The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees, thunder crackling
in the distance while lightning tore a ribbon of blue in the sky. The moon
brilliant yellow galleon tossed upon the cloudy sea of night. Below the
seething storm in the sky, lay a house. A small cabin perched atop a grassy
knoll, it emitted a sense of coziness in the raging storm. A soft light
was coming through it's small window. And if one would look through the
window, in the house was a woman, and in the woman's lap was a small demon
child.
"Tell me another story!" she squealed excitedly, bouncing up and down on
her mother's knee.
Laughing, the woman tossed back her long wave of golden hair, her light
brown eyes twinkling. "I've already told you three, Mina," she chided
gently, grasping her daughter's shoulders. Mina, her daughter, stuck out
her lower lip, which began to quiver as her hazel eyes shinned with tears.
"But I guess I can tell another one."
Mina pealed with laughter, clapping her hands together happily, her former
disposition forgotten. "Oh boy! I wanna hear the one big monster, and the
giant tree, and where there was all this neat stuff, and then there was
this kitty, and then with the boy who jumped up and EXPLODED when he was—"
"All right," the mother said, cutting off her daughter's flow of words,
catching her hands which were making violent gestures. "How about the
Samurai story?"
"No...that's a bad one. It was way too sad..."
"What about Urashima Taro?"
"Oh boy!" Mina said gleefully, rubbing her hands together. "That's my
absolute favoritist story ever! It was so cool when he opened that box and
then he became—"
"Hush," her mother said, putting a finger to her lips. "I'm telling a
story."
Mina froze instantly, her wide green eyes focused intently on her mother.
Her mother smiled, and took a deep breath. She looked down at her daughter,
who seemed to have forgotten everything except her. "Now, once upon a
time—"
The door to the small cabin banged open suddenly, and a tall figure stood
silhouetted in the door-frame. "Jiro?" her mother gasped as the form strode
into the house, leaving a small trail of water as rain dripped from his
clothes.
"We must leave, Lana," he said flatly, grabbing a sack and throwing open a
drawer.
"But...why are you back so early?" Lana asked, dropping Mina down on the
floor and rising from her chair. "I didn't expect you back to well after
tomorrow!"
Jiro grabbed his wife's arm, and swung her around to look her squarely in
the eye. "We must leave," he whispered urgently. "It isn't safe here,
everyone else has fled! We can't stay."
"Is it...?"
"Yes," Mina's father said, turning back around to stuff some clothes into
the sack. "He's come back."
"Put on your shoes Mina," Lana said, moving around the small cabin to grab
some food from a cabinet.
"But mama," Mina said, fear in her eyes.
"Put on your shoes!" she fairly screamed.
Mina's lower lip trembled, and tears began to pour desperately down her
cheeks. Jiro through the sack over his shoulder's, and grabbed Mina. "It's
okay, cherry blossom," her said, gently whipping away her tears.
"Everything will be all right."
Just then, a scream sounded in the distance.
"Move faster Lana!"
A laugh, a horrible low-pitched laugh followed, tearing through the dark
night. Mina started sobbing then, burying her face into her father's neck.
She saw her father grab her mother's hand, pulling her roughly through the
door. "There isn't time," he growled as she grabbed her shawl. Another
scream pealed in the distance, another laugh, then a shout. Her father
began running then, pulling her mother along as she stumbled through the
darkness, Mina wailing loudly. The laugh sounded again, this time closer
than the last. Just then, her father came to an abrupt stop, her mother
screamed.
"Well, It seems I have missed some," a voice snarled lowly, the laughed
again;, that terrible, evil laugh.
Mina looked out, and in the lighting flashes saw a tall form; a fox- demon
clothed in a white, his equally white hair flowing like a brazen flag in
the wind. His golden eyes shimmered with hate, his tail twitching angrily.
"I despise cowards," he said, his low voice resonating through the forest
and dripping distaste. Mina screamed. Her father took a step backward,
grasping Mina's hand. He turned around, and stuffed Mina into her mother's
arms. "Take her," he yelled loudly, pushing her away.
"But Jiro!" Lana said, her voice shaky.
