"Trouble in America?" Yuusuke asked, surprised. "Why are you talking to us, I thought I was fired?"
"Well yes," Koenma said, sighing. "But we need someone who can find this pair."
"Who exactly are they," Kurama asked from his position on the couch.
"A pair of very powerful criminals. They were cornered a century ago to be taken in for their crimes but killed each other instead of being captured. Their spirits were impossible to find until know, as we have picked them up in a small town in America. It is believed they somehow skipped through us and went straight to the resurrection waiting list. One is a demon and one is of a species found only in Reiki."
"Double Trouble," Kurama exclaimed.
Koenma nodded, "They seem to have used a similar method to you. But anyways, you ten will be staying with two families who have been identified as close to the reincarnated pair. You flight leaves tomorrow. And one more thing before you go pack." All of them turned to face the toddler. "Be careful."
With that the group returned to their residents and packed what they would need for the year (at least) they would be searching for 'Double Trouble.' The plane trip could be called both uneventful and eventful, as the group acted normally, but that of course was abnormal for the rest of the passengers. They arrived to a crowded airport in Tulsa, Oklahoma, greeted by a trio of bored teenagers holding up a sign with their respective names on it. Before they were caught sight of, however, one gave up, grabbed two wheelchairs, and challenged another to a race, which she quickly won.
"Joy," Hiei muttered, "More idiots." He was quiet surprised, though, when the loser started explaining aerodynamics to the other two, who countered just as easily, one with history the other with science. This garnered him a jab in the ribs by a grinning Kurama.
"You three are who were sent to pick us up," the redhead asked jovially.
The oldest looking one, who was the history buff, stared at him for a moment, eye twitching in her green and purple contacts, which went strangely well with her nearly black hair and pale skin, and matched her outfit even better. Suddenly she collected herself and cleared her throat.
"Da, I'm MD, just call me Solntse though. The short, skinny one is Amanda, our mother." The introductions were cut off by Amanda, a thin, vertically challenged blonde, slapping her in the back of the head. "I mean, my oldest sister. Happy? Don't hit me! And the shortest one is my older sister Kitty, call her Artemis."
"I thought you were separate families," Yuusuke asked, leaning against his luggage.
"Oh we are, by blood; we're basically family though," Artemis, more vertically challenged then Amanda and with honey colored hair, said. Amanda shook her head and nodded for them to bring their stuff out.
"Since you are such a big group we borrowed a limo," the, apparently, older girl said with a shrug, climbing into the driver's seat.
"Shotgun," Artemis crowed quickly, leaving a nearly crestfallen Solntse, who tripped her on her way with a snicker.
"Come on, get in," the brunette said, slipping into the limo, followed by the others only after they glanced at each other. The behavior on the plane quickly resumed, added by the snarky brunette. Finally she popped a question.
"So why did the group of you decided to come study in America," she asked, a seemingly normal look on her face. Her inquiry was met with silence, which she used to take in the appearances of the group. After a minute it looked as if a light bulb went off in her head and she grew a Cheshire Cat grin. She flipped open her phone and texted Artemis quickly, reading the reply with satisfaction.
"Do ya'll know a guy named Koenma?" The sudden question took everyone by surprise. Quick stuttering produced a variety of negatives, to which her grin widened, until a glance out the window made it fall faster than a fat man off a cliff. A string of curses erupted out of her mouth and she dialed her speed dial one, aka Artemis.
"We got a twisty, twisty problem sis."
"You mean the freight train in front of us? Thank goddess we're under this overpass. D'ya think you can take care of it." The grin was back.
"Do I think? Oh I know." She flipped the phone shut and climbed out.
"Hey what are you doing," Kuwabara yelled after her. She gave a glance back at them and gave a crazy grin.
"Its tornado season bitches," she smirked. "Air Gear, Activate." A whirl wind erupted around her, and when it died down a slender, white-haired figure had taken her place. She brought her hand up to her ear, which had a Bluetooth in it, and clicked it. "Fox! Hound! Where are ya?
