Red Lantern

by Mayushii

All copyright materials are property of their respective owners.

A/N: Hello! Welcome to the Yu Yu Hakusho Saisei Project, a rewrite of the Yu Yu Hakusho series. No, this is not a ploy for me to include a Mary-Sue in the original plot; I'm not a fan of that sort of thing. I can promise you now that I will not include ANY of my own characters in this project (I may combine some characters and give them a new name though, as is the case for the main antagonist of this story).

-This is #3 in my rewrite series. If you like this story, please check out That Which Comes Between Two Mountains (#1) and Colorblind (#2).

-A glossary of Japanese terms is at the end of the chapter.


Red Lantern, Pt. 1

"…Sarayashiki police are still investigating the disturbing events of the past week. Last Friday reports of violent crime in Sarayashiki exploded by an alarming 1,200 percent. Investigators are calling it a case of mass hysteria, but say they can't explain the unusual presentation. The affected, who rioted uncontrollably for four days, all congregated at Sarayashiki High School before suddenly collapsing Tuesday afternoon. We'll bring you more on the incident in sixty seconds…"

The news broadcast played over the loudspeakers of the outdoor cafe, providing some comfortable background noise for the customers. It was mostly ignored by the people who sat drinking their tea and coffee, but it did catch the interest of two boys as they passed. Upon hearing the report, the shorter boy rolled his eyes and the taller boy chuckled to himself.

"Heh… What do you think they'd say if we told them their 'mass hysteria' was really a bunch of bugs making themselves at home inside depressed people's brains?" Kuwabara asked jokingly.

"They'd probably lock us up with the rest of the crazies," Yusuke answered in a casual tone. He shoved his hands in the front pocket of his brown hoodie. "And that's why we'll never get to take credit for this stuff. Who would believe us if we told them what really happened?"

Kuwabara grinned. "So maybe we won't get famous. Look on the bright side. Classes are cancelled for the rest of the week and Iwamoto's teaching license got suspended."

"Sure, I guess, but don't you think this job is more trouble than it's worth?" Yusuke frowned.

"Are you kidding me? Being a Spirit Detective is the sweetest job ever!" Kuwabara said enthusiastically. He pulled his hands out of the pockets of his dark blue windbreaker, raised his fists and started punching the air in front of him as he walked. "All this fighting evil monsters and saving the world… Creepy castles and giant tigers… And light sabers, Urameshi! This has got to be the coolest thing I've ever done. Man, I am so pumped for our next case!"

Yusuke forced a smile. "Easy there, Champ. No cases today, remember? We're just having lunch, that's all."

"Yeah, I got it," Kuwabara laughed, his high spirits not the least bit dampened by Yusuke's mood. He jabbed a finger at his friend's nose teasingly, partly to cheer him up and partly because he just liked to annoy him. "And don't forget Urameshi, you're paying for all of it!"

"Yeah, yeah," Yusuke waved him off. Kuwabara beamed and started babbling again, though Yusuke really couldn't tell what he was saying. His mind was on a conversation he'd had with Botan hours before.


"Yusuke, wait up!"

The Spirit Detective paused, glancing over his shoulder as Botan ran to catch up with him. He sighed exasperatedly, buried his hands in his pockets and continued walking.

"Listen Botan, I'm kinda on vacation today," he said loudly. "If there's a new case, tell Koenma I'll take care of it when I'm good and ready."

"It's nothing like that," the ferrygirl said. Yusuke could hear her following behind him. "Good thing, too. It gives you some time to get things straightened out with Kuwabara." At the mention of his friend Yusuke was tempted to turn around, but Botan continued without his needing to show any actual curiosity. "I'm sorry Yusuke, but you have to tell Kuwabara not to involve himself in your work anymore."

Yusuke stopped in his tracks. He didn't dare turn around now. He wasn't sure what kind of look he had on his face, but he knew it wasn't one he wanted to show Botan.

