Thieves of Heaven

A Yoko Kurama/Shuichi Minamino story-Yu Yu Hakusho

Chapter Two: Haunted by the Past

The clouds of pearlescent mist poured in, heavy and dark, shrouding the land it surrounded in a thick curtain of gray, blocking out the first rays of a new day's rising sun as it painted the still black sky shades of purple, blue, and pink. The soft, eerie call of a lone hawk as it flew overhead was nearly drowned out by the continuous crashing of the waves as they met the sandy shore of the beach, but with hearing that was far superior to that of any human, no sound was lost to her ears. Each morning, ever since the day she had made the journey between the worlds of demon and mortal, she rose early to watch the rise of the sun, her heart fluttering like a captive bird deep within the confines of her chest as the glorious ball of flame and fire rose to light the day, putting an end to the black abyss of night and painting the sky with color. She marveled at the miraculous occurrence-how anyone could take such a beautiful thing for granted was beyond her, but she was well aware of the fact that humans were, indeed, ungrateful creatures that placed little value on such things. Once the sun had bid the moon goodbye and took its place among the soft white clouds above, she took leave of her balcony and headed into the bathroom to shower and dress.

Upon emerging from the bath, she quickly toweled herself dry and donned a form fitting shirt of black silk, with a high mandarin collar, a lack of sleeves, and a simple but beautiful design of soft pink cherry blossoms in full bloom embroidered all across the delicate fabric. With this, she wore a pair of loose fitting black jeans and her most comfortable boots, the black leather worn down and weathered, but sturdy and dependable. Her lengthy crimson hair was brushed back into a tight pony tail and quickly woven into a thick braid, her face left free of any cosmetic change. With a soft sigh, she gathered up her soiled clothing and dumped the bundle into the hamper that stood beside the bathroom door, her eyes drawn to the large bay windows that lined the far wall of her magnificent bedroom as if by some unseen magnetic force. The sight of the sea and its ever moving waves caused her to mind to wander for a brief moment, her thoughts drifting away as she lost herself in those continuous, graceful motions of the blue green water, completely captivated by its odd, yet appealing dance. She emerged back into the harsh sting of reality with a quick shake of her head, forcing her mind to get back on track. A long day awaited her, and she didn't want to waste a minute more of her valuable time daydreaming-there was work to be done.

Just how long of day, she didn't, at that moment, realize.

- - -

The Prince of Spirit World was in an absolute panic. Sure, part of him had expected Torguro to pull such a card, but he was truly at a loss of what to do to right such a mess. Even with the Masked Fighter due to act as a member of his team for the Dark Tournament, they were still one fighter short due to the new rule suddenly imposed on all entering teams, an act of the Torguro brothers right hand man, Sakyo, no doubt. Damn those human crime lords and their influence. It just went to prove with the right amount of money, nothing was impossible.

Having the number of competitors raised with so little warning left Koenma with no idea of whom else he could have fight for his team. With only a mere two months before the Tournament, he had no time to train a new fighter-what a lousy predicament he was in! Pacing back and forth for hour after hour in his office, sucking madly on his pacifier while completely oblivious to the concerned glances of his ogre assistant, Jorge, Koenma wracked his brain desperately and still did not have an answer to the problem before him.

"ARRGH!" he cried out in frustration, slamming his tiny fist down hard on the desk before him and startling George, who looked up at him with scared, wide eyes. "I can't think of anyone good enough to do the job! We can't compete without a 6th fighter!" "C-can I make a suggestion, Koenma Sir?" the blue ogre asked timidly as the toddler prince of Spirit World rambled on angrily. "Not now, ogre! I'm trying to think here!" Koenma retorted harshly, his track of thought disturbed. "But Sir, what about that Kurochi girl? She seemed tough enough," Jorge continued meekly, shivering slightly at the memory of the thief Koenma had captured and released nearly 5 years prior-although she had the appearance of a fragile porcelain doll, she had a deadly air about her, one that openly mocked the delicate outlook she displayed. Her eyes had made him tremble in fear each time she had glanced his way-no one, demon or human alike, he had ever before seen, had eyes such as hers. They were harder than stone, and colder than ice, filled with more spark than a raging fire, eyes that chilled him down to his very bones. He immediately bit his tongue, wishing he had kept his mouth shut.

