Shippo was watching Kagome floating over the tip of the sword that had been set up for her training – rather than a spike, like Genkai had demonstrateed on – when he heard the sound of Koenma's voice in the next room.
"Hiei's going to disappear for a while it looks like," Shippo said. "Another mission."
"Well, my family had to worry about me going through the well for a couple of years, this is just the same, only he's better prepared for whatever it is than I was then," Kagome answered, focusing her energy into a small point to keep her away from the sharp edge of the sword.
Shippo sighed. "Yeah, I guess so."
"This one is going to be personal for him Shippo," Kagome said softly, closing her eyes sadly. "I can almost feel the anger in him."
"I guess I'm going shopping for ice cream then, huh?"
Kagome chuckled. "Might be a good idea. He'll be back soon enough, but I'll bet he won't be happy."
"Just what this shrine needed, a foul-tempered fire-demon," Shippo groused.
Kagome laughed, and would have messed up Shippo's hair if she wasn't so worried about keeping her precarious balance over the blade.
It wasn't long after Hiei left – only a few hours – that Kurama arrived at the shrine.
"Please, has Hiei come back? Koenma asked him to deliver something to Yusuke, but -"
"Sorry Kurama, Hiei isn't here. I'm not expecting him to come back until whatever this is has been settled to his satisfaction either," Kagome answered, not wavering from her place on the sword tip.
"What's the case this time anyway Kurama?" Shippo asked, shifting so that Kurama could sit on the couch beside him and talk to Kagome.
"Hiei's sister, Yukina, has been abducted. The concern is that if he gets to her captors before Yusuke, he'll kill everyone. They may be criminals, but it has been strictly forbidden for demons to kill humans in Human World since the barrier went up. Koenma doesn't want to have to punish Hiei, but if he causes anyone to lose their heads, then he's going to have to," Kurama explained.
"Then I suggest you get to wherever he's gone and keep an eye on him," Kagome said. "He needs an outlet for all that anger though. I suggest you just be glad he set up his chosen sword for my training, so he's only got his fists and bad temper to fight with."
Kurama sighed and stood. "Thank you Kagome, that is some relief. I'll see you soon."
"Yeah, yeah. Go on, get out of here, before your pretty face distracts me so much that I fall off."
~oOo~
"Your sister safe?" Kagome asked when Hiei walked in through the door.
Hiei halted. "How did you know about that?"
"Kurama was very worried the other day, wanting to know if you had come back after delivering the mission tape to Yusuke. The idea of you having to be arrested for killing humans, however much they deserved it, was something he found very upsetting," Kagome answered with a gentle laugh. "So, is your sister safe now?"
"Hn, yes Miko, she's safe."
"Ya know, one of these days you're actually going to call me by my name Hiei."
"Doubtful. What are you up to in your training?"
"Like my shoes?"
Hiei blinked, wondering what that question had to do with anything, when he looked down to see that the shoes in question were actually metal cages with fires burning inside them, and Kagome's feet strapped to the tops.
"I can't just sit on a bonfire for a week, so this is a compromise until I have that kind of time," Kagome explained. "Shippo was just about to leave for Genkai's, to borrow a few snakes for me to sleep with."
"You are both dedicated and insane," Hiei said, his red gaze fixed on Kagome's face. He looked back down to her footwear. "They look ridiculous. I'm building a bonfire."
Kagome groaned, but went to call Shippo and tell him not to bother going for the snakes just yet.
"Hiei's building the fire," she said. "I'm not sleeping with snakes if I'm sitting on a bonfire, I don't think they'd like it much."
"Hiei's back dear?" Mrs Higurashi asked. "I'll do your shrine duties while you're on the fire, but perhaps you could do it where the visitors will see you? Then you will have visitors to explain to about the training you're doing. It might make it more bearable and less boring for you."
Kagome smiled. "Yeah, thanks Ma," she said, and left to help Hiei build the fire out front, rather than out back where he had intended it. "You can still practice with your sword if I'm not in the way back there," she pointed out.
