Sorry for the wait, lots going on and writer's block. The two combined are gonna kill me. You know who I own, and on with the chapter. Sorry it's kind of short.

Thanks to animegrlsteph for her review.

Kuramasredrose: no, he's not been reincarnated as anyone. just similarities of personality.

Bhel-Elryss: Glad you enjoyed the chapter so much. Hope you enjoy this one too!

kusowatashiainingen: glad you have enjoyed reading my story. I worked hard to 'write it intelligently' as you put it, and I'm glad you noticed. :)

I wrote this chapter last night and I just reread it and don't remember writing half of it so... proof that I don't actually write these stories? I think so.

Kurama blinked once. "All I know is that Koenma definitely didn't plan this."

"Uhhh," Chu moaned and collapsed.

"Mah word," Jin said in mock surprised as Toya snorted. "Ah am of the opinion that it'd be best if we'd be goin'."

Link walked over to Chu and nudged his head with a foot. "Wow! Yusuke sure gets to him! We felt your aura and he started drinking harder than he has in a long time. Actually, I don't think I've ever seen him drink that hard. And that's saying something, considering. He's so drunk he passed out. That's never happened before!" Link laughed.

There was a chorus of goodbyes, Shishiwakamaru glaring at either Yusuke or Genkai the entire time. Then they walked away. Well, most of them walked; Jin sort of floated and Chu was dragged behind.

Genkai then turned to the remaining people and said to Yusuke, Kurama, and Hiei, "You all finally learned something then? I never thought I'd see the day. Let's go collect Kasumi and Kiyoshi, then visit Yukina, shall we?"

"Repeat that."

"We arrived at Genkai's temple, and a spirit beast—most likely Urameshi's—flew out, carrying Genkai, and forced a portal to open between the human world and the demon plane. It closed before we could follow."

"Repeat that."

"I just did…"

Koenma was flabbergasted. It was one thing for an S-class demon to force his way through the force field, or to trick his way past it. An underworld beast doing so on his own… that, on the other hand, was unheard of. "Then again," he muttered to himself, "since when has Yusuke ever done anything by-the-book?"

"What, sir?"

"Oh, nothing…"

"Excuse me?" Hiei asked.

"We're visiting Yukina." Genkai repeated. "Keep in mind that of the three of you, Hiei, you are the only one who still has the option of visiting your family."

Yusuke looked down at the ground, saddened by her words. Kurama nodded in agreement. Hiei glared a second longer before realizing that, at this point, he really didn't have a choice. The demons on either side of him were going to drag him to see Yukina if it became necessary. "Fine." He muttered.

They walked over the hill and found Kiyoshi and Kasumi not kissing as they had expected. Of course they should have known that with Kasumi, nothing would be normal. They were arm wrestling. Kasumi was winning. But you had to give it to Kiyoshi that he was putting up a good fight. After all, Kasumi was unnaturally muscular for a girl, and she was wrestling with her dominant arm. He wasn't.

They heard what was going on and immediately decided to go with Genkai and the others. But before they left Takeshi was struck by a sudden thought. "Wait. Five of us are guys. Will we even be allowed on their floating castle or whatever it is?"

"Like they could stop us," Yusuke muttered.

"And technically, Hiei is one of them. He even has the ice to prove it," Kurama added, waiting for someone other than himself and Kiyoshi to realize the obvious. Akiko just shook her head in disbelief.

"Takeshi," Genkai said gently, "We have an escort from one of the leaders of the Ice Maiden Defense Force. We'll have no problem getting in."

"Who—oh."

Arriving at the glacial island, they received a lot of stares. And the phrase 'a lot' means a multitude, a huge amount, every eye turned toward them. But they hadn't really expected anything different. After all, how often did these women see one male, much less five? And on top of that they were accompanied by an underworld beast. Conspicuous much?

Three women in particular stared at them. The Doyenne had singled out two of them. Hiei and Akiko. The child had survived. Not only survived, he had thrived. And her, the little traitor, bringing men to their secret home, the one place they had been guaranteed security. Another was the Maiden in charge of all the defense forces, their general if you will, second in command only to the Doyenne. She had picked Akiko for her position because the girl had strength, and was not afraid to make decisions. It now seemed she had taken that too far. The last was an Ice Maiden by the name of Rui. Hiei recognized her immediately, but did not voice or give any other sign of that recognition.

