A/N: Okay, a bit of introduction before you start. The guys (Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei) have been called into Koenma's office for a mission. As for when this takes place within the series -spoilers warning for those who have not at least watched all the way through the Chapter Black Saga- they have just defeated Shinobu Sensui but they did it without Yusuke dying, meaning that his Mazuko blood hasn't been revealed and Kurama and Hiei are still B class. Itsuki still took Sensui away into that other dimension he created and Koenma has not been outlawed by his father and he did not have to use the Mafukin spell within his pacifier. -spoiler end-
I have my own characters in here and while I claim them always and forever, I don't own nor do I claim to own Yuu Yuu Hakusho.
Any dialogue that looks like this: "What am I doing?" is someone thinking.
I think that's pretty much it! Welcome to Yuu Yuu Hakusho: The Ansatsusha Saga. Enjoy!
"Hey Koenma! What's up?" Yusuke busted open the door with Kuwabara, Kurama and Hiei following in behind.
Yusuke plopped down into one of the chairs in front of the toddler's desk. Kuwabara rested his elbows on the back of the chair with Kurama standing next to him. Hiei leaned against the wall near the door.
Koenma pushed a button and the huge screen they were all familiar with came down from the ceiling.
A woman appeared on the screen, her face and profile like mug shots as well as a full body picture from the front and the side. Her black hair was about mid-back in length with silver highlights scattered in it. She had green eyes which stared forward emotionlessly within the photos.
"What's this all about?" Kuwabara piped up gallantly. "Do we need to go and save her?" He struck a manly pose.
"I'm afraid not," Koenma said darkly, "I'm sending you on a retrieval mission. Bring her back to me."
Kurama saw that Koenma looked harried, as if something more was on his mind than just the retrieval of the young woman. Circles under his eyes, the pieces of hair sticking out in all directions under his hat, these things that should not have been present on a toddler were obvious to Kurama. Kurama was certain something else stewed within the Prince's mind but he had no speculations as to what.
"Hn. Ridiculous use of a Spirit Detective." Hiei absently put one hand in a pocket.
"Shouldn't be too hard." Yusuke agreed.
Koenma nodded, "I certainly hope not. Though I will warn you: we've been searching for her for quite a long time. For her to just suddenly reappear…"
"Means that she wants to be found." Kurama finished.
There was another nod of Koenma's head.
"You act like you know her, Koenma. Why was she in hiding?" Kuwabara asked.
There was a momentary pause in the conversation as everyone stared at Kuwabara.
"What?" He shrunk back a little under their stares.
"You inferred that Koenma knew this woman without him actually coming out and saying it." Kurama explained.
"Wha?"
"You said something smart, dummy. Don't ruin it by being stupid again." Yusuke gave him a good sock in the arm.
"Too late." Hiei crossed his arms.
"Shut up, hamster legs!"
"Half-wit."
"Pint-size!"
"Idiot."
"Shrimp!"
"I'd rather be a short warrior than a tall fool."
"How I know her isn't important," Koenma interrupted loudly in order to regain their attention. "If you really must know, she stole several items from the Vault. Among other things."
Yusuke frowned, "Wait. Just recently? Why weren't we told about this? Besides, that doesn't make her very original. Hiei and Kurama have already done that."
"It was a long time ago," Koenma dismissed it with a hand, "You were only a little boy, if you had even been thought of yet. And those items have been returned."
"Then it seems Hiei and I are the unoriginal ones." Kurama spoke up.
"Hn."
"I think I have heard about her." Kurama looked thoughtfully at the screen before going on, "Just bits and pieces of things. Many Makai inhabitants know of her."
"We in the Reikai know of her all too well." Koenma sighed unhappily, "I'm not really sure what she plans on doing now that she's back but I'd like to talk with her about those 'plans' if she has any."
"So she could just be passing through?" Kurama asked.
"It's possible. Not probable. But possible."
"Aren't there supposed to be some sort of guardian people…uh…guarding the Vault?" Kuwabara's thought came a little late. He knew something about all of this stealing stuff was bothering him and he eventually realized why.
"There were. Even when we raided it. They aren't very good at their jobs." Hiei pointed out.
Koenma glared at the fire youkai but only handed Kurama a location for where they could find their target.
...