"Ogre, I swear if you don't shut your mouth I'll-" Koenma's words froze in midsentence as the suggestion sunk in, a familiar face flashing into the mind of the prince, rivaling the speed of a light bulb clicking on. "Kurochi… the shadow kitsune?" he questioned softly, more to himself than his audience of one, thinking hard as he tried to recall more about her. A ruthless assassin, one of the most feared in all of the Makai, and a talented, cunning thief who had even managed to outwit some of Spirit World's finest guards on several occasions to boot, Katari was definitely a prime choice for a fighter. Other than the fact that her only rival for the spot of top thief within the Makai had been the infamous Yoko Kurama and that she had left the world of demons nearly half a century ago and hid herself away in the Ningen Kai were the only things he knew about her in addition to the basics. Her past was shrouded in mystery, and despite how deep his investigative team had searched upon her capture, they couldn't find anything about her on record, in books or otherwise. As the clever and sneaky the thief she was, she had managed to avoid attention to the personal aspect of her life.

"She's perfect! Ogre, have her summoned right away! She's our 6th fighter!" Koenma ordered with a loud cry, excited and yet at the same instant, slightly worried at the prospect that lay before him as Jorge ran off to carry out his command. The prince had made a pact with Katari to work for him if he should call on her and do so without question in exchange for her freedom upon her capture a few years prior, but the question as to whether or not she would up hold her end of the bargain was what worried him-what if she refused? Even if he had her thrown into prison, she would escape within minutes-such was her prowess as a thief. No cage could hold her for long.

She wasn't once called the second greatest thief in all of Demon World for nothing.

His fear quickly melted down into relief as he had his assistant, Ayame, fetch the Kurochi file and deliver to him only minutes later-by what he read in the contents of that file, Katari was not one to ever forgo a challenge, whether it meant undecided victory or certain death. She had never once turned her back on a fight, and she had been in quite a few of the life or death situations in the past years. He was now confident that she wouldn't refuse his offer to fight in the Dark Tournament as a part of Team Urameshi-her pride wouldn't allow her to pass up an opportunity to display her skills as a combatant. Not that the tournament would present much of a challenge to her-when she was captured, she was a lower S rank of youkai, the S class being the most powerful sort, and he was almost certain that she had only grown stronger with time. Katari would be his ticket to winning this war.

A few minutes later, Botan skipped into his office, chipper and bouncy as always, her happy go lucky attitude and cheery demeanor making a constant mockery of her job as a messenger of death, her long wooden oar at her side. "I heard you finally found a 6th fighter for the team, Koenma Sir! When do I get to meet him?" she gushed excitedly, her rose colored eyes aflame with curiosity and obvious eagerness. "Our 6th fighter is a 'she', actually," he corrected her as he reclaimed his seat behind his desk and entered a series of characters into his control panel, bringing up a picture of the mysterious fighter on the large paneled screen that hung on the wall before him. A soft gasp escaped Botan's lips at the sight of the girl displayed on screen, her eyes widening in surprise.

Her appearance made an utter mockery of human beauty, and although she looked no older than 18 years of age, her vivid violet eyes were aged way beyond the youthful appearance of her face. No expression was displayed upon that blank visage, nothing to betray whatever emotion she had been feeling at the time the picture had been obtained. She looked much like a porcelain doll, her face and body perfect as if cast by a mold and every delicate feature crafted with a careful, skilled hand. Her skin was flawless and as pale as the moon, her hair the color of freshly spilled blood and cascading down the expanse of her back in a waterfall of delicate, silken waves. However, the grim reaper found herself unable to pull away from those stunning violet orbs, a slight shudder slipping down her spine as a quick chill raced through her entire body. There wasn't a trace of hope reflected in those oddly hued irises-they looked dead, as if they were incapable of displaying emotion from day one. Dead eyes, beautiful to look at, but cold and devoid of feeling.

"Who is she?" Botan asked softly after a long minute once she had finally regained the ability to speak, quickly shaking her head to throw off the icy chill that had tore through her only moments before. "Her name is Kurochi Katari of the Black Blood Clan, a shadow kitsune, S class. In short, she's our secret weapon, the one that will win that Tournament for us, hands down," Koenma responded almost giddily, watching with a wide smile as Botan's eyes grew as wide as tea saucers at his explanation. "S class?! That's amazing!" she cried out, pumping both hands high into the air as if in victory. "With a teammate like her, there's no way we can lose!" Koenma nodded his head in response, silently agreeing with her statement. "Have the team report here ASAP-I want everyone to meet her and get her settled in so we can get to training. She's on her way here as we speak." The baby blued haired grim reaper nodded her head agreeably and hopped on her oar, flying off to fetch the Spirit Detectives with a wide smile on her face.

