ForbiddenChildLover64 (aka, the author of this fic): Yeah. So I'm back. Yay! This chapter took FOREVER to write. I always write my stories down on paper first, so when I type them I can add to them and edit simultaneously for the final product. Normally it takes about an hour (max) to write four pages down on paper. Four pages of this chapter took nearly TWO hours. Wonderful. And it's eleven pages long. So that means it took (approximately) five hours. Hmmm… that seems like a lot. But as I wrote this on different days, it didn't feel like that long. And sorry if it's a bit hard to read. And as for the length of time it's been since I last updated... Well, when I get writer's block I don't update. I know this chapter was already written, but I was so stuck that just thinking about the story made me mad. And I've been a bit depressed. So, I apologize for all of that. And, just so you know, the chapters for this story are probably going to be coming more and more infrequently because my postings are finally catching up to where I've written to. Thought I'd give you a heads up on that one... there are only... Never mind. I lied. There are still 3 unposted but written chapters after this before the one I'm currently working on. Oh, and this chapter is dedicated to my friend Mike, because he paces like Koenma does in this chapter (except not just when he's nervous).

Mizuko: Like ranting much? Jussst ssso you know, it getsss old.

FCL64: You can shut up. I don't even like you. I normally like all my OCs, even my villains. My villains in particular in some of my stories. But in this story, I the OCs that I like are Akiko, Kiyoshi, Kasumi, and Takeshi. It took a lot to make Mizuko dislikable, and creepy, even to me. Because I don't like Mizuko at—

animegrlsteph (aka, one of the author's best friends): Mizuko! Let me at her! I'm gonna kill her!

FCL64 (holding animegrlsteph back by the arms): Um, yes. We all know that. But you can't kill her…

animegrlsteph: And why not?

FCL64: She's part of the story and you're not?

animegrlsteph (sulking): So?

FCL64: You two don't exactly exist in the same dimension? She only exists on paper and you're, let's see, REAL maybe?

animegrlsteph (glaring): I still want to kill her!

(chaos ensues as animegrlsteph breaks free from FCL64's hands and begins chasing Mizuko around the room. Soon Mizuko is caught and pinned to the ground.)

FCL64: I'm thinking now would be a good time to cut this short and begin the story, so I don't end up with either an injured best friend or a dead character who is actually important in the next couple chapters.

(Mizuko suddenly disappears, as she is sucked back into the story. animegrlsteph looks at FCL64 from the empty space where Mizuko was.)

animegrlsteph: I was just about to kill her.

FCL64 (smiling innocently, which frightens animegrlsteph): That's why the story starts now. Since she is in the story, where you can't kill her, because I control everything.

"She," Takeshi said as soon as he saw the girl on the throne at the center of the room, "is hot." She had ebony hair that shimmered down to her waist. Her skin was pale, although she had nothing on Akiko when it came to lack of color. Her clothes were so tight Kasumi couldn't figure out how she got them on without tearing them. They couldn't make out details from the distance they were at, but soon she stood. And in a matter of seconds she was behind Takeshi, running a blood red nail that seemed to have been filed to a point along the boys throat. He shivered. "Creepy, but hot."

Beyond the nails, there were any number of things Takeshi could have determined to be creepy. Her tight clothes made it obvious she carried at least three daggers, a sword, and several throwing stars on her person, even in her own house. Her eyes were bright yellow and the pupils were slits, together revealing almost no white. Her nose was nothing more than two slits in the center of her face. But the worst came when she hissed her reply to Takeshi's words. "Why thank you, my dear. And your name isss?" She had only four visible teeth, two on top, two on bottom. All sharp, deadly fangs. And the tongue that slipped between them was forked.

"Snake demon." Akiko spat.

The demon froze. "Indeed." This time, as she moved to square off with Akiko, Akiko and Kasumi followed her movements. She sank low to the floor without so much as a single superfluous motion, before coming back up to her full height and looking at Akiko. "And who might you be, my dear?"

Akiko drew herself up to her full height—which, admittedly, wasn't that tall—and made so bold as to say, "You are our hostess. I am under no obligation to introduce myself until you have done so."

"You are the onesss who demanded an audiencssse with me."

"You are the one who accepted."

The snake demon smiled in delight, her tongue flicking out to taste the air. Moving from one side of Akiko to the other and back again, she said, running the tips of her fingers up Akiko's left arm, "Ssso calm. Ssso sssure. Ssso fiercssse. Ssso young. Ssso beautiful. How delightful." Akiko didn't look at the demon next to her, didn't give her the satisfaction of knowing she was seriously creeped out. In response to the lack of expression on her face, the demon said, "I am Mizuko. Now will you introducssse yourssself?