A different emotion covered the face of each of them.

For the Doyenne it was anger. How dare he return here. And how dare she lead them. He had no business being here; he did not belong and never would. And the girl had endangered them all by bringing him there.

For the general it was a deep-rooted sense of frustration and disappointment. The girl had shown so much promise. But after this she would necessarily be stripped of her title. The ability to make decisions was an important skill most of the women in the glacial country lacked, but this nineteen year old had taken it too far. The frustration was mingled with disappointment because she truly felt that one bad decision should not make or break a career. But a decision of this magnitude…

For Rui, it was fear. And sadness. She ran forward and fell at Hiei's feet. "My atonement," she whispered. He raised his eyebrows.

"I came back long ago. I just watched from the shadows and no one felt my presence. I lost all lust for revenge on that visit. Get up, Rui. It is not your fault." She looked up at him and a jewel fell to the ground. "She's content. I won't disturb her final rest by killing her best friend." He offered her a hand and pulled her up from the ground.

The Doyenne's jaw dropped. In all her long, long life, this she had never seen, nor expected. Akiko stepped forth. "Doyenne, where is my grandmother? The sooner we see her, the sooner we can leave."

"In her chambers…" her voice was slightly dazed.

"Yukina?"

The woman turned and saw him standing in the door. She jumped up and flew to him. They embraced and she stepped back. "A hundred and fifty years is a long time, Hiei."

"It wasn't just me. It took all three of us that long to… see the light."

"Are Yusuke and Kurama here too?"

"And Genkai. And Koenma's new team."

She hugged him again.

A few days later…

"Well you guys," Genkai said, "I think we should go. I do believe some of you didn't notify your parents where you were going roughly four and a half months ago. And most people don't have parents as complacent as Yusuke did."

"Ain't that the truth," Takeshi muttered. "I survived all this just so I can be killed and buried within three seconds of walking through my front door."

Everything that happened in the human world really isn't all that significant in the grand scheme of things. But here's what happened…

Takeshi walked inside. His mother saw him, cried for five minutes, then grounded him for life. He promptly walked out. It's not like he wasn't grounded when he disappeared for training the first time. Listening to his mother was not his strong suit.

Kasumi walked inside to find her mother not home. She waited a while, and when her mother showed up the only response she got was, "Spirit world stuff? That's what I thought. Glad you're safe. Let me know next time you're going to leave." Kasumi turned to Kiyoshi and said, "Well, that was easy."

Kiyoshi walked into his house. Kasumi accompanied him. His father was apparently unconcerned that his teenage son had been missing for more than four months, his only response being, "What the hell is that—this—what's going on Kiyoshi?!" Kiyoshi went on to explain everything—everything—only to finish and have his dad say, "What the hell are you talking about? Maybe I should have said who. Do you know how it looks for you to disappear for four months then show up back home with a girl? Not good, Kiyoshi!"

"Thanks for your concern, Dad. I think I can handle it," Kiyoshi replied weakly. His dad could care less that he had just been in a fight for his life, and that he now had a poisonous purple plant growing out of his arm. No, none of that was a problem. Not a problem at all. But him showing up with Kasumi. He supposed he shouldn't have suspected anything different.

Yusuke, Kurama, and Hiei spent a few days putting together a portal. To Reikai. They stepped through it to be met by a very shocked Koenma and Botan. "But… wait… no," was all Koenma could get out. Botan didn't even try to speak.

"We finally realized that spending all our time running from you was a waste of our lives. We could be doing something much more productive," Kurama explained.

Genkai snorted, "In other words, Takeshi forced them to see that what they were doing was stupid. It had nothing to do with what they actually would have done on their own. But you've got new teachers for your students. Maybe ones who aren't as level-headed as me—Kurama being the exception—but ones who understand their pupils' abilities better."

"Wait… what?"

Hiei rolled his eyes. "Yusuke and Kurama decided to work for you again. I have nothing better to do with my time. We can also teach these four."

"Oh…" Then something seemed to register with Koenma. "But Genkai, do you mean…?"

"Koenma, I was ready to leave the human world a hundred and fifty years ago. I have served my purpose. I don't need to extend my stay any longer."

He nodded. "Okay. I understand."

A bittersweet moment, but all for the best.