"Go!" Lana turned and ran, stumbling over tree roots, sobs escaping from
her and her daughter as they made their way through the dense forest. Then
they heard his scream. It was low, filled with agony and pain. Lana stopped
suddenly, frozen as tears ran freely down her cheeks.
"Oh, no," she said, clutching Lana close to her and burying her face in her
daughter's hair. "No!" she wailed. They heard leaves crunch behind them,
and Lana turned, sobs racking her body. Mina saw through her tears the same
horrible demon, blood dripping from his claws.
"Your husband I assume," he began slowly, "was very valiant about his
death. Saying to kill me and spare your lives. Naturally, I would think it
foolish to do so, not with both of you running away."
Lana fell to the floor, holding Mina so close to her it was suffocating.
She bent her head over her daughter and said in despair, "Kill me."
"Most willing," the demon pulling out a long sword. "So noble of you to
realize that there really is no way you can survive. Though I admit, it
does take out some of the fun."
Mina pulled on her mother's hair tightly, and Lana said, "It is all right,
dear one. We shall die with honor, just as your father did."
"What was that?" the demon asked, in the process of swinging the sword up
in a long arc.
"We shall die with honor, Youko!"
Youko growled fiercely, his eyes shining with bloodlust. He swung down
violently, and in a long ribbon of blood, Mina's mother died. She screamed
loudly, sobbing harshly as she felt her mother's grip grow lax as she fell
gently to the floor. "And now I do think it is your turn," Yoko said, his
sword sodden with blood as he raised it again. Mina screamed shrilly,
curling herself into a ball. She felt the sword swing down, hitting her
back harshly. It felt as if a horse had kicked her, as if every bone in her
body was being ripped apart. She yelled in pain, stumbling to her feet,
tears springing in her eyes. She wavered, her vision starting to blur.
"I shall spare you." Youko whispered into her ear as her eyes rolled over
in her head. "It is not in my liking to kill children."
* * *
Beneath the waterfall I was meditating under, my eyes snapped open. Beads of sweat had popped out on my forehead, and there were marks on my knees from where I had grasped them so tightly. Groaning, I pushed a hand through my long wet blonde hair, and stood up. Bent under the pressure of the falling water, I moved quickly behind the waterfall and into the cave. Lighting my one candle, I placed it on the ground next to the battered bits of fruit and herbs that was my forgotten lunch. That dream had been becoming more and more frequent since I had left my home, and I don't know what bothered me more: the fact that I still had that dream, or the fact that I still stressed over it. The pain was still there. It was a dull, lifeless ache, becoming like a sharp dagger between my shoulder blades at times. The wound was a mark of my past, reminding me of what had happened that faithful day when the wind howled more fiercely than a lone wolf. Every time it pained me, I was reminded of my dear mother and father, who had died trying to save me. When I had woken up from my unconsciousness after I felt Youko's sword, I found the sun was shining and the sky sparkled brighter than any gem. The Gods were mocking me. I had stumbled around until I found a small clearing, where I promptly threw myself onto a rock and began sobbing all over again. My family was dead, and with it, my hope had gone too. After I had cried my tears, there was only anger left. Anger for Youko. Over and over again I asked myself how one could be so heartless, so unforgiving, until my own heart hardened and I began living my life for revenge. I had trained in secret for nigh a century, forcing my body to a new extend of pain that I had never dreamed of. I became a master of wind, learning all the secret techniques and making up some of my own, all the tricks, my specialty in the dark ones. I could manipulate the darkness for my will, and I often did. I had spent many of those years searching for the demon, bloodlust on my mind as I traveled all over Spirit World. My search had proved futile, discovering that not long ago, Youko disappeared. Many say he was killed, but I, I believed he was alive. Rampaging and killing some other place. And, it wasn't long before I learned from one demon that he had hid himself in a human form. I did not give up my search, though for the last fifteen years I admit my search was pretty much useless. Then, I heard he was participating in the dark tournament, on the same team with some human scum. He called himself Kurama then; his name was whispered among the lower demons in fear, and other more accomplished demons proclaimed him with a sense of hate. Subsequently, a few days ago, my luck changed. I met up with one particular demon. He was a revolting blue ogre, an oblong horn pointing out of his head, wearing a tasteless and hideous loincloth. After some...persuasion, he was more than happy to tell me where Youko-Kurama was. Did I find it odd that he was now working for the ruler Koenma? Quite frankly, I wouldn't have cared if he was now working for McDonalds. And, I have to admit, it didn't really cross my mind. I had set out immediately toward where I was told I could reach him, and was now nearing it. Smiling softly to myself, I grabbed my cloak and tossed it over my shoulders, snuffing out my candle. I picked up my meager pack and bow and arrows, I stepped gingerly out of the cave and made for the road. It was time to get my revenge against this Youko-Kurama. And, when I found him, I would kill him.
