Authoress's Note:This is a rewriting of one of my older fan fictions, in my updated style. It is written starting where the last episodes of YuYu Hakusho ended, and even though Kagura from Inuyasha is the villainess in this first book, it's not really a cross-over. I just couldn't seem to think up my own 'bad guys' when I first wrote my fanfictions, but I'm not going to change Kagura's role 'cause I find that she has a certain 'charm'. Yes, there will be pairings in this series. Also, the first couple of chapters, I admit, are a bit shakier than the later ones of the series; I intend to go back and revise those one of these days. And finally, The first few paragraphs of this chapter are slightly tedious; excuse those, I simply wanted to explain what had happened to make things the way they are for the fiction.

Claimer: Chichiro is mine, as well as the storyline and any other original characters.

Disclaimer: Hiei, Kurama, Yusuke, Kuwabara, Koenma, Genkai, and any other YuYu Hakusho characters used are not mine. Kagura isn't either, though she's from Inuyasha.

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Chapter 1—The Task is Introduced, and Meet Chichiro

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With Yusuke's decision of resignation, the break up of the "Ghost fighter" team seemed finalized. Kurama had chosen to lead a human life and leave his past behind him; Hiei had decided to remain in Makai with Mukuro; Kuwabara had chosen to focus all of his attention on schooling and the human world; and the former spirit detective, Yusuke Urameshi, having effectively forced Makai into a peaceful era by giving up his kingship and instigating the Demon World Tournament, had returned to the human world to be with Keiko. All ends were tied and all choices seemed final.

It all began with Kurama.

Restless in his human existence but not willing to entirely involve himself with the world of demons again, he had once more offered his aid to Koenma, taking small jobs first and then agreeing to full-blown missions. Yusuke, though under threat if Keiko's wrath, had followed this example and also taken an odd job here and there to ensure that human world would remain safe from all demonic mischief. Even Kuwabara, so set on disregarding all supernatural happenings that had taken place in his teenage years, had every once in a long while decided to offer his aid to Kurama and Yusuke.

Hiei had been the last to relent.

After the Demon World Tournament's close, Hiei had worked under Mukuro in the patrol for several years. If he were to be asked how many, he could probably tell you, but it would be doubtful that he'd care to—ten would be a fair estimate. A few years after he began her service, Koenma offered him a position on the Spirit Detective team once again, despite the fact that Yusuke was no longer Spirit Detective. He declined. But when Koenma asked again five or so years afterward, after Hiei had begun to become bored with Mukuro's jobs for him, he agreed.

He worked for two years for Koenma, taking four missions alongside Kurama, sometimes working alone (Which he preferred, but he never really had a say in it.).

Yusuke, Kuwabara, and the others were in a separate 'group' of spirit detectives, and they rarely worked together. Yusuke and Kuwabara had been admittedly slow to get used to a normal human life, thus their transition back into offering occasional help had not been rough. Kurama, on the other hand, had never really planned on leaving the life behind entirely as Yusuke and Kuwabara had been attempting to. True, he didn't plan on ever again becoming Yoko, but that did not mean he was ready to be human.

At the end of his fourth solo assignment, which was stopping an amateur demon who was attempting to take advantage of the lack of the Kekkei and was simple to stop, Hiei was immediately given another.

…But first, he had to wake up Kurama. Which proved to be more difficult than it would have seemed.

The redhead was snoring. Quite annoyingly, in fact. "Get up, Kurama," was all the merciless demon growled, and waited for the opportunity when Kurama's emerald eyes cracked open the slightest bit to hit him quite hard on the side of his face, knowing from experience that if he simply told the fox to get up, it would prove a wasted effort.

Kurama cursed as soon as Hiei's fist made contact, and sat up quickly, just as the fire demon had intended. "What was that for?"

"Hn."

The kitsune muttered Hiei's name as though it were a profanity and pulled himself out of the bed. "Why did you wake me?" he asked, pulling a baggy white button-up shirt onto his arms, and putting the circular four-holed buttons through the slits on the opposite side of his shirt, then tugging on a pair of jeans.

"Koenma has another job for us."

Kurama raised a single red eyebrow as he slipped a sock on. "And you had to hit me instead of just telling me?"

