Chapter One: Disclaimer
Lor: omg! I'm rewriting an old fanfic! SINCE WHEN DOES THAT HAPPEN?
Yusuke: you are over dramatic, has anyone ever told you that?
Lor: Probably.
Yusuke: were you listening?
Lor: ...doubt it. Anyway, all, this was previously titled Multifaceted Clarity. That title was weird to say. So it's been renamed, as you can see, to Prisms and Clarity. As far as timeline goes, eh, it's slightly alternate universe. So bear with it, Sensui and the Makai Tournament haven't popped up yet. They might not at all.
Jinni: Lor doesn't own Yu Yu Hakusho, but she does own me, and several other characters that appear later on!
Lor: I wish I owned YYH...
Yusuke: I'm sure Kurama does too.
Lor: REALLY!?
Kurama: (cough) ...no.
Lor: I love you anyway (heart)
Yusuke: ...anyway, on to chapter one...
Prologue
Spirit World was in it's usual state of disaster. Ogres running back and forth trying to keep the death schedules organized and the lost souls in check. Koenma, in his toddler form, sat stamping away at papers and files. Murders were happening all over the globe and although he knew the source, there was nothing to be done to catch it. He could send his spirit detectives after them, but he doubted anyone aside from Hiei could locate them anyway.
Was he in for a shock.
Escorted by a ferry girl and a guard of the palace that Koenma made his home, was one of them. Koenma knew her well and could only hope that this encounter was more pleasant than their last. With a downtrodden, guilty expression on her face and her green eyes focused on the floor, he was sure it would be. Immediately he dismissed the shinigami and the guard.
"Hello, Jinnara," he began, starting the conversation. Her charcoal wings hung as sadly as her head. "What brings you here? Take a seat."
She obeyed the command and sat down, her small feet barely touching the floor. She was of petite proportions, just under five feet in height and barely a hundred pounds in weight. "Prince Koenma," she said slowly, sucking in a breath. "J.K. exhausted herself in our last Makai slaughter...so I took this chance to speak to you." She looked up tearfully. "I'm tired of this feeling...I don't want to kill anymore! Help me redeem myself! I'll do anything, please!"
The prince folded his hands behind his back. This could be advantageous. "Very well. I've got an idea."
Chapter One Jinnara Kakeira
"Ohh, Yusuke!!" Botan's ever bubbly voice reached the snoozing teenager, and he lazily opened one eye to look at her.
"Whaddaya want, Botan?" he asked, yawning.
The girl landed on the school roof with a small thud, straightening her kimono after disposing of her oar. "Well first of all, Yusuke, you ought to be in class, not sleeping on the roof!" she chastised, shaking a finger at him. "You're not fighting demons so there's no excuse!"
"School is for chumps. What does pacifier-breath have for me this time?" He was not amused, it was a beautiful day and he was enjoying a lovely nap in the sun.
Botan put both hands on her hips moodily. "Really Yusuke, you're going to have to get a job eventually..." She shook her head. "There's a girl I need you and Kuwabara to meet. Kurama has exams until the rest of the afternoon and I can't for the life of me locate Hiei."
Yusuke smirked. "A chick huh, is she hot?"
Botan could have beat him. "Oh Yusuke, be serious! Koenma has decided to put her under the surveillance of you four, and she'll accompany you to Makai until her own probations are over. She can fight, so don't you worry about protecting her."
Yusuke wasn't quite putting two and two together. "So why the hell are we watching her if she's just going to help anyway?" Botan didn't get a chance to answer.
"YUSUKE YOU HAD BETTER BE UP HERE!" Keiko burst through the door with a livid expression on her face. Yusuke made an attempt to hide behind Botan when her eyes landed on him.
"YUSUKE URAMESHI, YOU INCONSIDERATE DOLT! HOW DARE YOU PULL THAT PRANK ON MRS. TOKIYAMA, SHE'S A NEW TEACHER!" She paused, and then gave Botan a small smile. "Oh hi, Botan, what brings you here?"
"Oh nothing much!" she exclaimed cheerfully, waving a hand. "Just giving mister slacker here another assignment, but don't worry Keiko he can work right from home!" She looked back to Yusuke. "Now as I was saying, you've got to keep an eye on this girl and make sure she doesn't hurt anybody. I'll explain more when you meet her."
A small frown formed on Keiko's face and she folded her arms. "Yusuke can barely keep himself out of trouble."
"Koenma seems to forget that fact when it's convenient," Botan mumbled to the girl, rolling her eyes. She really didn't see Yusuke taking this seriously. "I'd take you to meet her as well, Keiko, but she's terribly shy and not very comfortable with the modern world. Actually..." Putting a finger to her lips in thought, Botan looked over Keiko. "Would you mind doing me a favour?" She noticed Yusuke returning to his nap, but didn't say anything.