* * *
"Hey Urameshi, you got anything to eat?" Kuwabara asked as he lazily scratched his armpit. He was sprawled randomly on Yuske's fading couch, watching WWF smack down with some degree of relish.
"You're so full of crap, Kuwabara," Yuseke said as he kicked one of the empty cans of beer his mother had left on the floor. "I've only told you about three million times the only thing in my refrigerator is mold."
"Listen punk," Kuwabara snarled angrily, sitting up on the couch. "I could have on the floor in three seconds flat! I eat shrimps like you for breakfast!"
"Whoa now," Yuseke said, backing up sarcastically and put up his hands in mock-defeat. "I think someone's been wachin' a little too much fake wrestling."
"It's not fake!"
"Yeah, like they'd really show that much violence on TV. They barely even let Keiko say butt on the school radio station."
Kuwabara flushed. "You're just jealous that I can fight like Goldberg and you can't!"
"Psssh," Yuseke snorted, shifting his weight casually to one hip. "I can fight better than you and Goldberg."
"Oh yeah?" "Yeah." "I can take you with one hand!" "And I can take you with no hands!"
"Taking you down, Urameshi!"
"Bring it, bitch!"
And with a furious growl, Kuwabara launched himself at Yuseke with a flying tackle. Sadly for him and Goldberg, Yuseke tidily grabbed his arm and flung him down on the floor. "Not so tough now, huh?" Yuseke said with a smirk, eyeing the mangled Kuwabara on the floor. Kuwabara moaned, turning around on his side and clutching his shoulder. Immediately, Yuseke squatted on the floor next to him, touching his arm. "Hey now, I didn't throw you that hard.." Kuwabara moaned again. Yuseke sat back on his knees thoughtfully. "Come to think of it, I do remember seeing a mystery meat with green fuzz all over it in the back of the refrigerator. How bout I whip up some manly hamburgers?" When all Kuwabara did was curl himself up into a ball and clutch his wounded shoulder tighter, Yuseke began to get worried. "Look man, I didn't mean to hurt you, I just—"
A stray giggle escaped from Kuwabara.
"Why you...!" Yuseke said, playfully swiping at his friend, who ducked it and began laughing hysterically.
"Psyche!" he said, giggling furiously.
"Well aren't you just funny today!" Yuseke said, huffily crossing his arms over his chest. "I shouldn't have even felt sorry for you! I should of know you were just being a baby again!"
Kuwabara's giggling stopped as abruptly as if someone had cut it off. "What was that?"
"You're just a big, dumb, baby!"
"Oh yeah?" Kuwabara shot back, rolling over onto his stomach. "We'll see how baby this is!" he yelled, grabbing one of Yuseke's bare feet and tossing him over his shoulder, where Yuseke landed with a grunt.
"Not bad," he said, getting up to his feet. "See if the baby can handle this!" he cried, body slamming Kuwabara. Suffice it to say, for the next hour or so, the two boys got together quite happily, try beat up one another and tossing insults back and forth. And that was where Botan found them, rolling around on the floor like five-year-olds. Here we go again, she thought, rolling her eyes in annoyance.
"Hey, boys!" she yelled, whacking Yuseke upside the head with her paddle.
"Hey Botan," Yuseke said, quickly getting up and brushing of the dirt from his pants where he and Kuwabara had rolled around on the floor. "What's up?" he asked trying to act casual.
Botan let out a stray giggle before she quickly controlled it. "Here's the latest on the scoop," she said, handing Yuseke a blank video.