It was almost time.

- - -

Less than 20 minutes later, the entire Spirit Detective team had assembled in one of the larger conference rooms within the offices of the Spirit World palace, each of them eagerly awaiting the arrival of their new team mate and each with their own reason. Yusuke, impatience as always, was pacing back and forth in anticipation, Kurama was casually perched on the corner of the lone couch within the vast room, attempting to read a book, and Kuwabara was slumped down on the floor near Kurama's legs, unable to sit still and mumbling to himself, seemingly lost in thought. Hiei stood apart from the rest of the little gathering, his arms crossed tightly over his chest, his face etched into its usual deep frown. Was this new team mate as really as good as Koenma had said? The Prince of spirit world hadn't even given them a name for their new fighter yet, much less any other information about him. The wait was really getting on everyone's nerves.

"There are two things I can't stand above everything else, and that is waiting and being rushed," Yusuke growled, fed up with the long wait. He raced over to the door in a rush, ready to run as fast as his legs could carry him into Koenma's chambers so he could complain when the door to the office swung open without warning. In unison, four pairs of eyes glanced up, every single one of them widening at the sight of their much anticipated visitor.

"Jesus…" Yusuke managed to whisper in awe, that single word echoing the thoughts of every male in the room-save for a certain red head, that is. His eyes widened, but not simply from the shock of her appearance, but the memories that flooded his mind at seeing her again, after so many years. He felt his chest tighten as his breath grew short, a violent rush of emotion within causing his stomach to painfully churn. Thankfully, the eyes of his teammates were all trained on her, so no one witnessed his loss of composure, or so he though.

"Team, I'd like you to meet your newest member, Kurochi Katari," Koenma announced, entering the room only moments after she had. For a long minute, all was silent.

- - -

Earlier that morning…

After completing two of the four jobs scheduled for the day with little effort and much time to spare, Katari decided to take a breather and have a quick drink in the comfort of her garden, which was now flourishing beautifully thanks to a recent rainstorm. It was the middle of spring, after all.

The roses, in hues of white, yellow, peach, and soft pink, bloomed brightly against the green foliage, proudly displaying their vibrant colors. She never grew red roses here-red roses reminded her too much of him, and anything that aroused such a memory made her hurt inside, a deep physical sobbing that never seemed to lessen even with the influence of time. Nothing could touch that pain, the agony of loss. She had been face to face with death many times in her life, often without worry, and yet, nothing cemented just how permanent death really was until he was killed…

A deep sigh escaped her lips as she sipped daintily at her drink, a steaming hot cup of green tea, staring at the blossoming roses with obvious sadness. It had been years, and still she had not gotten over the tragedy that had befallen her mate and left her heart broken and bitter. All that kept her going was the desire to live up to every challenge that came her way, and to find the one who had abandoned her and show that ungrateful woman what she had cast off as an unwanted burden to bear. For years, Katari had searched for her, the one she was forced to call mother, but only knew as a memory, and a bitter, hated one at that. Part of her wanted to kill Sakurai once she found her, but a greater part of her knew that revealing herself to her mother would be damage enough-a greater burden to bear than anything death could instill upon anyone.

Drinking the last of her tea in a quick swig, Katari rose from her seat among the rose garden and headed back into the house, shaking her head as if to cast off the bitter memories she felt burning within her like battery acid, the pain fresh and all the more agonizing with age. A sudden spike of a nearby source of spirit energy caught her attention, and immediately, she had her blade at the ready, the legendary sword of the Kurochi clan, passed onto her by her father once she had successfully master the art of the sword, named Loki's nail for the Norse god of mischief, a demon idol worshipped by the clan in ancient days. The blade itself stood an impressive three feet long and weight well over 100 pounds, having been handcrafted from some of the finest resources available in the realm of demons. It was oddly shaped, with duo parts and a triangular head, quite the sight to behold in battle. Carrying around such a large weapon on her person wasn't an option, so most of the time it remained waiting in a portal of shadow that Katari could summon within a moment. The blood of many a demon had stained the blade of this weapon, giving it a soft crimson tint and slightly marring the reflection it gave, but it had never once failed her in the heat of battle.

