"Damn…"

Yusuke's hand was pressed against the cool glass of the car window as he stared out. The two peaks of this particular mountain range did a particularly impeccable job of hiding the valley from view until you really entered it. That's when you could see the architectural marvel that was the mansion.

It wasn't a particularly beautiful building, as it was quite boxy and made of a drab, grey brick covered in ivy, but the sheer size of the damn thing was what took the breath away. The yard, both front and back, could have given Genkai's land a run for its money. Gardens, overgrown, wild, and in a full, gorgeous bloom, covered everything. An orchard stretched out across a quarter of the valley, and the team saw fat, pink peaches dotting many of the trees.

"How big is this place?" Kuwabara mumbled. Since he was driving, he could only catch brief glimpses.

Kurama checked the file in his lap. "The mansion proper is something like seventy-thousand square feet in living space."

"What rich bitch built this?" Yusuke asked, crossing his arms. "I didn't know anyone actually had that kind of money."

"It's from the early nineteenth century," Botan put in from the back, "Built by an American immigrant who'd made his fortune in the railroad industry. It remained in his family until about ten years ago, and then his granddaughter passed away."

The car stopped, suddenly. "What's the problem?" Botan asked. Kuwabara raised a shaking hand and pointed out the window.

"Are…" He blanched. "Are those alligators?"

Everyone looked out the window: before them was a short bridge that sat over a deep, water-filled trench that seemed to run along the entirety of the road. They just hadn't been paying that much attention to it. It was dark and murky, and a few logs were floating about in the surface. Except, upon further inspection, they weren't logs. One of the alligators seemed to be peering up at Kurama, eyeballing him and the car like it was trying to decide if attacking was worthwhile. This was what they had to cross in order to reach the mile-long driveway.

"Just go slow," Kurama said calmly, "We'll be fine."

As Kuwabara rode the brake over the little bridge, he caught sight of another gator in his rearview mirror. It snapped angrily at his bumper, and he shoved the gas pedal to the floor, leaving the creature behind as fast as he could.

"Who the hell seriously keeps an alligator-filled moat?!" Yusuke grumbled. "That's so weird."

"They were imported," Kurama said darkly. "They certainly aren't found in Japan. There are some species that are native to China, but that's still three thousand kilometers away."

"I'm getting a bad feeling, guys," Kuwabara said softly.

Botan frowned, worried. "We'll be fine." It sounded like she was trying to convince herself just as much as the others.

Kurama frowned, looking at the mansion again. "Is Koenma quite sure it's abandoned?"

"Pretty sure…" Botan replied. But then she saw what he was looking at as they passed: one of the fountains in the front lawn was running. "That's why we're having you boys look into it. Just in case."

Koenma, more vague than usual, had sent the gang out on their latest mission out to the middle of the countryside in Kyushu. They were well outside of any town, city, or village, and had to take two or three trains just to get to the island. Their destination was so out of the way that they had to pick up a rental car, travelling for two and a half hours on a lonely, dirt road that wound its way through the landscape. On one hand, it was hard to believe that anyone would want to build a house so far out of the way of civilization. On the other, though, it was the perfect place to be if one didn't want to be disturbed. Because of its isolation, Reikai had a hard time finding much information about whether or not it was inhabited. And, for whatever reason, Koenma wanted it. He hadn't explained why, and if Botan knew, she wasn't telling.

"Don't park by the garage," Kurama advised as they continued down. Kuwabara nodded and stopped short of the front door by a few hundred feet.

They all got out of the car, and it was like they were in the middle of a nature preserve. The most immediate sounds were those of… peacocks? A white peahen poked her head out of one of the hedges lining the outer wall of the mansion, and led a clutch of seven babies out with her. She kept clear of the intruders, waddling along quickly to herd her young to a mass of berry bushes, where they faded into the undergrowth.

"Think they're pets?" Kuwabara asked.

"Probably."

Hiei stepped off the ledge of a second-story window and landed neatly among his companions. His permafrown didn't betray anything but his usual annoyance.

Kurama quirked a brow. "What did you see?" he asked.

"No obvious signs of human occupants, yet," Hiei replied casually, hands in his pockets. "But the wildlife around here doesn't exactly act wild."

