Hello readers. Welcome to our fanfic. A few things you need to know: First, this is a revamp of an old fanfic that my friends and I wrote when we were in middle school. We are now in our 20s and we have drastically changed, and we want this new version to reflect our current selves. Second, we realize that we are technically Mary-Sues. We also do not care. We wrote this fanfic for us; if other people like it, that's a bonus, but not a priority. If you do not like Mary-Sues, please leave this page immediately. We will not allow any flames in the comment sections. Third, several different people will be writing chapters, and our styles are extremely different. Please, please bear with. And of course, enjoy! 3
Koenma had refused to drop them off at Genkai's temple, which didn't help Yusuke's already sour mood. He was exhausted. All he wanted was to eat something greasy and get some sake in his system. He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked down at his feet as they continued to walk. His clothes were torn and covered with blood. By how stiff his legs and torso were, he knew that he had some decent bruises forming.
"Urameshi, we've been walking for hours! Are we there yet," Kuwabara grunted impatiently.
Yusuke felt his brow twitch as he tried to keep a civil tongue. "Not yet," the spirit detective replied, gritting his teeth.
The group continued to walk down the deserted street; clouds covered the crescent moon. Yusuke was deep in thought, going over the events of the day concerning the demon they fought.
"He was so much stronger than he appeared. And that box he took. What was in there that was so important? What was Koenma keeping from me?"
"Urameshi! This is ridiculous! I'm starving and my body hurts! When are we going to get there," Kuwabara exploded, pulling Yusuke out of his thoughts.
"Look," Yusuke hissed, "we get there when we get there! Now shut your damn mouth before I shut it for you!" He could feel his fists clenching.
"But Yusuke," whined Botan, as she pulled her arms around her body, "it's starting to rain!"
Yusuke looked toward the sky as rain began to fall down his face. "Great," he thought. He felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking over, he saw Kurama staring back, a small smile on his face. Hiei was standing right behind; his black hood covered his head, his eyes calm. Yusuke sighed.
The group continued walking. Eventually, they saw the dark stairs leading up to Genkai's temple. With each step, Yusuke felt his legs burn. "I'm going to have to take a day off to recover," he thought to himself.
After what felt like hours, the group made it to the top. To strangers, the sight of Genkai's temple on a dark, rainy night would probably have sent them running. But to Yusuke, he couldn't help feeling he was home.
Kuwabara ran ahead, pushing the door open and bolting inside, heading straight to the kitchen. Not far behind, the rest of the troupe made it to the dry warmth inside.
The inside was dark, which meant that Genkai was probably asleep. That meant he wouldn't have to deal with her bitching until morning. That made him smile. He pulled his arms over his head, giving his body a much needed stretch and began to walk down the hall to his room when his stomach growled. He paused, remembering how hungry he was. He turned, following Kuwabara to the kitchen.
"Thank goodness we made it," Botan exclaimed, wringing the water from her long, blue hair. With a smile and a skip, she headed to one of the back rooms in search of dry clothes.
Hiei and Kurama were the last to make it inside. As Kurama turned to close the large doors, he hesitated. He stood there, staring into the darkness, his eyes trying to see past the rain.
"What is it," Hiei asked, a hint of curiosity in his voice.
Kurama looked down at his friend. "I thought I sensed something. But I think I imagined it. I must be more tired than I thought," he laughed as he closed the door.
(Somewhere not to far away…)
Olivia was beginning to get worried. It had never taken them this long to get home before. In fact, the three girls had spent many a fine day at Tokyo Disneyland and had made it back home before one in the morning. They lived just a few hours away. Why was it taking them so long?
"Ummm, Nis," she asked, "are you sure you know where you are going?"
The short, half-filipino girl looked up inquisitively, her glasses catching the light of a nearby light post, "Hmmm?"
Olivia began twisting her short, coarse hair between her fingers. "It's just…it's just getting kinda late and I want to make sure that we aren't lost or anything."