"You take too long," the black-haired youkai replied simply.

Kurama sighed and brushed his hair quickly, before following Hiei through the portal that was open in plain sight in middle of his room.

"About time!" Koenma growled when they arrived. He was in his child-form, which was becoming rarer and rarer. He usually saved it for when he was angry and couldn't hold his teenage form very well, which made it very hard to take him seriously.

"Apologies. Hiei didn't wake me."

The black-haired youkai glared at Kurama. "Well, I did, actually. Just not at a convenient time for the toddler-prince."

Koenma glared daggers at Hiei as Kurama muttered, "No, you hit me. It was your fist that woke me."

"I don't care," Koenma seethed. The two demons in front of him gave challenges to one another with their eyes a single last time before they turned to the prince of the Spirit World.

"As you know," he began, "a demoness has been wreaking havoc across Reikai, as well as Makai. It has been said in the rumors around our world that she's soon going to be spreading to the living world."

Hiei shrugged when Koenma paused and said nothing more. He resisted the urge to deny that this was his world, as the prince had inferred, and said bluntly, "And?"

"Are you asking us to stop her?" Kurama asked, his eyes showing that he was flattered for such a large job. "I would have thought you'd leave something like that to Yusuke."

"He's already on a mission," Koenma responded, "and it's bigger than this." He shook his head as if to bring himself back to the current topic. "But that's not important right now. Yes, I do want you to stop her. But you'll have a partner…one of my newer spirit detectives. She was a thief and an assassin for a few hundred years like Hiei was, so I have confidence in her abilities."

As soon as the word 'partner' passed through Koenma's lips, Hiei seemed offended beyond listening, so he shut his ears until the prince stopped talking. "Are you inferring that we need help?"

"No," Koenma replied in a bored tone, "I'm saying you need it."

Hiei curled his lip at the toddler, and Kurama would've considered betting on Hiei killing the prince, but the youkai did no such thing.

"…Hn."

"Very well," Kurama said, "but how do you suppose we go about this?"

"First off, you have to meet Chichiro," Koenma responded immediately, as if knowing Kurama's question ahead of time. "And she doesn't know what the mission is yet, so I'll leave it to you to explain it. However, how you 'go about this' is that you will enter in the demoness's tournament."

"What does she expect from this tournament?" Kurama asked, wondering why a strong demoness like her would bother making a tournament when she could beat most likely any opponent who entered. "What is she offering the winners?"

"If there are winners," Koenma told them both, inferring fights to the death, which was to be expected. It was common in demon world tournaments for the last few winners to kill each other or receive fatal wounds before they could even claim their prizes. "Her 'motivation' is that she wants to prove she can beat any demon in spirit world. And the 'prize' is the same for the contestants—the chance to battle and possibly win against her. No one knows her name, but I'm betting on Kagura."

"The wind demoness?" Kurama murmured. She had disappeared many years ago, but her skills were legendary.

"Yes. I believe she's come out from hiding."

"Hn."

"Good to know you're still alive, Hiei," Koenma muttered mildly, shaking his head.

The youkai 'hn'ed again, and walked back through the portal. Koenma growled and muttered something incoherent, and Kurama turned back to him. "So, you said we're to meet Chichiro tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"Here?"

"Well, here if she remembers."

Kurama perked a brow at the comment.

"She's almost like a slightly more serious version of Botan. So she might take a while to get here, or she could go to your house…" He trailed off before he could begin listing off other ideas, and when he shuddered, Kurama assumed he was still considering Chichiro's other possible mess-ups.

"What time should we come?"

"As early as you can. I wouldn't worry about being late, but don't make it in the afternoon or after."

Kurama grinned lightly and shook his head. "I'll be sure to tell Hiei that." As he walked toward the portal, he heard Koenma start talking to Botan on his large TV screen that somehow knew everything, about Chichiro. "She's an airhead sometimes, Botan—just be sure to remind her."

Kurama grinned, near-dreading. He wasn't sure if he was ready to work with another airhead, after he'd finally escaped the previous team save for visits.

--

"About time!"

Two hours after Kurama and Hiei arrived at Koenma's office, a third demon came through the portal from Kurama's house, earning the same greeting from the prince that the other two had received the previous day.