Suddenly, Yusuke burst into laughter. He was doubled over in front of the large, oak doors, pointing wildly at the twin brass knockers that were in the shape of bored-looking camel heads, each mouth holding a large ring.

"Wh-who-" Yusuke cackled, face turning red, "Who decided that was a good decision?!"

Comical as they were, they were too out-of-place, Kurama thought. He cautiously approached them, inspecting everything carefully. Yes, they were newer installments than the doors, probably less than a decade old. Someone had changed something after the last owner died.

Kuwabara let out a sharp yell and threw himself on the ground, and a pair of arrows came shooting out at him from either side. Yusuke and Kurama ducked out of the way as they missed their targets, and suddenly everyone was on their guard.

"Botan!" Yusuke called, "Stay in the car!"

"Right-o!" she agreed in a sing-song voice, and the car door slammed shut.

"What did you do?" Hiei snapped.

Kuwabara scrambled back to his feet. "I don't know!" he cried, "I was tryin' to look through the window and then my foot sunk down and I heard a click-"

"And you set off a trap," Kurama finished.

"Well," Yusuke grumbled, "Looks like breaking in should be a lot of fun."

"Now that we know," Kurama said, "It shouldn't be too bad."

"Just keep your eyes peeled, you'll be fine," Hiei said simply. He shrugged and drove his sword through the crack between the two doors. Swiftly sliding it down, intending to cut open the locks, he grunted irritably when it stuck. "What is this?" he growled, bringing the sword up and doing it again. Once more, the blade stuck. One of the camel heads let out a weird, growling roar that sounded a little like a stalling car, but it was like it was laughing at Hiei.

"Come, Hiei," Kurama suggested gently, "I'm sure there's more than one way to get in."

"It's mocking me."

"I know."

They split up into two teams: Kurama and Kuwabara, Yusuke and Hiei. While the latter pair snuck around the back ("to avoid that vile thing," Hiei had justified, glowering at the knocker) to try to find a different way inside, agreeing that merely shattering a window wasn't the best idea, Kurama stayed and pondered the front door. His eyes looked up. There was a balcony on the fourth floor that housed what looked like two or three satellite dishes. It could be worth looking at.

"I'll be right back," Kurama said, still considering the balcony. "You stay here and keep an eye out." He flashed a smile at Kuwabara. "And try not to set off any more traps."

"Yeah, can it, Kurama," Kuwabara grumbled, "Just get going."

Kurama pulled the rose from his hair, turning it into the whip he generally favored. It was easy enough to hook it around the wrought-iron gate, and he used it as a climbing rope to scale the front of the mansion, hands easily avoiding the thorns. He only paused briefly to look into the windows he passed: all he could see were dim hallways, lined with doors. Here and there, he could see dusty rugs and the occasional piece of art, but those didn't mean anything. He was pleased to see that the doors into the top floor were large and made of glass, flanked by those satellites. Up close, they definitely weren't for television.

He gave the door a cursory glance to make sure there weren't any traps waiting for him on the inside: it looked like an attic, full of the most random assortment of items. Many large objects were covered in white sheets, hiding their true nature, but he caught sight of a hung-up skeleton and a suit of armor shoved in a corner, along with a large box that had illegible scribblings in black marker. The one next to it simply said "Janet." A trophy case, a dress form that was swathed in a dress made of a beige-green, scaly material, a pile of sports gear… The list kept going. There was a single door on this floor, leading to, he assumed, the rest of the mansion. Opposite from that was a massive safe with three tiny keyholes in its face.

Kurama felt the familiar itch to break it open. The size of the thing suggested that the security as a whole was more complex than a handful of keys. But, he squashed the feeling down. Later, maybe, if the current mission was successful. For now, he settled with opening the door. The first thing he noticed was a large, steel beam, only a few inches thick, barring it. Assuming it wasn't bolted into place, it shouldn't be too hard to open.

"Hey!" Kuwabara called up. "Got anything yet, Fox Boy?"

He leaned over the rail. "Maybe. Give me another minute."

