A/N: Yu Yu Hakusho? Don't mind if I do!

Summary: The Chest of Souls once contained the spirits of the nine demons bent on annihilation. The gang is sent to retrieve each soul to prevent another bloodbath. It's rather routine; that is, until a civilian is involved.

Disclaimer: I do not in anyway own, claim to own, make a profit off of, etc. Yu Yu Hakusho or its related mediums. Any recognizable character(s) that associate with Yu Yu Hakusho and its related mediums are not owned by me, but by their respective creators. This is written solely for entertainment purposes. Yadda, Yadda, Yadda. Please don't sue or report.

Warning: Overall, T for language (unless some unforeseen "happenings" happen *nudgenudge* *winkwink*). There shouldn't be much language though, as far as I can tell for now. Still, nothing too terrible, for now.

Enjoy!

Soulless

Prologue

- Escape of the Evil Spirits -

A small assembly line of invoices, memos, and reports buried the large desk of the small prince of Spirit World. He had neatly filed every document into a separate pile, assigning each with its own end objective. Any paper that needed stamp-approval was in one pile and any that merely offered an update were set aside in another. The prince passed each stamped document into a small box that he would then appoint his ogre-assistant George to sift through and deliver the approvals to their respective destinations. It was a tedious process at first, but once he fell into a steady rhythm, the prince was able to accomplish much in a short period of time.

Hours would pass and the simple sound of his stamp slapping the paper with an inked-seal would resonate throughout the large chamber. Only one or twice a day would the sound pause long enough for the tiny ruler to fish a Band-Aid out of a small box he kept nearby to bandage a paper cut. Soon enough his little fingers would be covered with white dressings and his blue-haired reaper would frown at him when checking-in.

"You need to be more careful," she would tell him. "Don't work so fast."

But he would merely shrug her off, remind her of some menial task she should be doing instead of distracting him, and then continue working, though at a slightly slower pace that always made the reaper smile to herself.

This was comfortable though. They had all fallen into a routine that no one wanted to change. And any thought of wishing for something more stimulating would quickly be squashed with the remembrance of all the excitement the now-retired Spirit Detective caused in the past. This new life was much simpler, much easier, and much safer. Plus, the prince wasn't as likely to get a spanking from his father. And he had no complaints there.

One morning though, everything was different. The small prince knew things were amiss when he hopped into his chair and found his desk completely bare. Irritated, he paged his ogre-assistant to arrive immediately with an explanation. The prince drummed his fingers on the wooden desk, waiting for what he considered to be a shoddy underling. After five seconds, he grew beyond impatient. He paged the ogre again and decided to give him ten seconds, an act he felt was far too generous. A minute passed. Two minutes. Five.

Fully annoyed and fed-up, the little ruler slid off his chair and stomped his way across the chamber to the large double doors. Just as he reached for the golden-handle, the doors burst open and the prince was mowed over by a group of ogres. Annoyingly enough, George was not among them.

Groaning, he peeled himself off the floor and was about to reproach the group when the blue-haired reaper appeared in the doorway.

"Koenma, sir, what are you doing on the floor?"

His face reddened, he was about to erupt with rage. Just as he opened his mouth to begin shouting accusations, the reaper again interrupted him.

"You really need to get up, Sir. This is something you're going to want to see."

She strolled past him, leaving him on the floor, mouth still open. Koenma huffed, glared at the backs of his employees, and hoisted himself back up to his feet. Dusting himself off as he walked, he regained his air of authority.

"Botan, what is so important that I have to be trampled over?" He inquired.

The ogres immediately began bowing and apologizing, though it was made difficult by the cumbersome steel chest they carried together. Koenma eyed it with interest, having not seen it before. Of course, his face had been buried in the marble flooring.

"What is that?" He pointed at the chest as he reclaimed his chair.

Botan bounded up to his desk, her eyes alit with excitement. "It's the Chest of Souls, sir," she exclaimed.

"Chest of. . .Souls?" Koenma looked at the steel chest with uncertainty. "I don't-"

By now, Botan was bouncing on her toes, her body completely rattled with exhilaration. She hurriedly explained, "The Chest of Souls that the Recon Team was sent to find. Well, they found it!" She energetically waved her arms at the chest to formally present it to the prince.