"Aww, shit," Yuseke moaned, grabbing the video and wishing he hadn't have taken the stupid job as Spirit Detective in the first place. "No doubt diaper breath is gonna try and pull me into another one of these stupid missions."
"Ooh, goody!" Kuwabara said happily, quickly jumping to his feet and snatching the videotape. "I hope this will be fun! Let's go over to my house, and we can watch it! Huh, can we Botan, pleeeaase?"
"Well," Botan smiled, "It seem silly to have a tape and not watch it, doesn't it?"
"Oh boy!" Kuwabara said, clapping his hands together excitedly.
"Oh boy..." Yuseke said, slapping his forehead.
Kuwabara's Room:
"Not that I don't like movies," Yuseke warned, watching as Kuwabara excitedly pushed the videotape into his VCR. "But you seem a little too happy about this."
"Shhh, Urameshi, it's starting!"
"Yes, Yuseke," Botan said with mock-seriousness. "The movie's starting."
Yuseke rolled his eyes grumpily. The TV suddenly crackled to life with a tasteful fade-in. Sitting behind his brightly painted desk and stacks of paper flanking him on either side was none-other than the Prince of Reikai himself. "Hello, hello Yuseke," he said, his pacifier wobbling. "I know you're so excited about you're next case, so let's get on with it. As of late, a lot of hoopla has been going on down here in the Spirit World. And it all seems to be the work of one demon." The picture switched then, turning to see a tall, willowy demon, with long flowing blonde hair and shimmering golden eyes. She was leaning back in a chair, her hands folded under her chin, and raping out orders to a big beefy demon standing in from of her desk.
"She's pretty..." Kuwabara said, causing Yuseke and Botan to roll their eyes.
"She may look pretty," Koenma commented in a voice-over, "but she's all bad news. Her name's Lana. She first showed up on the scene about 100 years ago. One of our associates found her pretty beat up and close to death. He took her into his home and healed her. He said she was quiet most of the time, and would often stand atop a tall hill and look into the distance for hours. Of course, when she fully recovered, she snapped. Apparently, she saw her daughter and husband get killed by a demon., and was pretty torn up about it. She almost killed the man who saved her, and after that has pretty much turned into a nutcase. She's never really caused any trouble until now. And, unfortunately, she's been causing a lot of it. She's been stealing wind demons now for about the past year, and hiding them away with her. It seems she's gathering together under the pretext of a special tournament, grander than all the other ones in the past. She then steals their powers to help her become stronger."
"How terrible!" Botan cried as the screen switched again to pan across a prison cell that was lined with moaning demons, their bones sticking out from malnutrition and all of them bleeding in various places.
"And that's not the half of it. In Spirit World, there's a legend we have here. It concerns an book. A king of Reikai, way before my time, killed his wife out of jealousy of one of his advisors. He found her with him or something. Anyway, later missed her a lot. Out of his grief, he sold his soul to try and get her back. As payment, he received a book. Calling the book the Book of the Winds. This book contains spells that essentially use wind to call back people from the dead. She came back alive though, but she wasn't very pretty. She came back with these cool powers over just about everything, and was needless to say really pissed off. She could manipulate just about every thing imaginable and used these powers to kill and rampage. She basically ran the show for a while. The defeated her, but only after the king's son killed her, and bonded her to the Book of Winds. He hid the book in the crosshairs of the North and South winds, and only the people who control those winds may claim it."
"And this has to do with my case how...." Yuseke mutter grumpily.
"And this has to do with your case because Lana is trying to get the book and revive her. To get the book, you must use a tremendous amount of wind energy to call it to you. The It isn't called the Book of Winds for nothing. The thing is, if she gets the book, she plans to not only use it to call back the dead queen, but to also use her to help her take over Spirit World. She's going to threaten me until she gets what she wants. What she wants, however, is going to be kind of hard to come by. "The demon who killed her daughter and husband was Youko, and she won't rest until he's good and dead, too. Not that Kurama can't take care of himself, he just might want to be careful. And, though she might not see it, if she revives her Yuseke, the lost queen will kill everyone and everything in your world and mine. It is impossible to completely control this apparition of the past, and no doubt she'll run rampant across Not to mention my dad's gonna raise hell, too. Which is almost as bad."