Okay, what else? From what he'd seen so far, there had to be something else to the attic door. A regular keyhole, no surprise there. He closed his eyes to concentrate on his other senses. There was the faintest hum. Was the door electrified? He reached into his pocket and pulled out a spare coin, flicking it at the glass. It bounced back at his face three times harder than he'd tossed it with a zap! Yep. Electrified, he thought, neatly dodging the coin, and enhanced so that it would throw back anything aimed to smash it. A rock would be devastating to a hopeful intruder. Kurama decided that it would be better to wait and see if the others found an easier point of access. He used the rose whip to climb back down.

"Well?" Kuwabara pressed as Kurama landed. "Got anything?"

"It's a 'Plan B' entrance," Kurama admitted. "I'd rather not deal with it unless we have to."

"It's a good thing we've got something." Yusuke was jogging around the corner, waving at his friends. "Found a storm cellar, looks like it'll go inside. It was an easy open."

"Excellent."

It was a pair of wooden doors mounted almost parallel to the ground on the side of the house, flung open by Hiei and Yusuke. It was dark down there. Kuwabara made some grunting comment about it, but otherwise let it go. Kurama was the last to go down, using caution on the stone steps. They were rough, uneven and probably as old as the mansion, itself, with foot-shaped dents worn away into their centers that made them easy to slip on if one didn't hit them just right. As he descended, the air became chilly and started smelling like oak. He saw the outline of two large barrels. They were probably filled with wine, from the stench of it. As his eyes adjusted (faster than poor Kuwabara's, who kept bumping into walls), he saw a large wine rack filled with bottles and against the wall.

"There wouldn't happen to be a light switch, would there?" Kuwabara asked, yowling as he stubbed his toe on something else.

"Wait- I think- yeah, got it."

Yusuke must have found it, because the lights suddenly flickered into life. The cellar looked warmer than it felt, and it was much smaller than Kurama had anticipated. Unless… yes, that was it. Five doors. There was the missing floor space.

"Holy crap."

Yusuke had opened the largest door, heavy and metal with several warning signs tacked onto it. Corrosive materials, possible x-ray exposure, radioactivity, "Martha didn't wear goggles in the lab, now she doesn't have to-"

Kurama poked his head in and took a step back. A full-sized laboratory? Machines and work benches, desks with complicated-looking computers, boxes of random mechanical parts, and a float-tank that held a grey figure about the size of a football, with nubs where limbs might be on a human embryo. A black spot where the eye would go was staring, unseeing, straight at him. Slowly, he closed the door.

"Let's leave that room alone, shall we?" he suggested.

"Why?" Kuwabara asked, "What's in it?"

"Nothing I care about," Hiei snapped. "Let's get this stupid mission finished with."

They checked the other rooms: two bathrooms, a small storage closet, and a workout center. It was much warmer, more comfortable in the separate rooms. Still, nothing of interest, so they pressed onward up the stairs. Yusuke took the point position with Kurama following.

"Find anything up front?" Yusuke asked quietly.

"A door that punches back," Kurama replied casually, "But nothing too serious. What about you? Was there anything else besides the cellar?"

"A vegetable patch. And more peacocks."

Glancing down, Kurama saw a thin, red laser crossing the step he was about to take. At the last second, he hopped over it, hoping Yusuke had seen it.

"Watch it," he warned the two trailing behind him.

"Wha-?" Kuwabara looked down, his foot hovering inches above the laser. He blanched. "Tell me you didn't step on it!" he nervously demanded.

Yusuke was pulling a face, and Kurama sighed. Of course he had. Kurama held his hands up, signaling to the others to be quiet so that he could listen. No alarms were going off, and he didn't see anything else to indicate they'd activated a trap or triggered the security system.

"Huh…" Kuwabara grunted, scratching the back of his neck. "Guess the alarm must be broken."

Kurama touched a finger to his lips thoughtfully. "Perhaps."

They continued and the stairs led up into another small room that only had two doors. They only checked the one, because the first they opened led directly into a kitchen. It was spacious and clean, and while it had clearly been built over a century ago, it had been since updated. There was even a pasta arm attached to the sink, as well as a well-used, worn coffee machine.

"Signs of life?" Hiei asked Kurama quietly.

"Maybe." Kurama looked around cautiously. "We definitely ought to check."

"Let's spread out," Yusuke suggested. "Everyone take a room, we'll move up the floors together."

