1. Yusuke
"Wake up, dimwit."
Yusuke shuttered in his sleep; Genkai's raspy, cigarette laden voice seemed more unhappy than usual. For a moment, he cursed telepathy. As he groaned and muttered in response, one eye popped open to check the clock – the hands pointed to 6:00, and he knew it wasn't the evening.
"What the hell is wrong with you, Grandma?! Can't a guy get some sleep after he saves the fucking Earth?" His own voice railed back as he stretched his muscles, yearning for more sleep. After his fight with Sensui, all of his muscles ached at him in protest. Sadly, he knew the answer to his own question.
No, of course not. Always some new stupid bad guy ruining his peace and relaxation.
"With your new found powers, I've decided it's time to further your training. You may have the power, but you've no way to use it effectively." There was a pause. The boy shifted under his cotton sheets, hardly hearing the old hag. "Also, your group effort was lacking severely. Constantly, you boys are bickering like children over your battles instead of using even the slightest common sense." Her tone was harsh, but with less conviction as usual. She was, in fact, grateful to Yusuke and everything he'd done in the past week. Hell, his entire Spirit Detective 'career' seemed to be a success, even if it was unconventional.
"I personally cannot further your training in this matter, but I do know someone who can." She chuckled. Surely, it tinged on cruel. "And I think you're in for a rude awakening, boy."
"Yeah, yeah, just give me 3 more hours and I'll be all game for some training. But until then, there's no threat, other than you to my sleep." He rolled over in bed and shut his eyes again, already slipping back into the dream he'd lost.
"Do you think I'm joking with you?" Again, loud and harsh tones flooded into Yusuke's mind. The old woman continued her tirade as he shot up in bed, fists shaking at the ceiling to her voice, as if it would make a difference.
"That damn portal to Demon World is still not closed, and with the kekkai barrier broken, those S-class demons will still be able to blast through at any moment. And in case you have already forgotten, which I don't doubt with your goldfish attention span, you were able to blow past King Yama's 'line of defense' without any hesitation. Imagine and S-class demon that is in total control of his power and skill. He would have no problem and you very well might."
Yusuke pondered this for a moment, his hand ruffling his own mess of un-gelled raven hair as it drifted towards his eyes. "I guess I see what you mean." With a sudden determination, the boy hopped to his feet. Light crept into his bedroom, just barely visible over the horizon. He used it to fumble around awkwardly for clothes. "So, who am I looking for?"
"That's more like it. Follow my directions very closely, Yusuke." He began to dress himself while Genkai spoke, trading sweatpants for a simple pair of blue jeans and green cotton tee.
"You must first wake Kuwabara." At this, the Spirit Detective sniffed. "I have already informed Kurama and Hiei. They're waiting for you downstairs. After you've reached him, you must head north, to the Aogiri forest. There is a tribe, hidden so deep in the wood that even I cannot tell you where it is."
As he packed clothes into a sack - assuming now that he'd be gone longer than simply one night - he mulled over what she was saying. How did Genkai, who seemed to know everything, not know where the damn tribe was? He'd heard of the Aogiri woods before, and he knew it wasn't the place for a picnic.
Great. Some psychic she was.
Flying down the stairs and out into the sunshine, her last words came to him. "You should know they are not friendly to outsiders and are very hostile. You must get their attention quickly and tell them Genkai has news for their chief. They should allow your entry. However," She paused, her voice taking on an odd tone, one of awe and yet of grave danger.
"Just know, boy, that within their tribe there lay a power far older and greater than the four of you put together. You better show some damn respect, because he isn't going to train you out of the kindness of his heart. He owes me a favor, nothing more. Chief Ikari has no patience for insolent fools like yourself."
"Whatever you say, Grandma. This training better be worth my Saturday..." His own voices trailed off in his head, and whether Genkai responded or not, he didn't really care. Already he was making strides towards Hiei and Kurama, hands behind his head. They, of course, were their usual selves; Hiei, with a look of sincere distaste and boredom, and Kurama with a look of controlled happiness.