Kagome was just about to take her place on the burning pile – under Shippo's supervision of course – when two figures appeared at the top of the shrine steps. One was human, the other however was considerably less so. A demon of almost intimidating stature and musculature. Their clean pressed suits and black sunglasses weren't exactly friendly either.
"Excuse us, but we are looking for the one called Hiei," the woman said.
"For what business?" Kagome asked, even as Shippo went inside to fetch him.
"Nothing to do with you, little shrine maiden," she said blithely, with a dangerously pleasant smile on her red painted lips.
Kagome frowned, holding back a growl at being talked down to like that, but Shippo reappeared with Hiei at that moment, so she only huffed and climbed into the fire, a barrier around herself so that she didn't get burned.
"What do you want?" Hiei demanded.
"Your presence has been requested as a special guest at this year's Dark Martial Arts Tournament," the woman answered, almost politely. "Attendance is not optional."
"Special guest at the Dark Tournament?" Hiei asked, his burning red eyes narrowed in suspicion at the two figures. "Who else are you 'inviting' to this event?"
"The Spirit Detective Yusuke Urameshi is required to attend, as is his friend Kazuma Kuwabara, and your ally Kurama," the woman answered. "A fifth person has been invited, but is not required to attend. You and your fellow team mates are free to find another fifth if you like."
"You have two months," the demon stated with a growl.
Hiei took off, intent on seeing Kurama, and finding out just who was delivering the Detective's 'invitation'.
Toguro, the one who had made his sister cry.
"As you know the teams are made of five. You'll have to recruit another fighter. For your sakes, I hope you find someone useful," the man said as he walked away, pulling on his greet coat.
"What is our chance?"
"Don't ask," Hiei answered the red head, turning to walk away.
"Hiei, does Kagome know about this?"
"She was sitting right there when I was delivered my 'invitation'," Hiei growled.
"Perhaps," Kurama paused, "perhaps we could ask her to join us in this fight."
"You want to take a miko to face all those demons?" Hiei demanded with a sneer.
"Kagome, unlike you or I, is free to turn it down," Kurama pointed out.
"Have you thought of what her son will do to you for asking her?"
Kurama was silent. "I will only ask."
"She will say yes, you know she will, and then you will have to deal with Shippo. The oaf Kuwabara will need training."
"Come and get me when you can't stand him any more."
~oOo~
"Trouble in paradise?" a female voice sneered as Kagome was sweeping up the ashes after her week-long bonfire-sit. "Shuichi is too good for you. Rolling in dirt all the time."
Kagome looked up. The girl had short, blonde hair and bright blue eyes. At least one foreign parent, or a foreigner herself most likely.
"Well, when sitting in the middle of a bonfire a person will get a little dirty," Kagome allowed politely. "But how may I help you miss?"
"I am Yuki Hatsumoto, and I am destined to be Shuichi's wife," the blonde, Yuki, stated haughtily. "So you had better back off or else!"
"Or else what?" Kagome asked, trying not to laugh. Yuki was wearing stylish, form-fitting clothing, and her face was made up so well that she looked like she belonged in the movies, but her attitude was so ridiculously possessive over someone she clearly didn't know very well. "You'll call me names behind my back?"
Yuki was getting red in the face and marched up to Kagome, drawing her hand back in readiness to slap the dark-haired and soot-covered miko. The perfectly manicured hand came quickly, but Kagome caught it calmly.
"Child," Kagome said kindly, almost pityingly as she held the pretty little wrist captive. "I am not interested in what you think your destiny is, and frankly I doubt that Shuichi is either. I will pray for you at the Tree of Ages, Yuki Hatsumoto, that you will some day know what love is. This obsession you have for Shuichi is not it. I bid you good day."
Kagome released the girl's hand and turned her back on her, returning to her task of sweeping up the ashes. She was going to spar with Hiei later. He had come to her saying he could no longer stand 'the oaf' and wanted to get in some training before the tournament, while Kurama was going to make sure Kuwabara wasn't immediately killed. Kagome, already approached by Kurama to be a member of the team, agreed readily. Hiei had actually been sitting in the bonfire with her since he got back.
"You witch!" Yuki yelled. "What spell have you put on Shuichi to make him suddenly fall in love with you?"
