Disclaimer: I'm sorry to say that I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. If I did, Jin and Touya would've been in there a lot more, and we would have known everything about them...sigh However, the Characters Kaze, Neko (as well as others in later chapters) are my creations. But I do give permission to use these characters as long as credit is given.(that should make all you Jin lovers out there happy, cause I know you'll want to hurt the character Kaze) All YYH characters belong to their rightful owners, and I gain no profit from this.

What of Jin and Touya?

Chapter one: Rerisen, to Slay Another

Snow fluttered down slowly and softly, covering the vast area of Spirit World in a thin, white blanket. From a flying demon's perspective, it looked more like a frosting-coated cake, baked in the shape of a castle, than the bustling castle of life and death that it really was. That particular perspective was being withheld by none other than the Shinobi wind master, his red hair flailing behind him elegantly and his deep, blue eyes entranced by the lovely, (if not slightly chilling) bird's-eye view of the River Styx, which was currently frosted at the edges. The rushing air around him whistled in his ears, which were large and, presently, pointed.

"Ya think we'll be able to get 'im back?" he asked of Botan, who was flying on her oar. His heavy Irish accent stuck out of place in the otherwise grey, cloudy, and silent sky.

"Oh, I hope so. He shouldn't have died for years!" the guide to the Spirit World said worriedly. Small clouds of vapor appeared and disappeared as she spoke, before they, like her voice, was whipped away by the moving air about them. The two were nearly three hundred feet from the castle, where the recently departed ice master's fate hung precariously in the balance.

"It's all my fault!" Jin shouted to the air, "I should have waited for 'im, not gone down to the damn pub by myself!" He was reflecting on Touya's unfortunate mishap on the way to the bar, when he landed in Human World's demon slaughter house. Botan shivered, half due to her recollection of the ice master's very violent death, half due to the fact that it was barely even sixteen degrees.

Soon, both were striding quickly through the gigantic palace doors, shivering and flecked with snowflakes.

As they entered the actual palace, they became nearly deaf from the chattering and scurrying of hundreds of ogres, each toting a towering stack of papers in utter chaos. Botan and Jin glanced at each other, then back at the madness before them. Jin gulped strongly.

"Could we fly?" he asked, almost pleading with her.

"I don't know... The wind that you use to take wing may be too strong, and could scatter all the paperwork." Botan said doubtfully. Jin looked down at his extremely sore and burned feet.

"Didn't know that many humans hated our kind..." he muttered, "Well, I did. I just never thought something like that would happen to Touya."

"How are your feet?" Botan questioned, a look of deep concern crossing her face. Jin sighed.

"Sore, and the burns don't help either, but if we can get Touya back, it'll be worth distractin' those guys." he responded in a weary voice, recalling his highly successful attempt at saving the ice master's body from being reduced to a smoldering pile of ashes.

"That was foolish of you, risking your life like that. But... You're right. If you hadn't harassed those men, Touya wouldn't have a body to return to." Botan nodded.

"Well, we aren't gettin' my friend back by standin' here, now are we?" Jin stated, walking sluggishly through the swarming mass of ogres. Botan followed, hoping Koenma could do something about poor Touya.

Eventually, they came to the doors of Koenma's office, their hearts hammering in their chests while worrisome thoughts shot through their minds like spitwads launched from flimsy plastic straws. Botan raised her hand to the wood and rapped quickly upon the hard surface, praying Koenma had time to deal with them.

The echoes from the knocks drifted throughout the less-traveled hall that they stood in, sending ripples of shadowy alertness slithering down their spines. For a moment, the silence of the otherwise empty hallway seemed even louder than the packed entrance. The silence enveloped them harshly, before sanction came in the form of a young toddler's voice.

"Come in. I've been waiting." Koenma's muffled voice floated quietly through the door. The twosome walked in cautiously, Jin gawking at the sheer size of the room, which had a large, oak desk centered in the middle.

Koenma sat at the desk, which was littered with papers, stamping documents as fast as his hands would allow. He seemed to be elsewhere in mind, and his face was contorted with frustration. Jin suddenly felt his windpipe tighten, and found himself unable to speak.

"I'm sorry to bother you, Lord Koenma, but I was wondering if-" Botan started.

"Wondering if I could bring Touya back." Koenma said, lacking any and all signs of emotion. Botan nodded, and Jin noticed beads of sweat as they trickled down his neck. It felt like his heart was in his throat, and he found he couldn't swallow. After all...

Touya's lifeline was based on whatever Koenma said.

Silence blanketed the room, broken only by the sounds of Koenma stamping, and seconds soon became more and more like hours. Finally, Koenma stopped mid-stamp and looked Jin square in the eyes.

"I gave him a spirit beast egg, and within thirty or forty minutes, it hatched." the prince of Spirit World stated, watching Jin's bright eyes carefully. They widened at the record-breaking time of which Touya's beast had hatched.

"And? What happened?" Botan questioned hesitantly, fidgeting with uneasiness.