Kurama meandered into a room much like a game parlour, just off the kitchen: there was a card table, chess set, a cabinet full of dust-covered board games, a grand piano, and two couches positioned haphazardly around a magnificent, marble fireplace that stood out well against the creamy-colored walls and floor. There was still charred wood inside, and something glinting in the light, lodged within the seam of the stone hearth and the carpet. He crouched down and pried it out. It was a piece of sharp, blackened, broken glass. At this level, he could see more of it in the back corners of the firebox. Maybe something had shattered inside?

He heard a yelp from across the hall, and darted into a huge living room to see Yusuke standing behind a large bar, clutching his smoking hand. He was glaring incredulously down at the counter. "What the hell, man?!" he shouted.

"Urameshi?" Kuwabara slid into the room, followed (slowly) by Hiei. "What happened?"

"The damn thing bit me!" Yusuke growled. "I was looking for a key to the liquor cabinet and the damn thing bit me!"

"Burned you, more like," Kurama corrected with a faint smile.

Hiei was inspecting the underside of the bar and smirked. "You idiot," he laughed. "There's a fingerprint scanner next to a blowtorch."

It was true: there was a blowtorch jury-rigged to a thin, black panel that was actually an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner. No lights or lasers to alert someone of its presence if they didn't know it was already there. The torch itself was duct-taped to the counter, and the trigger had some odd construct made of thin strips of wood rubber-banded to it. This connected it to the fingerprint scanner.

What kind of people lived in this place, before?

Blowing on his hand, Yusuke grimaced. "Can't we just tell Koenma this place is uninhabitable and to have someone else come in to clear out all the traps?"

"You'll have to ask Botan about that-"

"Who are you?"

They all turned, startled, by the young woman who was casually making her way down the dark-stained stairs out in the foyer. Long, auburn hair was caught up in a high ponytail, and her green eyes were squinting down at them as if she'd just awoken. Her clothes, though expensive-looking and fancy, were rumpled enough to say the same. Frowning, she rubbed blearily at her face, inadvertently drawing attention to a thick, black tattoo under her left eye, and stifled a yawn, stopping at the foot of the staircase.

"Get out of my house," she mumbled, sounding exasperated.

"Who the hell-?" Yusuke yelled.

"What do you mean your house?" Kuwabara asked, thrown off entirely. "I thought this place was empty?"

Ignoring both outbursts, she swung aside one of the paintings in the stairwell to reveal a fancy, white panel. Orange lights were flashing erratically at her, and she sighed. "Dammit…" Punching random buttons, the lights turned blue and stopped flashing. "How did you all set off three quarters of my security traps?"

Yusuke groaned, head hanging back. "You mean there are more?"

She rolled her eyes and pointed at the door. "Get the goddamn hell out of my house. Before I make you."

Kurama frowned, calculating. The girl was almost certainly human, not a speck of demonic anything about her aura. Her reiki level was a tad high, so she was probably spiritually aware, like Kuwabara had been before the Dark Tournament, but she likely couldn't tell anything about the intruders. How did she think she could force them all out?

While he was thinking, Hiei was smirking. "Make us?" he snipped, "I'd like to see you try, girl."

With another sigh and a roll of her eyes, she seemed to pull out a machete from nowhere. It was old, the blade spotted with rust, but she handled it like it was an extension of her arm.

"Look, buddy, just get out of my house and let me watch Deka Wanko in peace. okay? That's all I want out of my Saturday. I won't even press charges."

She wasn't even shocked that a handful of people had just invaded her home. How often did this happen, Kurama wondered? Before the others could say a word, he gave her a polite smile. "Forgive us," he apologized, bowing slightly at the waist. "We thought this building was abandoned. Now that we know otherwise, we'll be taking our leave." For that's what Koenma had instructed them to do on the off-chance that it was inhabited. He looked at Yusuke, who'd bristled at her nonverbal threat, but they exchanged a silent understanding.

"Yeah…" Yusuke relaxed and grinned cheekily at her. "Sorry about that. Heard this was a fun place to party. Guess we were wrong."

The girl's face seemed to wake up a little more, and she glowered. "Who told you-?"

