Warning
"This is Li. We have reason to believe he is employed by a very powerful organization. His motives are currently unknown, but they involve you, and we don't think he wants to invite you over for tea. He's very dangerous if he catches you off guard. Be on the lookout for him, he's probably out for blood."
Botan displayed the photo of a dark skinned child wearing a baseball cap tipped low over the face. The picture was dark and the child's gender would have been indefinite had Botan not referred to him as "he". The features were fair but did not favor either gender. Yuusuke burst into hysterical laughter. "A twelve year old is out to kill us! Oooh I'm so scared, I'm shaking in my little sneakers! Hahahahahaha!"
"I'm not kidding! He's really dangerous!" Botan said.
"Whatever. I could take that guy sleepwalking."
Car exhaust. People. Heat. Bicycles whizzed by. Ice cream melted. Schoolgirls laughed. Mothers walking by scolded their children for staring at her. But that was okay, she was used to it. All of it. Being ignored and gawked at, being invisible and yet, the most attention attracting object on the street. "Who's that?" "A tourist, I think." "Is that a guy or a girl?" Schoolgirls momentarily stopped their giggling in order to get a better look. Comments like that didn't bother Li. She wasn't here to soak up the culture and she was not a tourist. She was here on business. Not just some overseas business conference. No, real business. Dangerous business. She had plans to carry out, very dangerous plans. "Hey Keiko, hurry up!" 'Keiko'. A very important name on her agenda. Speaking of which looked something like this:
Find: "The Great Urameshi's" girlfriend (Keiko) Youko Kurama's mother (Ms. Minamino) The Hiei's sister ( Yukina) The big ugly one's sister (Shizuru) "The Great Urameshi's" mother (Atsuko) in case he's dumped his girl
Easy enough. All she had to do was go to the school and ask about Keiko. Keiko would want to know where to find Shizuru and Atsuko, as well as Ms.Minamino and at least one of them would know where to find Yukina.
Simple. She could lure the Reikai Tantei anywhere she pleased by kidnapping these ladies.
Why she needed to trap the Reikai Tantei was a much more complicated matter. It was so long ago now; she'd been about thirteen. She was a hanyou, a dirty-blooded half-breed. To pay for the crimes of her demon father she was taken from the Ningenkai by the organization her father had betrayed. She was to work for them for eternity as their indestructible servant, never to die or age until released from their service. She had been in with the organization as long as she could remember because they erased her memories and trained her in the ruthless art of assassination. Her tasks were mostly assassinations. Always big obnoxious men who had it coming to them anyways. But recently she'd been ordered to take out whole villages, women, children and all. She had a reputation for being a merciless killer, thought by most to have no emotions, however the recent change in victims was not at all enjoyable to her. The harshness of this life made her decide it might be time for a lifestyle change.
"You may be half demon, but I suppose your half human too. No girl of mortal blood could efficiently do the jobs that need to be done lately, so I have a proposal for you..."
Her boss spoke with her one day. The organization had felt threatened by the Urameshi Team, so he'd given her a test. If she could kill them without using her own strength, he'd set her free. Free to love, free to explore, free to enjoy her power any way she pleased.
Why she needed to trap the Reikai Tantei was a much more complicated matter. It was so long ago now; she'd been about thirteen. She was a hanyou, a dirty-blooded half-breed. To pay for the crimes of her demon father she was taken from the Ningenkai by the organization her father had betrayed. She was to work for them for eternity as their indestructible servant, never to die or age until released from their service. She had been in with the organization as long as she could remember because they erased her memories and trained her in the ruthless art of assassination. Her tasks were mostly assassinations. Always big obnoxious men who had it coming to them anyways. But recently she'd been ordered to take out whole villages, women, children and all. She had a reputation for being a merciless killer, thought by most to have no emotions, however the recent change in victims was not at all enjoyable to her. The harshness of this life made her decide it might be time for a lifestyle change.
"You may be half demon, but I suppose your half human too. No girl of mortal blood could efficiently do the jobs that need to be done lately, so I have a proposal for you..."
Her boss spoke with her one day. The organization had felt threatened by the Urameshi Team, so he'd given her a test. If she could kill them without using her own strength, he'd set her free. Free to love, free to explore, free to enjoy her power any way she pleased.