"Well, excuse me, Lord Koenma," snarled a sarcastic female voice. 'Lord Koenma' was said without any authenticity. "Since you didn't tell me where to find one of your handy portals, I had to track down my partners' house, and use their portal." 'partners'' was spoken with a venom that hinted that she didn't fancy the idea any more than Hiei.

Kurama turned around to examine the tall female demon that met his eyes. She had raven hair that went to her waist, blue fox ears poking through said hair, two blue fox tails, and a red bandanna across her forehead that was tied behind her head; the long strings in the back were nearly the length of her hair. She bore black zigzag demon marks beneath her eyes (Which were green and had cat-slit pupils.), on the outside, near the edge of her face, and she wore a red tube top, and a tight, halfway-to-her-knees black skirt with a red sash belt. She had tall black mesh thigh-stockings that were covered knee-down by large black boots, and her hands were encased in black gloves that went to just past her elbows, which had holes in the tips of her fingers so her long black claws could come through.

Her voice didn't sound and she didn't look at all air-headed, and she was actually quite attractive.

Hiei gave her a brief once-over, unimpressed and no doubt plotting early the snide comments, hints and insults he could make from the way she dressed.

"You're supposed to be able to find or open your own portal," Koenma snapped.

She shrugged. "Oops," she muttered with painfully-apparent and intended fake innocence.

Koenma glared at her for a short while, before turning to Kurama. "This is Chichiro. And unfortunately, her attitude is the same, if not worse, than Hiei's."

"Hn," came a low mutter from the demoness next to the portal. "Hiei," she mumbled slowly, quoting the name Koenma had used. She walked over to the small demon she'd just named, bending down slightly with a quizzical look. "Are you Hiei or Kurama?"

A 'hn' that matched hers was his response, and she shrugged.

"Fair enough."

"He's Hiei," Kurama told her, walking over and offering his hand. "And I'm Kurama."

Chichiro smiled at him, revealing pearly teeth and sharp demon fangs as she took his hand and gave it a strong shake. "Good to meet you."

Kurama smiled back at her, and Hiei rolled his eyes, walking back out the portal again without waiting for either of them.

Chichiro didn't seem to mind. "So…you're supposed to explain this whole thing to me. And…where are we going to talk?"

Before Kurama could reply, Koenma growled, "Not here," impatiently as he began to dig through a large pile of papers on his desk.

Chichiro took Kurama's left wrist and tugged him through the portal without even responding to the prince of the Spirit world.

At the other side of the gateway between the worlds, Chichiro studied Kurama's room further. She hadn't been given time, and had apparently been curious. "So," she began, turning to Kurama and entirely ignoring Hiei, who was sitting on the window sill ignoring her as well, if only a bit more coldly, "how exactly did you manage this nifty portal in your room? It's pretty spiffy."

"'Nifty'? 'Spiffy'?" Hiei mocked. "Well, I can see you're the mature one of the bunch with those large words."

"Yeah, and I can see you're the most defective, at least in the category of growth, of the group, seeing as how you reach my knees," Chichiro replied without even looking at him.

Hiei twitched, and Kurama sighed. "Koenma arranged it," he told Chichiro. "I wish I could summon portals, but I can't, at least not well enough to hold it until we came back."

"Mmm." Chichiro blinked at the various awards hung in his room. "Like to brag, much?" Chichiro commented, not insulting at all, just seeming to think he was narcissistic.

Kurama waved his arms quickly. "No, no, I didn't put those there. My mother did."

Chichiro glanced at him, sitting on his bed. As she spoke, there was a guarded look in her eyes. "'Mother'?"

"Yes. My human mother." As he explained, Hiei went out the window and on to the roof, probably to torture small birds or squirrels. He'd heard the story enough times. But Kurama didn't go into depth about it, and Chichiro didn't ask anything further.

"So, um," Chichiro began again, breaking the seconds-long silence, "when are we going to look for the demoness?"

"Well," Kurama started to reply, and then a voice from the tree explained in a harsher way.