The unnamed source grew closer, and within seconds, she had pinpointed its location on the grounds-near the rose garden, where she had just came from. However, it didn't come off as a malicious energy. Those youkai who dared to trespass in her sanctuary always had the taint of blood lust within their ki, so she was nearly certain that her unexpected visitor wasn't there with the intent of battle, but never the less, her weapon remained at the ready. One could never be too careful. Another odd detail pertaining to the energy she felt was that it was coming from a feminine form, something that was even rarer than just any attacker stalking around on her property-another female.

Rather than investigate, she simply decided to wait, taking a seat on one of the long plush couches that lined the walls of the gargantuous living room with her back to the front door, where she already sensed that her guest would soon enter. Minutes later and just as she had predicted, the door slid open, the pitter patter of tiny feet approaching quietly but pausing a good ten feet away from where she sat. "Kurochi Katari, Prince Koenma of Spirit World requests your presence at the Spirit World Palace immediately-I am to escort you there," a soft, sing song voice announced, sounding very much like it belonged to a young girl. She opted to remain where she was, lightly jutting the long curve of her blade to cast a reflection of her blind side, the image of a small girl, no taller than four feet at best, with golden blond hair, piercing sapphire blue eyes, and a pale cherub's face stood clutching a long wooden oar, wearing a pale powder blue kimono with a white obi staring back at her.

"You're a reaper, I suppose?" Katari asked in a conversational tone as she slowly replaced her sword in its portal of shadow and stood up, glancing back at the girl over her shoulder with eyes slightly narrowed in curiosity. Her visitor nodded her head in response and gestured for her to come with quick wave of a tiny, pale hand. "We must depart for Spirit World immediately, Kurochi-sama. Prince Koenma says his business with you is urgent and cannot wait," she reported in a firm tone that seemed so out of place for such a sweet, inhibited looking girl. "Kurochi-sama is my father. I am simply Katari," came the reply in as close to a kind voice as Katari could manage, approaching the reaper and sliding onto the oar without protest, the girl taking off and flying into the sky without saying anything further. The trip to Spirit World took all of 5 minutes, and the moment she had arrived, Katari was ushered into Koenma's office by one of his many ogre assistants. Moments later, the prince of Reikai himself appeared, in the form of a teenager rather than his usual toddler self.

"I guess we might as well just skip the greetings and get straight to the point," he began as he took a seat at his desk, gesturing for her to sit as well in one of the two tall backed chairs before him. "I suppose you've heard of the Dark Tournament, haven't you? I have yet to learn of a demon that hasn't. Anyway," he continued on, without giving her a chance to reply. "The rules have changed this year, and 6 fighters per team are necessary to enter. I already have 5 fighters, and with the Tournament in only 2 months, I'm in desperate need of a 6th fighter to fight for my team. If you recall, 5 years ago, we made a deal. In exchange for your release and the dropping of all charges, you would work for me whenever I requested without question-"

"I recall our deal," Katari interrupted briskly, her violet eyes narrowing into a dangerous, obviously annoyed glare that caused Koenma to pause abruptly and swallow nervously, successfully managing to shut him up for a long moment. "Do you mistake me for a fool with a short memory, Koenma? You should know better," the former Kurochi chastised, her harsh glare softening a minute or so later. "My apologies," he said softly with a small nod of his head. "I need you to fight for me as a member of my Spirit Detective Team-will you do it?"

"Have you ever known me to back down from a fight, Koenma?" she asked softly, her words spoken in an almost thoughtful manner as she quickly considered his request. Eagerly, he shook his head no.

"I didn't think so," she replied, a ghost of a smile playing upon her lips.