Yuusuke stood in front of the crowded movie theatre with a puzzled frown. Keiko promised she'd be there twenty minutes ago. It wasn't like her to be late; she was never late. Keiko was pretty much perfect. Punctuality was one quality from the really long list of qualities that made her so.
"Maybe she's trying to get me back for that time I forgot I was supposed to meet her here. But that was so long ago." Yuusuke's irritation gave away to concern, which gave away to fear, as Keiko became thirty minutes and then an hour late. His spirit detective watch began to beep. He pulled it out to see Botan's panic stricken face. "Keiko, Yukina, Shizuru, and Ms.Minamino have been kidnapped! You have to hurry. It's Li. He says he's going to kill them all if you don't get to them within an hour! He's leaving a spirit signal behind him. Use you compass to track him down when you get to the Makai!"
Terror, disbelief, and adrenaline fueled Yuusuke as he sprinted down a dark street. He must have run over several people in the horrified dash. A sword swung out from an alley he almost passed right before his face. He stopped dead in his tracks. "Do you even know where you're going?"
East
Hiei lowered his sword and sheathed it. 'Stupid boy' he thought. He and Kurama and Kuwabara stood in the grimy alley around a gaping a hole glowing with green luminance, the portal to the Makai. No words were spoken; they rushed into the portal without the slightest hesitation. They landed on a suspiciously quiet plain. Hiei immediately turned east. The air was far too still and quiet while he gazed off at the rising moon. He sensed a malicious presence there, almost mischievous. Surely only a demon could produce such a prescience, a very powerful demon. It had to be Li. There was no question about it. Li would pay dearly for stealing his sister, regardless of how powerful he was. Li would die a horrible death indeed. Hiei was trembling with rage and could control himself no longer. He spoke one word before he let himself go, almost drawn by the power he sensed so far away. "East" He took off much too fast for any of his companions to see. All that he left behind to hint his departure were the waves in the grass rippling violently behind him. The rest of the Reikai Tantei had no choice but to follow before the trail had vanished.
Apology
"Why are you doing this? Let us go!" Keiko ordered Li in an urgent whisper as she struggled with the rope binding her wrists. "You must understand by now Keiko, your boyfriend and his friends have made a whole lot of enemies, and the most efficient way to eliminate an enemy is through his weaknesses. That's where you guys come in. It's nothing personal." Precious explained casually still gazing out at the plains as if waiting for something. Her lips curled in a mischievous smile. "They'll be arriving shortly."
Keiko's stomach gave a sickening lurch as she realized what would happen. Yuusuke would come for her and set off the sleeping trap and she would have to sit there and watch him die. Tears sparkled in her eyes and rolled down her cheek. Li spoke again. "Look, I know you think this is very unfair right now and that I'm a horrible person, but it has to be this way. If the Reikai Tantei doesn't die tonight, then I'll just have to kill a lot more people instead. I don't have a choice in this. After it's over I promise I won't kill you. Heck, I'll even wipe out your memories so you won't have to live with the grief. All I can offer you right now, Keiko, are my deepest apologies."
Wind blew his scarlet hair into his face, but he could still see it, a formidable gnarled tree in the distance. Hiei was getting close to it now; Kurama could feel his youki burning madly. He also felt another ki in the distance.
"It must be Li." He whispered his thoughts unaware that he was doing so. Simple. If Hiei hadn't killed Li by the time the rest of them got there it would be four against one, but something didn't feel right. He stopped.
"What's wrong Kurama?" Yuusuke inquired breathlessly. They'd been running for a while now. He didn't answer; he was too deep in thought. 'They should be able to see Hiei by now. Why don't they call out?' he thought. 'I've seen that tree somewhere before.... What was it again? Oh no. It's some kind of carnivorous plant. What manner of carnivorous plant would he choose for an ambush? What could he be planning? Wait! That's a sleeping trap! Hiei will be sure to scream at him when he gets there!'
Kurama, still ignoring Yuusuke's question, used telepathy to warn Hiei but he wouldn't respond. "Yuusuke, that tree is a sleeping trap. No matter what do not raise your voice or... let's not think about that for now. Just hurry!" Kurama began running again abruptly. Emerald eyes burned brighter with desperation than the stars themselves.