But Kurama was already ushering his friends out. Hiei vanished into the trees while the rest of them piled back into the car as quickly as they could. As Kuwabara tore out of the driveway, over the alligator-filled moat, and back to the road, Yusuke leaned against the window and pouted.

"Well, that was a bust!" he grunted. "Now what do we do? I thought the brat really wanted that place for something?"

"What happened?" Botan asked, leaning forward to rest her elbows on both the driver's seat and the passenger's. "No one's actually living in that place, are they?"

"Yeah." Kuwabara looked like he was deep in thought. "A girl. Probably our age."

"That's weird…" Botan bit her lip thoughtfully. "I guess there's nothing else to do but report to Koenma, then. He wanted to know what happened, either way."

"Tell him I want workman's comp!" Yusuke snapped, brandishing his burned hand in at her face. "Seriously! The things I do for that brat!"

"Oh, Yusuke," Botan giggled, "You've been through worse than a little burn."

"That's my point!" he shrieked, voice cracking. "I've literally died for that bastard, I demand financial compensation!"

"I can fix it right up for you," she brushed off. "Just give me a minute." Botan pulled her tiny communicator out of her pocket and dialed Koenma, waiting patiently until his image flickered onto the screen. He looked grumpy.

"What is it, Botan?" he demanded, "The mission can't be over already!"

"I'm afraid this stage is, sir," she conceded. "The boys had a little problem inside."

"Little?!" Yusuke jammed his injury into the sight of the communicator. "Look at my hand!"

Koenma rolled his eyes. "Oh, get over it, you crybaby. Tell me what happened."

Kurama, while Yusuke and Kuwabara frequently interjected, launched into an abridged version of what had happened. Not that they were there for very long. When he got to the part about the mansion's human resident, Koenma didn't seem all that surprised. In fact, the gears in his brain were turning; something had clicked.

"How good of a look did you get of the place?" he asked.

"Not a particularly good one," Kurama admitted. "We poked around the cellar and explored the first floor, and I saw a little bit of the attic."

"Was there anything…" Koenma paused, searching for the word. "Odd? Things that looked out of place?"

"The science lab in the basement!" Yusuke interjected. "Kurama saw it! What was in that tank, d'you think?"

"There were plenty of things that didn't belong in that mansion," Kurama agreed.

"How bad were the traps?"

"Terrible," Kuwabara threw in darkly. "I'm lucky my arm doesn't look like Swiss cheese!"

"Oh, it wasn't that bad," Botan said soothingly. "You dodged the arrows expertly."

"Were there camel-shaped door knockers?" Koenma finally asked. Everyone in the car fell silent for a few minutes. He had his answer. "Right." He shuffled some papers around on his desk. "None of you are to go back to that house for the time being. Kurama, Botan, I would like to see you privately in my office as soon as possible."

"Absolutely," Botan said with a nod.

"How did you know-?" Kuwabara started, but Koenma had already hung up.

Kurama found himself standing at the door of the mansion once again a few days later, this time with an adult-looking Koenma, himself, as well as Botan. They were all dressed as regular humans, though a little fancier than normal in dress shirts, slacks, and the like. Their meeting the other day had been all about a new battle plan. The little prince was determined to get his hands on, or at the very least someone inside, the mansion. With or without its current owner.

Koenma gripped the black suitcase in his hand and calmly banged the brass ring against the door. It took a few minutes, and Koenma knocked again, but finally they heard a voice on the other side.

"Yeah, I'm coming. You try getting to the door in a millisecond when you're anywhere in this place…" Kurama stifled a grin.

The same girl from before, still dressed in odd, frilly clothes, greeted them with a blank stare. When her eyes landed on Kurama, she furrowed her brow. "You," she hissed, "You're one of the jerks from the other day."

"Jerks?" Botan asked, clucking chidingly. "What did you boys do to the poor girl?"

"Yes," he said softly, ignoring Botan. "And I hope you'll accept my sincerest apologies once more for our intrusion."

Her eyes snapped to Koenma and his briefcase, and she lost her frown. Her eyes turned sad. "Oh…" she breathed. Glancing away, she relented, "Please, come in." She led the trio into the foyer, which was lined in dark hardwood and matching paneling. "I'm not sure where you would like to conduct your business," she said, addressing Koenma as if the other two weren't there. "My office is on the third floor, but it's hard to offer you tea from up there, and what kind of host would I be if I didn't at least do that?"