"Right above you Ocelot, came a yell as two young men jumped down from the overpass, landing gracefully beside her.
"Need a lift," the one in the red t-shirt asked with a smirk as the two hoisted her into the air.
"Thanks much darlings," she said as a swirling vortex of air came closer the overpass. She simply reached out her hand and the tornado made for it, spiraling around her arm, up her shoulder, and into her mouth, causing the entire thing to disappear with a loud pop. The pair let her down and another whirl wind surrounded her, leaving a slightly tired Solntse in its place. She gave a glare to the two and they quickly made way for the top of the overpass from whence they came.
"How'd ya like the show," she asked, climbing back into the limo.
"Tha' was you lass," asked Jin from the opposite side of the car, "Tha' was amazin'!" He received a sheepish nod from the girl, who curled up next to Kurama, seemingly shaken from the experience.
"Sorry about the shakes, using that much power always gets to me. I'm not quite used to it." The sheepish look was back.
"So you have powers just like us," Hiei said, basically letting the cat, which was already halfway out a hole in the other side, out of the bag. She nodded quickly, unknowingly latching onto the nearest person to stop her shaking, who happened to be Kurama.
"So do Amanda and Artemis… Actually a lot of people at our school do." A few moments later she started tilting around as if what was under her was turning to jelly.
"Are you okay," Kurama asked grabbing her arm.
"Just a little dizzy," she said, putting her hand to her forehead. Unfortunately this didn't stop her from fainting suddenly, and would have fallen onto the floor of the car if Kurama and Botan hadn't grabbed her and held her up.
"Solntse," Botan said, shaking her and trying to wake her. "Solntse!" Kurama knocked on the barrier separating the front seats from the back compartment.
Artemis rolled it down and looked at them, before seeing her unconscious friend and scrambling over. She flicked the girl in the forehead, which garnered no reaction.
"The wind she took in from the twister must have affected her vertigo and caused her to pass out. She should probably be laid down and have a rag put on her head so she doesn't get a fever. She has bad vertigo already but taking all that spinning air in will cause it to go into overdrive and make her pass out sometimes. She should be fine until we get to the big house where you, us, and Amanda (who owns it FYI) are staying."
She pulled the taller girl onto her lap, a strange position, and sighed.
"She's always been the mature one, taking on more than she can handle."
"What do you mean," Yukina asked from the left side of the car.
"She's über creative, and if it weren't for that she would have been diagnosed with schizophrenia last year. She has severe anxiety and basic depression to top it off. And then on top of that she is a sensitive and clairvoyant. But then again I can't really talk, with my devil of a sister destroying my sanity and my breathing problems, topped off by being a medium and power over ice." The stares she got didn't disturb her a bit.
"And then it doesn't help with those demons chasing after us," Amanda said from the front seat. Nearly everyone in the group was seriously alarmed. "And the shades, and the evil humans, and the Reapers, and our own kinds, et cetera, et cetera…" She turned sharply down a gravel road.
"I'm kind of glad you all will be around, actually, because I have college. So I'm giving you the job of protecting them at school and at any time while I'm away. Got it?" She glanced back at them.
"And if we don't agree," Hiei asked sardonically.
"Then I'll kill you and send you to the greatest depths of hell," she said simply, smiling into the rearview mirror at them as they pulled into the driveway. "Now grab your stuff and I'll show you to your rooms."
Artemis elected Kurama to help her carry Solntse in and lay her on the couch, then letting him follow Amanda's orders as she bustled around wrapping the girl up and placing a wet rag on her forehead.
Soon everyone was as settled in as they could be on the first day and had gathered around the large living room with the other members of the household, who mostly were either worrying over or poking the still unconscious Solntse. One, Tyler, was still poking her when she regained consciousness which earned him a kick in the face. This caused significant laughter as the night died down, leaving the next day in question.