"Why would I do that? Kuwabara's been a lot of help," Yusuke said, careful to keep any hint of worry from his voice. He paused and thought about what he'd said, then admitted, "I mean, yeah, maybe he gives me one more person to look out for, but—"

"That's exactly my point. Yusuke, as a Spirit Detective you have to look after the best interests of others. Your defeating Rando and Suzaku has already made you a lot of enemies among youkai. If you let Kuwabara get involved in your cases, you'll be making him a target too." Yusuke hid his flinch, but he had to turn his eyes to the ground. Deep down, he knew it was true. "You're taking him to lunch with Kurama and Hiei today, right? That seems like a good time to break it off."

"Oh come on," Yusuke scowled, agitated. "We just beat the Four Beasts, we're supposed to be celebrating. What am I supposed to do, pat him on the back and say 'thanks for the good work, but your services are no longer required'?"

"If you'd rather wait until he gets cornered by some bloodthirsty youkai, that's fine," Botan said sternly, "but I'd do it before then if I were you."


Yeah, sure thing Botan, Yusuke thought sarcastically. He slowed down a tiny bit, lagging behind Kuwabara so he could look at his friend without being noticed. And just how am I supposed to tell him to back off? Dumbass likes this Spirit Detective stuff better than I do.

"Hey, Urameshi!" Kuwabara stopped and turned to look back at him, frowning for what seemed like the first time that day. "You said we're supposed to be meeting Kurama and Hiei around here somewhere, right?"

"Oh, yeah. Should be…"

Yusuke trailed off when he noticed some commotion up the street. He could hear shouting, crashing, and glass breaking from a shop's entrance up ahead. Passersby began to spill off the sidewalk and into the street so they could leave a wide berth around the doorway. Moments later, what looked to Yusuke like a long-haired hippie and a guy with a face made of putty flew out of the door and crash-landed in the gutter. Yusuke and Kuwabara blinked, stunned.

"Clear out, ya sobs!" a man's voice yelled. A second later the man appeared in the doorway. He was very tall and muscular, with an outrageous purple mohawk, and he wore tight red pants with a black leather vest that would have looked right at home at a punk-rock concert. Strangely, the big beefy rocker was also wearing a white apron. "I'm not having you ratbags lobbing in on my pub!"

The hippie pushed himself up and took off his round sunglasses, which were bent and cracked on one side where he'd been punched.

"Chill man, we weren't looking for trouble," the hippie said. "We just heard you could hook us up—"

"Well ya heard wrong!" raged the purple-haired man. "We don't serve humans around here, got me!"

"Chu, quiet! People are staring!" A woman pushed her way out through the doorway. She was only a head shorter than the man, had short brown hair that was purposely tousled, and wore a dark blue cheongsam that showed off her curvy chest and hips. She glanced around at the spectators and cleared her throat. "It's all right, everyone! Everything is under control!" she said loudly. When people continued to ogle at them, she turned around and glared at Chu, shoving him hard in the chest. "You, get back in there!"

"Eh, now, Natsume, I was just—"

"In!"

Chu and Natsume disappeared through the door again and slammed it behind them. The hippie and the putty-faced guy helped each other to their feet and hurried off down the street. As they passed, Yusuke heard them muttering crossly about red meat and lying sacks of bodily waste.

"Urameshi…" Yusuke glanced at Kuwabara, who was staring at the doorway in trepidation. "Tell me that's not where we're going."

Yusuke blinked and finally noticed the large, red paper lantern that hung beside the shop door. The stylized writing on the lantern declared the establishment a traditional-style pub. A small smirk appeared on Yusuke's face.

"Looks like," he said.

"But that guy just said they don't serve humans," Kuwabara pointed out.

Yusuke coughed, hiding a snicker. "Well Kuwabara, why don't you think about that for a minute."

Kuwabara did. Yusuke knew the moment Kuwabara figured out what the youkai had actually been talking about; the big lug broke out in a nervous sweat and his face went so ashen it was almost blue. Chu hadn't meant they didn't have human customers; he'd meant they didn't have humans on the menu.

"I think I'm gonna have to pass on lunch, Urameshi. I just lost my appetite…"

"Sure," Yusuke said. "I'll just be sure to tell Hiei that you were too chicken to even set foot in the restaurant." Kuwabara looked horribly conflicted at this, and Yusuke slung one arm over his shoulders to propel him toward the door. "Come on, we picked this place out special so you'd be able to eat here without feeling weird."