She was leaning against a lone tree stump in the middle of a clearing deep within a forest. Her back was to them, her fingers laced together behind her head as she looked up at the sky.
Suddenly the branch Yusuke perched on cracked. Her head turned slightly toward the noise, but she didn't move other than that.
"Why do you humans have to be so loud?" Hiei hissed.
The woman chuckled, "Amusing. If you don't come out by the time I count to ten, I'm going to start throwing sharp objects." She picked up a nasty looking rock by her foot and stood facing them, casually tossing the rock into the air and catching it. "One...two... eight-"
"Okay, okay! I'm coming down," Yusuke tried, but ended up falling out of the branches.
She threw the rock aside, "Good. I'm not really a decent shot anyway."
With extreme dignity, Kuwabara jumped as gracefully as he could from his tree, landing steadily and marching towards her.
"We are here to rescue you from this forest!" He put his hands on his hips and stuck out his chest as far as he could.
"Thanks. The leaves were starting to scare me. All that rustling. I think they're up to something." She could hear three human heartbeats, as well as two other heartbeats, though the second pair did not beat in the human sense of the word. "Youkai. Associated with humans? …But how does that boy have two heartbeats? A human heartbeat...but also a fainter youkai one...oh." She realized just who this other 'human' was when Kurama stepped into the clearing, red hair lifting a bit in the breeze that blew by.
When Kuwabara tried to take another step forward, he found that he couldn't move. He tried to yell a warning out to the others, but he couldn't speak either.
She took a couple of stumbling steps back as a rose whip snapped at her face, contacting the air several times before returning to Kurama's side. And the only reason he missed was because she had a clear view of his attack seeing as how he stood directly in front of her only a few meters away.
Kurama crouched, immediately battle-ready, his rose whip lying deceptively harmless at his feet. He had sensed Kuwabara's panic, knowing that somehow the female was involved.
Hiei launched himself from the tree, katana drawn. Kurama ran forward with him, dropping back as his speedier companion circled behind her, the red-haired youkai keeping to her front.
Yusuke had well-recovered from his fall by this time and he stood to her right, Kurama having shifted a little to her left to complete the triangle they now had her trapped in.
"Oh. I get it." She said with realization in her voice, "Koenma's little squad. I wondered what two youkai were doing with two humans."
"So you know why we're here." Kurama said, standing up a little though his guard never dropped.
"Well of course. Now that I know who you are."
"Yeah the little toddler wants to talk to you." Yusuke shoved his hands in his pockets.
"He would. That's all he's good for."
"So, you comin' with us?"
"That easily? I'm afraid not." She shook her head. "You have to prove to me that it'll be worth going with you."
"He didn't exactly tell us why he wanted to talk to you…"
"You don't get my meaning." She disappeared, reappearing behind Yusuke with her arm around his neck and a finger of her other hand pointed like a gun at Yusuke's temple.
Yusuke grabbed for her arm, clutching it in his hands in an attempt to pry her off.
She released him voluntarily and gave him a shove forward away from her.
"Ah. A battle then?" Kurama smiled a little.
"A skirmish more like." She allowed.
"Hello! Can't anybody see that I'm stuck over here?" Kuwabara, unable to speak, shouted silently at the now fighting group of people, wishing he could wave his arms around to get their attention.
"Perhaps we just don't care." Kuwabara somehow heard Hiei's voice say in his head.
"Wow that was a pretty good imitation of his voice." Kuwabara was surprised that his mind could come up with that, "And that's exactly something shorty would say too."
"Your move." She told the other three.
None of them even so much as shifted their feet, her eyes quickly bouncing between each of them, waiting for the first strike.
They all three attacked as one, Kurama and Hiei flanking her, her front side left open.
Yusuke brought up his arm and pointed it at her. "Spirit Gun!"
The blast shot at her, heading straight for the woman's face.
Seeming astonished, she dodged to the left.
Kurama and Hiei would have both attacked with deadly precision, but skidded to a split-second halt as they watched her trip over the rock she had thrown aside earlier.
"Bwahahahaha!" Yusuke laughed, clutching at his stomach and pointing at her. She hadn't fallen, regaining her balance instead, but Yusuke still found it unbelievably hilarious.