"Damn," Yuseke said flatly.
"Lucky enough for everyone," Koenma said, "She needs the claimer of the South wind to call it. And lucky for us, we know exactly who she is." The screen switched again, this time revealing another demon, more beautiful than the last one. She was standing on the bough of some tree, her hand braced against the trunk of it. The wind whipped her long blonde braid around her, and the sun made it sparkle with highlights. Her wide green eyes were looking out into the distance, and she had a sad and dark expression on her lovely features. She had a bow straddled on her shoulder, and a quiver of arrows slung across her back.
"She's really pretty," Kuwabara commented.
"Her name's Mina. And, until this whole thing is over, she's going to be the most important person in your life. This is serious, Yuseke. All life is riding on her, and Lana must not get her. Mina is the key to this whole puzzle. She has the power to call the book, and she alone. So, it's going to be you guy's job to make sure Lana doesn't get her. Got it? She's going to be your best friend until you get rid of Lana.
"Now, how to get rid of Lana. I've gotten readings that she's hiding out in your world, up in some mountain out not far from here. Your job Yuseke, is to reach her, and get rid of her. You must kill her Yuseke, no matter what. This isn't going to be easy, either, so don't think you can blow it off like you do everything else. This may be one of your most important missions ever.
"Kurama and Hiei are getting Mina, and I told them they were to meet up with you guys later on. Botan has all the information to get you and Kuwabara there, so Botan, don't screw up either. Good luck, and have fun!" Koenma snickered then, and the screen went blank.
After the tape stopped, there was an awkward silence. It was Botan who jumped up first and said with gusto, "That's right, boys! You heard the man! Time to go and save the world! Let's move!"
Rolling his eyes, Yuseke watched as Kuwabara sprang up to, saying they'd already wasted enough time. He began throwing things into a knapsack, Botan too. Damn, was Yuseke's only thought as he dragged his feet toward the door, muttering something about meeting them later after he got his stuff. This is going to suck.
Back in Spirit World:
Sighing deeply, Kurama leaned back against the tree, letting the wind lift his long red hair. "Well, Kurama," a deep voice said from above. "I am quite interested to hear your thoughts about this."
"I am not proud of my past, Hiei," Kurama answered, closing his eyes slowly. "And I shall not let this Lana be foolishly let down the same past I was. I'm done with killing, Hiei."
Hiei jumped down from his place in the tree, crossing his arms, a scowl upon his face. "Hn," he said. "No doubt you have other plans that what the fool told you to do."
Kurama looked out of the corner of his green eyes, a faint smile playing across his lips. "I've heard about his Mina girl, Hiei. Youko killed her parents, and she's spent her whole life training to kill me. She raised herself, spending every moment of her life training. Astoundingly enough, she sounds just like you, Hiei." "Touching." Hiei said flatly. "Your trying to make a point, Kurama. Don't waste my time by dancing around it. "For now, we shall do exactly what Koenma has told us to do, and then some."
"Of course. Let us get started then."