Koenma hesitated. "I'm still not quite sure that I understand."

Botan's smile melted into a frown. "Don't tell me that you don't remember about the Chest of Souls."

"That's exactly what I'm saying! What is this 'Chest of Souls'? You keep saying that but I don't know what that means!" Koenma banged his fist on the desk in emphasis.

Botan puffed up, slapped her hands down on the desk and leaned in closely. "The 'Chest of Souls' was the relic used to imprison the cruel, sadistic spirits responsible for the Great Massacre."

Koenma blanched. "Are you telling me that I currently have a chest containing the souls of those who slaughtered thousands of innocents, in my chamber as we speak?"

"The very same," Botan breathed dramatically. She turned her head and both prince and reaper gazed at the steel contraption warily.

Koenma closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, his face scrunching up. Already the stress was flooding through his veins. Eyes still shut tight, he asked, "What exactly am I supposed to do with this?"

Botan blinked, her pink eyes wide. "I don't know. You're the one who sent the team out in the first place."

"Why don't I remember this?"

"Sir, I can show you the document that you approved-"

"I don't read what I approve! I just stamp and pass to Ogre," Koenma confessed with a shout. They never seemed to be able to hold a civil conversation for long.

Botan folded her arms in front of her chest and tapped her pointer finger on her chin, thinking. "What about storing it in the High-Level Security Vault until we can assemble a more suitable place?"

Koenma looked up at the blue-haired reaper wearily. The instant gravity of the situation was taking a toll on him. He was too old to be dealing with this. Hadn't he already done his time with Yusuke Urameshi and Co.? But thankfully he had Botan. Good, loyal Botan. She would never fail him. Even though they could cause each other ridiculous volumes of frustration, it never seemed to affect their friendship, but only strengthen it. Secretly, they both enjoyed the little spats.

"That sounds appropriate. Get it down there right away and I'll begin searching for someone more specialized in the," he searched for the correct word. "Handling of something so 'delicate'."

Botan nodded, fully determined to see this strained situation through to the end. She turned to the ragtag group of ogres and directed them back out the doors. She threw a quick grin to Koenma along with a thumbs-up before marching off.

However, today was not meant to run so smoothly.

George unexpectedly dashed through the doorway shouting, "I'm here, I'm here, I'm here," repeatedly. He was finally answering Koenma's pages. Almost twenty minutes later.

Being in such a blind rush, the blue ogre had no chance of slowing down in time to avoid the ogres carrying the deadly chest. Bodies crashed to the floor in a mess of limbs. The chest flew out of their grips and smashed into 0the floor, clasp broken and lid flying open. Botan and Koenma gasped, too stunned to react more proactively.

Before either could regain his/her senses, small black orbs filtered out into the open air. Nine orbs floated above the damaged chest and stilled.

"Wha-"

At the sound of Koenma's voice all nine black orbs shot off instantly in different directions. In the blink of an eye, they flew through the walls and ceiling, disappearing.

The chamber was absolutely still and silent as the events slowly settled in. A small tremble emerged in Koenma's pinky finger. Bit by bit it spread to the other fingers and then the entire hand. Then it took over the other hand. Little by little it traveled through his wrists, up his arms and into his shoulders. His toes, feet, and legs were shaking as well. The quake quickly took over his whole body. Koenma tensed up, clenched his fists, and his face reddened significantly.

"OGRE!" His voice, full of fury and rage, reverberated throughout the entire Spirit World.

A/N: I had been debating for the longest time (and by "longest time" I mean thirty seconds) on whether to end it here, or continue on. Eventually I decided that this was the strongest ending I could, well, end with. So, it's a nice short little beginning. The next chapter should be longer. Maybe. Hopefully. Well, we'll see. I haven't quite figured out what length I'm shooting for so I'm just doing the whole "strongest ending"-thing for now. Possibly.

If this talk of "The Great Massacre" and "Chest of Souls" confuses you, yeah it's my own for the plot. In other words, not in the canon. It'll be explained within the next few chapters. Wouldn't want to leave you hangin'!

Loads will be revealed next chapter.

I hope. I'm not sure. I don't have it planned out line-by-line. But! There's a chance! Perhaps.

:)