"We don't look for her, you fool, we just simply—"

"I think it's clear that you're the fool, already insulting me before knowing me," Chichiro snapped back, with more force than she'd had yet. She turned to Kurama and smiled, as if Hiei had never spoken. Speaking of, the demon was glaring steely at Chichiro, no doubt plotting some slow and painful death. "As you were saying?"

Kurama, frankly, was amazed that Hiei hadn't attacked Chichiro yet. But he continued to explain anyway. "We have to enter her demon tournament," he told her, "and defeat the teams there to get to battle her. And you can obviously assume from there."

"Hn." Chichiro flopped down onto the mattress backward, her torso on it, but past her knees her legs were hanging over the bed. "So, then, when do we leave for the tournament?"

Kurama shrugged. "Koenma will tell us. He seemed a bit stressed out today."

"You think?" Chichiro replied sarcastically. Kurama watched her for a moment, as she crossed one leg over the other and flipped her foot up and down in a bored fashion. She doesn't seem like an 'air-head' to me, Kurama noted again, and then, after feeling Hiei's criticizing eyes on the back of his head, looked away from Chichiro.

"What city are we in anyway?" Chichiro asked.

I spoke too soon, Kurama mused with a mildly-amused smile, before saying, "You found your way here and you don't know?"

Chichiro glared at him as if he were the most incompetent creature alive. "What, do you think I stopped and asked a human for directions?" Her voice changed drastically, and she said in a mocking, higher-pitched, matter-of-fact voice, "'So, yeah, I'm a demoness and I kind of need to find my way to the spirit world; can you tell me where the nearest portal is?'" Flatly, she continued, "Oh, yeah, I'm sure that would go over well."

Kurama chuckled. "That's true. We're in Tokyo."

"How cliché," Chichiro groaned, closing her eyes and switching her legs around, so her other leg was on top. "Demons in Tokyo fighting to protect the living world. Sounds like an anime."

"You know about anime?" Kurama commented, surprised. He hadn't taken her as a demoness who would live in or know much of the human world.

"Only because one of my other spirit detective friends is obsessed with it."

"Ah." Kurama had noted the random increase in spirit detective numbers lately, and supposed Koenma was getting as paranoid as his father as he got older.

Chichiro blinked over at the portal. "Um…why is that still open?"

"Good question," Kurama answered, looking at it as well.

As if it realized it was being talked about, the portal closed.

Chichiro smirked. "Let me guess…the midget prince is watching us from his handy stalker screen?"

Kurama ginned, but didn't answer. He could tell already that he was going to like her a lot.

Hiei, on the other hand, wasn't attempting to start conversation, and it seemed that he was no longer even trying to ignore them—it came natural.

As the room went quiet for an excess of thirty seconds, Chichiro growled and sat up. "You got any food around here?"

Hiei, finally listening to the conversation, commented as well, branching off of Chichiro's question. "You still have sweet snow?"

"Yes, and of course," Kurama replied, looking at each demon in turn as he answered their questions. Barely after the word 'course' had passed through Kurama's lips, the demon outside his room was gone. "Hope he used the front door, in case mother's home," Kurama muttered.

Chichiro didn't hear or didn't care about the last comment, as she said, "'Sweet snow'?"

"Ice cream." And then, after a blank stare from the demoness, "Here, I'll show you."

Downstairs, Kurama handed Chichiro a bowl of chocolate ice cream.

She studied it a moment and poked it with her spoon. "What's it made out of?"

Kurama shrugged. "Frozen cream, sugar, and the like."

"Hn." Chichiro sniffed it, then took a bite. She stopped chewing near immediately, and swallowed it, staring at Kurama. For a moment Kurama was seriously considering running, from the look she gave him, and then her eyes randomly acquired a strange, sparkly gleam and a grin brightened her face. "This is…SO WONDERFUL!"

Kurama grinned as well, though he thought, Well, damn. Hope she doesn't like it as much as Hiei…it costs enough money to get him sweet snow every day. I don't need to go off and buy Chichiro a supply as well.

Interrupting his thoughts, Chichiro stuck the bowl out in front of her, empty, the spoon still in her mouth and held loosely at the end by two fingers. "…More?" she asked innocently, looking at Kurama with unblinking eyes.

Kurama sweat-dropped. Yes, this was definitely going to cost more.