AN: First story~! Be kind? ^^ I write for fun, but I finally decided to publish a story. Can't promise I'll update regularly, but I'll try. Once a week or so. Well, here you go. Short little prologue to my story. R&R!

Disclaimer: Don't own Yu Yu Hakusho. It belongs to Yoshihiro Tagashi. Rated M for mild cursing/future chapters.

Prologue

30 Years Ago...

The office of the prince of Reikai was strangely peaceful today. No ogres could be seen scurrying around, and papers were not flying through the air. It was a satisfying reprieve to all that worked in the Spirit Realm. Passing on souls and overseeing the safety and peace of the worlds was the same as ever, but for the last couple of weeks, Hell had been even more chaotic than normal. Someone or something was seeing to cause no end of trouble in the underworld. But not today.

"This is odd," Koenma muttered to himself. The prince was sitting alone at his desk. "Something's not right here. What could have caused this sudden, drastic change?" He sighed, and rested his head in his hands for a moment. He got up and walked over to his bookshelf. After selecting a book, he returned to his desk, settling down to read. "Perhaps I'm just over-thinking it. I might as well relax, right?"

"Hi Koenma~! How are you enjoying your day off?" Botan's cheery voice sounded as she threw open the doors and walked in. "I'm so glad everyone decided to behave and not die today. Oh, silly me, it's not like it's their choice whether they live or die. Some of the other reapers and I finally had the chance for a spa day. Look, I got my hair trimmed and nails done! Maybe I can go shopping too. What are you doing, all cooped up in here? It's so nice today, you should really get out!"

"Glad to see you're having fun. Not to say that I'm not. I'll be the first to admit how nice it is not to have papers piled to the ceiling and complaints of havoc in the underworld. Sigh. I don't know, Botan. It could just be that the world decided to cooperate today, but..." Koenma's voice trailed off. Botan quietly asked, "But what, Koenma?" The blue haired girl watched the toddler, beginning to worry. It was not often that he was like this; more often than not, he was just yelling at Jorge and barking orders. Minutes passed before the answer came to him. His eyes widened in realization, then fear and anger quickly flashed across his features, before leaving him merely very serious.

"I'll check later, but I trust my instincts. Why is father always away when these things happen?" Koenma cursed under his breath. "Botan, summon your oar, fetch the other reapers, send in Jorge, and sound the alarms. I want you all to scour the Makai and Ningenkai. Lucifer has escaped from Hell."

In a far-off corner of the Demon Plane, a shadow grinned devilishly. He had succeeded in leaving Hell in a writhing mess; he had managed to somehow further increase the pandemonium before silencing them all. No doubt the chaos would soon resume, but it did not matter, nor did he care. All he knew was that he created the perfect opportunity to escape from the depths of Hell unnoticed. And it worked. Laughing maniacally, the shadow set out in search of a host.