"Ah, I see you've finally gotten out of bed, Detective." A smirk crossed Hiei's face, but only for a moment. "I thought we'd be waiting here all morning on you."
"Yeah, well, I like my beauty sleep - unlike you, I see." He and Kurama chuckled amongst themselves, causing Hiei to turn in the direction of Kazuma's house.
"Hn." The demon sniffed, already on his way.
"I suppose Hiei's lack of patience serves us well. We must hurry, there's still a half a day's walk after a day long train ride." Kurama also began his walk, green eyes flicking back to Yusuke, who followed suit.
"Are you kidding me?! A whole damn day stuck on a train, and it doesn't even take me all the way there?!" Fuming, he could practically feel steam rising from his ears. Stupid old lady, always sending him to the far corners of the Earth.
"Well, you can only imagine that if the great Genkai can't find them, they're in the middle of nowhere." Hiei said, tilting his head to look back at them. "Now, are you coming or not? Because I would certainly enjoy leaving Kuwabara behind." His tone was full of resentment.
"Yeah, yeah. But then I'd have to listen to him bitch when I got back." Making his way down the street, Yusuke's brain worked hard on all of this new information. If there was someone powerful enough to put Genkai in awe, why had he never felt it? Either way, the pull of that challenge moved his feet one in front of the other.
"The old lady mentioned something, Kurama." He started, brows furrowed in thought. "She said the guy we're looking for is older and more powerful than any of us." His eyes, that had been fixated on the ground, now flicked up to meet the fox's, almost looking worried.
"Hmm, Genkai made no mention of that to me…how peculiar. Older than Hiei or myself? Their chief must be a demon of sorts, or an apparition." Kurama's expression remained unchanged, although the detective could tell the cogs of his mind were working. "I suppose that would make sense. If he were old enough, there was no barrier back then. Apparitions walked freely on the Earth for some time."
"It is a great honor, then." Hiei interjected, still a few steps ahead of his comrades. "A demon that old is ruthless, powerful, and skilled. So don't make a fool of us and with that big mouth of yours, Detective." From behind him, Yusuke stuck out his tongue.
"The only one you've got to worry about is Kuwabara, his mouth is twice the size of mine." As he finished, they rounded the corner and found themselves at Kuwabara's steps. Yusuke picked up a pebble, and generously tossed it at his window. Nothing. Two more stones, and finally he could see the familiar patch of orangey-red hair.
"Do you know how early it is, Urameshi?! Why the- Oh, hey, Hiei and Kurama." Reasoning must've dawned on him, as he slunk back into the darkness and drew his shades closed. Flinging on jeans and a sweater, his shoes were on and he was nearly out the door already. As he looked into Shizuru's room, he caught his breath. If he wasn't silent, she would wake and knock him pretty good.
Tiptoeing, one food after the other, he peered again into her room before passing her room and reaching the stairs. A sigh of relief was let out, and just then, his sister was at her door.
"Where ya goin', little bro?" Her tone was malevolent. Kazuma hated waking his sister; she could be so cruel in the mornings.
"Uhmm…Nowhere, love you!" And down the stairs he went, tumbling, avoiding his sister's grasp by a fingernail. When he reached the bottom, he pushed himself up and leapt out the door.
Out the door, the three of them could hear, "Get back here you little…" And the door slammed closed behind him. He was already running down the street before they could ask questions.
"Hurry up guys! I woke up Shizuru!" His long, lanky legs nearly kicked up dust as he sped down the street.
"You idiot, you're going the wrong way!" Yusuke flailed his arms over his head, before realizing that he wasn't going to stop. His fear of his sister was stronger than sense.
"I'll follow him…meet us at the train station, what time do we have to be there?" Urameshi called out, starting off into a sprint towards his friend.
"7:30 sharp, we'll see you there." And with that the group split, and their journey began.