* * *
Beneath the waterfall I was meditating under, my eyes snapped open. Beads of sweat had popped out on my forehead, and there were marks on my knees from where I had grasped them so tightly. Groaning, I pushed a hand through my long wet blonde hair, and stood up. Bent under the pressure of the falling water, I moved quickly behind the waterfall and into the cave. Lighting my one candle, I placed it on the ground next to the battered bits of fruit and herbs that was my forgotten lunch. That dream had been becoming more and more frequent since I had left my home, and I don't know what bothered me more: the fact that I still had that dream, or the fact that I still stressed over it. The pain was still there. It was a dull, lifeless ache, becoming like a sharp dagger between my shoulder blades at times. The wound was a mark of my past, reminding me of what had happened that faithful day when the wind howled more fiercely than a lone wolf. Every time it pained me, I was reminded of my dear mother and father, who had died trying to save me. When I had woken up from my unconsciousness after I felt Youko's sword, I found the sun was shining and the sky sparkled brighter than any gem. The Gods were mocking me. I had stumbled around until I found a small clearing, where I promptly threw myself onto a rock and began sobbing all over again. My family was dead, and with it, my hope had gone too. After I had cried my tears, there was only anger left. Anger for Youko. Over and over again I asked myself how one could be so heartless, so unforgiving, until my own heart hardened and I began living my life for revenge. I had trained in secret for nigh a century, forcing my body to a new extend of pain that I had never dreamed of. I became a master of wind, learning all the secret techniques and making up some of my own, all the tricks, my specialty in the dark ones. I could manipulate the darkness for my will, and I often did. I had spent many of those years searching for the demon, bloodlust on my mind as I traveled all over Spirit World. My search had proved futile, discovering that not long ago, Youko disappeared. Many say he was killed, but I, I believed he was alive. Rampaging and killing some other place. And, it wasn't long before I learned from one demon that he had hid himself in a human form. I did not give up my search, though for the last fifteen years I admit my search was pretty much useless. Then, I heard he was participating in the dark tournament, on the same team with some human scum. He called himself Kurama then; his name was whispered among the lower demons in fear, and other more accomplished demons proclaimed him with a sense of hate. Subsequently, a few days ago, my luck changed. I met up with one particular demon. He was a revolting blue ogre, an oblong horn pointing out of his head, wearing a tasteless and hideous loincloth. After some...persuasion, he was more than happy to tell me where Youko-Kurama was. Did I find it odd that he was now working for the ruler Koenma? Quite frankly, I wouldn't have cared if he was now working for McDonalds. And, I have to admit, it didn't really cross my mind. I had set out immediately toward where I was told I could reach him, and was now nearing it. Smiling softly to myself, I grabbed my cloak and tossed it over my shoulders, snuffing out my candle. I picked up my meager pack and bow and arrows, I stepped gingerly out of the cave and made for the road. It was time to get my revenge against this Youko-Kurama. And, when I found him, I would kill him.
* * *
"Hey Urameshi, you got anything to eat?" Kuwabara asked as he lazily scratched his armpit. He was sprawled randomly on Yuske's fading couch, watching WWF smack down with some degree of relish.
"You're so full of crap, Kuwabara," Yuseke said as he kicked one of the empty cans of beer his mother had left on the floor. "I've only told you about three million times the only thing in my refrigerator is mold."
"Listen punk," Kuwabara snarled angrily, sitting up on the couch. "I could have on the floor in three seconds flat! I eat shrimps like you for breakfast!"
"Whoa now," Yuseke said, backing up sarcastically and put up his hands in mock-defeat. "I think someone's been wachin' a little too much fake wrestling."
"It's not fake!"
"Yeah, like they'd really show that much violence on TV. They barely even let Keiko say butt on the school radio station."
Kuwabara flushed. "You're just jealous that I can fight like Goldberg and you can't!"
"Psssh," Yuseke snorted, shifting his weight casually to one hip. "I can fight better than you and Goldberg."
"Oh yeah?" "Yeah." "I can take you with one hand!" "And I can take you with no hands!"
"Taking you down, Urameshi!"
"Bring it, bitch!"
And with a furious growl, Kuwabara launched himself at Yuseke with a flying tackle. Sadly for him and Goldberg, Yuseke tidily grabbed his arm and flung him down on the floor. "Not so tough now, huh?" Yuseke said with a smirk, eyeing the mangled Kuwabara on the floor. Kuwabara moaned, turning around on his side and clutching his shoulder. Immediately, Yuseke squatted on the floor next to him, touching his arm. "Hey now, I didn't throw you that hard.." Kuwabara moaned again. Yuseke sat back on his knees thoughtfully. "Come to think of it, I do remember seeing a mystery meat with green fuzz all over it in the back of the refrigerator. How bout I whip up some manly hamburgers?" When all Kuwabara did was curl himself up into a ball and clutch his wounded shoulder tighter, Yuseke began to get worried. "Look man, I didn't mean to hurt you, I just—"
A stray giggle escaped from Kuwabara.
"Why you...!" Yuseke said, playfully swiping at his friend, who ducked it and began laughing hysterically.
"Psyche!" he said, giggling furiously.
"Well aren't you just funny today!" Yuseke said, huffily crossing his arms over his chest. "I shouldn't have even felt sorry for you! I should of know you were just being a baby again!"
