Author's Note: Please excuse some of the discontinuity within the story. I am trying my best to fix whatever errors that catch my eye. Hopefully, I will complete the story very soon.

Loop
Chapter 2: Fox
"Puh. That was rather informative. I wonder if that prince could have taught us anything more useless."

Hands in his pockets and walking along, Kurama merrily laughed at Hiei's blunt sarcasm. His cynical personality never ceased to amuse the fox thief. "Well, if you consider our options, it was better than not being warned at all, Hiei. Anyway, it will make our search for the others easier. Instead of searching the entire world, Koenma has narrowed it down to four cities in Japan."

"Feh, it would have been better the other way. At least then I wouldn't still have this strong urge to punch him in the face," Hiei grunted carelessly as he walked along the trees while Kurama jovially strolled down a city sidewalk of the Human World. "I've been ticked at him ever since he made us official babysitters for Spirit World." No one, particularly anyone human, was closely about, so the two Detectives were able to converse freely without suspicion or worry.

"Get over it, Hiei. We would have volunteered for the assignment anyway. But on a lighter thought, Yukina-san will want to know this new development," Kurama noted, taking a quick glance at the blooming trees nearby. The pale, soft pinkish hues drew his verdant eyes to them, reminding him of a far off memory. "We'll have to tell her on our next visit to her work place."

Silence passed over the pair as Kurama continued to admire the cherry blossoms as he promenaded down the road. Other pedestrians would pause at their doings and take the time to stare at the beautiful young gentleman as he walked pass them indifferently. With his lustrous silver strands neatly tied back but flowing behind him in the wind, and his emerald eyes smiling at the gentle cherry blossoms and their shower, Kurama displayed the epitome of beauty, especially sporting an extremely handsome sable business suit.

Hiei, still fluttering from tree to tree like the shadow he was, narrowed his crimson eyes agitatedly as he carefully watched his friend mindlessly stroll around the corner. "Er, Kurama, watch out. You're going to--"

"Umph!"

'--run into that human girl.'

The silver-haired young man growled in slight annoyance as he found himself toppled over of a young lady (a very unseemly position for a young sir, especially himself). Kurama reddened at the thought of what other humans might think of him now. 'Hiei, you should do better to warn me about these things.'

'Feh, it's your own fault you weren't paying better attention,' the now hidden shadow barked telepathically. 'Don't blame your carelessness on me, fox.'

Ending his quick conversation with Hiei, Kurama rose up onto his own feet and stared down sorry at the female form on the ground. He sighed at his misfortune. "Sorry about that," he quickly apologized as he helped the young teenage girl up onto her feet. He prayed to God that she would not recognize him, and like many women before her, try and assault him. Those situations never ended nicely.

"It's all right," the girl smiled in an easy manner, not recognizing the young man at all. She casually dusted off her uniform black skirt and jacket. The kind mannerisms of the young lady gave no hint she had a clue to Kurama's identity, which gave him some relief. However, he recognized her all too well.

It was Botan.

The silver-haired human barely found his voice to speak. His emerald eyes were wide with shock and his lovely mouth was ajar in surprise. "But--But you're--"

"Oh, nothing is wrong with me. I'll be just fine. I'm just sorry I ran into you," the girl blushed, picking up her belongings she had dropped. She was oblivious to Kurama's true meaning and probably was better for it. "I'm really clumsy sometimes. I'm just hoping you're all right. I hope you weren't hurt or anything."

Shaking his fair head, he tried again, "No, what I meant to say was, you--"

The Botan look-alike took a quick glance at her watch and gasped when she saw the time. "OI! I'm going to be late for class! This just isn't my day today." Running off as fast as she possibly could, the blue-haired girl left a dazed Kurama behind her. Before she turned the next corner, though, she twirled around and waved a quick good-bye to the stunned taller man. "I'm sorry again for running into you! I hope you have a nice day!"

Kurama, without any argument, watched her dash away. And when he was more than sure the girl was out of earshot, he inquired out loud, "Did you see her face, Hiei?"

