Konnichiwa, minna-san!! =^_^= I am Ryo0oki, insane psycho cabbit, writer of Harry Potter, IFN, and anime, and I have entered the YYH fandom! Cheer! This originally began as a little plotbunny thought up in art class- what if Hiei had never gotten his Jagan? How would the other Reikai Tantei be affected? What would happen to Yukina?

Anyways, it's my very first YYH fic. Enjoy!

Warnings: AU

Disclaimer: I don't own Yuu Yuu Hakusho.

The End of Eternity

Prologue

He did not know why he was there. There was a force in him, one that propelled him to come to this hut and seek out one this one. He rested his hand on the hilt of his katana and stepped up to the door.

The one in here was named Shigure and he had come to fight him. There was no pure logic to it, only that the overwhelming need for battle, for closure, for truth had taken him. Was he here for the Jagan, the evil eye that so many hated and feared? Did he really want the truth, as painful as it could get?

And more importantly, was his reasoning reasonable? How would he protect himself with the Jagan, knowing that his powers would drop drastically?

His past had abandoned him. Was it really worth searching for it now?

Gods, he thought. What the hell am I doing? Why am I doing this? Why should I care?!

Standing on the steps, his body tense with foreboding, he made a choice.

It was not worth it, he decided, and turned, and fled the scene.

Inside the hut, a man with varied body piercings was hunched over an object. He lifted his head, earrings clinking, and frowned. Someone had been at his door, but they had left. He had the uncanny feeling that they should have come in- should have

"I wish to fight to you. Do not run away."

Blood dripping. Wild crimson eyes glazed, blood pouring from his hand.

But then it was gone and he shrugged, tossing the thought away to wind.

And a fire demon who no longer cared clutched at a necklace that was no longer there.

Chapter 1

The park was calm and peaceful. A soft wind blew through the trees, rustling the leaves and sending a few sakura petals to the ground. The sun was barely in the sky, but its golden rays bathed all of its surroundings. A few birds chirped. It was the paradigm of serenity.

"Oi, Keiko!" Yuusuke yelled, waving his arms wildly. The black-haired Reikai Tantei gave his girlfriend a brilliant smile, motioned for her to watch, started some sort of complicated maneuver, and promptly fell over as Kuwabara tripped him.

Kurama chuckled into his palm. Keiko rolled her eyes and continued her conversation with Shizuru.

"Baka!!" Yuusuke cried, standing up and whacking the offending redhead on the shoulder. "What did you do that for?!"

Kurama turned his attention away from the two bickering boys and let out a sigh. It was a peaceful time for the three, something that had been virtually nonexistent since the Mirror of Utter Dark. He closed his eyes as his memory drifted back to that time. He had requested the mirror to save his mother but had been refused. In an act of desperation, he had stolen the mirror. Kurama had been ready to give his life to the mirror but Yuusuke entered the scene and offered his life instead. The mirror, unable to choose, granted the wish for free.

As penance, he joined the Reikai Tantei. He reminisced about the Ankoku Bujuutsukai. That had been a hard time, filled with grueling battles. They had lost though, as Koenma, their '5th' member had finally been rolled upon and fled the scene in terror. The winning team had been a basically unknown group of people who had wished for the tournament's eternal end (although one member had been yelling and screaming for panties(1)). Then the Makai tournament had come and gone, the winner being an S-class youkai calling herself Mukuro.

At the tournament's end, his term had also finished. Still, he stayed on the Urameshi team, unwilling to let go of something that was the only true happiness he had ever felt. He had friends here, people who cared about him. And he was happy.

Kurama had a feeling it wouldn't be lasting very long.

He drifted back to reality. Yuusuke and Kuwabara had stopped fighting and were annoying the girls. This promptly ended as Shizuru smashed Kuwabara's face into the pavement. Kurama frowned. He felt as if there should be someone beside him, someone

"Ohayo, minna!!" A cheerful voice rang out from the side of the clearing the five were standing in. Kurama turned and saw Botan grinning brightly at them, dressed in a typical teenager's garb. The ferrygirl looked bright and happy as always.

"Ohayo, Botan," Kurama replied. Yuusuke and Kazuma sauntered over as well, saying their 'hellos' and 'good mornings.'

"So, what does Koenma want now?" Yuusuke asked.

Botan looked hurt. "You mean I can't visit you without a mission from Koenma?"

"Well, ah" Yuusuke said, looking abashed. "eh"

"Well, you're right!" Botan grinned cheerfully. Yuusuke fell to the ground in mock-faint. Botan then turned to the rest of them, blue eyes wide and serious. "Kurama, Kuwabara" She poked Yuusuke with her toe. He got up. "Yuusuke, this is a really serious mission. I think I'd better get Koenma to explain it."

"I, Kuwabara the Great will defeat any pathetic demon that stands in my way!" Kuwabara boasted, more out of habit then actual belief. Botan smiled humorlessly, perhaps a first for the ferrygirl. She sighed.

***

"You guys your enemy is an S-class youkai."

"So?" Kuwabara asked. "So's Yuusuke. And we're both A-class(2); we can probably overpower the youkai by our numbers alone."

Koenma muttered something that sounded like 'Wow, he's thinking.' Then he chewed on his pacifier for a few seconds before continuing. "This isn't just any S-class. You remember Mukuro?"

The three nodded. They had seen the final battle between Mukuro and Enki and she had shown insane amounts of power.

"Well, I have reason to believe that this one is even stronger than her," Koenma stated, waiting for the impact.

"Stronger than Mukuro?" Yuusuke asked in disbelief.

"Possibly stronger than Mukuro, Yomi, and even Raizen," Koenma reiterated.

"That's insane," Yuusuke growled. "Then why haven't we heard of this person before?"

"Well," the infant replied. " He's excellent at masking his ki, which is why I said he's possibly stronger than Mukuro. He's also kept an extremely low profile until just recently, when he stole the Ghost Slayer and the Ruffian's Orb from the Reikai."

"What do those do?" Kuwabara wondered out loud.

"They kill."

Three pairs of eyes turned to look at Kurama. The redhead had remained silent during the entire briefing, but now he was glaring at a space right above Koenma's head and speaking.

"The Ruffian's Orb steals human souls," Kurama said. "And the Ghost Slayer turns humans into mindless zombies. They kill. Not physically, but mentally and spiritually."

"How do you-" Yuusuke began and then shook his head. "Never mind. Forgot about Youko Kurama."

"What else do you know about this youkai?" Kurama asked tersely.

"He specializes in fire," Koenma shrugged. "And he's been seen around the Lonyu(3) region. That's it, really."

"Let's go," Kurama said, turning on his heel and leaving the room. Yuusuke and Kuwabara exchanged confused looks and followed the reincarnated youko.

***

Out of the room, Kurama leaned against the cool wall and took a few deep breaths. There was no way he could let anyone's soul be stolen by the Ruffian's Orb or the Ghost Slayer again. He had failed once but this time he would make sure that the two deadly weapons never went near humans again.

Never.

-------------------------------

(1) Happosai (snicker, snicker)

(2) Because he is absent, Kuwabara has gotten a little more experience and has therefore reached A-class.

(3) Jade Dragon.

Did you like? Please review!! Remember, the more reviews, the sooner the next part is out!!! **begs** Onegai?

Hiei: Hn. That doesn't work. You have to threaten to kill them. (intones) Omae o korosu.

Heero: (sulks) That's my line

-ryo0oki

"Why ask for gold when you can ask for more gold?"