"Akiko."

"How interesssting. And powerful. Akiko she sssaysss. You would be the Icssse Maiden child prodigy from the north then, no? Thisss isss even more interesssting than I had thought it would be when I permitted your entry." Her eyes sparkled with delight. "But do tell me, who are your dear human friendsss?"

"Kasumi, Takeshi, Kiyoshi. We are not friends."

"Then why are they here? I have never heard of any of them. And neither do I percssseive a threatening aura from any of them."

Before Kasumi could react to what she was sure to consider an insult, Akiko said, "As for being a child prodigy… that is a load of crap. I'm not even the best demon our tribe has ever produced, not that any of them knows that." As her rant continued she seemed to be talking to herself more and more as the four others in the room listened with interest. "I am only C—C!—nearly twenty years after my birth. Upper C, admittedly, and enough to have attained the rank of Ice Master. But no where near the level of abilities of my role model. He had earned the Reikai classification of A a mere five years after his birth."

The girl in front of them had never once stopped moving during Akiko's rant or the conversation before it, side to side, from in front of them to behind them. But Kasumi's next words made her stop in her tracks. "You may not have heard of us personally, but I'm sure you've heard of our predecessors. Also known as the Reikai Tentai, they were Kuwabara, Urameshi, Hiei, and Kurama." The flash in Mizuko's eyes was one of recognition, not fear as Kasumi had been aiming for.

She recovered her composure and hissed at Kasumi, "The Reikai Tentai, you sssay. How intriguing. That meansss you all are not jussst run-of-the-mill humansss, but could actually posssesssss sssome ssspiritual fortitude. And what isss your purpossse in Makai, ssso far away from Koenma'sss watchful and protective eye?"

Although it was Kasumi who had been asked the question, and Akiko who had started the conversation, it was Kiyoshi who answered. Although revealing the truth held a possible risk, it was more likely that it would force Mizuko to reveal the true reasons for her sudden interest in their plans. But only if he worded it just right. "We are here to search for Kurama."

"I sssee. Perhapsss I could offer you sssome asssissstancssse. Do you have any idea asss to where he might be?"

"As a matter of fact, we do. He sent us a letter, with instructions to one of his dens. We got lost."

Her eyes were hooded almost before Kiyoshi saw what was in them next. Greed. And bloodlust. "Let me sssee thessse directionsss of yoursss. If I underssstand them, I will provide you with an essscort."

Kiyoshi handed her the map, pointing to a thin line of red paint leading from a circle to an X. Pointing to the X, he said, "This is where we started. By now Koenma has removed any treasure from it."

She glanced over the map before cackling. "You foolsss! Did you really think that I, Mizuko, would help anyone loyal to the brat sssitting on the underworld'sss throne? Not a chancssse! By showing me thisss map, you have sssealed your fate!"

Akiko grinned, realizing that Kiyoshi's words and actions had been a ploy to force her to reveal her position on the most important matter at hand. And Akiko was pleased to have an excuse to fight this obnoxious snake demon. She sent waves of ice toward Mizuko. Unfortunately, it proved to be extremely ineffective.

Mizuko jumped, moving her legs together in a way that seemed to turn them into one extended limb, lashing out at her opponent's attack, obliterating it with nothing more than simple martial arts, before landing on two obviously separate appendages with extreme grace.

"None of you is a match for me. Ssso why bother? Facssse death, kneel before it, accsssept it!"

"Never." Vowed Kasumi. "If I die, I die. If I die, it will seal your fate. Because you aren't powerful enough to beat my grandfather, whose blood runs in my veins."

"Calm, Kasumi," Kiyoshi reminded her. "Don't tempt her. Although, a transformation dramatic as that could make this infinitely more interesting than what amounts to a fight of two demons and two humans against a demon more powerful than any of the others."

"Do my earsss decssseive me? Two demonsss? I think not." Mizuko spat at them.

"No, it's not," Kiyoshi agreed. "But it amounts to essentially the same thing." He walked a few feet to an ivy that was climbing the wall. Gently, gently, he wound some around his fingers. And suddenly the ivy was growing fast enough that you could see the progress it was making as it moved up the wall.

Mizuko's eyes widened. "What manner of trickery isss thisss?"