Keiko was becoming slightly suspicious. "Um...I guess so...what kind of favour?"
"Well I can't say too much right now," Botan replied, "However, she's about your age and will be transferring to your school tomorrow so that Kuwabara and Yusuke can keep an eye on her. Would you be a dear and show her around? She could use a strong girl like you around those boys."
"Of course, but...didn't you just imply that she was dangerous?" Unlike Yusuke, Keiko paid attention.
Botan shook her head, and then chuckled nervously. "That's the complicated part...I can fill you in later, but I really must get the boys to meet her and set up the ground rules as soon as possible." She took the opportunity to pull out her oar and bop the young man on the head. "Come on you, go and get Kuwabara and meet me in front of the school!" She flew off of the roof and hovered by the gate, waiting.
"Always in a rush," he muttered, then inaudibly added some colourful language beneath. "I'll catch ya later, Keiko."
He gave her a small wave before heading back into the school to locate his friend. With a sigh, she half heartedly returned the wave. "Be careful..."
- - -
Wearing modern clothes of a miniskirt and long-sleeved shirt, Botan took the boys to a secluded, quiet coffee shop to explain the details of why they were needed for this particular mission. "Don't worry too much about what we bring up," she began. "The man working here is with Spirit World, to report any suspicious, demonic auras in the area." She took a seat at a booth, and both boys sat across from her. "Okay. First and foremost, do NOT, and I emphasize, DO NOT make any judgements of the girl from this information."
"Whatever, get to the point." Yusuke leaned back and folded his arms behind his head. "Who is she and why are we doing this?"
Botan ignored him and took out a folder stuffed with papers. "Her name is Jinnara. She will go by either one of two names –Jinni, or J.K." She didn't wait for either one to ask questions. "She's a very sensitive girl. We're not quite sure how or why it happened, but she has two separate sides to her personality. The good side, Jinni...and the evil side, J.K."
Kuwabara seemed surprised. "Shouldn't she be in a hospital then?"
Shaking her head, Botan pulled out a paper from the folder. "Unfortunately, she's not human so no. Have you boys ever heard of angels?"
Yusuke grinned his idiot grin. "Like the things on top of Christmas trees?"
Once again Botan shook her head. "No, that's a misconception. Let me describe them to you. Angels are similar to what you do here on Earth –they protect. They're kind of the police of the Spirit World...Heaven and Purgatory, to be precise. Although Koenma's judgements are usually final, people do change over time and these beings are granted the power to demote or promote souls in either realm if they see fit. However, angels aren't soulless beings and are exposed to Hell almost constantly. Many of these angels become corrupt and are removed from Spirit World and thrown into Makai."
Yusuke pointed at Botan. "Lemme guess, our girl here is one of them corrupt angels?"
"Why Yusuke, I've never heard you make such an accurate guess. How did you know?"
"...I read it on the paper you took out."
The hope dashed, Botan sighed. "Naturally...yes, Jinni is a corrupt angel. They generally band together and prefer to be called dark angels. Because they had such great power when they dropped down, so to speak, their abilities mutated with their preferred courses of action. Some are skilled in illusions, weapon enchantments, curses, elements...there is no set power for a corrupt angel. They're like demons, but possess healing abilities and teamwork skills that allow them to live for a very, very long time." She paused and let them digest the information. "A long time ago, there was a large shortage of shinigami...we couldn't get all the souls to Spirit World. Several angels were temporarily hired to guide souls. Jinnara was one of them. It was a stupid idea. Each one of the angels that had been working to get things running smoothly craved the freedom that corrupt angels, demons, and humans had. They left, but unlike their hell-exposed kin, were more or less neutral."
She sighed, obviously not liking the next part of the story. "While several took human lives and sealed their powers, Jinnara was coaxed into working with corrupt ones. After witnessing her first slaughter, we believe this was the first time her personality split in two –and the darker half took control of her life. And that's what brings us here!" She clapped her hands together. "J.K. has slipped to the back of Jinnara's consciousness and Jinni wants a chance at redemption. She hasn't been touched by hell, so technically she's allowed, despite all the bad she's done. That's where you two come in." Boy, this was a lot more explaining than she was used to. "She wants her chance to get back into graces, but part of her IS still loyal to the society she's been working with for so long. You boys are to supervise her and make sure that if she flips personalities again, you stop her." She looked at them both seriously, narrow eyebrows creasing in a frown. "If she mentions anything about the whereabouts of the other corrupt angels, you need to tell us immediately. There are mass murders occurring everywhere in an attempt to mess up Spirit World. The primary goal here is not to help her. It's to find out where the rest of them are so that we can get in there and stop them once and for all."