"This is Li. We have reason to believe he is employed by a very powerful organization. His motives are currently unknown, but they involve you, and we don't think he wants to invite you over for tea. He's very dangerous if he catches you off guard. Be on the lookout for him, he's probably out for blood."
Botan displayed the photo of a dark skinned child wearing a baseball cap tipped low over the face. The picture was dark and the child's gender would have been indefinite had Botan not referred to him as "he". The features were fair but did not favor either gender. Yuusuke burst into hysterical laughter. "A twelve year old is out to kill us! Oooh I'm so scared, I'm shaking in my little sneakers! Hahahahahaha!"
"I'm not kidding! He's really dangerous!" Botan said.
"Whatever. I could take that guy sleepwalking."
Car exhaust. People. Heat. Bicycles whizzed by. Ice cream melted. Schoolgirls laughed. Mothers walking by scolded their children for staring at her. But that was okay, she was used to it. All of it. Being ignored and gawked at, being invisible and yet, the most attention attracting object on the street. "Who's that?" "A tourist, I think." "Is that a guy or a girl?" Schoolgirls momentarily stopped their giggling in order to get a better look. Comments like that didn't bother Li. She wasn't here to soak up the culture and she was not a tourist. She was here on business. Not just some overseas business conference. No, real business. Dangerous business. She had plans to carry out, very dangerous plans. "Hey Keiko, hurry up!" 'Keiko'. A very important name on her agenda. Speaking of which looked something like this:
Find: "The Great Urameshi's" girlfriend (Keiko) Youko Kurama's mother (Ms. Minamino) The Hiei's sister ( Yukina) The big ugly one's sister (Shizuru) "The Great Urameshi's" mother (Atsuko) in case he's dumped his girl
Easy enough. All she had to do was go to the school and ask about Keiko. Keiko would want to know where to find Shizuru and Atsuko, as well as Ms.Minamino and at least one of them would know where to find Yukina.
Simple. She could lure the Reikai Tantei anywhere she pleased by kidnapping these ladies.
Why she needed to trap the Reikai Tantei was a much more complicated matter. It was so long ago now; she'd been about thirteen. She was a hanyou, a dirty-blooded half-breed. To pay for the crimes of her demon father she was taken from the Ningenkai by the organization her father had betrayed. She was to work for them for eternity as their indestructible servant, never to die or age until released from their service. She had been in with the organization as long as she could remember because they erased her memories and trained her in the ruthless art of assassination. Her tasks were mostly assassinations. Always big obnoxious men who had it coming to them anyways. But recently she'd been ordered to take out whole villages, women, children and all. She had a reputation for being a merciless killer, thought by most to have no emotions, however the recent change in victims was not at all enjoyable to her. The harshness of this life made her decide it might be time for a lifestyle change.
"You may be half demon, but I suppose your half human too. No girl of mortal blood could efficiently do the jobs that need to be done lately, so I have a proposal for you..."
Her boss spoke with her one day. The organization had felt threatened by the Urameshi Team, so he'd given her a test. If she could kill them without using her own strength, he'd set her free. Free to love, free to explore, free to enjoy her power any way she pleased.
Why she needed to trap the Reikai Tantei was a much more complicated matter. It was so long ago now; she'd been about thirteen. She was a hanyou, a dirty-blooded half-breed. To pay for the crimes of her demon father she was taken from the Ningenkai by the organization her father had betrayed. She was to work for them for eternity as their indestructible servant, never to die or age until released from their service. She had been in with the organization as long as she could remember because they erased her memories and trained her in the ruthless art of assassination. Her tasks were mostly assassinations. Always big obnoxious men who had it coming to them anyways. But recently she'd been ordered to take out whole villages, women, children and all. She had a reputation for being a merciless killer, thought by most to have no emotions, however the recent change in victims was not at all enjoyable to her. The harshness of this life made her decide it might be time for a lifestyle change.
"You may be half demon, but I suppose your half human too. No girl of mortal blood could efficiently do the jobs that need to be done lately, so I have a proposal for you..."
Her boss spoke with her one day. The organization had felt threatened by the Urameshi Team, so he'd given her a test. If she could kill them without using her own strength, he'd set her free. Free to love, free to explore, free to enjoy her power any way she pleased.