And Yusuke had had one hell of a time trying to find the place, too. He had known Hiei wouldn't feel comfortable in a human restaurant, and a youkai-run restaurant that served human flesh was out of the question. That hadn't left many options. Eventually, Yusuke ended up calling Kurama to ask his advice on where to bring his team for their victory lunch. The Akazora had been the perfect compromise; the pub was small, run by a youkai couple, and it serviced youkai and humans and everything in between. According to Kurama, there was no better place for a group like them ("You mean a bunch of freaks?" Yusuke had asked slyly, and Kurama had just smiled and waved his hand).

Yusuke kept pushing Kuwabara all the way up to the front door. Once they were inside, they were greeted by Natsume. The woman was looking a bit harassed but trying not to show it. Up close, Yusuke saw that she had bright pink eyes. Definitely youkai.

"Welcome to the Akazora," said Natsume. "How many in your party?"

"Two right now, but we're meeting two more," Yusuke answered, holding up four fingers total. "Don't suppose Kurama or Hiei have shown up yet?"

"Ah, you two are Mr. Kurama's friends?" Natsume's expression brightened considerably. "He comes here every other week, he's a very good customer. I'm afraid he hasn't shown up yet, or your other friend. We will direct them to you when they arrive, though." She wrote something down on a clipboard and asked, "Would you like a private table or seats at the counter?"

"Uh, table I guess," Yusuke shrugged.

Natsume wrote this down as well and then motioned with one hand toward the interior of the restaurant.

"If you would follow me, we'll get you seated right away."

Yusuke and Kuwabara followed her, taking in their surroundings as they went. The pub was a long, narrow room warmly lit from above, and near the ceiling Yusuke noticed long mounted shelves filled with sake bottles. A bar took up the space to their right, half the stools occupied by youkai who somehow managed to blend in with the human salarymen. Behind the counter was an open kitchen where Chu and a smaller blue-skinned youkai were preparing food. Chu was chopping up some long green onions, and that might have explained his streaming eyes, but there were bumps on his head that hadn't been there when the two man-eaters had left. Yusuke suspected that Natsume had clocked Chu over the head for making a scene outside. He thought of Keiko and felt himself grinning sympathetically. To his surprise, Chu caught his eye and grinned back at him.

As they went deeper into the pub, the wooden floor gave way to a raised platform area for tables. Yusuke and Kuwabara had to leave their shoes under the platform so they wouldn't damage the area's soft tatami mats. Natsume seated them at one of the low tables.

"The bathrooms are over there if you need them," Natsume said, waving at a doorway with signs indicating there was a back exit, a storage room and a bathroom in the corridor beyond. "Would you like anything while you're waiting?"

Yusuke was sorely tempted to ask for beer just to see if he could get away with it, but he had the sneaking suspicion Kurama wouldn't be happy with him if he did, so he just asked for soda. Once Natsume left, Yusuke turned to Kuwabara and found the big lug staring after their hostess.

"What's the matter, Kuwabara?"

"I didn't know youkai could be hot," Kuwabara said, sounding slightly awed.

Yusuke snorted. "Then I guess you didn't know Kurama and Hiei are youkai."

Kuwabara nodded vaguely. Then he processed what Yusuke had said and stopped dead.

"Wait, you think they're hot?"

"Why not?" Yusuke scratched his cheek. "Not like I'd wanna jump them myself or anything, but you don't have to be attracted to someone to know they're hot, ya know?" Kuwabara was inching away from Yusuke by this point, and the shorter boy glared at him, feeling an angry red blush spreading across his face. He shouldn't have said anything in the first place; Kuwabara was taking it all the wrong way. "Hey, what's that look for? Are you even listening to me? I said I don't like them like that!"

"No, cause it's totally normal to check out your guy teammates." Kuwabara's eyes went round and he scuttled backward. "Oh my—gosh—Urameshi, you haven't been checking me out, have you?"

Okay, now that was just insulting. "Don't flatter yourself, Doofus! Who would wanna check you out?"

"Now, Yusuke, I think you're being biased. There are many people who would consider Kuwabara a very handsome man."