"The dining room would suffice," Koenma suggested. Kurama caught his eye, questioning him silently. Koenma shook his head the smallest fraction of an inch. Now's not the time.

He got to have a good look at the large dining room while the girl was off in the kitchen. The wood was almost as dark as the foyer, though it was brightened with windows and green drapery and rugs. The table was massive, able to seat twelve with plenty of room to spare, and decorated with a simple floral arrangement. They looked like some of the flowers that were out in the garden. The girl must have made it, herself.

"Koenma, sir," Botan whispered urgently, shifting uncomfortably in her seat, "Isn't that—?"

"Yep." He cut her off, still stoic. "Kiya's girl."

That name was familiar. Where had he…?

Just then, she came back into the dining room, bearing a large, gilded tray that held a very Rococo-esque tea set with, of all things, a large, fluffy black cat winding around her ankles. "I can guess why you're here," she said, pouring everyone tea and leaving them to their own cream and sugar. "But I'll tell you, like I've told everyone else who's asked, I can't sell the mansion." She watched Koenma idly stir a sugar lump into his tea. "Not even to the Prince of Reikai."

Botan choked on her tea. "How did you guess?" she asked, slamming the teacup down on its saucer. "You've never met him!"

"No," she agreed, sitting down across from Koenma. The cat vanished under the table. "I've heard enough about you, though. I still have one of Kiya's notebooks. After the Idiot Brigade's bungled break-in, I dug it up and found all I needed. I can be a real moron, sometimes, but I'm not stupid."

"It doesn't matter," Koenma said calmingly to Botan. "I'm not surprised. Toriaka trained you well."

The girl set her jaw firmly. "I didn't learn resourcefulness from her," she said quietly. "Please, say what you think might convince me to sell. I'll indulge you."

"I don't want to buy your mansion," he casually said, setting his briefcase on the table. "Though, I wouldn't have minded if you hadn't been here. No, I have a different proposition." Popping open his case, he pulled out a small stack of papers and flipped it around to show off a very large sum of money. The girl ignored the latter and started scanning the papers.

"'Research proposal…'" she murmured. "What? Why?"

"Your mansion has been the center of odd things for quite some time," he explained. "Right?"

Her eyes flicked up to his face, hard. "How much did Kiya tell you?" she asked quietly, setting the stack down.

"Only about the television," Koenma admitted. "And the pen. I don't know any particulars. But, I would like to. When interdimensional travel becomes mastered by a pack of unruly teenagers, of course Reikai wants to know about it. And, since Kurama, here, is arguably the smartest employee I have, I wanted to have him look into the matter."

Kurama smiled when she glanced at him. This was the first he'd heard of it.

"I wouldn't advise a one-man team, when it comes to the TV," she snorted, resting her chin in her hand. "Trust me. I've tried it."

"Hence the rest of the written forms in front of you."

"I saw." She frowned, pressing her lips thin and bringing her arm down. "This isn't a boarding house."

"I can pay you."

"I don't need money." She looked like she regretted that statement the second she made it.

"Then what?"

Looking down at her hands, she whispered, "I just want to be left alone."

Koenma sighed. "Kurama, Botan, help me out, here."

"Did you know," Botan chirped sweetly, smiling at the girl, "I was the first person from Reikai to meet Tori-chan! She told me so much about you!"

"Not that," Koenma snapped through gritted teeth, watching the girl's face darken.

She stood up sharply. "I'm sorry," she repeated in a flat tone, "But I can't allow strangers to live in my home, anymore. They always cause mayhem with my collection." She gestured to the hallway. "Please, leave."

They watched her leave the dining room and heard her unlocking the front door. Koenma shot a hard, insistent look at Kurama. "Do something," he growled quietly. His eyes were glittering dangerously.

For whatever reason, Koenma desperately wanted a foothold in this building. If it was really for the "research project," or the "interdimensional travel," Kurama didn't know, but he had a decision to make. He clenched his jaw. This was ridiculous. The trio rose from the table and followed after the girl. While Koenma and Botan made their goodbyes and went back outside, Kurama lagged behind, putting on his most charming smile.