Kurama and Hiei lost sight of her and then Yusuke went hurtling past their faces, hitting the grass and bouncing twice before lying still.
The pair looked back, seeing her standing, waiting for them to attack.
Obliging, Kurama went forward while Hiei slunk to her left.
Seeing Hiei's movement, she dodged right, as if she hadn't seen Kurama coming at her.
She hadn't.
His rose whip lashed out instinctively and wrapped around the woman's wrists, quickly encircling her body to completely paralyze her. Leaving her widened eyes and nose free, the snake-like whip wrapped her down to her ankles but it never drew blood.
Kurama's face wavered for a second in a frown, knowing that the thorns should have pierced her skin on contact, though not doing any awful damage.
Still coming from her left, Hiei now dashed forward with unnatural speed, bringing his sword up from his side to give a good slash across the back of her legs at the knees; the whip was parted in this place, Kurama knowing his colleague well.
Keeping a hold of his whip, Kurama checked his spirit energy within it, finding nothing wrong. He watched Hiei run towards her, and his eyebrows raised in surprise when she disappeared.
Hiei's weapon whistled silently through the air just as Kuwabara found his voice again.
"NOOO!" "We aren't supposed to hurt her! Aw dang it. I can't talk again."
Hiei twisted around, instantly recovering from his miss, his eyes expertly searching the clearing for a trace of her. He found that she stood behind Kurama, just finishing tying off the rose whip which now bound its owner from head to foot. She was frozen in the middle of her knot, her eyes fixed on Kuwabara.
"You should not be able to speak."
Kurama wasn't really sure what had just happened and the words she mumbled to herself while tying him up were puzzling.
"Your weapons can't harm me here." It was barely audible.
Well that was helpful to know.
Kuwabara looked relieved that she was okay. "What was that lousy shrimp thinking? He could have seriously injured her!"
Yusuke stood up from where he had flopped to earlier, wiping a fist across his lower lip to rid it of the blood. She had delivered a kick to his face in retaliation for him laughing at her and he'd been knocked loopy for much less than a minute. He couldn't believe what state the others were in. He hadn't been out that long, had he? Kurama was in his own rose whip. Weird!
Yusuke ran forward at her, naturally gathering his spirit energy into his fists. His feet became cemented to the ground after only a few steps and he found that he could not move.
She shook her head as if trying to clear her thoughts and Hiei moved to strike again. She pulled Kurama in front of her absently at the last second, stepping to the side.
Hiei jumped into the air, katana raised to slice her through.
Kurama's eyes locked with Hiei's and Hiei, the sword centimeters from Kurama's head, flicked his wrist so that the point of the katana harmlessly pierced the grass.
Kurama fell sideways onto the ground a second later, loosing his balance when the woman pulled him over.
Hiei straightened to see her walking in a circle around Kuwabara.
"Misaki Ansatsusha. I didn't expect to see you so soon. And especially not on my property." A dry voice rang clearly from nearby in the trees.
"I thought this place looked familiar!" Yusuke exclaimed silently.
The woman lost her concentration on Kuwabara as she recognized the voice, the owner of which was none other than Genkai.
"So soon? Really? You seem to have aged just a trifle since the last time we saw one another, old woman." Misaki jerked her head towards the guys, "Koenma didn't trust them enough to get me?"
"How should I know?" Genkai grunted.
"He sent you, didn't he?"
"Hey! We're supposed to be rescuing her, not trying to kill her!" Kuwabara finally shouted at Hiei.
"How does he keep doing that?" Misaki faced him again.
"Foolish woman. The same way I do this," Hiei ran forward intending to slash at her. If he had gotten two feet closer he would have been able to run her through. As it were, Hiei was stuck to the ground, his feet not responding to his demands.
Genkai snorted, seeing Hiei stopped.
"You can't move either, my dear Genkai."
Of course she couldn't move either. She hadn't been able to move since she stepped into the stupid clearing.
"Oh, are we speechless now too?" She smiled a knowing grin.
"No more than you are dead," was the strained response.
Misaki frowned. "You shouldn't be able to speak…"
"Which can be easily arranged," Hiei growled with some effort.
"I seriously have no idea how you people keep doing that," she sighed.