Yusuke and Kuwabara both turned their heads as a teasing voice nipped their argument in the bud. Kurama was smiling at them, his lips curved and his eyes crinkled with amusement. Yusuke blinked, surprised to see him in something other than his school clothes. Even out of uniform, Kurama's pressed gray slacks and dark teal sweater were more formal than anything Yusuke had ever worn. Beside him stood Hiei, dressed in his usual black cloak and white scarf and not making the least effort to blend in with the humans around him.

"Kurama, Hiei! Glad you could make it! What took you so long?" Yusuke said, grateful for the distraction.

"Sorry about that," Kurama said with an apologetic smile as he sank to his knees across from Yusuke. Hiei took the empty spot opposite Kuwabara, pulled one knee up in front of him and folded his arms on top of it, almost as if he were trying to form a barrier between himself and the rest of the world. "We were at our performance review in the Spirit World. It took a bit longer than I thought it would."

Yusuke grinned and was about to ask for the details of their meeting with Koenma when he saw Hiei's face. Even with the lower half hidden behind his arms, Yusuke could see that the small youkai was not happy. His already gravity-defying hair was bristling, his pupils were retracted so his eyes looked even wider than usual, and every muscle in his body was tense. He looked like he might whip out his sword and start hacking people to bits at any moment.

"Uh…so, how did that go?" Yusuke asked cautiously, wondering what could have happened to get such a violent reaction from Hiei.

Kurama tipped his head and smiled as if he didn't notice the rabid-looking youkai sitting beside him.

"It went quite well, actually. Hiei and I exceeded Koenma's expectations. In fact—"

"Shut up."

"—Koenma felt that we worked so well together that he has offered us—"

"Offered? He wouldn't take no for an answer!"

"—permanent positions on your team."

"And yet he promised us a clear slate! Then he saw we were useful and went back on his word! I should have known better than to trust him!" Hiei dropped his knee to the floor so he could lean forward and glare at Kurama properly. "You realize we're never going to be able to go back, don't you? Enslaved to the Spirit World, we'll be the laughing stock of Makai! He's ruined us, Kurama!"

Yusuke looked from Kurama to Hiei and thought he understood their reactions. Kurama, who was quite happy with his life in the human world, was glad to help protect the world he had come to love. He thought Koenma had given him a great opportunity and reward. Hiei, on the other hand, probably saw being tied to a Spirit Detective as punishment. Yusuke didn't know much about Makai, but he could take a guess that youkai who sided with humans weren't exactly popular.

"If you don't like it, why didn't you just say no?" Yusuke asked.

Hiei folded his arms over his chest with a "hmph" and looked very pointedly away. Kurama smiled innocently, turning his eyes to the ceiling and twirling a lock of hair around his finger. Yusuke grinned; whatever had made Hiei agree to this, it was obviously Kurama's doing.

"So, you two are going to be working with me from now on?" Yusuke said, just to confirm it.

"Yes." It was a happy sigh from Kurama and a sharply spat curseword from Hiei. If Yusuke wasn't sure Hiei would gut him for it, he might have laughed.

"Man, this blows," Kuwabara complained. "Now I'm gonna have to put up with Shorty every time we go on a case."

The laughter that had been inflating Yusuke's lungs suddenly died, leaving him feeling like his chest had been squashed. Kuwabara and Hiei started to bitch at each other, something Yusuke would have found funny…if he didn't have the sinking feeling that this would be the last time they saw each other. He wondered if Kuwabara would miss his arguments with Hiei. Yusuke knew Kuwabara truly enjoyed fighting, and the people he fought with were the people he felt closest to. Even if he complained about Hiei, Yusuke suspected that Kuwabara secretly liked him a lot…

Kurama was looking at Yusuke with equal measures of curiosity and concern. He'd probably thought it strange that Yusuke wasn't laughing at Kuwabara and Hiei (or alternatively, joining in). Yusuke glanced at the youko and then looked down at the table with a slightly pained, frustrated look. This really sucked.


End Part 1 of "Red Lantern"

A/N: So…I had intended to make this chapter longer, but I feel like people don't really want to read long first chapters, so the end of this chapter got shoved over to the second. Later on I'll probably go back and edit so the part that was supposed to be in this chapter is here again, but for now it'll be in chapter two.

youkai: demons, apparitions, etc.

Makai: the world of demons

Please review! Otherwise I'll feel like no one is reading. ;_;