Sniffing with some agitation and laying lazily in a cherry blossom tree branch, the smaller demon answered carelessly, "Yes. Not only that, but I sensed her Spirit Energy as well."

"Is she--?"

With a demonic grin, Hiei's Jagan began to glow. "I guess we can tell Prince Charming we found the first one."

"Yes, they're all gone," Koenma affirmed, his mahogany eyes staring firmly into the shocked eyes of the three demons. The teenage form of the prince slightly slumped in posture, as if now he had lifted a heavy burden from his shoulders. However, Koenma's body tensed once more when he did not receive any immediate reactions from Kurama, Hiei, or Yukina.

After a long moment of thought and silence, Kurama was the first one to ask questions. "Will we be allowed to avenge their deaths, Koenma-sama?" Kurama inquired with a dangerous low tone. From the corner of his verdant eyes, Kurama could see Hiei clenching his katana tightly in his bandaged fist; the fox smiled somewhat that his remaining friend shared his same thoughts.

"Yes," Koenma nodded with a tired sigh, waving his hand as a flag of acquiescent approval. He was tired of arguing against his employees for the day and decided it was better to agree. "If it shall make the two of you feel any better."

"Trust us," Hiei growled, cracking his knuckles in one hand. Blood lust was apparently etched onto his scarlet eyes. "It will."

"So now," Yukina whispered woefully, tears welling up in her eyes, "everyone but us is dead?" The ice maiden forced herself to draw back her tears, not wanting to break down in front of her remaining friends. She wanted to stay strong like them.

Koenma nodded resignedly at Yukina's question, slowly making his way behind his enormous business desk. The clapping of his shoes echoed through his office. Taking a large breath as he seated himself, Koenma replied, "Yes, Yukina-san. You, Botan, Hiei-san, and Kurama-san are the only one's left out of everyone. Anyone human is dead."

Right about then, George sauntered into Koenma's office, a grim expression on the blue ogre's face. "What is it now, George?" Koenma groaned, absolutely exhausted from the day's events. The Prince of Spirit World just wanted all of the complications to end.

"Koenma-sama," George reported dutifully, saluting his master formally. "All of the souls have been ferried safely to Spirit World. Botan just brought back the last one, and it was just reported into the records. The file will be handed to you shortly, Koenma-sama."

"Good." He allowed himself a breath of relief, glad that none of the souls had been consumed while in Demon World. At least something was going right. "Then please send Botan to my office as soon as possible, George. I would like to speak to her before she retires for the rest of the day. Oh, and please tell Botan she is granted the rest of the month off if she wants."

"Er, about Botan, Koenma-sama," George muttered while twiddling his fingers. When his prince gave him a sharp look, the blue ogre bent down and whispered something into the spirit's ear; he spoke so quietly, the three demons could not make out any words with their acute sense of hearing. Two seconds later, Koenma's face grew rather grave.

"I see. Well, then, George, make arrangements immediately so that we do not lose them."

"Yes, Koenma-sama. I'll do that immediately." Quickly bowing, George left the office.

Koenma then returned his attention to the demons, the three expectantly waiting for some information. "Has something happened to Botan in Demon World, Koenma-sama?" Kurama questioned, noticing the strained expression on the prince's face. The fox would be absolutely furious if another one of his friends had been overtaken by demons today.

"Hm? Oh, no, she made it back to Spirit World in one piece." With heavy relief, Kurama and Yukina both sighed in glee.

"Then what's the problem?" Hiei demanded, annoyed that Koenma was slowly dragging out the information.

He sighed in exasperation. "She's dead."

"Hm, I wonder who that tall handsome man was?" Botan pondered to herself as she continued running towards Meiou High. A giggle nearly escaped her lips when she remembered the stranger's lush grassy orbs: they were the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen. Well, in truth, he had been the most beautiful man she had ever seen: period. "But he gave me such a funny feeling. Hm, maybe he isn't a normal human? Well, who could be with that gorgeous face?"