Seeing as how all of her opponents were unable to combat her at the moment, Misaki was allowed a moment to collect her thoughts and take a good look at the beings around her. "This is what the Spirit Detectives consist of now, hm? Interesting."
"You've lost your touch Misaki." Genkai appeared at Misaki's shoulder, swinging her body around to land a solid kick.
Misaki blocked the assault with a quick upturn of her forearm, not even flinching when the foot contacted solidly with it. She grabbed Genkai's ankle with the other hand and swung the sensei away.
"How did you find me out here?" She grinned as Genkai easily repelled on a tree trunk.
Genkai launched forward, hands clasped behind her back, "You people make entirely too much noise." Genkai landed a foot into Misaki's stomach, "I could hear the fighting all the way at the house." These words were followed by a quick upward kick into Misaki's chin.
"Ah. I suppose we were being a bit loud. I apologize." Misaki's words sounded as casual as Genkai's, as if the two were merely chatting over a cup of tea. She threw her head back, Genkai's foot sweeping just past her chin before she grabbed the ankle a second time and tossed the old sensei away again.
Genkai landed confidently on the ground and bent her knees, only a little surprised when she found she couldn't jump.
Seeing that the grumpy old lady was unable to move, Misaki scrutinized those others who were stopped.
"Hm. Yusuke Urameshi, the smart-mouthed punk; Kazuma Kuwabara, honorable idiot; the vessel of Yoko Kurama, and Hiei Jaganshi, easily identifiable through the masterful speed and swordsmanship. Though I wonder what two youkai, even ones such as yourselves, are doing allied with the Reikai."
Hiei's fierce look was deadly. What exactly did she mean by 'even ones such as yourselves?' He did not think it was a compliment by any stretch of the imagination. His hands tightened slightly around the hilt of his katana.
"Yes. I know who you are. The real question is what do I do with you now?" Misaki tapped her chin with a finger, "Decisions, decisions."
"How about you let us go and we'll make your death quick." Hiei's deathly calm voice drifted from where he stood.
"You really shouldn't be able to do that." Misaki seemed puzzled.
"Have you told them who you are yet Misaki? Or have you all just met?" Genkai changed the subject.
"You mean to tell me they don't know?" Misaki said with dramatic feigned surprise, "Are you implying that I've been forgotten? A mere object of lore hidden behind years of absence? Depressing. It means I have been gone much too long." Misaki flipped some of her dark hair behind one shoulder and crossed her arms, giving Genkai a dry look.
"Oh my dear Misaki, I don't believe you've been forgotten. You seem to forget the long life-span of most youkai." Genkai glanced at the others, "Boys, meet Misaki Ansatsusha. One of the best Spirit Detectives Koenma ever had."
"That was the one thing I wouldn't want them to know. And she knew that." Inwardly she cursed the sensei but merely said aloud: "And ne'er a one has surpassed me yet." She bowed mockingly.
"Koenma didn't tell us she used to be a Spirit Detective!" Yusuke's eyebrows rose.
Kurama wondered when exactly this 'Misaki Ansatsusha' was a Spirit Detective. As far as he knew, there had only been Yusuke, Shinobu Sensei and the first Spirit Detective: a girl named Kuroko Senata. This wasn't Kuroko, was it? Perhaps under a different name? Surely not. Kuroko would not have stolen artifacts from the Vault.
"So, now that you know who I am...was," her tone sounded miffed, "What can I do for you?"
"As I said before, release us and we will make it quick."
She looked over the group again and lightly brushed their minds, skimming the briefing Koenma had given them. "So he wants me back? I guess he doesn't realize… I've been out of the game for so long and if the barrier is barely holding…"
Hiei's eyes narrowed as he felt her, through the Jagan, scan his mind. He was about to shove her out when the Jagan stopped him.
"What?" He asked it, irritated.
The Jagan pointed out that she only wanted to know what had gone on in the briefing Koenma gave them before they left, nothing important.
Hiei inwardly rolled his eyes. He felt the Jagan examining the telepathic trail she left behind with some excitement. Hiei shook his head as some of that thrill was passed onto him. It had been a long time since they had come across a decent telepath.
"Clumsy." Hiei pointed out. It was obvious that she was getting into his head. And she didn't even detect that he knew what she was doing.
He indulged the Jagan a bit reluctantly and let her gather what she wanted.