"I'm sorry we couldn't come to an understanding," he unctuously said, hanging in the doorway. She scowled, refusing to meet his eye.

"There's nothing to understand." She leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed over her chest. "My home can't be open to just anyone who wants to crash here."

"If you don't mind my asking," Kurama quickly asked, "Do you think I might be able to pick your brain some time about your security system? I'm intrigued."

Her green eyes slid to his. They were perpetually wide, he noticed, though her eyebrows made them seem warier and erased any hint of surprise. It was like she was trying to see every potential threat around her at once. The tattoo under one eye didn't help things, as it was a simple, black rectangle with the lower left and upper right corners turning down and up respectively. It matched her eyeliner well, at any rate. She huffed through her nose, like a bull. "He said your name's Kurama, yeah? I should've guessed."

"Does my reputation precede me?" he asked jokingly. She didn't laugh. "Yes, I'm Kurama, though I go by Minamino Shuichi in the human world."

"Kiya mentioned you and the others a few times," she continued softly. "She said… I think she said you were a thief, maybe?"

He held his hands up in mock surrender. "I swear, I've put that occupation behind me!" he promised. Kurama studied her again. "Ah, I remember, now. Kiya Toriaka, the half-demon girl from Tokyo. You knew her?"

"You could say that." The girl gulped, hard, and looked away again. Her fingertips, nails bitten to the quick, dug into the sides of her arms. He'd said the wrong thing again.

"I suppose I'll be taking my leave with my employer," he finished, holding out a hand for her to shake. "It was lovely meeting you."

She stared at his hand, and turned away, reaching out to find the door in order to shut it. With a sigh, he took the steps down from the porch. The second his foot touched the dirt ground, her flat tone cut through the country air.

"My name is Endo Irie. Safe travels, Kurama."

Irie sat in her bedroom, curled up in the bay window that she'd finally fixed up into a reading nook. Her phone was sitting on the other side, staring at her. Daring her to pick it up. In her hand, she was anxiously curling the corner of Koenma's joke of a business card. Her throat tightened every time she thought about his visit from yesterday. He'd known Toriaka. And, she realized, he also would have known Nanami. She wondered, as she did every day, if they ever thought of her, and she bit her lip to keep it from trembling. Tossing the card down on the floor, she rolled from her perch and left her room to make her way downstairs. A small spaniel, curled up on an ottoman against the other side of the room, lifted her head and wagged her tail.

"Stay, Duchess."

Irie both loved and hated the mansion. It was her everything, and it was a prison sentence. The walls here held more memories than her own mind. This hallway, for instance: five portraits, beautifully painted in oils, stared at her. Judged her. She brushed past their gazes and hopped onto the banister, sliding down to reach the first floor all the faster.

The television was hidden quietly away from view in the living room, but she could still feel its pull. The urge to check. To see if it had been activated. But she resisted. Instead, she padded into the kitchen and grabbed a bag of seeds from a cupboard, shoving it under her arm and walking out into the backyard.

"Matilda!" she called out, "Children! Come eat!" A fat peacock with a gloriously long tail came waddling from her strawberry bushes, and she rolled her eyes. "Sigfried," she complained, "Dude, I already fed you how many times today? Let the kids have some."

As if on cue, the peahen with the clutch of seven chicks led her passel into the yard, expectantly cocking her head up at Irie. Her young clustered around Irie's feet, peeping and hopping excitedly and making her laugh.

"Look how big you're all getting!" she cooed sweetly. She sat down on the back step and scattered seeds everywhere. Immediately, the various birds dove in and started eating. Scooping more into her hand, she plucked one of the smaller chicks from the mass and let it eat from her hand. "You're not letting them bully you, are you, Tank?" she asked, not expecting an answer. She gently stroked his soft, downy body. "I hope those idiots from the other day didn't give you guys any trouble."

Irie sighed and sat back, absently petting the peachick. "They want me to rent out the mansion to them. Can you believe it? After all the trouble we went through to keep this place safe and protected. Damn it, Tori, why couldn't you keep your mouth shut?"