"I'm mentally scarred for life!" Touya lamented as he burst into the room. Jin and Botan were surprised to see a pale, blue, cute and oddly fuzzy dragon with large, feathery ears and no legs wrapped around his shoulders like a shawl.

"How adorable!" Botan exclaimed, rushing up and stroking the cat-sized animal, which squeaked in delight at her touch. Jin smiled and chuckled slightly, despite his shock. Touya, however, death-glared thin air.

As Botan pet the sleek, chirping dragon, Jin carefully approached Touya. He no longer wore a smile, and Touya grew concerned.

"Jin? What's wrong with you?" the ice master asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"It's my fault you got killed! I should have waited after work instead of goin' off on me own!" Jin responded, almost too fast for even Touya to understand.

"Well, I'm sure as Hell not going to hold it against you. I told you to go, and I'd catch up." the ice master said, after a slight, yet convincing pause.

"Speaking of work..." Koenma muttered, flipping through a large packet of unstamped papers, "Would you two mind carrying out a pair of assassinations? Well, they're sort of assassinations."

"How can something be 'sort of assassinations'?" Botan questioned Spirit World's prince, who sighed.

"There are two demon women, both of the S-class level, who were raised in Human World. Two demon girls, especially of those energy levels, could definitely, and without a doubt eliminate all possibilities of a union between the Human and Demon worlds. Our research has told us these girls will change from their human forms to their unknown demonic forms soon, and if they are not in Demon World when their transformations occur, they may become confused. So confused, I might say, that they could attack anything and everything they see." Koenma explained to the wide-eyed Botan, Touya, and Jin.

"But Human world is already vulnerable! There has been a steady increase in demon passage. Some are like Jin and Touya, who just want a more peaceful life, but most will kill just for fun!" Botan exclaimed.

"What are you trying to tell us, Koenma? I mean, what do you expect us to do?" asked Touya.

"It is important that both you and Jin escort the girls to Demon World, where their powers won't have any impact on the currently exposed Human World. We need you to get close to them, to find out their secrets and vulnerabilities, and to move them to Demon World." Koenma explained.

"So how does that qualify as an assassination order?" Botan asked, very confused.

"Jin, Touya, if you take on this job, you also have to destroy any and all evidence in Human World that these girls ever existed." Koenma said.

"But...why us? What can we do that others cannot?" Touya inquired. Sweat covered his face, and he was growing uneasy with the intensity of the job.

"We have reason to believe that these girls will transform into two of the Shape-shifters of Darkness." the prince said glumly, "And further evidence points to them being the Shape-shifters of ice and wind."

"Two of the...How many Shape-shifters of Darkness are there!" Jin exclaimed.

"There's supposed to be anywhere from two to one hundred." Botan whispered to the boys.

"WHA--- And how strong are they?" Jin shouted. Touya interrupted.

"You still haven't answered us, Koenma. Why us?" the ice master ordered. Koenma sighed.

"You are the Shinobi masters of ice and wind. Legend has it, 'the strongest Shinobi master of ice and the greatest wind tamer shall be the only sources powerful enough to stop these two Shape-shifters of Darkness'. This means you two can thwart any attempts of destruction these two girls may be capable of." Koenma said, reading the legend from an old, tattered book. After carefully setting the book down, his resumed his hasty stamping. Jin and Touya exchanged doubtful looks.

"Oh, and by the way, if you do choose to go through with this, don't worry. Men are always able to win in a competition between man and woman." the prince of Spirit World smiled. Botan, however, disagreed.

"WHAT! MEN ARE THE WEAKER SEX! IF WOMEN AREN'T STRONG, HOW COME THEY BEAR CHILDREN AND NOT MEN?" she yelled, forcing all the men to cover their ears.

After nearly an hour of listening to Botan and Koenma arguing about which was the greater sex, Jin finally broke the two combatants apart, using a large gust of wind to quiet them. Unfortunately, with all the papers on Koenma's desk, the foursome suffered many stinging paper-cuts.

For a few minutes, the four within the room gathered the scattered paperwork. The silence loomed once again in their ears, and time seemed to be at a stand-still. The soundlessness of the office was finally shattered by Touya's Spirit Beast, which shrieked shrilly in the overheated room, causing the group to jump in shock. Koenma, when settled again, cleared his throat. The wind master took a deep breath.

"Ah, why not? We haven't got anythin' better to do." he thought aloud. Touya pondered a minute, analyzing, then shrugged.

"I guess it's our turn to 'save the Human World'. Sure, Koenma, we'll deal with these girls." he responded. Koenma nodded.

"Good. Hope you two enjoy coed sleep-overs." the prince chuckled. Jin and Touya's eyes widened.

"What!" they both shouted, Jin backing up and tripping as Touya stood his ground.

"The girls are trying to rent out two rooms of their home. You two will move in, and that is how you will get close to them." Botan explained, reading the file Koenma had been referring to. The boys sighed with relief.