Finally Misaki shrugged and waved a hand. The four stuck in place were released from what held them and Hiei stumbled forward a little, but quickly regained his balance.
She turned to Kurama next to her but stopped, an astounded expression on her face.
Kurama had transformed his whip back into a rose and tucked it safely away within his hair, watching the happenings with his ever-so-slightly amused appearance.
"I'm impressed, vessel." Her voice held new respect. "Most would not know what to do with such a predicament as you had."
He nodded graciously, never saying a word.
"You should keep your eyes on your enemies." Behind her in one fluid motion, Hiei readied his sword and ran for her, his movement to quick for the human eye. He was close enough to hear her sigh long-sufferingly and then she disappeared. Once again, the blade was aimed for Kurama. Once again, Hiei turned the blow to the side.
"Life lesson from Hiei Jaganshi? I'm surprised." "You are a slow one aren't you?" She sneered aloud, knowing she would enrage him.
She did.
In an unseen anger reflected only in the heat of his eyes, he swept the sword up, turned around to face her, and brought the katana down on her head.
She reached up and caught it between the palms of her hands, quickly manipulating the direction so that the blade lay across the front of Hiei's neck, his hands still on the hilt and the sword slantwise over his body. They were standing close together, her cheek near his. Their heads did not move, but they glared at each other out of the corner of their eyes, neither one blinking.
It was Kurama's turn to find equal respect for this woman. Yes, she had delivered a solid blow to Yusuke and yes, she tossed Genkai about like the veteran warrior was only a small child; not to mention the fact that she somehow wrapped him up in his own rose whip…but matching Hiei in speed was an entirely different matter.
"Care to continue?" Misaki whispered so that only Hiei could hear, pressing the katana so that it made an indentation in his neck.
A fine line of blood formed underneath the cloth Hiei wore about his neck, giving the pure white linen a lovely stripe of crimson. He could feel a drip sliding down his collarbone but she did not pierce his skin deeply. She was right at his eye level, her cold green eyes staring into his fiery red ones.
Hiei could see that her arm muscles were straining as the both of them fought for power over the sword, but she had the upper hand, having taken him by surprise. Neither of them moved, the air between them crackling fiercely.
The tension was so great had Hiei's katana fallen, it could have sliced right through it. Everyone watched, stock-still, as the two faced off.
"Hm. Okay. You all seem an interesting enough bunch with a decent amount of potential. I think this little bit of fun will make up for whatever Koenma has to say to me. Does that sound fine to you, Yusuke?" Misaki said pleasantly to the rest of them, still struggling with Hiei.
"Um..." Yusuke didn't know what to say.
"Oh don't worry," she dropped her hands and took a step away, "I won't kill him. Not yet anyway."
Hiei had been resisting her hands with so much effort that for the second time in less than five minutes, he was off balance.
"Are you alright?" Kuwabara rushed forward to see if Misaki was okay. He grabbed for her hands, but she jerked away.
"Look, is Botan going to transport us to Koenma's or are we going to have to walk somewhere for that?" Misaki said, very put out.
Hiei noticed one of Kuwabara's fingers had a bit of blood on it. "Hn. So she does bleed."
Misaki heard his thought and her look grew even more disgruntled. When she had grabbed for the katana, her left palm was under the sharp blade and it sliced off a good chunk of her skin before she could adjust her angle. She made a fist to conceal the wound and stop the blood flow.
"Genkai's right. I have lost my 'touch.' I wouldn't have been hurt if the barrier was working properly."
"I'm afraid we're going to have to walk." Kurama told her.
"Yes, I do bleed." She projected the thought at Hiei, "But then, so do you." Her eyes flickered to the white cloth around his neck and the bloodstained strip.
"Give me a moment and I will join you."
Hiei watched her closely as she walked to the edge of the clearing, his legs ready to give chase should she try to escape.
Misaki searched the ground carefully, bending down when she found what she was looking for.
"I guess I won't need this any more." The odd device she picked up was easily crushed in her fist, its dust-like remains flying out of her hand as she poured them onto the ground.
Finished with her task, she came back to the others and fell in step behind them as Yusuke waved good-bye to Genkai.
She followed the group silently, Hiei staying at the back to keep an eye on her.
-lotsm