Kuwabara's giggling stopped as abruptly as if someone had cut it off. "What was that?"
"You're just a big, dumb, baby!"
"Oh yeah?" Kuwabara shot back, rolling over onto his stomach. "We'll see how baby this is!" he yelled, grabbing one of Yuseke's bare feet and tossing him over his shoulder, where Yuseke landed with a grunt.
"Not bad," he said, getting up to his feet. "See if the baby can handle this!" he cried, body slamming Kuwabara. Suffice it to say, for the next hour or so, the two boys got together quite happily, try beat up one another and tossing insults back and forth. And that was where Botan found them, rolling around on the floor like five-year-olds. Here we go again, she thought, rolling her eyes in annoyance.
"Hey, boys!" she yelled, whacking Yuseke upside the head with her paddle.
"Hey Botan," Yuseke said, quickly getting up and brushing of the dirt from his pants where he and Kuwabara had rolled around on the floor. "What's up?" he asked trying to act casual.
Botan let out a stray giggle before she quickly controlled it. "Here's the latest on the scoop," she said, handing Yuseke a blank video.
"Aww, shit," Yuseke moaned, grabbing the video and wishing he hadn't have taken the stupid job as Spirit Detective in the first place. "No doubt diaper breath is gonna try and pull me into another one of these stupid missions."
"Ooh, goody!" Kuwabara said happily, quickly jumping to his feet and snatching the videotape. "I hope this will be fun! Let's go over to my house, and we can watch it! Huh, can we Botan, pleeeaase?"
"Well," Botan smiled, "It seem silly to have a tape and not watch it, doesn't it?"
"Oh boy!" Kuwabara said, clapping his hands together excitedly.
"Oh boy..." Yuseke said, slapping his forehead.
Kuwabara's Room:
"Not that I don't like movies," Yuseke warned, watching as Kuwabara excitedly pushed the videotape into his VCR. "But you seem a little too happy about this."
"Shhh, Urameshi, it's starting!"
"Yes, Yuseke," Botan said with mock-seriousness. "The movie's starting."
Yuseke rolled his eyes grumpily. The TV suddenly crackled to life with a tasteful fade-in. Sitting behind his brightly painted desk and stacks of paper flanking him on either side was none-other than the Prince of Reikai himself. "Hello, hello Yuseke," he said, his pacifier wobbling. "I know you're so excited about you're next case, so let's get on with it. As of late, a lot of hoopla has been going on down here in the Spirit World. And it all seems to be the work of one demon." The picture switched then, turning to see a tall, willowy demon, with long flowing blonde hair and shimmering golden eyes. She was leaning back in a chair, her hands folded under her chin, and raping out orders to a big beefy demon standing in from of her desk.
"She's pretty..." Kuwabara said, causing Yuseke and Botan to roll their eyes.
"She may look pretty," Koenma commented in a voice-over, "but she's all bad news. Her name's Lana. She first showed up on the scene about 100 years ago. One of our associates found her pretty beat up and close to death. He took her into his home and healed her. He said she was quiet most of the time, and would often stand atop a tall hill and look into the distance for hours. Of course, when she fully recovered, she snapped. Apparently, she saw her daughter and husband get killed by a demon., and was pretty torn up about it. She almost killed the man who saved her, and after that has pretty much turned into a nutcase. She's never really caused any trouble until now. And, unfortunately, she's been causing a lot of it. She's been stealing wind demons now for about the past year, and hiding them away with her. It seems she's gathering together under the pretext of a special tournament, grander than all the other ones in the past. She then steals their powers to help her become stronger."
"How terrible!" Botan cried as the screen switched again to pan across a prison cell that was lined with moaning demons, their bones sticking out from malnutrition and all of them bleeding in various places.
"And that's not the half of it. In Spirit World, there's a legend we have here. It concerns an book. A king of Reikai, way before my time, killed his wife out of jealousy of one of his advisors. He found her with him or something. Anyway, later missed her a lot. Out of his grief, he sold his soul to try and get her back. As payment, he received a book. Calling the book the Book of the Winds. This book contains spells that essentially use wind to call back people from the dead. She came back alive though, but she wasn't very pretty. She came back with these cool powers over just about everything, and was needless to say really pissed off. She could manipulate just about every thing imaginable and used these powers to kill and rampage. She basically ran the show for a while. The defeated her, but only after the king's son killed her, and bonded her to the Book of Winds. He hid the book in the crosshairs of the North and South winds, and only the people who control those winds may claim it."
