The lights flashed on and off , reflecting a hundred different colors in her eyes. The air pulsated with the throbbing heart beat of relentless bass, and all around the girl, a sea of wild, sweat drenched hair flailed and flied as the mob pulsated and swirled in convulsive ecstasy. Filled with the party's energy, she found herself joining in the tantric dance. To any untrained eye, she would seem to fit right in. A bit short standing under 5'4', the young woman was strikingly beautiful with shoulder length choppy midnight black hair interspersed with electric blue highlights. Most would describe her icy pale blue eyes as other-worldly, and those people would be far closer to the truth than they would ever suspect. Her name was Avari Midou, and although she had lived much of her life as the last of the Midou ninja clan, that was the beginning of the most important chapter of her story.

As enthralled as she seemed within the dance, her icy eyes continually scanned the club with the intensity of a predator, seeming to glow eerily whenever the flashing strobes took their pauses, leaving the area drenched in smoky darkness. She was looking for a clue that would help her fulfill her mission, though she didn't seem to be having much luck.

Hours passed, and the mass of people began to thin out. Finally, lights began to dim and die, and the music slowed to a faint hum. A garbled voice announced that the club was closing, but she felt like she had just been wasting her time. Pacing deliberately off the wooden floor of the dance space and toward the bar stool where she had thrown her leather jacket several hours earlier, she brushed her damp hair back from her face. Avari's black heeled boots made a faint clicking noise as they connected with the tile of the bar room space- a noise the previous din from the numerous speakers mounted on every available wall and ceiling space had drowned out completely. She stopped in her tracks as a distinctly foul and ill-intentioned aura penetrated Avari's awareness.

'Your coat'

She looked up, icy eyes contracting almost painfully at the bright white bar light that haloed the darkened source of the masculine voice...the source of the aura. The man looked at Avari with a perverse glint in his eye, and his gaze made her quite uncomfortable. She mumbled a thank-you, took her coat, and turned to leave.

'Wanna go get some coffee or something?' His voice oozed with fake charm in a grotesque attempt at hiding any ulterior motives.

Avari merely rolled your eyes, halfway wishing he were demonic instead of pathetically immoral.At least demons have some excuse for being wretched. She thought to herself, turning away. Reaching for the door, she didn't even justify the man with a response- he didn't deserve the courtesy of a reply.

The door shut behind her and she sighed as she stepped into the cold outdoor air. 'Time to head home, I guess' She told herself, beginning the trek back home. Avari moved quickly down the paved streets, totally immersed in her own contemplations. She was thinking about how far she was from accomplishing her objectives and how her night seemed to be almost a complete waste. That wasn't getting her any closer to her goal, either.

The young woman was so wrapped up in her ponderings that she arrived at the apartment building before she knew it. She quickly punched in the security code and opened the door to feel a rush of warm air burst from the vent above the threshold.She quietly made your way up the old creaky stairs to her room on the third floor. Finally at the door, she fumbled for a moment with her key chain, struggling to find 'the round one' to this particular door. Somewhat tired from her night but still persistent, she swore under breath noting the fact that they all looked fairly round. But, all she could do was patiently try them over and over again until she finally found the right one.

She inserted key after key into the door, irritation growing with every failed attempt. Frustrated, she shoved a square headed key into the slot, and was surprised to feel it slide into place and unlock as she turned it in the small slot. Making an unintelligible hissing noise, Avari remembered that it was her old apartment that required the round key. The door opened with a faint creak.

Observing the apartment she noted the sad fact that it was as it had always been- dark and empty. 'Spacious' would be the most optimistic tag for it. Under a window on the wall opposite the door was a futon. Since she slept there most nights, a black blanket was folded neatly over one of the arms. To her left was the refrigerator/microwave/ coffee maker ensemble which made up her less than satisfactory kitchen, and to her right was a desk with a TV and a computer. A small bathroom was behind a door at the far corner. Though it wasn't exactly a dream home it was what Avari called home.

The girl kicked off her shoes and hung her jacket on the door as she made her way towards the futon.

'You're in rather late tonight. Anything interesting happen?' A voice cooed from the direction of her television.

She looked over at a pair of purple slit eyes glowing above the screen of the television set. 'Not really. I didn't find what I was looking for if that's what you mean...'

'Meet anyone nice?'

'I didnt move here to meet people, Vasq...'

'Kill anyone, then?'

She shot the eyes a nasty look. 'No. I'd be in a bit better mood if I had, though.'

'Aren't we bloodthirsty tonight...'

'No. Just freaking bored, and a bit irritated. I feel like I'm losing ground...getting rusty.' Avari sighed and ran a hand through her hair. 'Like no matter how fast I run to catch up, I just keep getting farther away...'