After a nearly unbearable thirty hours of learning about the girls, named Neko and Kaze, Jin and Touya were finally 'prepared'. At least to King Enma (Spirit World's King) and his employees. However, the boys, being demons, would immediately seem suspicious in Human World. Jin and Touya knew it. And that's when and where Botan took charge.

"Okay! Let's get down to business then, shall we?" the 'grim' reaper asked, dragging Jin into a spare changing room before he could answer. Inside, outfits lined the whole of the room, which was quite large.

"Why me?" Jin said under his breath, as Botan began pulling out clothing. Personally, he found changing his wardrobe useless.

"Oh, these are simply adorable! Try these on! You'll blend right in!" she exclaimed, handing Jin about twenty outfits. The wind master blinked, wondering how humans could wear such things. Hats, shoes, actual shirts...pointless.

"I'll be back in just a few minutes." Botan giggled, exiting the room so the male wind demon could change in peace.

Meanwhile, Touya was busy trying to figure out what to do about his dragon.

"You squeak and chirp, and you lack legs. Well...we could tell them you're a rare, furry, Alaskan snake...I guess." the ice master muttered aloud, before releasing a sigh.

"What are you going to name him?" Botan asked, sitting on her floating oar behind him.

"I didn't really think of that..." Touya responded, looking down at the creature in question.

"You should name him Cuddles!" Botan laughed, stroking the little beast. It produced a high-pitched squeal of delight. Touya face-faulted to the ground.

"Cuddles?" came his muffled reply. The little dragon slithered over to Touya, and waited for him to sit up. It seemed to be expecting something. The ice master glanced at the creature, blinked, and patted it on the head.

"Cuddles...Is that what you want to be called?" he asked. The dragon bobbed its head, almost as if to say 'yes'. Touya sighed again.

"Then Cuddles you shall be." the ice master stated, rising to his feet.

"Fortunately Touya, I don't think we have to do much to you." Botan said, looking him up and down. The boy nodded, secretly relieved.

"And Jin?" he asked. Botan giggled.

"Come and see! I picked out the cutest, most humanly 'cool' outfits for him! That and they should help him get close to Kaze." she said, obviously happy that she'd chosen the attire for the wind master.

"If she accepts Neko's proposal of two boys renting out the spare rooms of their home." Touya pointed out. They began walking to the dressing room Jin currently occupied.

"Can't believe I've got to go through all this damn crap for a girl who'll probably rip my head off if I get on her bad side." the wind master grumbled, looking at his reflection in the mirror. Out of all the selections, he wore the only one that was to his liking: black jeans, muscle shirt, belt and hat. There was a pair of black sandals, but he'd decided to wear them when he felt like it. It wasn't his all-time favorite attire, but it was good enough, considering it was human garb.

"Least it's not pink...Sounds like this Kaze may be a new challenge." he mumbled, looking forward to the promise of a new formidable task. Truthfully, attempting to 'kill' a girl and drag her somewhere that was the equivalent of Hell wasn't an assignment he was happy to carry out. But when it was a girl who avoided contact with any other being except her close friend, Neko? He was curious as to why, and this 'dare' was too good to pass up. Jin's thoughts were interrupted by some one knocking on the door.

"Come in." the wind master said lazily. Botan, Touya and Cuddles entered. Botan gasped, her hands flying to cover her mouth.

"You look...so...cool!" she exclaimed, rushing up and looking him over.

"And the hat covers your horn just right! Kaze'll never know! Well, at least not until she gets to Demon World." she continued, going on about how he may just find a lover in Human World. Jin wanted to barf at all of Botan's nonsense and lovey-dovey sap-crap, while Touya tried in vain to stifle a laugh.

"I've been meaning to ask; what kind of first names are Neko and Kaze?" Touya asked, as soon as he regained control of his laughter, instantly receiving a death-glare from Jin.

"Hey...Kaze just so happens to be my middle name..." the wind master reminded.

"Oh yeah...Sorry, Jin." the ice master apologized. Jin smiled.

"It's okay..." he said. Botan cleared her throat to get their attention.

"The girls were both found abandoned when they were young. Neko loves cats, and so the people at the orphanage named her 'cat'. Kaze has been fascinated by wind, so they named her 'wind'. The names come from what they like most." the reaper explained. Cuddles was, as he was inclined to be, draped over her shoulder like a shawl.

"Are you hungry, Cuddles?" Touya asked. The dragon bobbed his head.

"Cuddles?" the ice master's friend inquired, his eye twitching. Touya sighed.

"Botan named him." he explained dully.

"Oh...Well that would clear it up." Jin said resentfully, his obvious dislike of the name apparent. Botan pouted.

"Well there's no need to be nasty about it..." the girl said, disappointment appearing on her face. Cuddles chirped the tune 'Yanky Doodle.' That made Botan smile again.

"I'm sure Neko will just love him. Just tell her he's a furry type of southern snake." she replied cheerfully. The boys sighed.