"And this has to do with my case how...." Yuseke mutter grumpily.
"And this has to do with your case because Lana is trying to get the book and revive her. To get the book, you must use a tremendous amount of wind energy to call it to you. The It isn't called the Book of Winds for nothing. The thing is, if she gets the book, she plans to not only use it to call back the dead queen, but to also use her to help her take over Spirit World. She's going to threaten me until she gets what she wants. What she wants, however, is going to be kind of hard to come by. "The demon who killed her daughter and husband was Youko, and she won't rest until he's good and dead, too. Not that Kurama can't take care of himself, he just might want to be careful. And, though she might not see it, if she revives her Yuseke, the lost queen will kill everyone and everything in your world and mine. It is impossible to completely control this apparition of the past, and no doubt she'll run rampant across Not to mention my dad's gonna raise hell, too. Which is almost as bad."
"Damn," Yuseke said flatly.
"Lucky enough for everyone," Koenma said, "She needs the claimer of the South wind to call it. And lucky for us, we know exactly who she is." The screen switched again, this time revealing another demon, more beautiful than the last one. She was standing on the bough of some tree, her hand braced against the trunk of it. The wind whipped her long blonde braid around her, and the sun made it sparkle with highlights. Her wide green eyes were looking out into the distance, and she had a sad and dark expression on her lovely features. She had a bow straddled on her shoulder, and a quiver of arrows slung across her back.
"She's really pretty," Kuwabara commented.
"Her name's Mina. And, until this whole thing is over, she's going to be the most important person in your life. This is serious, Yuseke. All life is riding on her, and Lana must not get her. Mina is the key to this whole puzzle. She has the power to call the book, and she alone. So, it's going to be you guy's job to make sure Lana doesn't get her. Got it? She's going to be your best friend until you get rid of Lana.
"Now, how to get rid of Lana. I've gotten readings that she's hiding out in your world, up in some mountain out not far from here. Your job Yuseke, is to reach her, and get rid of her. You must kill her Yuseke, no matter what. This isn't going to be easy, either, so don't think you can blow it off like you do everything else. This may be one of your most important missions ever.
"Kurama and Hiei are getting Mina, and I told them they were to meet up with you guys later on. Botan has all the information to get you and Kuwabara there, so Botan, don't screw up either. Good luck, and have fun!" Koenma snickered then, and the screen went blank.
After the tape stopped, there was an awkward silence. It was Botan who jumped up first and said with gusto, "That's right, boys! You heard the man! Time to go and save the world! Let's move!"
Rolling his eyes, Yuseke watched as Kuwabara sprang up to, saying they'd already wasted enough time. He began throwing things into a knapsack, Botan too. Damn, was Yuseke's only thought as he dragged his feet toward the door, muttering something about meeting them later after he got his stuff. This is going to suck.
Back in Spirit World:
Sighing deeply, Kurama leaned back against the tree, letting the wind lift his long red hair. "Well, Kurama," a deep voice said from above. "I am quite interested to hear your thoughts about this."
"I am not proud of my past, Hiei," Kurama answered, closing his eyes slowly. "And I shall not let this Lana be foolishly let down the same past I was. I'm done with killing, Hiei."
Hiei jumped down from his place in the tree, crossing his arms, a scowl upon his face. "Hn," he said. "No doubt you have other plans that what the fool told you to do."
Kurama looked out of the corner of his green eyes, a faint smile playing across his lips. "I've heard about his Mina girl, Hiei. Youko killed her parents, and she's spent her whole life training to kill me. She raised herself, spending every moment of her life training. Astoundingly enough, she sounds just like you, Hiei." "Touching." Hiei said flatly. "Your trying to make a point, Kurama. Don't waste my time by dancing around it. "For now, we shall do exactly what Koenma has told us to do, and then some."
"Of course. Let us get started then."