Hello again!

I know, I know, I'm bad, posting 2 in one day :O

I just couldn't resist! Enjoy!

(Updated: 11/13/13)

Chapter 3: Let the Training Begin.

"I CAN'T HIT A GIRL!" Kuwabara screamed as he, Yusuke, Kurama and Kirazuki walked out into the clearing far into the heavily wooded forest. Hiei was no where to be seen, although Kurama had a sneaking suspicion he was watching from afar; his injured pride wouldn't allow him to be there presently.

Kira glared at him, flickering to his side in an instant and giving him a swift kick to his head, "Then you will die also." She threatened ominously as he fell to the side.

"Kuwabara has an Honor Code," Kurama chuckled to himself as he watched the interaction.

It was their first day of training with Kira, and she had promised to go easy for the first 2 days. She had selected Kuwabara to be her first sparring partner, who had heatedly refused to train with her. Kurama had to admit, although he had known this Kira a very short time, after watching the videotape involving the mission he couldn't help but feel connected to this.. Creature was not the correct word to him; this being, primarily due to her crossing with a demonic animal spirit, although his fox-like curiosity still wondered what kind. It was obviously a canine, given Hiei's dig of 'putrid dog stench', but he wanted to know exactly what she was.

Kuwabara scrambled to his feet, sending a stiff glare towards Kira, "I won't die!" He proclaimed.

Yusuke laughed, shaking his head, "Just fight her, Kuwabara, show her what you've got!"

Kuwabara glared at him, crossing his arms firmly and looking away, "I can't hit a girl, Urameshi.." He was sure stubborn, Kira could admire that, she was equally so.

She smirked, "Fine, you can just sit there and watch," She said slyly, walking into the middle of the field, "Who's first?" She taunted. Part of her wanted to finally remove the damn collar around her neck, but she figured it would be better to leave that for a dramatic surprise.

"I'll be the guinea pig," Yusuke volunteered, unbuttoning his green jacket and dropping it to the side.

Kira nodded; she had to admit, she was excited to see what the Spirit Detective was actually made of, given his infantile age and attitude, "3….2….1."

Yusuke immediately struck a defensive position, only to notice, Kira was gone.. "Where the hell did she go!?" He mentally reached out, trying to sense her spirit energy around him. He could sense none. He began to sweat, searching the field with his eyes but remaining on guard.

"You're dead."

Yusuke's eyes widened, a chill running down his neck as he spun around to face Kira, standing peacefully behind him with a small smile upon her face.

"Number one. We are fast. Tatsumi is the quickest of the two." Kira seemingly disappeared again, he drew up his hand at once, preparing his spirit gun out in front of him.

Yusuke recoiled, "How am I supposed to fight someone I can't even see!?" He yelled desperately, spinning now in an attempt to locate her. He suddenly felt a nail drag across the side of his neck.

"Number two, Tobikuma's nails are as sharp as knives. Don't let him touch you."

Yusuke swung around to face her, releasing his spirit gun; but she was already gone as he watched it crash into a tree. He gritted his teeth in anger. "How is this even a fight!?" Yusuke was clearly frustrated, his spirit energy began to lash out around him; he must have been a fighter that relied on his emotion.

Kira appeared again where she had started near the middle of the field, "That's the point!" She snapped, a feral growl escaping her, "As you stand now, they will kill you before you even know they are there!"

Kuwabara winced from the sideline, casting a sideways glance towards Kurama, "Could you see her?" He asked nervously.

Kurama closed his eyes with a gentle shake of his head, "Only glimpses when she changed her direction.."

Kira reached towards her neck, unfastening the collared device; almost instantaneously, a large surge of spirit energy seemed to explode from her small body, the ground around her immediate location freezing over. Her pointed human-like ears sinking back into her skull as one-by-one her wolven ears sprouted back to life, her canines extending painfully from her mouth and her fine tail re-protruding itself from behind her. "Finally!" She called out, gently massaging her ears and wiggling her tail as if to stretch it out; she was unable to contain her excitement, this was her.

