Chapter Two

Koenma's eyebrows furrowed, and Maya was just a tad unsure as to what that meant. Did it mean he didn't want to tell her, or that her question wasn't normally asked? Or perhaps he himself didn't know the answer. She wasn't exactly sure, especially since it had been at least forty-five seconds between her question and now, with no answer coming from the boy's lips. "I want to know how I had died. I barely even remembered that I had lived in a small town, where little to nothing ever happened." She explained, hearing the strain in her own voice as she said it. "You said earlier that a demon or a group of demons were creating mishap in the town. Is that why I am here?"

Jr.'s eyebrows only furrowed further, and then suddenly relaxed and slid back into their normal position. "Yes, we believe you died because of a demon attack, though we haven't seen the demon responsible just yet. Your memories should come back to you in time; you just need to be patient. As you start to train your spiritual abilities, and doing things you did in your… first life, the memories will resurface. They will be snippets at times, and sometimes they will hit full on and consume you for hours at a time, like a dream. Now, go with Boton. She will lead you to Genkai, where you will begin your training under her. Be mindful, no matter how tough it gets, it will be worthwhile in the end."

"You sound like a saint." She said as she turned and walked towards the door that Boton had left through earlier. "I guess I will see you around." She called, tossing a wave over her shoulder as she left. When the door was fully opened, and Maya stepped through, her eyes met Boton, who was holding two oars in her hand. Her face held a wide smile, and her hair seemed to be a little worse than just "windswept".

"Here, Maya. You will need one of these. It will serve as your vehicle between the Spirit and Human world, just in case. It's a handy little thing, and will get you anywhere in a pinch! Come on, I will show you how to control it, then you can go with me to meet Yusuke and the gang. I'll take you to Genkai's after that."

"Okay…?" Maya finally managed, taking the outstretched oar from the chirpy girl. "I have to warn you, I have horrible balance."

"Then this should help you. Let's go!"

A few bumps and bruises, and a journey from one world to the other later, Maya found herself floating in the air in front of a teen in green, with slicked back black hair, who was currently shouting at Boton. "What do you mean, he is spotty? Shouldn't pacifier breath be able to track his damn energy?" He ranted, getting into Boton's face. Maya may not know Boton well, but she didn't like Yusuke treating her the way he was.

"Hey, dumbass, enough is enough. You interrupted before she was finished. Pay attention and you might get your answers." Maya said, her face as passive as could be. Her expression gave way no sign of the irritation she felt inside. "You don't need to be so pushy. Stop and think, and listen, then it will become clear, okay?"

"Who the hell are you?" He asked, his tone teetering between pissed and shocked. "Another girl who likes playing the human?"

"I don't do well to your disrespect." She said, dropping the calm façade. "Boton may be nice enough to take your harassment, but you will find that I am not near as tolerant as she." She dropped from where she had been floating, and stood in front of him. She was exactly the same height as this boy. "You have a mouth that could get you killed. Of course, I won't be the one to do that."

"Guys, guys! No need to fight!" Boton interjected, hands raised in an attempt to create peace.

"Yusuke, I do not believe it wise to make an enemy of someone who is intended to help us in the very near future." Maya's eyes left the face of the stubborn boy, and she found herself staring at a boy with long, fiery red hair and eyes as green as her own. His expression was a calm one, though whether it was genuine or not, she could not tell. "That is, if you are Maya. I spoke with Genkai just moments before you two arrived."

Maya nodded at him respectfully. "That is me." She said, sticking her oar in the ground beside her so she didn't have to hold it up. "I guess I should have known that the Spirit Detective and his gang would know Genkai. Koenma did leave several points out earlier, and Boton had to fill me in on our way here."

"That is understandable. He is busy after all. Anyway, that there is Yusuke, the detective. This is Kuwabara," he gestured to a tall boy with a stocky build, who seemed to be shocked about something, because he made no introductory gestures, "This is Hiei, and I am Kurama." His hand gestured to a small boy with black hair that stood on end naturally, wearing a black robe and a white bandage around his forehead. Hiei's lone introduction was to look over Maya, and scoff, something she didn't much appreciate.