Yuusuke stood in front of the crowded movie theatre with a puzzled frown. Keiko promised she'd be there twenty minutes ago. It wasn't like her to be late; she was never late. Keiko was pretty much perfect. Punctuality was one quality from the really long list of qualities that made her so.
"Maybe she's trying to get me back for that time I forgot I was supposed to meet her here. But that was so long ago." Yuusuke's irritation gave away to concern, which gave away to fear, as Keiko became thirty minutes and then an hour late. His spirit detective watch began to beep. He pulled it out to see Botan's panic stricken face. "Keiko, Yukina, Shizuru, and Ms.Minamino have been kidnapped! You have to hurry. It's Li. He says he's going to kill them all if you don't get to them within an hour! He's leaving a spirit signal behind him. Use you compass to track him down when you get to the Makai!"
Terror, disbelief, and adrenaline fueled Yuusuke as he sprinted down a dark street. He must have run over several people in the horrified dash. A sword swung out from an alley he almost passed right before his face. He stopped dead in his tracks. "Do you even know where you're going?"
East
Hiei lowered his sword and sheathed it. 'Stupid boy' he thought. He and Kurama and Kuwabara stood in the grimy alley around a gaping a hole glowing with green luminance, the portal to the Makai. No words were spoken; they rushed into the portal without the slightest hesitation. They landed on a suspiciously quiet plain. Hiei immediately turned east. The air was far too still and quiet while he gazed off at the rising moon. He sensed a malicious presence there, almost mischievous. Surely only a demon could produce such a prescience, a very powerful demon. It had to be Li. There was no question about it. Li would pay dearly for stealing his sister, regardless of how powerful he was. Li would die a horrible death indeed. Hiei was trembling with rage and could control himself no longer. He spoke one word before he let himself go, almost drawn by the power he sensed so far away. "East" He took off much too fast for any of his companions to see. All that he left behind to hint his departure were the waves in the grass rippling violently behind him. The rest of the Reikai Tantei had no choice but to follow before the trail had vanished.
Apology
"Why are you doing this? Let us go!" Keiko ordered Li in an urgent whisper as she struggled with the rope binding her wrists. "You must understand by now Keiko, your boyfriend and his friends have made a whole lot of enemies, and the most efficient way to eliminate an enemy is through his weaknesses. That's where you guys come in. It's nothing personal." Precious explained casually still gazing out at the plains as if waiting for something. Her lips curled in a mischievous smile. "They'll be arriving shortly."
Keiko's stomach gave a sickening lurch as she realized what would happen. Yuusuke would come for her and set off the sleeping trap and she would have to sit there and watch him die. Tears sparkled in her eyes and rolled down her cheek. Li spoke again. "Look, I know you think this is very unfair right now and that I'm a horrible person, but it has to be this way. If the Reikai Tantei doesn't die tonight, then I'll just have to kill a lot more people instead. I don't have a choice in this. After it's over I promise I won't kill you. Heck, I'll even wipe out your memories so you won't have to live with the grief. All I can offer you right now, Keiko, are my deepest apologies."
Wind blew his scarlet hair into his face, but he could still see it, a formidable gnarled tree in the distance. Hiei was getting close to it now; Kurama could feel his youki burning madly. He also felt another ki in the distance.
"It must be Li." He whispered his thoughts unaware that he was doing so. Simple. If Hiei hadn't killed Li by the time the rest of them got there it would be four against one, but something didn't feel right. He stopped.
"What's wrong Kurama?" Yuusuke inquired breathlessly. They'd been running for a while now. He didn't answer; he was too deep in thought. 'They should be able to see Hiei by now. Why don't they call out?' he thought. 'I've seen that tree somewhere before.... What was it again? Oh no. It's some kind of carnivorous plant. What manner of carnivorous plant would he choose for an ambush? What could he be planning? Wait! That's a sleeping trap! Hiei will be sure to scream at him when he gets there!'
Kurama, still ignoring Yuusuke's question, used telepathy to warn Hiei but he wouldn't respond. "Yuusuke, that tree is a sleeping trap. No matter what do not raise your voice or... let's not think about that for now. Just hurry!" Kurama began running again abruptly. Emerald eyes burned brighter with desperation than the stars themselves.