Yusuke took a stumbling step back with widened chocolate eyes, he could definitely sense her now. Kuwabara's face held an identical expression: she would be something he would refer to as a 'really big bad feely'; the Saint Beasts had nothing on these things.

'A wolf.' Kurama thought to himself, noting that with the appearance of her demonic features came many scars across her entire milky body, one particularly large one he could see directly under her rib cage that extended up underneath her white cropped shirt; as she was barefoot he could also see two more jagged scars that traveled around the entirety of her ankles, obviously restraint marks of some kind. He wondered to himself exactly what kind of 'nurturing' they had received in the Reikai to carry so many scars. "Yusuke," He spoke suddenly, calling in the Spirit Detectives attention, "Would you mind if I took over?" His tone was calm and Yusuke nodded in response, casting a cautious side-ways glance towards Kira as he exited the clearing. Kurama sensed Hiei was close now, likely feeling the sudden massive burst of energy, his curiosity must be getting the best of his pride; he walked slowly into the field, removing a single rose from his hair before whipping it, extending out into his signature Rose Whip.

"How come it doesn't have thorns?" Kuwabara questioned from the sideline, having seen Kurama's rose whip before, he knew this wasn't its normal appearance.

"This is simply training, I do not wish to inflict actual damage."

"3...2...1."

And they were both gone. Although the Spirit Detective and Kuwabara could sense their general locations, they could only hear the slicing of Kurama's whip through the air.

"She's playing with him."

Kuwabara screamed in a childish panic at the sudden appearance of Hiei at his side, falling clumsily into Yusuke who tipped like a row of dominos, "When did you get here?!"

Hiei could see them perfectly. Whenever Kurama whipped in her direction she'd change course, almost as if she could sense when he finally locked onto her. She was getting closer, slowly but surely she was closing in on her target. She wasn't attacking yet, simply trying to get inside his attacks. What kind of sick creations did the Reikai concoct in those labs? He was disgusted, not only with Koenma and the entire Reikai, but with these...things.

She was finally there, spinning down towards the ground facing away from Kurama, she delivered a hard kick to his chest. He started to fly backwards, but not before wrapping his Rose Whip around her tail, dragging her back helplessly with him. She winced as she felt the vertebrae in her tail crack, the ache spider webbing up into her spine. Some days it was more of a nuisance than anything to have a tail. As he crashed loudly into a large tree on the outskirts of the field, his whip unraveled around her tail; but instead of fleeing in the opposite direction, she propelled herself into him, shoving him back into the tree once again, snaking her hands onto his sides and releasing a small burst of spirit energy, encasing the lower portion of his body in glistening ice to the tree.

"That was good," Kira said quietly through slightly winded breaths, not bothering to move back, as she would have to unfreeze him shortly anyway.

"I apologize for the tail, I know how considerably sensitive they are," He joked in return with a smile; he was remarkably impressed with these beings.

"Why doesn't binkybreath just send a bunch of you to get those other guys!?" Yusuke shouted out in anger.

"Fear," Kira answered without hesitation as she released another small burst from her palms, shattering the ice around Kurama, "They are afraid. They've never unleashed their animals before," She twitched her tail again, she could tell at least one of the vertebrae had been separated. She knew this would throw off her balance slightly.

"How nice of you to join us, Hiei," Kurama regarded him kindly, trailing back towards the group as he retracted his whip once again.

"Care for a friendly spar?" Kira smirked, her hand began to glow with spirit energy before what appeared to be a sword made of pure ice produced itself from her palm, wrapped tightly around her hand just above her thumb, as though it were an extension of herself. She had been itching to fight him since the 'putrid dog stench' comment just last night.

Hiei closed his crimson eyes, reaching up to unfasten his cloak, a smug smirk filtering onto his face. He watched her play with the others, and now he knew exactly how she fought. He would not be caught off guard, or underestimate her a second time, "I would be more than happy to put you in your place, mutt."