Prologue: Sealed Fates
Koenma knows that none of his Detectives will forgive him and in all honesty, he doesn't want them to. What he had done was so vile and rotten that he should be sentenced to Limbo for the rest of eternity. He only wished that it hadn't had to come to what had forced him to more then likely damn the souls of his Detectives. It is with a heavy heart that he sends Botan out to fetch them and bring them to him. They were never going to forgive him. 'You all will never know how sorry I am to do this to you,' he thinks. He would never find another group with their talents but he would have no choice.
The Spirit Detectives now consisted of not only Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, and Kurama but also Itsuki, and Mitari. The latter two had joined after the Sensui incident in order to atone. The original four had slowly but surely warmed up to them and soon all six were very close to each other. Kuwabara and Mitari had both been made immortal a few months after in gratitude for protecting all that was held dear.
They lived in the same small house at the edge of town so as to try and keep some privacy for their training and as a way to stay away from people who might consider them "weird". It was here that Botan finds them. She has no idea why Koenma needs to see them or the reason as to the feeling that Koenma is deeply upset with himself. "I hate to pop in uninvited," she says from the doorway, "but Lord Koenma needs to see you all."
"All of us?" Yusuke asks slightly perturbed. Usually he called them in groups of three or two…never all of them at once. This was strange.
"Yes, ALL of you," she answers. Sighing, the dark haired youth heads outside to collect his friends. Kuwabara and Mitari were sparring, Itsuki is sitting under a tree meditating, and Kurama and Hiei are engaged in a staring contest. Neither had moved in almost two hours.
"I hate to interrupt you guys but Koenma needs to see us all," Yusuke calls to them. That breaks Hiei's concentration and he blinks.
"What?" he asks irritably at his loss to the smug redhead. Kurama is grinning.
"I said that Koenma needed to see us," Yusuke answers. Reluctantly, Kuwabara and Mitari end the match on a tie and head over. Itsuki silently gets up and walks over with no complaint although the Yaminade had a habit of not talking much at all. He preferred to be left alone and none of the Spirit Detectives were cruel enough to provoke Itsuki as the death of Shinobu Sensui still lays heavily on his mind. Three years has not dulled the pain any and the aqua haired psychic is still haunted by it.
The six head to the Spirit World courtesy of Botan and are brought to Koenma's office. Upon entering, they realize that something is deathly wrong, as Koenma doesn't look grave or panicked. He looks rather miserable. "What, are you going into withdrawal from not having your pacifier?" Yusuke teases. Koenma looks only more depressed at that.
"Firstly, I want to thank all of you for the work you have done in protecting all three worlds. It wasn't an easy road for any of you and I am sorry you had to go through all that pain," Koenma says.
"You sound like we're resigning from being detectives," Yusuke remarks looking at him, "None of us are going anywhere, Koenma, you don't have to get all emotional. We know that this job is hard but we want to do it."
"Yusuke, listen to me. I need you to understand. I never wanted to have to do this…but there was no other choice. None of you could handle the enormous task so soon after your last battle. I had to take drastic measures. I am truly sorry about this, all of you," Koenma tells them.
"Why are you saying these things. You sound as if we are going away and never coming back," Kurama asks.
"You are going out my jurisdiction, Kurama, all of you are. I wanted to let you know that the sacrifices all of you made to protect every one else will always be remembered by every generation from now until the end of time," the prince answers.
Needless to say, the six Spirit Detectives are getting rather worried now. They have never heard Koenma speak like this to them. He sounded like he was going to burst into tears at any second. "Why are we going to be out of your jurisdiction?" Mitari asks.
"Because I had to enlist the help of a few people to take care of a
catastrophe that should never have been begun. Now all that remains is…paying them for their services," Koenma responds.
"What does paying them back have to do with us?" Kurama inquires not liking where this is going at all.
"Maybe it would be a little clearer if I were to tell you the names of those I recruited to help. The list includes all four members of team Toguro, Sensui, and Hagiri," the prince reveals. A shocked silence comes over the six before him and he knows that they are having trouble coming to terms with the news. "I will be completely honest with you. In return for their help, I am letting them have the six of you serve them in whatever way they wish save killing you. You will never know how sorry I am about this."
"You WHAT?" Six voices chorus in stunned horror.
"I had no choice. I needed their aid. This was no an easy decision on my part. I don't want to have to look for new detectives, and I most certainly don't want you having to face a group of demons who can be rather inventive in their methods of torturing enemies," Koenma answers, "Again, I am sorry. Please, do yourselves a favor and deny them nothing…no matter what it is they want. Farewell."
Before any of the six can react, a shockwave sends them all unconscious. Koenma looks at his unconscious group of detectives. "Farewell…all of you. I am so sorry." He looks down at Yusuke's unconscious form sadly. It would be hardest to part with the fiery-spirited teen. Koenma had actually fallen for the hard-edged youth the first day he came into his office. "Fare well, Yusuke. We will meet again soon," he whispers placing a soft kiss on the black haired youth's forehead.