"Koenma wants you to go on a mission?" Keiko asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It's weird, I know. I mean, I'm not even his spirit detective anymore." Yusuke replied. "Botan just flew by and told me that Koenma wants to meet me at Genkai's temple. Apparently Kuwabara and Kurama were invited too, and I hear that the toddler's having Hiei brought over from the demon plane."
"Whatever it is, it must be urgent." Keiko sighed. "You guys haven't been contacted by spirit world in almost a year."
"Yeah, not since those religious fanatics tried to take over." Yusuke muttered as he fell into thought. That was the last time the whole gang had gotten together. Even before that, they hadn't seen much of each other since the tournament on the demon plane. Now Kuwabara was busy with university, Kurama spent most of his time working with his step-dad, and Hiei had decided to stay on the demon plane with Mukuro. Over the past year, Yusuke had simply been living a rather peaceful life. He ran his ramen shop, and occasionally did favours for some of the local demons. He had to admit, it wasn't a bad life. That said, he was also looking forward to seeing the guys again.
"Well, we better get going." Keiko said.
"We?" Yusuke snapped to attention.
"Of course." Keiko replied. "You can't go have a group reunion and leave me behind!"
Yusuke sighed. "I know better than to argue with you. Alright, let's go meet up with Kuwabara and Shizuru so we can get to the temple."
"Yo. Long time, no see." Koenma said with a wave as he and Botan entered the temple that once belonged to Genkai. Yusuke, Keiko, Shizuru, Kuwabara and Kurama were already there, and seated in a small circle through a large candle-lit room. Yukina was there as well, which was to be expected as she often spent her time taking care of the now-uninhabited temple.
"It sure has been a long time! Still got that pacifier? Man, I missed poking fun at that!" Yusuke said with a laugh.
"Very funny..." Koenma scowled.
"Oh, Yusuke, it really is great to see you again!" Botan exclaimed.
"You see to be doing well, Botan." Kurama said.
"Why thank you, Kurama, as a matter of fact I have." Botan smiled. "And Keiko, it really has been too long. How are things between you and Yusuke?" The grim reaper asked with a wink.
"None of your business, that's how." Keiko frowned.
"You don't need to be shy around us, Keiko. You and Yusuke have been dating for a while, haven't you?" Shizuru inquired.
Keiko blushed slightly. "Well..."
"Of course we've been dating!" Yusuke exclaimed with glee.
Suddenly, they heard one of the sliding doors open. "You humans are as pathetic as always." Hiei's voice echoed into the room.
"There you are shorty! What took ya so long?" Kuwabara teased.
"It's not like the demon plane is next door, you fool." Hiei retorted. "This mission had better be important, Koenma."
"Yes, now that everyone is present we would appreciate some details." Kurama said.
Koenma nodded. "The mission I need you to complete is a search and, possibly destroy."
"Possibly?" The boys wondered.
"Yes." Koenma replied. "You see, for the past couple of months we have picked up traces of demons wandering around this temple's grounds, as if they're searching for something. We're not sure who these demons are, or why they've come here. So I would like you four to find out."
"I don't understand why you need us to do the job; the portal between worlds is completely open. It shouldn't be any surprise that demons are lurking about." Hiei said.
"Well, yes, that's true. At first we thought the same thing." Koenma explained. "However, things have become much worse. We were able to do a reading on the power level of the intruding demons, and, well... Their power levels are off the charts. Frankly, if these demons are up to no good, and don't feel like settling this peacefully, then our agents won't be powerful enough to stop them."
"I see. That's why you called us." Kurama said.
Koenma nodded. "Usually I would try to think of other ways to solve this, but there is no other solution but to send in someone powerful enough to stop them if things turn for the worse. So, will you help me out?"
Yusuke smirked. "I'm in. Just remember that you owe me one for this." Kuwabara, Kurama and Hiei nodded in agreement.
The four boys left the girls at the temple with Koenma, and headed out to search the area. There was a lot of ground to cover, so they mostly tried to rely on Kuwabara's sixth sense to lead them to anything out of the ordinary. Hiei was also using his jagan eye in the hopes of seeing something suspicious.