Kagome looked over her shoulder lazily. "There are no such spells," she answered. "Not that work. I do exorcisms and sometimes chant protections. Now if you will excuse me?"
"No! I'm prettier than you! How could Shuichi possibly want you when he could have me?"
"It's very simple really," Kurama said, walking up the steps with the unconscious form of Kuwabara over his shoulders. "Kagome has the most beautiful and pure soul I have ever had the pleasure to encounter. Physical appearance has nothing to do with our relationship."
"If Shuichi had white hair and grew a tail, I'd still feel the same way about him as I do now," Kagome said, accepting the injured boy from her 'boyfriend'.
The blonde ran, eyes streaming tears, from the shrine.
"Is he improving?" she asked, sending a healing through the unconscious carrot-top.
"Yes, but he still needs much work," Kurama answered. "How is your own training going?"
"I was just about to spar with Hiei and Shippo. Would you care to join us while Kazuma recovers?"
Kurama smiled and nodded.
Kagome placed weights on her wrists and ankles before stepping out into the back garden which had become the training yard for the demons in the family, Kurama not far behind. Two hours into some very serious pounding – all three of the demons were fighting Kagome at once – Souta called out to them.
"Hey Sis! The ugly guy is waking up!"
"Souta that isn't nice!" Kagome answered with a yell of her own. "Give him something to eat and drink then send him out here when he's steady on his feet!"
"Got it!"
It didn't take five minutes before Souta was escorting the tall youth out to the back of the house.
"Hey! What are you guys doing beating up on a girl?" Kuwabara demanded. "That goes against my honour code! I'm gonna have to beat all of you guys up just so I don't feel sick form watching this!"
"Shut it oaf," Hiei said. "We are doing this because she asked us to."
"Can't get stronger if I don't work for it," Kagome said with a slight puff, dodging a bit of Shippo's fox fire.
"But beating up girls, it's just wrong," Kuwabara insisted.
"You will find that not everyone shares your sense of chivalry," Kurama said with a frown.
"Least of all other girls!" Kagome added. "Real nasty fighters, some of them. A manicure is just a long and pretty word for sharpening claws."
"I still don't like it."
"Then fight Shippo," Souta suggested. "He and Sis have a hard time fighting each other anyway cause they're so close."
"You mean, he's like, her boyfriend?" Kuwabara asked the boy.
"No, he's her son. Kurama's her boyfriend. Duh!" Souta answered going back inside to play his video games. This was serious training, and while he thought it was cool that his older sister could do that kind of stuff, he'd rather stick with soccer.
"What?" Kuwabara demanded loudly. "Son? Kurama?"
"Don't dwell on it Oaf," Hiei advised.
Shippo jumped away from fighting with Kagome and went up to Kuwabara, looking him up and down. "Oh yeah, we've got a lot of work to do," the fox demon said, dramatically despairing at the task he had just been given before a grin spread over his face.
~oOo~
"It's about time this tournament day arrived."
"Now we can kill all we want without those pesky hunters coming after us."
"And imagine our powers once we've gotten that prize."
"We're the ones who are going to get the power! Go home if you don't want to die!"
"Obviously you haven't seen us fight yet!"
"I think I smell a human over there!"
"Maybe he's come here to be our dinner."
Kurama, Hiei and Kuwabara stood together at the edge of the mass of demons who were all itching to take place in the Dark Tournament.
"Ugly bunch, aren't they?" Kagome asked, stepping out of the darkness to stand with them, once again wearing the emerald green clothing that Kurama had given to her from his collection of stolen garments from the mainland when they had met five centuries previously.
"Why Kagome, I'd thought you had lost that. I'm glad to see you still get use from it, though it might get a bit torn up in the tournament to come," Kurama said, smiling at the girl.
"Of course I still have it! It's my favourite outfit. I even made a few more just like it myself when I got the time," Kagome answered with a bright smile.
"Urameshi still hasn't shown up yet. What could that dummy be doing now?" Kuwabara demanded, determinedly ignoring that there was a girl on the team. He didn't like the idea of a girl fighting, even if she had proven to him just how strong she was.
