AN: Hello, hope you had a good new year!
Disclaimer: I don't own YYH, or any of the brands of guns I mention here. So please don't shoot- er, sue- me!
Yusuke and his rival/friend, Kuwabara, watched the American tourists. Why were they watching a perfectly average-looking group of teenage tourists? Because Kuwabara had sensed something strange about them.
"They look pretty normal to me." Yusuke said, taking a sip of his soda.
Kuwabara didn't answer, his eyes not straying from the group. Finally, he said, "I don't know, Urameshi, just somethin' about them..."
Yusuke glanced at his watch. He was supposed to be meeting Keiko to go shopping for his mother's birthday present, but if Kuwabara was detecting something strange, he was duty-bound to investigate, wasn't he? Yusuke smiled to himself and settled more comfortably into his chair.
#10 was currently gorging himself on squid, the others watching him in a kind of fascinated horror, their own plates forgotten.
"You know, 10, that you're gonna regret this pig-out session later?" #14 cautiously reminded him.
"I know, but it's just too good!!" #10 cried out blissfully, and in English.
"Keep it down 10, we're supposed to be inconspicuous, remember?" #1 snapped, glancing around as if he expected anti-Agency people to come sweeping in any second.
#2 made an easy smile. "Don't worry, I'm pretty sure American tourists are the norm here."
#1 subsided, muttering darkly to himself. Yang would have bet money that his eyes were shifting back and forth underneath his reflective sunglasses.
Suddenly, #10 stopped eating and raised his miraculously clean face, staring off at something. "You know, those two fellas over there have been staring at us for near ten minutes."
The others glanced over at a table to their left, behind #2. Yang turned around and let out a hiss of annoyance. "Those are Koenma's boys, the resident 'Spirit Detectives'."
"Let's move, people." #1 said, standing.
Yang agreed. Her friends and herself were illegal immigrants, not to mention that they'd 'killed' a ghost, effectively intruding on the jurisdiction of the resident Spirit Detectives. Throw in the fact that they were a part of a secret organization that wasn't exactly legal, and well... there goes their lives outside prison.
After dutifully paying for their meal (of which only #10 had partaken), they set off down a street lined with tourist shops. It was a bright day, the sun having risen just an hour ago but already it was pretty hot.
#2 removed her jacket, not worried that normal people would see her gun, as it was made out of spirit energy. She did, however, want to let Koenma's boys know not to mess with them. See? Just a normal group of reiki-empowered teenage tourists, nothin' to worry about.
Yusuke thought differently, though. 'Guess the baka was right.' He thought, rising and casually setting off after the group, Kuwabara right behind him.
((#10, those guys still following us?)) #1 asked.
10, their most reiki-sensitive member frowned a bit. ((Hey, guys, you may want to check out their spirit energy for yourselves. Neither of them seem to be much into the finesse side of things, but they've got a hell of a lot of energy.))
"Hey, Yusuke, their lookin' at us."
Yusuke frowned. "No, they're not. They're facin' forward."
"Not that kind of lookin'." Kuwabara said.
"Ah."
((Want to pick up the pace, guys? Losing them would probably be a good idea.)) #2 said, glancing around.
#14 said, ((I hear that. What if they recognize us as the ones using reiki awhile ago? The boss will be furious.))
As one, they all gave an involuntary shudder. The boss was seldom angry, but when he was, someone usually checked into the hospital soon after.
((There!)) #1 cried out, indicating the book store. ((Our energy from earlier will confuse them. Hopefully they'll loose track of us.))
Ducking into said store, #2 commented, (( We should split up. Four of us, two of them. Plus, we have the network.))
((Right.))#14 and #10 headed to the upper story of the bookstore, #1 breaking off and ducking behind the high shelves, trying to get lost among the considerable-sized anime section. Yang went straight for the back, remembering there was a door without an alarm there.
Once outside, Yang looked around and spotted a service ladder on the side of the building. Using a short burst of reiki she hoped would attract the Detectives and draw them away from her friends, she leaped up to the ladder and started to climb as quickly as she could manage. At the top she turned around and crouched down on the roof, lowering her spirit energy as far as it would go. Peeking over the edge of the roof, she saw the two boys come out of the store, looking around for her.
"I don't see her, what've you got?" Asked the one who, from Yang's position, looked like a shiny black oval.
"Hmmm. Guess they know how to lower their spirit energy, I can't sense 'em anywhere." Answered the orange triangle.
"You see the piece that one girl was carrying? I'm guessing they're all armed. Let's find Boton and see if the pacifier-face knows anything."
Yang allowed a small sigh of relief as the Spirit Detectives took the alley away from her position. She waited for a few moments to be certain they were gone, then stood.