"Yeah Nissi," the blonde trailing behind whined, "I'm tired and my feet hurt and I want to sit!"
"Of course I know where I'm going," she replied as a confident smile was smacked across her face. "I have a map and it says we should be back on base soon. Don't worry."
She straightened her spine and tightened her resolve as she studied the map in front of her. She could do this!
Or at least, she had to do this, seeing as how she'd made such a fuss over the whole thing. She had to prove that Olivia and Vanessa had made the right decision (however reluctantly) in letting her handle the directions.
Olivia sighed. Even though her friend sounded confident, Olivia wasn't so sure. She took a few steps forward and gracefully leaned over the girl's shoulder. Her eyes bulged and her heart skipped a beat. It was what she feared. "Ummm, Eunice."
Something clicked in the young girl's head when she heard her actual name being spoken, and not her nickname.
She answered nervously, "Yes?"
"You are holding the map upside-down," she said, trying to sound sweet but her clenched fists weren't fooling anyone. She was using all her energy to restrain herself from strangling her friend.
Eunice stopped and took another look at the map between her fingers. "Oh! That explains why I can't find where we are," she said, grinning with embarrassment, her right hand innocently scratching the back of her head.
"You've got to be kidding me," Vanessa screamed, causing a few stray cats to scamper into the darkness.
Olivia sighed, shoving her hands in her pockets as she tried to think of what to do. She squeezed her cell phone. Of all the days for her battery to die, it had to be today. At that moment, she felt moisture on the top of her head. She looked up as the rain started to fall in a light drizzle, but she knew that it wouldn't be long until it started to pour. "Perfect," she thought.
"Don't worry guys," Eunice shouted, trying to cheer up her friends, "we will figure this out and everything will be okay!"
"I'm all wet," Vanessa cried as she plopped onto the sidewalk, "and my new Stitch is getting soggy!"
"Look guys," Olivia pointed, "there's a bus stop over there. Lets move out of the rain until we can figure out what to do."
The girls gathered up their belongings and dashed under the dryness of the shelter. As the girls got settled, Olivia looked at her friends. Eunice was still looking at the map, trying to figure out their location while Vanessa was wringing the water out of her droopy Stitch. "They won't be much help."
She looked outside. Even with the streetlights, the world looked quite dark. Her eyes searched, straining to see past the shadows and rain. She wasn't searching for anything in particular; she just wanted to find something that would help them get out of this mess. It was then that her eyes found something, something hidden in the shadows. Stairs? They looked like stairs but there was something about them. Something that seemed to almost draw her to them.
"Hey, guys," she whispered, her voice barely audible over the rain.
Eunice and Vanessa looked up. "What?" they asked in unison.
"Over there in the trees. There's some stairs. I don't know where they go, but I have this…feeling they will lead us somewhere that can help."
The girls look at each other. None of them wanted to go out in the rain, but they didn't really have much choice. Bravely, they gathered themselves up and sprinted into the wet. Skipping every other step, the girls bounded up the stairs, only stopping to help Vanessa up after a nasty trip that left her left knee bleeding. Up and up and up they went until finally they reached the top. Towering before them was a temple, far larger than any the girls had seen before. It was dark for the most part, but the girls could clearly see lights turning off and on, indicating that someone was inside. The girls cautiously approached the large doors, Olivia pushing forward to knock.
The girls waited a few minutes but no one came. Frustrated, Vanessa marched up and began smashing her fist into the wood. "Hello," she screamed, not holding back, "it's cold and wet and I'm hungry, so open the goddamn door!" Still no answer.
"Maybe nobody's home," Eunice whispered.
With a combination of both sadness and frustration, the girls sighed and leaned against the door, contemplating a possible plan B. At that moment, the door moved. Olivia, Eunice, and Vanessa quickly glanced at each other. Giving each other a quick nod, the girls took a deep breath and pushed the door open, unaware of whom they were about to encounter.