Saga 7: Demons, ghosts, & goddesses
Ch.1. Unfortunate Events
disclaimer: I do not own any Yu-Yu-Hakusho characters.
// = thought speak

One slightly cloudy day, Yusuke Urameshi (spirit detective), was searching for a youkai (demon) that Koenma (son of King Enma, the underworld judge) had assigned him to arrest. "Man, why did he have to assign me, today, OUT OF ALL DAYS?! It's the freakin last day of summer! I was gonna go to the casino and then smoke later! Damnit! Why doesn't he have another flunkie to do this crap?! Don't I ever get time off?!" Yusuke griped as he passed an open field.

*flashback*

"Yusuke we need you NOW!!! There's a horde of demons on the loose that have the power to wipe out a city without even breaking a sweat!" Koenma shouted at a sleeping Yusuke who jolted awake. "DAMNIT KOENMA!!! WHY DON'T YOU WAIT UNTIL AFTER I'M AWAKE TO START SHOUTING IN MY EAR FOR CRYING OUT LOUD?!" Koenma sighed and continued on in a lower voice. "Yusuke, these youkai are VERY dangerous! They are called the Black Nahga! They are ruthless criminals and they are trying to steal a talisman that, if in their hands, could WIPE OUT the CONTINENT IN ONE SHOT!! You are my toughest fighter, and only you could probably pull this off!!" Koenma fussed while Yusuke yawned and looked at the alarm clock. "Ugh... 6 a.m..." "Will you listen?!" Koenma shouted. "I AM LISTENING!!" Yusuke shouted back. Suddenly, Atsuko (Yusuke's mother) entered the room. "Yusuke what the hell are you shouting about this early in the morning?!" she grumped. "Ah-ha...sorry, ma. I had...er, a nightmare..." he said, faking a sheepish grin. "Well, have a quieter nightmare next time will ya?" Atsuko mumbled as she stumbled back to bed.

Yusuke turned back to Koenma. *whisper* "You got my mom mad at me!! Hurry up already before you wake her up again!!" Yusuke grumped. Koenma sweat- dropped. "These youkai are trying to steal a treasure called the 'silver oni talisman'! The talisman is dangerous in the wrong hands because it can wipe out cities in an instant and who knows what else it is capable of!" he fretted. Yusuke groaned. "Oh man. Don't bad guys ever have new goals besides 'destroy the world', or 'take over the world' or even 'be the strongest in the world'? This is getting pretty cliché." Koenma glared and continued. "Nonetheless, if the power of the silver oni talisman is used, then not only will huge numbers of people die, but it has been said that the talisman can resurrect them only to come back as zombies to do the Black Nahga's bidding! This will affect both Heaven and Hell tremendously! We need you Yusuke! I've even asked the others to help just in case we need backup!" Yusuke blinked. "You don't mean...?!" Koenma nodded. "Yep. Kuwabara, Kurama and Hiei will be looking too. Botan will help, of course. I've even asked Jin and Touya..." Yusuke slapped his forehead. "Oh great. And exactly WHEN is the deadline on this stupid assignment?" "One week" Yusuke shot up. "WH-WHU-ONE WEEK?! HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO FIND THESE GUYS IN ONE WEEK?!" "YUSUKE SHUT THE FUCK UP IN THERE!!!" Atsuko bellowed from the bedroom.