"That doesn't seem very honest." It was the first time Kuwabara had spoken throughout the entire explanation. "I mean if she wants to change, doesn't that seem...a little sneaky? That's not really fair, especially if you're telling us not to make any decisions about her before we meet her." Kuwabara was an honest person, even in a fight, and didn't quite like the idea of sneaking around someone's back. "It just doesn't seem right to me."
Nervously, Botan shook her head. "No, Kuwabara...it's not like that! Well...it is like that, but you don't understand just how dangerous Jinnara and the other angels are. Her dark personality's mindset has no loyalty except to that against Spirit World. She'd slaughter an entire city, laughing, if she knew it would put Koenma under pressure! These angels have been through different things, but they're all the same! Demons, humans...it doesn't matter to them as long as it's against Spirit World."
Yusuke shrugged. "Fine, it's not like we have much of a choice anyway. So if the girl starts acting real weird, I gun her down and that's the end of it."
Botan frowned. "You could be a little more gentle with your wording. Well...you both understand what you have to do? I've given the papers to Kurama, so I'm sure he'll come and meet you two when he gets the chance." She stood up. "Let's go and meet her." They exited the coffee shop, Yusuke not taking his position seriously and Kuwabara still not pleased with the idea as a whole.
Botan led the boys up into an old apartment, to the second highest floor. She knocked gently on the door. "Jinni dear, it's Botan! Why don't we go for a walk and I can introduce you to Yusuke and Kuwabara?" She was greeted at first with silence, and then the door opened slightly, then all the way. With bright green eyes and emerald hair, tanned skin and a small round gem in the center of her forehead, she was going to stand out very much as a foreigner.
"Hi there," she greeted with a smile. "I'm Jinni." She glanced over Yusuke. "You're Yusuke right? And you're...Kuwabara?" She closed the door gently behind her. Both nodded. Her smile widened into a grin. "I've never met humans with such strong auras before!" She looked human, at least. She was wearing a Sarayashiki uniform, blue like Keiko's, with the longer skirt style instead of the shorter.
Before anymore words could be spoken, Botan's watch began to beep. She flipped back to her kimono and pulled the oar out of thin air. "Duty calls. Be nice, boys. I'll come and check in on you later, Jinni!" And in moments she was gone.
An awkward silence fell over them. Jinni was the first to speak up. "So...anybody want to show me around town? I don't even know where my school is." She gave them both a smile, which contradicted everything Botan had just told them.
Kuwabara offered her a smile in return. "Sure, that's a Sarayashiki uniform, which is where we go. We'll show you the way." Yusuke led the way out of the apartment.
"Well, this is awkward." The detective had an affinity for pointing out the obvious. "So let's get straight down to it. You seem pretty nice and at least you're cute, so I'm not gonna make fun of you or nothing." He closed his eyes, and then glanced back with a mischievous grin. "But don't think that because you're a chick, or a fighter, that I won't pick on ya." She didn't appear to be listening.
"...and I saw your last fights in the dark tournament, and that was so awesome. I mean I've seen some pretty different forms of spirit control, I've been around for a long time but your rei-ken control, at only fifteen? I mean that's so cool. The only sword I've ever used is a real one and apparently I can't carry that around here."
Kuwabara scratched the back of his head bashfully. "Aw it was nothin'...Urameshi here's the one who finished Toguro off anyway."
Jinni giggled, her cute voice matching her very petite figure. "Oh yeah, but it's like they say –forget the lead singer, I like the guitarist!"
Yusuke burst out laughing. "If Kuwabara ever picks up guitar I'll beat him with it."
"Will it matter?" Kuwabara grinned. "My ears would already be broken from your tone-deaf voice anyway!"
They were out on the street now. "Should you really be picking this fight with me Kuwabara, I could kick your ass in thirty seconds!"
"I'd like to see you try, Urameshi, you're not so tough!"
"Coming from the bastard who'd be anyone's bitch if it meant saving his cat!"
"I'll have you know cats are very manly animals!"
Jinni raised a hand. "Uh, guys..."
"Yeah right, just like the Bandana of Love, and your wimpy-ass punches right?"
"I'd like you to say that to my face Urameshi!"
"Try and make me, dumbass!"
"BOYS!" Both immediately snapped their attention to the angel. She put her hands on her hips. "Gosh, about time." She pointed to a building across the street. "We need to go there." As Yusuke went to ask her why, several gun shots were heard from the top of the building, followed by screams. Without waiting she turned and ran across the street, ducking into an alley before making the top of the building in one leap.
"How'd she do that?" Kuwabara looked up in amazement, then followed Yusuke's climb up the fire escape. A crowd began to gather around the building, most calling EMS for help. Crowds made Yusuke nervous; he had to watch what he said or did because erasing memories was no simple task and Koenma was never happy when he had to do that. Both boys froze to a piercing shriek, and the sound of shattering bones. People in the crowd screamed and gruesomely, both came to the conclusion that someone had been thrown off the top.