Continuing to gush, Botan began to skip down the sidewalks instead of her frightened dash she had been holding. Her mind was currently dancing around on Cloud Nine. Sadly to say, the high school girl was kicked out of her daze when she heard a familiar school bell ring. She sighed at her misfortune, being the one who had missed the public bus this morning.

"Oi, Youko-chan is in so much trouble when I get back home! He's been such a troublemaker nowadays, especially with my alarm clock."

When the girl finally did make it to her class (and fortunately on time), she found her fellow female classmates all hoarding around a specific student and her laptop, the pack all giggling merrily. To Botan, it looked like a herd of black sheep all bawling over a new pasture. "What's going on?" she curiously questioned as she settled herself down into her own seat.

The girls looked up at Botan in shock, surprised that she was not beside them laughing and giggling as well. "Just checking out the hottest babe in all of Japan," one of them sputtered.

"Oh, not just in Japan, in the whole world!" another finished with a longing sigh.

"Where have you been, Botan-san?"

"We've only been in love with him for the last month."

"Is he really that handsome?" Botan wondered, rising out of her seat to get a better view of the compact computer. The cheery sky-locked girl, her lavender eyes full of curiosity, eagerly joined her friends to see the fuss.

Botan's classmates gasped at the girl's frivolous question. "He isn't handsome! HE'S BEAUTIFUL!" the all shouted in unison. To prove their point, they flipped around the laptop and showed Botan the picture they were presently ogling at. The girl's amethyst eyes grew wide as she recognized the face.

A shocked finger pointed at the smiling (not to mention utterly alluring) visage of Minamino Kurama. "Oh, my gosh! That's the guy from this morning!"

"This morning?"

Botan nodded her head feverishly as she took a closer look at the picture on the monitor. "I missed the public bus this morning, so I had to run all the way to school. While I was running here, I ran into this handsome guy, and I would have apologized further because I had pushed him down and all, but I was going to be late; so, I gave him a really quick apology and ran as fast as I could here."

Everyone stared at Botan in shock. A few girls had collapsed and others were trembling in anxiety. "Botan-san, are you telling us that you met Minamino-sama, are standing in front of us now, and did not die of happiness?"

"Eh heh." She did not like where the conversation was leading; she did not like how her classmates her furiously eyeing at her. She began to slowly step back towards the exit, praying she would make it in time. "Well, I had to get to school on time."

"Who cares about school when you're with Minamino-sama!"

"Ah, well--"

"BOTAN-SAN! WE'RE NEVER GOING TO FORGIVE YOU!"

About then, Botan began to run through Meiou's halls for her life. Right on her tail was the rest of her classmates, all running her down like she was ultimate prey. "Wah! I'm sorry, everyone! I didn't mean to!"

Turning sharply on her heel, Botan stomped towards Koenma's office door, more than ready to leave her employer's presence. When she threw the door open in rage, Botan nearly ran into Kurama, who had been patiently waiting with Hiei and Yukina for their summoning.

Smiling at seeing Botan, Kurama greeted warmly, "Mm, good day, Botan, how are you--" Kurama stopped midway in his good-natured sentence when he noticed Botan violently trembling and sobbing. "Oi, Botan, are you all right? What's wrong? Has something happened?" the Spirit Detective inquired gently as he placed a tender hand on the ferry girl's shoulder.

"What's the matter, Botan-chan?" Yukina quietly whispered, coming toward her friend's side. "Why are you so sad?"

Botan shook her head, wiping her tears away and hastily replying, "I'm sorry, Kurama-kun, Yukina-chan, that you have to see me like this. Please don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I have to get going now: there's another soul in Demon World that's waiting for me to ferry." And with that, Botan ran off and out of the Spirit World Palace.

"What's up with her?" Hiei sniffed. "That blabber mouth is always annoyingly perky, no matter what the circumstances."

Kurama frowned in deep concern. "Yes, although your description of Botan is crude, something must be terribly wrong for her to be so distressed. I haven't seen her this broken since Genkai 'baa-san died during the Dark Tournament."