Yusuke punched his pillow. "Damnit Koenma!!! Why don't you warn me of these things in advance, rather than at the last minute!!!" Yusuke snarled. Koenma sighed. "This didn't come up until a few hours ago. I've been contacting everyone as quickly as possible." Yusuke flopped down face first into his now beaten up pillow. "Do ya even know where they are?" Koenma shook his head. "We don't know the exact whereabouts, however an anonymous source sent us a location of where they were spotted last. We concluded, since we know where the talisman lies, that they would head to the Wind Shrine in the south." Yusuke sat up. "Wait a minute. Someone unknown sent you this information?" "Correct." "Didja ever stop to think that it's a TRAP?!" Koenma nodded. "Fortunately, we have a Seer that we can ask on things like this. Unfortunately, she only appears once every hundred years under a full moon. So, we'll just have to chance it." Yusuke blinked. 'You mean I'm gonna have to chance it.' he grumbled in the back of his mind. Koenma sighed again. "However, there is something else you should know." Yusuke's head shot up. "What now?! Are my powers going to be gone?!" "No. We believe there is a powerful presence around here. I have questioned some neighboring spirits, and fortunately, they said the power is not of malice. However, that is all the information I was able to gather on our mysterious friend. Oh, and you'll need this." Koenma replied as a bright light began to shine. Then, the object appeared with a snap. The item looked like a silver pocket watch, but it was definitely something different. "This is a spell locater. It can track powerful magical items from afar, e.g. our talisman." Yusuke stared at the glittering orb for a moment before snatching it out of mid-air. He looked at the locater then back at Koenma. "Remember what I said. You have one week. Good luck." Koenma waved, then disappeared in a quick poof. "What do I do when I find the talisman?!" Yusuke called at the thin air. "Call Botan. You and her still have your communicators." Koenma's voice answered back.

*flashback to present*

Yusuke sweat-dropped. Without noticing it, he had wandered by the edge of a forest, and stopped when he thought he heard voices. Sure enough, he heard several. 'Hm. Maybe its my youkai.' he thought hopefully. He slowly moved closer to the trees, trying to get within better earshot. "Stupid baka ningen! We told you to get the goods!" Yusuke slowly leaned out from behind a redwood and his eyes widened at what he saw. Several large men were standing over a girl who was clutching her arm like she was in pain. Her medium brown hair with light, blondish highlights hung over her face in thick strands. She was wearing a green & white gi that looked a priestess's. She gave a small cry as one of the men stepped on her hand. Yusuke felt his anger rise. But something told him to watch more before he jumped in. (A/N: since when has he thought stuff through?!)

A man in the center of the ring came forward. 'Probably the leader.' Yusuke thought. The guy reached down and grabbed the woman by her collar, lifting her up. She whimpered slightly, but didn't flinch. The man brought her very close to his (ugly) face and said, "You failed to complete your assignment Shido. You've been a very naughty girl." The woman hung limply for a moment before saying "Too m-many...guards. P-please...let me...try a-again." she managed to choke out. The leader threw her on the ground at an alarming speed, causing her to cry out again. Yusuke felt himself grow furious. He couldn't watch this torture much longer...

Another man picked 'Shido' up by her hair, causing her to gasp in pain. The leader stepped forward again. "Alright, Shido. Since I'm such a nice guy, I'll give you one more chance. But if you fail this time...well, you know the consequences..." Yusuke balled his fists. 'Nice guy my ass!!!' he thought with fury. The woman looked up again. "N-no. Please...d- don't...hurt...grandpa o-or...Lulu..." she begged. The guys around her laughed. The leader leaned over and said, "Amazing. A chick whining about a brat and an old geezer." The others around her laughed again. "Stupid wench" the leader growled and kicked the woman. She clutched the ground, but did not move otherwise. Yusuke then noticed something sparkling around her neck, as did the leader, who again, grabbed her by her hair and pulled out the necklace. It was a tiny opal on a silver chain. "Well, well, well. What do we have here Shido?" The woman quickly looked up, alarmed. "Please...d-don't t-take it...that jewel...it's v-very precious to...me." Again, the men roared with laughter. "Oh? Then maybe I'll just confiscate it for a while...until you get me what I want." the leader grinned, yanking the chain off her throat.