"Woah, guys, hold up!" Kuwabara exclaimed a few hours into their search. I can feel something... Like someone's trying as hard as they can to hide their presence... It must be who we're looking for."
"Which way?" Hiei asked. Kuwabara pointed, and Hiei began to search with his jagan until he found a figure. "I see someone. Let's go."
The boys followed Hiei as quickly as they could without making any noise. All four of them hid their presences, so that their prey wouldn't sense them approaching. Within minutes, they found the person that Kuwabara could sense and hid in the trees just close enough to get a look at who it might be.
"Hey, wait..." Yusuke muttered, as he rubbed his eyes and then refocused on the person they were spying on. "Does everyone else see what I see?"
"Yeah, I think so." Kuwabara replied. "For a moment there, I thought I was goin' crazy."
"Interesting..." Kurama muttered as he stared at the person curiously.
"What are you idiots going on about?" Hiei demanded.
"Seriously, Hiei? Are you really the only one who doesn't get it?" Yusuke and Kuwabara frowned.
"That's right; I don't get what you're talking about." Hiei scowled. "Getting back to our mission... This guy is dangerous. I don't know what, but something about him seems off. We should ambush him, and take him out quickly."
"Woah, hold on-" Yusuke and Kuwabara tried to stop him, but it was too late. Hiei had disappeared, and was now attacking the person.
In the flash of an eye, Hiei unsheathed his sword, and swung it at the figure. However, much to Hiei's surprise, his target evaded him. Hiei readied for a counter-attack, but the person didn't move. It was a tall man who simply stared at Hiei curiously.
"Hiei! What the hell did you do that for?" Yusuke exclaimed as he popped out of the tree and growled at his friend. He was shortly joined by Kuwabara and Kurama.
"Yeah, don't go swingin' your sword around without making sure it's alright!" Kuwabara shouted.
"I don't know what your problem is, you fool, but this guy is obviously an intruder, and I thought our mission was to get rid of the intruder!" Hiei growled back.
"You're either blind, or as dumb as you are short!" Yusuke yelled. "Can't you see what's goin' on?"
"No!" Hiei said angrily.
"Hiei, even I have to agree with them..." Kurama said.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Hiei demanded.
"THIS GUY LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE YOU!" Yusuke and Kuwabara shouted in unison.
Hiei stared at the man he had just attacked. He was tall, wearing all black, and every visible inch of his skin was covered in scars. A long sword hung at his waist, along with what seemed like a variety of smaller weapons. His eyes were blood red, and his thick black hair flew out in every direction. Hiei stared for a while, unsure of what to say. Sure, there was a little resemblance, but it's not like he was going to admit that to the others.
Suddenly, the man looked directly at Hiei and smiled widely. "You know, despite what your friends say I don't see the resemblance." The four boys stared at the man with wide eyes. It wasn't exactly the response they had expected. "Anyway, I think this situation causes for an introduction. My name is Koray. What about you four?"
"I'm Yusuke, and this is Kuwabara, Kurama and Hiei." The ex-spirit detective said as he looked over Koray carefully, trying to figure him out. "So, Koray, what brings you to this fine temple?"
"Oh... Just hunting some pests." Koray replied casually.
"So you come here often?" Kurama asked.
"No. This is my first time coming to this temple." Koray replied. He then smiled again. "I see. You're after them too."
"Huh?" The boys muttered, puzzled.
"The demons that've been running around for a while; you were sent by Spirit World to get rid of them weren't you."
"Hey, how do you know about that?" Yusuke and Kuwabara demanded.
"I know because I'm here to get rid of them too." Koray smirked.
"You know something about these demons, then." Kurama said. "Who are they, and why have they come to these grounds?"
However, before Kurama's question could be answered, an intense aura fell upon the boys. It was so strong, that they could barely move as it seemed to consume them. The four of them looked around, wondering where it came from.
"Well... It looks like they've finally shown themselves." Koray smirked.