew it, she was sobbing, her whole frame shaking.

"You… You did this!" the kitsune screamed, looking up at the man. She glared at him, silvery tears still rolling down her cheeks.

"No, my dear, I'm afraid that you did this, not me." A sinister laugh filled Ashton's ears as the edges of her vision began to blur. The last thing she heard was the man telling her that they'd meet again soon.

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Ashton jerked awake and sat up in bed. She squeezed her eyes shut and took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself down.

"It was only a dream, Ashton…" she said to herself. Opening her eyes, she climbed out of bed and lightly padded over to the window. She opened it and leaned out, smiling a little as the night's cool air hit her skin.

"If you lean out any farther, you're going to fall." Surprised, Ashton jerked back, hitting her head hard on the window. She cursed as she rubbed the spot, and then she looked up at Hiei, glaring daggers at the demon. The Jaganshi was watching her, his expression one of boredom, like his time was being wasted by Ashton's presence.

"What are you doing in the tree outside of my window? Watching me sleep or something?" she asked him. With the moon behind Hiei, the light did not hit his face, but Ashton was almost sure that his cheeks reddened. Just as quickly as she'd thought it happened, though, it was gone.

"That might be your room, but I was here long before you were. This tree is mine," replied Hiei. A slight 'hmph' escaping her lips, Ashton closed the window.

"You can claim it as yours all you want, but I'd better not ever catch you looking in on me," she muttered. Feeling wide awake, Ashton left her room and made her way downstairs. She walked into the kitchen. Kurama, who was sitting at the table, looked up and smiled.

"What're you still doing up?" Ashton asked. "It's four in the morning." She poured herself a glass of juice and sat down across from Kurama. He marked his page in his book and sat it down before he spoke.

"I just couldn't sleep. I came down here a while ago to read," the redhead explained. Ashton took a sip of her juice and picked the book up. She read the back of it and raised an eyebrow.

"Romeo and Juliet? You never struck me as the kind of guy that would read Shakespeare." She sat the book down again and looked at her friend. Kurama gave a slight laugh as he shrugged.

The two continued to talk together. When it came time to cook breakfast, they did it together. The smell of food quickly brought Yusuke, Kuwabara, Keiko, and Madarao to the kitchen. Botan had returned to the Spirit World late the previous night. Genkai and Yukina had left early that morning to go visit an old friend, and Hiei had, in no uncertain terms, told them earlier that week that he refused to grace them with his presence and share a table with them.

Halfway through the morning meal, a portal opened in the kitchen doorway, and Botan stepped through. The Spirit World guide was clad in her light pink kimono, and she had an air of seriousness about her.

"Yusuke, Koenma has another mission for you, and I'm afraid that this one simply cannot wait." The detective paid her no mind, simply continuing to shovel food into his open mouth. When his plate was empty, he finally looked at Botan, who, by this time, looked as if she was ready to kill the detective.

"Alright, alright… If the toddler's made another mess that needs to be cleaned up, I guess we don't have any choice but to clean it up," he sighed. He pushed his chair back and stood. He, Kuwabara, Kurama, Hiei, and Madarao left with Botan, and Keiko and Ashton were alone.

"This is slightly depressing," Ashton commented as she began to clear off the table. Keiko nodded as she helped.

"With those guys, there's hardly a time when Koenma doesn't have them doing something for him," she said. She shook her head as she rinsed the soap off of a plate she'd just washed, and she handed it to Ashton to dry and put away. "He keeps them busy practically all the time, doing this, that, and the other to keep the world safe. It's a difficult job, but even though Yusuke complains about it so much, I know that there's nothing else he'd rather be doing with his life."

Madarao returned as the two finished the dishes. Keiko left soon after, saying she was going to see her parents for the day.

"You're back soon," Ashton commented as she dried her hands. Madarao nodded slightly.

"I went to speak to Koenma about something he's looking into for me," she replied. She showed Ashton a picture of a three-year-old child. "This is Tefy, my daughter. I've raised her by myself since she was born. She's all I have, and she was taken from me a few weeks ago. Koenma's trying to find her for me." The little girl was the spitting image of her mother, right down to the look she had in her eyes. Ashton couldn't help but smile.

"She's adorable, Madarao!" She returned the photo and smiled. "I hope Koenma can locate her soon so that she can be with you again."

"He must not be looking hard enough. The little brat isn't hidden that well, to be honest." Recognizing the voice from her dream, Ashton turned to look at the man in the doorway; Madarao mimicked her movement. He was still wearing the cloak, his face hidden by the hood.

"What have you done with Tefy?" Madarao angrily asked. Her hands clenched by her sides; tiny flames could be seen dancing on her skin for a brief moment. "Where is my baby? What have you done with her, you bastard?"

"You will see her in time. As soon as I have what I want, you can have your daughter back."

"And just what is it that you want?" Ashton asked, looking from the man to Madarao and back. The man turned his attention to her, but did not speak immediately.

"Funny you should ask," he mused, "because you are at the center of all of my plans, my dear Ashton."

And that's that! :) Thank you for reading, and please make sure to review! Reading reviews makes me feel very, very loved, and they motivate me to continue on.

Much love,

Pandah