"Yes," Yukina agreed as well, biting her pale finger apprehensively. "Even when the Nether World attacked the Human World and her own life was highly at stake, Botan-chan never seemed this troubled. What would be more terrible than that for her to bee so sad?"

"Well, I always thought that perk only ferried souls from Human World. I didn't know she also ferried souls in Demon World," Hiei muttered as he, Yukina, and Kurama entered Koenma's office.

"She doesn't," Kurama quickly replied, a grave frown carving themselves into his dangerous emerald orbs. As Kurama closed Koenma's doors, the young man knew in his heart a painful truth was about to be revealed.

After spending a good six hours vehemently hunting though personal files of various people of Japan, Kurama had finally found the person he was looking for. Or really, his team of professional, skilled, and expensive investigators had found her (with much help from the clever Kurama, of course).

"Name: Hanasaki Botan. Date of birth: June 3, 2XXX. Age: 15. Living quarters: Hanasaki Shrine, Third District. Family members: Father (Hanasaki Yamato), Mother (Hanasaki Yuna), Older Brother (Hanasaki Hiiro)."

Presently, Kurama's secretary was reading off the compilation of intelligence his team had discovered on the mysterious girl from this morning. On top of the glass desk, there were at least five files on Hanasaki Botan, and Kurama had only just started with the first one. And while his trusted employee was reading the information, Kurama could not help but to smile at what he was hearing.

'I've found her.'

"Hanasaki-san's family descends from a line of priests and priestesses (all with powerful sixth senses), but currently, it is undetermined if that occupation will be continued with Hanasaki-san. Her older brother is in the States attending a university there. Presently, Hanasaki-san is attending Meiou High, a private school in the Third District. She is a first year at the school, and has high marks in all of her classes. Her teachers all note that she is an exemplary student and is quite popular with many of the students, even those outside of her class."

The secretary stopped with her account and looked up at Kurama in curiosity. "Didn't you attend a private school named Meiou High, Minamino- san?"

Kurama nodded memorably. "Well, I didn't necessarily. But my great- grandfather, Minamino Syuuichi, was a top student there in his time. After him, our family has just always been tied to Meiou. Anyway, is there anything more in the report?"

Nodding, the secretary continued formally, "Hanasaki-san has two close childhood friends, Yukimura Keiko-san and Sakurato Genkai-san. Sakurato-san is well known in the Martial Arts world, being reigning champion of several tournaments and competitions. Hanasaki-san, Sakurato-san, and Yukimura-san have known Urameshi Yusuke-san since junior high school and are good friends with him." The woman once again stopped in her report. "Isn't Urameshi one of the leading companies in media?"

"Yes," Kurama nodded, grinning madly at the fact he had yet found another familiar person. Today really was his lucky day. "Continue."

"Ahem, well, Hanasaki-san, to randomly state, has been said to have an extremely powerful sixth sense. According to locals and other sources, Hanasaki-san has the family gift and shows much more promise than her parents. Also, she has a pet fox."

Kurama stared at his secretary with a childish face. "A pet fox?"

"A pet fox."

Regaining his composure, the corporate executive inquired, "Anything on that?"

"Well," the secretary shrugged while flipping through her papers. "First things we found out were that it was white, slender, and very much a beauty. All we were able to discover after that was it was a wild animal that kept stealing around the neighborhood until it go injured. The residents were going to kill it, but Hanasaki-san saved it and reformed it, according to our sources. Now, although it doesn't steal things anymore, it still pull pranks on the neighbors."

"What kind of pranks?" the young man wondered curiously.

"Hoses on during who-knows-what time of day, shoes finding themselves in nearby trees or roofs, windows being opened and closed, doors being opened and locked, plants overturned and rearranged: you name it. Hanasaki-san's pet is quite the trickster."

"I see."

"Hanasaki-san refers to it as 'Youko'."

Kurama looked surprised. "Huh, 'Youko', you say?"

The secretary nodded. "According to the report."

Kurama grinned at himself. "Interesting."