"It's nice to meet you. Before today, I would have never believed that you guys were telling the truth." She joked, a small smiled on her face as she turned back to Yusuke. "Hey, Jokester, sorry about butting in and getting in your face. I only do that when I see someone disrespected, or I myself am being disrespected." The look on his face was priceless. He obviously hadn't seen the apology coming, and that left him looking confused, and a bit dimwitted.

Then his expression turned smug. "Well, since you-"

"Yusuke."

Maya and Yusuke, along with the others, all turned to look at Hiei and Kurama, who were looking beyond the two. "Yeah, what is it?"

"We have company." Kurama warned, reaching for his hair. Confused, Maya shook her head, then felt her jaw drop as he brought out a rose.

"Maya, let's get out of the way." Boton said suddenly, grabbing her arm and pulling her to the side, and running with both oars in her hand. "If this is the demon we've been tracking, then this could get messy."

Suddenly, Maya's head began to hurt with such intensity that she found herself pulling Boton to a stop. Every nerve in her head was screaming with agony, and Maya could only stand in one place, holding her head in her hands and squeezing her eyes shut. A single image passed through her mind: of her and a group of people running, and odd barrier around them as a source of power was stopped every time an attack attempted to hit the small group. Then, as fast as the image was there, it was gone. However, the pain still remained. "Maya, what's wrong? What happened?"

"Boton, get out of the damn way!" came Yusuke's voice, louder than anything else in the world. Maya's eyes shot open to see a huge ball of energy flying at her and Boton, and despite her migraine, she grabbed Boton's hand and turned to run. The entire time, she was trying to reach the power Koenma had said she could produce, and the memory that had proved she had once had. She knew they weren't fast enough to get away from the blast, and it would be fruitless to try to outrun it. Such a calculation was proven true when the blast hit them, and sent the two flying through the wall of a warehouse. Rubble crashed around them, and Maya didn't see where Boton had landed. Instead, she was focused on one single thing. No pain was felt aside from her migraine, which confused her. Had she actually done what she had wanted?

She could barely hear shouts over the sound of falling rubble, and she let her eyes slide open. She hadn't even realized she had squeezed them shut to attempt to block out the pain the impact should have had. And as she did so, the yelling got louder, closer, and understandable. The words were no longer muffled in her ears, and she was able to distinguish between voices, and tell who was saying what. She focused all of her energy on listening to the yelling, hoping they would find her before she went under.

"How in the hell were they supposed to survive that?" came Yusuke's shouts.

"Yusuke, stay calm and keep an eye peeled. Trust me, no harm was done."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It means that one of the girls created an energy barrier, you fool." Came a third voice, one she had yet to hear. "Also, don't forget that the demon could be anywhere. He may have left, but he will probably come back."

"Boton! Maya!"

All of the shouts were some distance away from her, and that one fact made Maya realize how large the warehouse must have been. Thinking back to when they first arrived, Maya had first thought the warehouse to be a two-story home. How wrong she had been. The tools hung on the wall to her left proved just how wrong she had been. No furniture was seen, and no family portraits. Good, the damage wouldn't have to be repaid.

"Maya, are you okay?" Boton asked, and Maya swiveled her head to her left to see Boton lying on a pile of rubble. She looked fine for the most part, except for a few bumps and bruises forming already. Maya tried to speak an answer, but found her voice unwilling to bend to her will, so she just nodded a yes to the girl. Boton seemed to get the message, but her face took on a worried look, which unnerved her to no end. "Boys, over here!" she called, attempting to yell over the shouts of Yusuke, sounding a tad panicked. Her voice cracked only a bit on the worry that was seen written on the girl's face.

"Urameshi, shut up for a minute, I think I heard them!" Silence pursued, aside from a few footsteps.

"Hi you two. Are you alright?"

Maya rolled her head again, and met the eyes of Kurama, who was bent over her. His eyes widened when he looked at her, and then he was suddenly standing straight up. "Over here!" he shouted, and turned back towards Maya, eyes filled with an emotion she couldn't quite place. "Can you move?" he asked quietly, Maya watching as her vision became fuzzy around the edges. She tried to nod, but found that the motion was hindered by a weight that was beginning to overtake her.

"Kurama, yell again!"

"East corner, Yusuke! Maya, can you move?" he repeated, a tad louder this time, a bit more urgently. She could barely manage to shake her head in response, and then all went black. The last thing she had heard was Kurama moving rubble and asking her to stay awake.