- - -

For a long minute, all was silent. It was as if everyone in the room was sizing the other up, eyes locking with eyes and holding stares. From the start, Katari knew for certain that two of these unnamed persons were of the demon persuasion and one was nothing more than a weak human with a laughable amount of spirit energy at his call. The last one, however, she could not place. His energy was of an unordinary sort that she couldn't quite place. But this was not what brought a wave of terror to flood her being-she recognized one of the patterns of demonic energy with a familiarity that was all too shocking to her-it was him. It had to be. Every youkai had his or her own unique energy pattern at birth, and the demon possessing this one could not been mistaken, even though it appeared to be greatly weakened from what it once was. He looked nothing like Yoko had-his hair was bright crimson instead of angelic silver, his once beautiful golden eyes an equally stunning shade of emerald green, which oddly enough was her favorite color. The look on his face said it all-he recognized her just as she had recognized him.

Katari's entire body seemed to freeze as her eyes met those of Kurama, and deep within the confines of her chest, her heart beat seemed to stutter, the pace quickening with great speed at the electrical jolt his stare sent shooting through her body. "Katari…?" he whispered softly, his voice, although now with a more childish tone to it, pretty much the same it had always been. At that moment, her voice had mutinied against her, and her lips refused to move, fearful of what she might say. A fit of barred emotions stirred up within her, a whirlwind of pain, hurt, longing, and desire, but she fought to keep her face blank, refusing to betray the temperament she had worked so hard to maintain as well as having grown so accustomed to it, her hand flying to the base of her throat as if it had a mind of its own, clutching at the pendant hidden beneath the cloth of her shirt with slightly shaking fingers.

"You know each other?" Koenma interrupted curiously, the eyes of the small audience watching with the same intensity, unsure of what was unfolding right before them. "I-I…W-we were partners at one time," Katari managed to say, tearing her eyes away from the redheaded kitsune's stare and refusing to look back at him, instead forcing herself to look back at Koenma before continuing. "But that was a long time ago…a very long time ago…" Her gaze lowered itself to the floor and that's where it stayed, even as Koenma quickly introduced the rest of the team by name.

"Yusuke Urameshi, Kazuma Kuwabara, and Hiei Jaganshi," he announced, pointing to each respective member as he said their names. "You already seem to know Kurama," the prince of Spirit World finished, missing how just hearing his name alone jolted his newest fighter. In fact, none of the others in the room noticed it, save for Kurama. He knew her too well, even with all the years that had passed.

"Guys, this is your new team mate. She will be fighting with you in the Tournament. Just keep in mind that this is the only week you will have together as a team, because Yusuke is due to train at Master Genkai's until the Tournament begins. The rest of you will train wherever you see fit, just make sure you do it often and don't slack off," Koenma rambled on like a mother scolding her brood. "And that means you, Kuwabara. Hiei isn't going to go easy on you, you know." This bit put a knowing smirk on the short fire demon's face-it wasn't difficult to see that he greatly disliked this human detective. "Well, now that everything is established, get a move on! Go on, shoo!"

Katari moved quickly to take her leave of the room way ahead of the other members, still forcing herself not to look in the direction of her past lover. Thankfully, the reaper that had escorted her to Spirit world was sitting right outside in the lobby, fiddling nervously with what looked like a tiny glass crystal suspended by a thin gold chain about her pale throat. She saw Katari approaching and readied her oar for departure without so much as a word. "Hey, where do you think you're running off to?" the one by the name of Yusuke called out as he emerged from the conference room, the others in tow.

"Fool, she's an S class demon. She doesn't need to train with a pathetic bunch like you," Hiei snapped, his cold, crimson eyes meeting the former thief's for a spilt second before she forced herself to look away, silently pleading with her ride to hurry and whisk her back to her home. "Aww, shaddup shorty! You don't have to be so rude all the time!" the human boy, the one who could truly be defined as ugly, retorted back, meeting the fire demon's fierce glare head on with one of his own. "Who cares if she needs to train or not? We just wanna get to know ya a bit!" Yusuke called back, but by that time, she had already taken off and was headed back to the Ningen.

"She's a strange one, huh?" Kuwabara offered to the group while eying the quickly fading shadow of the oar and its two occupants as it headed back to the human realm. "Yeah, she sure seems to be. Speaking of strange, just how do you know her, Kurama?" Yusuke questioned his teammate, quickly noticing that his friend's usually bright emerald eyes had tiny pinpricks of gold drowning within the green hue, something he had never before seen in Kurama's eyes.

"It's simple enough, Yusuke," the kitsune spoke softly, his voice oddly sad yet his demeanor calm as always. "She's my mate."

End of Chapter Two