The next morning as the sun rose everyone found themselves scattered around on the various couches, Lazy boy recliners, and carpets of the living room with blankets covering them. A note on the refrigerator announced Amanda had left to go back to school and told us to eat, go shop for groceries, and sleep in our beds. 'And do your homework' was added at the bottom and underlined many times. Solntse gave a bedraggled sigh and rushed up the stairs. She was up about ten minutes before she came down in a pair of dark jeans, a black shirt, and black and navy contacts.
"I'm taking the cycle to the paper," she called heading out the door. Five seconds later she rushed back in and slammed the door. "The fuck, as soon as she leaves they get here. Damn it, damn it, God damn it. Tyler! Get those damn things away," she basically wailed.
"Reapers," he asked rushing to the door. She gave a tearful nod before rushing to hide behind Yuusuke. Tyler left and several shots were heard then yelling.
"We just want to talk to the Siberian," came a yell from the leader, causing Solntse to sob nearly uncontrollably while clinging to a visibly shaken Artemis.
"Just who are these people," Yuusuke asked, questioning the pair's reactions.
"Reapers," came Artemis's reply. "The opposite of what Amanda is. They can be pretty evil. Both of us have dated them at times so we don't know who they're talking about. Tyler should scare them off soon… We hope." More shots rang out and Tyler walked back in.
"They're gone, but ya might not want to go to the paper today. Call 'em and tell 'em ya can't come. In fact you may want to quit. Best we can do at the moment." Solntse shot him a glare and jetted back upstairs, returning within seconds this time.
"Then we are going grocery shopping," she said stalking out of the house with a purse with a clock in it. "Everyone make a list, I am starting the damn jeep. Also, Tyler ya need to return the limo today."
"Is she always like that," Keiko asked, getting out a notebook from a kitchen drawer to make the list.
"Only when she is pissed, homicidal, suicidal, or all of the above," Artemis said with a grin while leaning against the bar. "Put York mints on the list please, and two percent milk." Keiko complied as she fielded other suggestions. Finally she held up a finished list and she, Artemis, and Yukina headed out to the jeep to go to the store. They returned within two hours, everything on the list checked off and packed into the fridge and freezer and pantry and kitchen drawers. By this time Solntse was calm again, picking up her computer and typing a mile per minute.
"Writer's block is over," Artemis crowed happily skipping around.
"Huh," asked Kuwabara and Yuusuke, while Hiei and Kurama just quirked an eyebrow.
"I'm a poetry and prose writer, famous among various internet users," she said, not missing a beat.
Jin and Rinku looked over her shoulder trying to keep up with her rate of typing. Rinku let out a low whistle.
"You're really fast."
"I've been practicing since I was eight years old."
"Can we read it later," Jin asked, picking up various sentences and finding it interesting.
"Of course." She still wasn't missing a beat.
Artemis burst out laughing.
"Whelp," she said, wiping a tear from her eye. "I'm gonna go train. Who wants to come?"
"Have fun," Solntse said, glancing up as all of the male new arrivals followed her best friend out to the porch and back yard.
The other females seemed slightly embarrassed at their companions' behavior.
"So what are you writing," Shizuru asked, puffing on her cigarette.
"This and that," came the reply.
"Is it interesting," Yukina asked.
"To me it is, so who knows what others think. I mean, I read history books for fun."
Finally she slowed her typing, hit the save button, and shut her lap top.
"Wanna go watch the guys make fools of themselves," she asked the other four girls with a grin. "I need to get some new ideas for action scenes."
The five walked out and sat on the porch, but suddenly Solntse rose and entered the kitchen. She returned with a pitcher of lemonade and twelve glasses.
"Break time idiots! You dehydrate and I'll skin you alive and boil it for supper!" All of them stared at her for a moment before Yuusuke, Jin, Kuwabara, Rinku, and Artemis ran over and grabbed some lemonade, followed by Kurama and Hiei just walking.
"Thank you," was the reply from most of them. The girls poured themselves glasses as well, Solntse squeezing a lemon into hers to make it tarter.
Soon enough most of the boys and Artemis were back training.