The scene they were greeted with more than explained what was happening.
Two teenage girls were cornered by one demon, while the second turned the force of his attack on Jinni. Over the edge of the building she leaned, holding onto the wrist of another young person. Her determination alone was not enough –Demon Two promptly booted her over the edge. Bright light shone from her direction.
In the seconds that followed, Kuwabara and Yusuke were both upon him. He'd been expecting that and manoeuvred between the two, before sticking a thick syringe into Yusuke's neck. The boy's eyelids drooped as the fluid emptied into his blood stream, and he stumbled over in unconsciousness. Demon Two smirked in triumph, and then was effectively skewered by Kuwabara's rei-ken. As he went to inspect the health of his friend, both girls shrieked before being pushed into a portal.
The first demon had gotten what he'd been after, apparently.
Cursing, Kuwabara inspected where the portal was. No trace remained, as if they had vanished into thin air. It was in that moment that the bright light from where Jinni had fallen began to subside, and she returned to the roof. From her back she had sprouted two magnificent, grey wings. She landed on the roof gently, and the light that she created to hide herself from human eyes disappeared. Dumbfounded by her suddenly greater appearance, Kuwabara had no words to say. Her green eyes, lacking the cheer from minutes earlier, surveyed the silence.
"What happened to the girls, and the other demon?" she finally asked.
Kuwabara pointed. "The demon pushed 'em through a portal...to Makai, I think."
Her expression was pained, it didn't suit her. "Damn it...I saved the little boy, but he got away with them?" She closed her eyes and with a cracking sound, the wings retracted into her back and were replaced with tattoos. Jinni attempted to lift up the unconscious Yusuke, but he was over half a foot taller than she, and that was an obstacle. "He's alive, just unconscious," she informed Kuwabara, who helped lift the detective.
"We should probably get out of here," suggested Kuwabara. "The fuzz'll be up here to check things out and Koenma won't want us answering any questions." She nodded wordlessly, and followed him away.
By the time Yusuke had woken up from the sedative, the sun was setting. Groggily, he looked around the unfamiliar surroundings and the dark room. Grey sheets and walls, it was rather dismal and aside from the small flowers potted on the sill of the window there was nothing cheery about it. Where the hell am I? he asked himself, getting to his feet and pushing a hand through his hair. Voices came from behind the only door in the room and he wasted no time in opening it and seeing what was going on. He was greeted with the familiar faces of Botan and his team mates.
"The great Spirit Detective brought down by a single syringe," came the sarcastic sneer from Hiei as his crimson eyes met Yusuke's. "Tell me Yusuke, is this what happens when one takes too many blows to the head?"
"Nice to see you too, Hiei." He took a seat next to Botan. "So what the hell was injected in me anyway? And...where are we?"
The ferry girl put a finger to her lips. "Jinnara's apartment, and you weren't drugged with anything serious. She's getting a lecture from Koenma on how she is to act when you go to Makai, so try not to be so loud." She sipped at some tea.
"Oh okay...wait a tic, when? Did I accept a mission in my sleep or something?"
Kurama intervened before an argument broke out. "The two girls on the roof of the hotel were kidnapped by one of the demons. They're not the first of their age group to disappear recently. We need to bring them back." Calm as ever, and Yusuke trusted his ease. "It shouldn't take us long, we've merely got to locate them and bring them home. Humans cannot survive in the deep parts of the demon plane; we won't find many strong demons guarding them where they should be. I'd say a day, maybe two, and we'll be home."
Yusuke shrugged. "Fine but uh...Keiko's gonna kick my ass if I don't tell her where I'm going."
"Hmph." Hiei's smirk broadened slightly. "You really ought to put more control on your woman, Yusuke. I wasn't aware it was custom in Ningenkai for them to control the relationship."
Raising his fist, Kuwabara looked threateningly in Hiei's direction. "You know you talk real big for a loner!"
"For someone lacking in experience with the other gender of his race I would suggest keeping your mouth shut, idiot."
"WHAT WAS THAT, SHRIMP?"
Despite his notable haste, Kurama was not lacking grace as he stood up. "Perhaps it would be best that we part our ways now, and meet up tomorrow morning to leave," he suggested, standing between Hiei and Kuwabara before anything was broken. Like, for instance, Kuwabara. "Give my regards to Keiko, Yusuke, and we'll see you in the morning." He turned and left, Hiei following. Obviously one had something to say to the other. Botan was grateful to avoid a fight.
"Can't you all just get along? Honestly..." She buried her face in her palm. "I'll fill you all in before you leave. Be here for seven tomorrow morning." As they exited the apartment, she sighed and looked out to the darkening sky wistfully. Whatever you're planning, sir, you better not overestimate them...
End of chapter.