As if he had some internal device that warned him that his team was in danger, Koenma had stopped his filing of reports only minutes after Kasumi had demanded to meet Mizuko. He walked back and forth, pacing over the same stretch of floor so much that Botan finally said, "Master Koenma, sir, if you don't quit pacing, we'll need to re-carpet your office floor."

He nodded once but didn't seem to really register what she had said, as he continued to pace.

"Kurama's kind," Kiyoshi responded to Mizuko's inquiry.

"Kurama sssent you?" Her eyes could no longer conceal the hatred that was also evident in her voice.

"No, he didn't send us." Kiyoshi responded evenly, betraying not the slightest hint of fear. "In fact, we have never even met him."

"Then what trickery do you mean?" Mizuko demanded. "And what of the transssformation you ssspoke of, in which the girl'sss death would ensssure my fate?"

"First of all, do you know what a throwback is?" The light of understanding in her eyes was enough of an answer. "The grandfather Kasumi spoke of was a demon with a classification of S; the demon who was none other than Yusuke Urameshi."

"I sssee. But how isss Kurama involved in thisss?"

Kiyoshi's eyes darkened while simultaneously filling with light. This contradictory state was produced by an extreme dislike of what he was about to say combining with a nervous energy and excitement. A hatred combined with a slightly evil enjoyment. "Have you, by any chance, ever heard the phrase copycat demon?"

"Impossssible!" Her voice, little more than a whisper, conveyed her astonishment at being faced by something thought to exist as nothing more than a legend.

"Is it, Mizuko? Is it really? How else would I have achieved what I just did?" Kiyoshi asked, his ever-calm demeanor and strange confidence wearing on Mizuko's nerves.

Her eyes had become crazed. They were awash with fear, paranoia, bloodlust, greed. Hatred. "He'sss here, watching usss, hiding himssself, waiting for me to let my guard down! But I won't! I'll kill you four firssst, then ssseek him out and kill him! For real thisss time, ssso he can't jussst flee in sssoul form! And anyone who'sss with him! Then I'll take your map and sssteal Kurama'sss treasssure for myssself!" She cackled loudly. Then her eyes hardened in frightening determination.

"I wouldn't count on that." Kasumi replied just as loudly. "If you haven't noticed, there are four of us and only one of you."

"Do you really think I don't have ssservantsss who are willing to fight to the death to achieve my goalsss?"

"Not any that can get through any of these doors." Akiko answered. As usual, Akiko and Kiyoshi had used Kasumi's mouthing off to the fullest possible advantage it could provide them with. All the doors were frozen shut with ice that was inches thick. Covering that was an extremely tight latticework of plants.

"Perhapsss not! But now you all are trapped inssside!"

Having said these words, an explosion of sorts happened in the hall. Akiko sent ice flying at Mizuko, who blocked it deftly before transforming into a giant snake with three-inch-long fangs.

"They're still in her palace." Kurama's voice was worried.

"That's good," Yusuke responded.

"No, it's really not."

"Yes, it is. If your plants can still sense them, it means they're still alive, doesn't it?"

Kurama paused before nodding slowly.

"What does it even matter?" Hiei's voice was bored.

"Have you ever done something you wished you hadn't? Or that you could least see how it turned out?" Kurama questioned him.

"No."

"…"

"Just get on with whatever it is you're trying to tell me."

"Well, I just want to find the results of the experiment. And see to what lengths his abilities mirror my own."

"But why do I have to be involved?"

"There are two guys and two girls, I think."

"So? Your point being?"

"One of the guys is my copycat, I believe, because more seeds stuck to him, suggesting an attraction between him and the plants. The only demon is female. Yukina's descendent."

Hiei's eyes narrowed. "And I care why?"

"You don't. But her determination to get to us is exceeded only by my copycat's. I can think of only one reason for that. She wishes to meet you."

Hiei turned and walked away. As he went, he said, "I can't imagine why. Whatever her reason, she'll be disappointed. I don't have any intention of pretending to be something I'm not just to make one of my sister's descendents happy." Kurama and Yusuke shook their heads, unsurprised but slightly exasperated by their friend's behavior.

animegrlsteph: Why can't I kill her?

FCL64: Because you're not part of this story! I already told you that! Akiko, could you possibly freeze her, or something?

Akiko (sounding bored): No.

FCL64 (sarcastically): Thanks for the help! Well, I think I'll say goodbye before this turns ugly! (as she's dragged away by animegrlsteph, who is searching for Mizuko with murder on her mind) Read and review!!!!