A soft breeze played through the trees of her fruit orchards. With a sigh, she looked up and watched a stray, green leaf float along on the wind. It also carried the sweet smell of her trees. She made up her mind. Throwing out the last of a measured amount of feed for her birds, she returned the bag to its place in the kitchen and dug up a large, wicker basket from the pantry. Irie started the trek back out the door, stepping carefully around her peachicks and their mother, and walked down the long footpath that led to the orchard. She'd have to take her car out, next time, since the trees within walking distance were almost done being harvested.

She passed by a clump of rose bushes on her way, and the scent struck a chord with her. Why? She smelled them a dozen times a day, if not more. She realized with a bitter, wry smile that one of her visitors had also smelled like them. The redhead. Kurama.

Now, she knew he knew Toriaka and Nanami. They'd mentioned him several times as they regaled the mansion with tales of their exploits with Koenma's spirit detective, though she hadn't thought about those in quite some time. He liked plants, she remembered. Maybe he would help out in her garden during his stay. She smiled to herself as she walked under the shady boughs of her peach trees. It would be nice to have someone able to reach the higher branches without having to climb. That was precarious work, she thought, as she nervously slung her basket awkwardly over one shoulder and clambered into the lower crook of the tree. She'd grown up with apple trees, which were substantially easier to maneuver. The branch wobbled under her weight, but she managed to stay balanced until her head broke through the leaves. The sun felt good on her face. Warm.

What would Toriaka and Nanami have done in her position, she asked herself? Of course, they'd have said yes to Koenma without a second thought. She shook her head, gently setting picked peaches into her basket. She was thinking about people from almost a decade ago. What about now? If they had to make the decision now, would they still say yes? Or would they be cautious and say no?

Who were they, now? Who had they become in six, seven years? With a frustrated sigh, pawing at her eyes to brush away the angry tears starting to well up, she reminded herself that it wasn't any use. They were gone. All of them. She had to decide on her own.

"Alright."

Koenma was surprised to hear the voice on the other end of the line, but pleased.

"But I want an increase in pay that's thirty percent higher than your original offer," Irie continued. "If I'm going to have demons and crazy people tramping in and out of my house, I'm going to have to have the resources to help look after them."

"I thought you said you didn't need the money?" Koena asked slyly.

"I'm not finished." She sounded determined to get everything out. "If Kurama or any of the other idiots get killed or maimed by either my home or my portal, I'm not to be held responsible. You're the ones who insisted to come here."

He sighed. "Done. I'll have my people sign waivers and everything."

"I would like to assume that I'm getting copies of these legal documents."

"Absolutely."

"Excellent." He heard her shuffling papers around on the other end of the line. "Give me a list of the first group to be staying here, and three days to prepare their lodgings. I'll expect the first month's payment upon arrival, followed up by similar monthly installments."

"You're very business-minded, for a twenty-two-year-old girl."

"Twenty-three. But, I'll take that as a compliment."

"Can I ask what changed your mind, Ms. Endo?"

She curtly hung up the phone, ignoring his question, and Koenma did the same with another, irritable sigh. "Wow, am I glad she asked for money," he breathed, sitting back down in his too-big chair. "From what I can remember, those girls would have wanted a lot more out of me back in the day."

"Girls, sir?" Jorge piped up.

Koenma nodded, but didn't elaborate. "Ogre, call up Botan. We're shipping the team out to Kyushu."

Author's Note: Hello, all! Welcome to the new fic- I know, it's not Yu-Gi-Oh! I was shocked, too. Alas, Yu Yu Hakusho is also one of my original anime loves, and I think the characters work better for darker, grittier storylines.

I have the need to tell you all that this is being written almost exclusively for myself.

That said, I wasn't actually sure I was going to post this one. I started writing it a couple of weeks ago as a way to help me work through some deep-seated issues that I never quite dealt with. It's going to get sad and angsty, and for that, I'm sorry.

Special thanks to user owlloveyou for a few things, the least of which being the nerve to post this story, as well as continue on with writing the others. For real, if you enjoy Yu Yu Hakusho, and you like a good Kurama/OC story, then please go check out her Lithium Flowers stories. They're excellent, and have the best OCs I've read in quite a while (and the pop culture references are to die for, but that's because I'm a huge nerd).

Thank you for reading, everyone! Lots of love, GrisaillesDreams