"Why don't you worry about yourself Kuwabara? I saw barely any improvement in you from our fight two months ago," Hiei stated.
"Shut it shorty. I improved and you know it!"
"The ship is 'ere mateys, so lets try and get on board without any violence," said a bearded man with a peg leg and eye patch, as well as a hook where one of his hands should be and a pipe hanging from the corner of his mouth.
"Cliché much?" Kagome muttered, sparking a small chuckle from Kurama.
"Hey wait a minute sir, our team still has some stragglers!" Kuwabara said.
"Then we'll put a mark on their heads and send out a hit-man, standard rule o' the Tournament," the captain growled.
"Now now, that's not necessary!" a voice – male, and unfamiliar to Kagome – called out, drawing attention from everybody. "Sorry to keep you waiting guys."
"You nearly gave me a heart attack Urameshi!" Kuwabara yelled.
"So that's what he looks like when he hasn't been beaten to within an inch of his life," Kagome said with a chuckle. "Young punk."
"These forest hikes really wipe me out!" Yusuke added, smiling stupidly as he leant against a tree for support, dragging his bag behind him.
There was another figure behind the boy as well, shorter than even Hiei and with their face wrapped up in a mask.
"Yeah, you look awful, oh wait, that's just you!"
"Yusuke," Hiei said, and that was all the warning he gave before he launched an attack.
Kagome bit her lip to keep from laughing as she watched, a hand on Kurama's shoulder to stop her from wrapping it around her stomach.
"Gosh they're fast, I can barely keep up with my eyes!" Kuwabara said quietly.
Yusuke grabbed the tip of Hiei's sword between his fingers, a few inches away from his neck, stopping the fight.
"Damn Hiei, is this how you say 'hello' to people now?" the Spirit Detective asked.
"Hn," Hiei answered, smirking. "I don't know where you've been all this time, but it seems you've improved your skills a little bit."
"Improved a little bit?" Kuwabara asked, still somewhat stunned. "Oh man, I'd say he improved a lot o' bits!"
"Don't be discouraged, that you were able to keep up with their movements means that you have improved as well," Kurama told the large teen gently.
Kagome moved to the small person who had arrived with Yusuke, and pressing palm to fist, bowed deeply. "Greetings Master," she said quietly. "I am pleased to see you well."
The brown eye that peeked out from the wrapped up head seemed to smile.
"Mind explaining who she is?" Yusuke asked, jabbing a thumb at Kagome.
"That is Kagome Higurashi," Hiei answered. "We had no way of knowing if you would find a fifth fighter or not, so we recruited one ourselves."
"Oh, sorry about that."
"The guy is even shorter than Hiei!" Kuwabara yelled, staring at the masked fighter.
"Well, having a substitute fighter in the team is allowable," Kurama said diplomatically. "We are all required to participate, so we'll leave it to you who will be our fifth and who will be the substitute."
"Enough jabberin'!" the captain yelled. "Just get on the boat!"
Kagome held back from getting on board, along side the masked fighter. She recognised the aura instantly, but she felt it best to sort out the situation quickly.
"Master, would you have me fight and simply continue the training of your other student?" Kagome asked quietly. "Or will you take place by him in the ring?"
The small figure pushed Kagome forward gently, towards the boat, letting her go a few steps.
"Very well Master," Kagome said quietly, getting the message.
The masked fighter followed her up the gangplank.
"So, sorted?" Yusuke asked.
"I will be your fifth," Kagome said. "And it's nice to meet you, by the way," she said, holding her hand out to the boy.
"Oh yeah, we haven't been properly introduced yet. I'm Yusuke Urameshi."
"Kagome Higurashi," she answered, smiling brightly. Blinking, she leant in sharply, examining his features and aura. "Well, whaddya know? You're one full of surprises," she said with a chuckle, straightening back and giving Yusuke his personal space once again.
"Kagome?" Kurama asked, confused.
She just shook her head. "Oh no, that's a doosey of a surprise, and I'm saving it up all for myself until it's ready to pop," she answered.
~oOo~