"School starts next week, doesn't it," Keiko asked, receiving a nod from Solntse.
"Lovely time," she said sarcastically. "Full of wonderful people who can't wait to compliment you, then mock and spread rumors about you behind your back. Or right in front of you. Either one is common. And most of them are cowards and idiots."
"They can't be that bad," Yukina said, getting a pitying glance from the girl.
"Unless you hang out with the band kids, you have no soul. It is a proven fact."
"Band kids?"
"….Do I really need to explain that?"
"She's got a pretty fast wind whipping round 'er, that lass," Jin said, fielding Yuusuke's punch while nodding toward the black haired girl.
"Ya think it has something to do with that 'Air Gear' she used earlier," the former Spirit Detective asked.
"Na, I think that just amplifies 'er powers, like you and your other form."
"What about Artemis?"
"Tha' lass don't have much around 'er," the Wind Master replied. "But the air is really cold. Tis 'round the same as Miss Yukina."
"That's interesting," Yuusuke paused for a moment, allowing Jin to get a good punch in. "Ow man, but anyways, what did you get off of those two guys. Didn't Solntse call them Fox and Hound?"
"They were powerful; seem to be Wolf apparitions of some kind. Wasn't close enough to get a readin' of 'em."
"Do you think they could be Double Trouble?"
"Maybe, lad. Kurama seemed to know about them. Maybe he knows somethin'."
"I've only heard of them," the fox said nearby, sparring with Hiei. "Never met them or saw them or anything as such. Only heard of them."
"So what did you hear," Yuusuke ducked from one of Jin's punches.
"That they were very powerful, would do anything for each other, were fast, and disliked the Spirit world more than anything."
"Weaknesses?"
"None known but each other."
"I heard legends about them," Hiei spoke up. "They killed each other when cornered so as not to be taken to trial. Though it is said they were fine with a trial, they just didn't want to go to the Spirit world. It is also said they were more vigilantes than anything. Thinking about it they were like Genkai, they fought for themselves, they were their only morals."
All four glanced at the girl on the porch. "She knew about Koenma, do you think she knows Double Trouble?"
Hiei shook his head, "I think she is one of Double Trouble."
"Huh," the other three asked, confused.
"The legends mentioned them killing rapists and other people against women. The conclusion most of us came to was that they were women themselves."
"That would make much more sense," Kurama said, as all of them stopped. A glance to the porch revealed a frightened look on the young woman's face as she got up and returned to the kitchen. Artemis was also making headway toward the house, leaving a confused Rinku.
"I'll go talk to 'em," Jin said. "Solntse and I should be about evenly matched anyway." The Irish demon brushed past the girls on the porch and into the kitchen, where the girl was leaning against the counter, sipping a cup of green tea.
"You alright lass," he asked, taking a place next to her. She chuckled a moment.
"That's not what you truly want to ask."
"You're right. I want to know if you were one of 'Double Trouble.'"
She glanced at him a moment, a sad look in her eyes. "Yes. I was, a century ago."
"Ya know we were brough' 'ere to find you and take you back to the Reiki for trial."
"We are willing for a trial, just as Hiei said," she glared at him. "We, however, refuse to enter Reiki."
"And why no'," he asked.
"I won't go because I hate that place. She won't go because I hate that place."
A moment of silence passed, leaving the pair to their thoughts. Finally Jin gave a sigh and ruffled the girl's cropped hair before leaving back outside. She waited a moment, sipping her tea, before her eyes widened and she let out a scream, causing everyone to rush in. She had collapsed to the floor, her hands over her ears, and was close to sobbing between the screams.
"What happened," Artemis asked shaking her.
"The reapers got them," she said, her screams dying down. "The reapers killed them."
"Killed who, Sol, killed who?"
"Fox and Hound… They're dead…. I saw it…"
"She saw it," Yuusuke asked sharply.
"She's a Clairvoyant," was the retort from a visibly disturbed Artemis. "They killed them because they knew she would see it. Because they knew they were protecting her!"
"From what?"
"Enma."