Finally, Yusuke couldn't take it anymore. He stepped out from behind the tree, his spirit energy blazing a brilliant blue. The circle of thugs looked over in slight interest. The woman looked up as well. "You...jerks..." Yusuke snarled. The leader looked over his shoulder and said, "Beat it kid. This doesn't concern you." Yusuke then noticed something very peculiar. The leader's eyes had changed for a split second, but enough for Yusuke to notice. "Like hell it doesn't concern me!" he yelled. The others smirked. The leader turned around, growling "I'll give you one last chance, brat. Scram." Yusuke's anger rose even more. "You want me to leave?! Then you're gonna have to make me!!" Yusuke shouted. The followers grinned and cracked their knuckles. "NO! Stay away!" the woman burst out, but was quickly slapped on the face by the leader. "Shut your damn mouth, you stupid bitch!" he snarled. "QUIT HITTING HER YOU BASTARD!!!" Yusuke hollered as his body became engulfed in blue flame. "SHOTGUN!!" Yusuke shouted and pointed his index finger, causing a blast of blue energy to erupt, blinding everyone momentarily.

Within less than a moment, Yusuke had wiped out everyone except the leader, a henchman and the woman. The henchman was holding out his hand, Yusuke noticed. 'He must've activated a shield or something...' He then smirked and said, "You're that Black Nahga group aren't you?" The leader frowned, but then smirked too. "Amazing. Taking down all my men in one shot. What do you know of us?" He grinned deviously. Yusuke was about to answer when a voice cut him off in his mind. //Please go! If you leave now, they won't get a chance to kill you! I'll distract them!// Yusuke scratched his head in confusion and looked around for the source of the voice. He then locked eyes with the woman who was staring straight at him. Her teal eyes looked deep into his, seeming to try to convey a message.

Again, he heard the voice. //Please...I know you have special abilities but do not underestimate Lenos. He is evil and very powerful.// Yusuke blinked and then replied, //So, is that no good bastard a youkai? Cuz' I happen to be a Spirit Detective.// The woman seemed a bit surprised. //I do not know if he is a youkai. I'm not even sure if those exist or not. But I am certain he is not an ordinary human. You say you're a Spirit Detective? What is that?// Yusuke fell over. //AH! Now's not the time for chatting. I have to punch these goon's lights out!// He then turned back to the men (or demons, whatever they were). "Well, I do know that guys are after a scrap of paper called the 'silver oni talisman'. Also, you're all under arrest for thievery and for abusing a woman!!" he said, now just irritated. Both the men chuckled. "I don't know who or what the hell you are, but all I know is Jugo here is going to make you wish you'd never come here in the first place." Yusuke rolled his eyes. He had heard lines like this far too many times before. "Also..." Lenos continued, "If you so much as even blink, her blood is going to stain the ground." Yusuke's head shot up as the one called Jugo pointed a pistol at the woman. Surprisingly, the woman didn't scream or even flinch. Yusuke glared at Lenos, who smirked again. "You bastards..." he growled through clenched teeth. "Watch your mouth, brat." Jugo said. Yusuke balled his fists and looked desperately over at the woman. Oddly, she was smiling. He raised an eyebrow. However, when she brushed her chestnut hair away from her face, Yusuke saw it wasn't a whole- hearted smile. In fact, it was...sad. 'Then again, I don't think I'd be smiling in a situation like this either...' he thought.

He then looked right into the source of her sadness. 'Her eyes...' Yusuke thought he would drown in the teal pools. He suddenly felt her sadness crash on top of him like a wave. Images of...a crashed car, wailing baby, a hand hanging out from under a huge boulder, a red-haired long-eared woman, an old shrine, many shed tears...

Yusuke gasped as he snapped back to reality. The two gangsters were looking at him with raised eyebrows and questioning expressions. Yusuke looked back at the woman again. Her eyes were closed, as if blocking out all the visions he had just seen. She then smiled; a gentle but horribly sad smile. //Go...// she thought, her soft eyes opening again.

At that point, Yusuke knew he would do anything to protect the young woman. He didn't know why, but it felt almost essential to save her life. He stood up, suddenly full of renewed energy. "Back off..." he growled at his foes. Both chuckled with dry amusement. Without warning though, their bemused faces immediately changed to shocked as the gun was sliced in half. The powder and bullets poured out into a heap. All four looked over to see... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------- Heh. Sorry to leave you at a cliffhanger. Trust me, more will come. Until then, use your imagination. Ciao ^_^;