It was a lovely spring day. The flowers were basking in the warm sunlight, trying to regain strength now that old man winter was forgotten. Many took advantage of the day's beauty to take walks or go shopping. Anna Izumi was skipping merrily through the streets, her face titled up to the sky. So, it was nearly inevitable that she would run into another careless person. But, oh, who would this unlucky one be?

CRASH!

"Ouch, that hurt. I wonder whom I ran into," Anna muttered, rubbing her scratched arm. She looked over to find a very pissed looking boy scowling at her.

"Hn. Watch where you're going, baka ningen." He spat, rising to his feet.

"Uh, yeah, I wasn't really paying attention," she admitted with a rueful smile. "But, you must have not been either. So, I owe you no apology." She stood up herself and dusted off her skirt. "That means I am free to leave you and never see you again." Anna looked him over and frowned, "You have a 'napoleon complex', do you not? Short people are always angry and looking for a fight."

The boy glared harder at the girl before him. She was probably an inch or too taller than him. But she was in no way tall or even average height.

"You have no room to talk."

"That is true, I suppose. But…eh, I don't look like a ten year old now, do I?"

Looking her over, He had to admit she was right. This girl was dressed neatly in a red plaid skirt, white button-down shirt and navy blue blazer with her school's emblem across the chest. On her legs she wore a pair of bright white knee high socks and a pair of navy blue Mary Jane's on her feet. Her eyes were a non-exciting brown, but with golden flecks. Her hair was pulled into two carefully braided pigtails, tied on the ends with red ribbons. He stopped himself there. 'Pigtails? Ribbons? No high schooler would dress like that.' The boy raised an eyebrow at her. She was expecting a reply.

"You're right. You look more like a five year old." With that, he disappeared up into the nearby tree, leaving a fuming pigtailed girl.

"Why that filthy, little boy," she seethed. Anna soon forgot her anger however when she reached her destination: the town's old library. This place had long been deserted. Anna was the only regular customer. She pushed open the creaky wooden door and stepped into the dimly lit expanse. For a few moments, Anna stumbled nearly blind to the nearest table. Then, her eyes adjusted to the change in light. Ignoring the other presence in the library, she walked aimlessly up and down the aisles, staring the book spines.

An hour passed and the sun was just beginning to set, when Anna squealed in delight. The book she removed from the shelf was old and worn. The title was almost completely gone from the cover. Only mere remnants of the gold lettering remained, it was faint, but Anna could see it well.

"A Book of Fairy Tales," she breathed, her eyes bright with happiness. She didn't hear the footsteps approaching her. The girl was lost in a world of prince charmings and happily ever afters.

"Excuse me, miss, but are you alright. I heard a shout and thought you might have gotten hurt," the voice was soft and devoid of emotion. Anna started, feeling quite scared.

"Oh, um, yes. I am fine. I just found a simply wonderful book is all. I tend to overreact." She turned her head to face the owner of the intrusive voice. It, well he rather, was tall with long, oddly coloured red-pink hair and startling green eyes.

The two stared at each other in silence. Until, Anna yelled, "My name is Anna Izumi!"

"Nice to meet you, Izumi-san. My name is Shuichi Minamino." He smiled lightly. The distant sound of bells reverberated through the empty library. "I must be going now. Good bye."

"Bye bye, uh, Minamino-san." Anna watched him leave and then got up herself. She picked up her bag on her way to the checkout counter.

The librarian was an older lady with silver-white hair and a kind, albeit wrinkled face. She smiled warmly upon Anna before accepting the book with trembling hands.

"Oh my, this is an old book. Why don't you just keep it, dear. There's no sense in keeping it here. This is a precious copy."

"Really? Why, thank you Mikuni-sensei."

"You're the only person who ever comes here, so of course you get special perks."

Giggling slightly, Anna accepted the volume gratefully. With a wave and a parting smile, she left the library.

By now the sky was a vibrant orange mixed with soft pinks and joyful yellows. The sun was setting on another day, leaving the moon to light the world with her silvery glow. Anna relished in this time of the day. The colours were otherworldly and the scenery was breathtaking. Stopping at a street corner, she looked at her watch. It was an analog clock, so Anna needs a few seconds to decipher the time.

"Okay, so…little hand on the six and big hand on the one…that means…" she trailed off, mulling it over in her mind. "Oh drats, I'm late. That's what it means."

She took off in an awkward run down the street. The streetlights flickered on as the sun went disappeared more and more.

"He's going to be so mad. I can't believe I forgot about this." At last, Anna reached her final destination. But she was tired and sweaty. She hurried up the stairs and knocked tiredly at the door.

A boy with slicked back hair and brown eyes answered. He smirked at the panting girl before him.

"Kei! Anna's here," he called. "Come on in."

Anna timidly stepped inside and slipped off her shoes tiredly. A boy with messy auburn hair and freckles approached her, looking angry.

"Why are you so late!? I almost called the cops! You're never late, I thought something happened to you!" he shouted at her. Anna flinched, her eyes growing wide with surprise. Noticing he had scared her, the boy lowered his voice to a whisper, "Sorry for yelling, I just…was worried, is all."

"It's quite alright," Anna replied, her voice coming out in wheezes. "I forgot…s-sorry." She immediately reached into her school bag and pulled out an inhaler. As she used it, Anna took notice of the other four or five people in the room. She knew one was that idiot Kuwabara and one was the unworldly happy Botan. Out of the last three, she had seen two of them today.

"Izumi-san?" Shuichi questioned delicately. His eyes were rather shocked to see her again.

"Hn. Five year old," The black-cloaked boy muttered.

Anna pulled her inhaler out of her mouth slowly and stared blankly at everyone.

"H-hello…uhm, am I interrupting anything?"

"Not really. These are Yusuke's friends. They're…hanging out?" Kei explained. Yusuke rolled his eyes at such a horrible lie, but Anna accepted it.

"Okay. That's cool. Let's get to work, Kei-kun."

"About that, we can't. I have something else to do."

"Then why'd you yell at me?"

"I'm not sure," he replied, smiling slightly. Anna stared at him quietly, her eyes growing angry. In response, she merely shrugged and pulled her shoes back on.

"Whatever. See you tomorrow." Without another word, she left the apartment, leaving it quite colder than it had once been.

"Who was that?" Koenma asked, seeming rather interested.

"Kei's girlfriend," Yusuke said with a laugh.

"She's not my girlfriend," amended Kei, "Just a good friend."

"Anyway," the young prince stated, drawing attention back on himself, "she's your new mission."

"What?"

The guys and Botan were virtually amazed at this admission. That girl…was their new mission.

"Yes. She's the one we've been looking for. The reincarnation of a being with a very powerful…uh, power," Koenma paused, visibly upset at his lack of a better word.

"What Lord Koenma is trying to say, is that this girl's very important to demon hunters. She has a very specific power. But, Anna-san, doesn't know what it is as of yet. Nonetheless, she needs to be protected. You boys will have to keep an eye on her, understand?" Botan explained to them, looking pointedly at Hiei. "Especially you, since you can pop in and out of nowhere quite easily."

"Hn." Was his favoured response.

"I understand, I'll try my hardest," Kurama answered sincerely.

"Uh, I guess so," Kuwabara nearly shouted, his voice confused.

"Might as well," Yusuke and Kei said unanimously, before giving one another a dirty stare.