'I think you have a pretty good lead this time, you should be back on track soon.'

'...I really hope so' Plopping down on the futon a small creature glided gracefully down from Avari's television. With the silent proficiency of any creature of flight, it landed next to her- a reptilian creature the size of a small cat with teal skin, delicate bat like wings and a long swishing tail. The young woman reached over and petted it gently on the head.

Vasq looked up at her gently. 'You better get some sleep if you're going to be any good tomorrow.'

She looked down at the delicate creature, the traces of a smirk evident on her face. 'I'm a big girl now. I can take care of myself.'

'I know that...I just don't want you taking unnecessary risks...you have a lot at stake.' He reminded her gently, warning in his tone.

'Heh. You worry too much, Vasq.' Yawning, she reached for her blanket.

The little dragon scowled. 'And you dont worry hardly enough, Avi'

'Pft.' With that she grabbed her blanket, rolled over, and fell fast asleep. As Vasq curled up peacefully in the crook of her knees, dreams of the Midou clan and how she needed to avenge them haunted her dreams, giving her a less than peaceful rest.

Avari woke up late that morning and rushed to get ready. Even with Vasq's help, she barely had time to drink her ritual morning cup of coffee and make it out the door with any time left. With a small goodbye to her little friend, she headed for school at full speed, desperately not wanting to be late the first day.

She smiled triumphantly as she saw the gates to the school building appear at the crest of the hill. Haha! Made it. She thought smugly to herself. Suddenly Avari found herself plummeting face first towards the ground, a godly amount of weight bearing down on your back. What the?! Why am I falling? Flashed through her mind as the ground met her body.

'Oh my God, I'm SO sorry!'

Avari twisted her body around and looked up to see a girl about her age looking down at her with dismay. After a taking a moment to gather herself she focused in with a slight effort on this girl's aura. Surprised, Avari blinked several times, unable to fully believe her senses...all around this girl there was nothing but goodwill and kindness. Still fighting the confusion she looked up at her for a moment as though she had two heads.

'Are you okay?' I really wasn't looking where I was going...' She held out her hand to help up the girl she had just knocked down. 'My name's Keiko.'

Don't see an aura like that everyday… Avari mused, accepting the girl's hand.

Avari paused for a moment, still taking in the situation. 'I'm Avari...' She muttered, finally composed and on her feet, releasing Keiko's hand.

'You must be new, huh?'

She nodded, wondering if it was that obvious. 'Is it that obvious?' So of course, she just had to ask.

'No..but...ah!' She stopped mid-sentence as she glanced, horrified, at her watch. 'We're going to be late!' She grabbed Avari's hand and they both resumed running into the building. She turned to her, 'do you know what class you're in?'

'Um...C'

Keiko smiled brightly. 'Good! Me too! Follow me!'

All Avari could do was follow her, still a bit confused. She seemed like a nice enough person. Perhaps we could be friends… Pondering this as they ran, she then remembered what she had told Vasq the night before. No, I didn't come here to make friends. She reminded herself, but perhaps if she just managed to pick a few up along the way…that couldn't be so bad, could it?

After sprinting down a few more hallways and turning sharply into a brightly lit room filled with students, Avari took her seat in the classroom and a few moments later, school began. About fifteen minutes into the professor's lesson, a young black haired man burst into the room. Her eyes widened. His aura was immense, far beyond the limits of what normal humans should be capable of...far beyond the limits of many demons as well...but there was no trace of evil in it...no youki of any sort either...

She eyed him curiously as the teacher chewed him out. Avari picked up the fact that his name was Urameshi...Yusuke. Well, well, now things were getting interesting. It seemed that moving there was the right choice after all. Vasq had been right about her lead, apparently.

After the Yusuke kid had taken his seat, class resumed, and Avari sunk into her thoughts. A strong youki suddenly burst through her thoughts and she turned her head sharply to the side, glancing out the window to a small figure cloaked in shadow crouching on the branch of the tree. Although she normally had some difficulty getting solid readings on most demons, she was certain that the source was malevolent. It seemed to look right at her with eyes glowing a furious crimson.

Avari was immediately taken slightly aback...she was normally quite proficient at suppressing her spirit energy...how could it have singled her out? Curious, she stared back at the demon, and as suddenly it had appeared, it vanished.

Although a little unnerved, she felt that finally she might be at the right place at the right time. The rest class passed quickly, her mind occupied and...

TADA! End of chapter 1.

So uh, who is she? What's her motive? What's her goal? Heck, what's going on? Well, you'll find out a bit more next time. So tune in. And you know what you want to do? Gimme feedback! Which is totally almost as exciting as what'll happen next time.