A/N: So I dunno what happened the first time I uploaded this...? I got a weird string of text when I checked it out in preview mode. Wonder if ffnet has an issue reading the text copied from google docs...? Whatevs. Hope this works. Only own my OC(s). I'll do my best to keep them to a minimum.

Welcome to Never Before, Never Again take three!

Prologue

"There's one more, Lord Koenma, but…"

The toddler-esque leader of the Spirit Realm sighed and glanced over at his subordinate. It had been hard enough on him to have Shinobu up and disappear the way he had, without the added stress of a trafficking ring creeping up. It had taken more time than he would have liked to free the women and children - humans and demons alike - and the paperwork for the case had done nothing more than pile up the longer it took.

What a hassle… he thought to himself as the ogre under his indifferent gaze shifted. "What is it this time, Harold?" What was so terribly important that it had to interrupt the entire process?

"We, uh, can't match her blood type, sir. Not to anything in our database." The ogre flipped through the papers on his clipboard, more an attempt to avoid his boss's gaze than to find any information. "And she is of no help - amnesia has caused her to forget everything but her name." Upon getting to the final page, he peeked at Koenma over the board. "The S.D.F. says she's our problem."

Koenma frowned, curious at this. The S.D.F. never did anything outside of his father's orders, he knew from experience, and if this was truly an order from him then it was an odd one indeed. He had Harold permit her entry and scowled instantly. "Why is she still chained?" he snapped.

Harold's eyes begged for forgiveness as he looked upon his boss. "They didn't rewire her mind, you see. She needs psychological retraining…"

The rest of his words were drowned out as Koenma leaped from his desk and approached them slowly. The woman was clearly malnourished and abused - her eyes were wild as she flicked her gaze over Harold and then around the room, her hair was unkempt, her bone structure was showing throw her skin - yet for someone who had been through an ordeal such as hers, she was remarkably scar free. He noticed the way she stilled when she took note of him, her eyes misting over. Curious, he thought, stopping a few feet from her. There was silence in the hall for a long moment before he raised his hand in greeting, "Yo!"

"Midori…"

It was the first and only word she spoke to him for many weeks, partly due to the consciousness she had lost shortly afterwards and did not regain for almost a fortnight. Once awake, Koenma insured she received the help she needed before approaching her again. When she did not lose herself in emotion, and gave no indication of knowing who "Midori" could possibly be, he set her up in a room on the grounds.

Botan had taken warmly to her which, if he were honest with himself, had probably finalized his decision to help the young woman. It was better to keep that silly woman happy than have to deal with her pouting for the next three hundred years. The blue-haired woman's presence had a positive effect on Ayane as well, it appeared, as the woman slowly came out of her shell over the next few months. Her shaky aura grew solid and warm as she found herself secure in her new home.

Koenma, too, relaxed and fell into his paperwork routine once more. Botan kept the amnesiac girl entertained when she was around, keeping her out of his way, which was terribly convenient.

Though he would never admit he enjoyed when she sat with him in his office to anyone. He had his suspicions it was due to her past life, but there was many a time where she would insist on coddling him in her lap as he filed his paperwork. He adamantly refused at first but, at the sight of her distraught face, he had eventually given in, reminding her that he was thousands of years old.

"It doesn't matter," she sighed, holding her cheek against his. "Your skin is still as soft as a baby, despite your age."

Though an embarrassing statement, he continued with his paperwork and refused her request less and less. He was still young for a ruler, still willing to accept such a maternal act… and, he half-convinced himself, it may help bring back her memories.

Such a spoiled prince, was he.

Over time, he realized the coddling was doing nothing to help her memories, but doing wonders for both of their relaxation levels. She was often seen speaking confidently to people she had skittered away from only days prior in recent days, while he noticed he was less furious at his underlings for their stupidity.

A few months in, his blue-haired ferry stood across his desk from him. Ayane had gone to bed several hours prior and their conversation had shifted from business to the amnesiac. She had been proven to have a very large amount of spiritual power, yet she appeared to have little to no control over it.

"...What is she, sir?"

"Whatever she is, Botan, she needs our protection. Father's had his probes in here many times, watching her, during her time here." He frowned and shut his eyes, leaning back into his chair. "I don't like the feeling I'm getting from this situation, that's for sure."