((Uh, guys?)) #10 said, his thought wavering.
((What's wrong?)) #2 asked, climbing back down the service ladder.
((Demon.)) #10 said, his thought-speech bleak.
((Shit. The detectives are gone. Where is it?)) #2 asked.
((Behind the music store.))
((We'll have to take care of this one, it's too close to civilians to leave it alone. #2?)) #1 was the leader, usually. But when it came to battle strategy, #2 was in charge.
((Right. I'm near it, so I'll take point. #10 and #14, you come around from the street side, cut off its escape. #1, you come out the back of the music store. Hopefully it won't be aggressive.)) Yang was cautiously walking down the alley, gun in hand and pointed toward the ground.
Her eyes sweeping across the alley, she spotted a too-solid shadow leaning against the wall across from the back of the music shop. Moving forward and bringing her gun to bear on the shape, Yang stepped from the shadows herself, saying, "Identify yourself."
The shape started, then said in a whispery voice, "Hiretsukan."
Yang raised an eyebrow. "Well then, Hiretsukan, step into the light."
And he did. He was humanoid in appearance, but instead of skin, he had pebbly scales. He was wearing rag-tag clothes, and a long lizard's-tail lashed the ground behind him before settling down and curling in at the tip.
Yang allowed herself a brief stare. Wow, a demon. A real I-can't-believe-my-luck demon. She'd seen pictures and been made to memorize the types, but this was her first real encounter with one in the field.
She shook herself a little. Back to the business at hand, please. "Raise your hands where I can see 'em and keep them there."
Unfortunately, the lizard youki had had enough of taking orders from a human. His disturbing face twisted into a gruesome smile, his hands still in his pockets. "You a cop then, ssisssta? Don't cha know, bulletsss can't hurt me?"
Yang smiled. Then quickly reaiming, shot the lizard in the tail.
Howling, he crouched down an examined the smoking tip of his once four-foot tail.
"Stop your sniffling. I know for a fact that you don't have that many nerves in your tail. However, would you like to find out what being shot in the foot feels like? Or the leg? Or the arm?"
Hiretsukan looked up at her, lips pulled back to expose empty gums. "Bitch." He wheezed.
"Now, I wouldn't go calling her that." #10 spoke up from down the alley.
"Yeah, she might choose to shoot something... important..." #14 said, smirking, with her own dark blue gun aimed to the sky.
The lizard's pupils shrunk. Standing slowly, he raised his hands, while stammering, "I-I wasss jusst sssight-ssseeing. No t-trouble heressss." His accent was getting worse.
#1 came through the door, unhurried. Quickly sizing up the situation, he chose not to draw his own weapon and instead leaned casually against the back wall of the music store.
"Well then, you won't mind an escort back through whatever portal you came through." #2 said, gun still steady. She wanted to get moving. Standing there aiming a gun might look cool, but after a while your arms get tired.
The youki looked even more panicked. "I-I can't go back, they'll catch me."
"Who?" Yang asked, lowering her weapon slightly now that 14 had her own gun out.
"Th-The portal wasssn't for me. A coven on the other ssside opened it. I ssssneaked through."
"Stop that infernal hissing. And what do you mean, the other side?" #1 finally chose to speak up.
Now the lizard looked confused as well as scared. "Demon realm. Ssurly you know of it?"
Yang's mouth opened slightly in shock. #14 gasped, and 10 started blinking rapidly. #1 stood up straight and drew his weapon (a mini-uzi of spirit energy). Yang's thoughts whirled around inside her head. Just how long had the boss been looking for a way into the Realm of Demons? As power-hungry as he was, he'd formed the Agency for the sole purpose of making a task-force capable of handling themselves in that place. And now... someone who had witnessed a way to open a portal had dropped right into their hands.
"Right." Said #1. "Here's what we're going to do. You are a chamaeleon demon, and that's how you've managed to stay hidden for so long. You're going to slip back into your disguise and accompany us on a little trip to the States."
"N-no waysss man!! I'm not leavin' here, it's the best place to get back!" The lizard was now turning a pale white, a quite interesting shade against his scales.
"That little handgun that #2 has is very good for small targets, it's not meant to kill." #1 said conversationally. "I, on the other hand, have what's known as a machine gun. It's not so good at leaving easily-healed wounds. With this, I can sever a limb- permanently. How would a pick-pocking scum like you like to go through life without an arm?" #1 was in his element. Interrogation and intimidation were his specialties.
The lizard was now paler than the ghost this morning (though not as transparent). Slowly, he nodded. "I do asss you sssay. I gotss its." His accent was now so thick it was hard to catch what he was saying.
#1 smiled coldly. "Good."
Hope you liked the chapter, review please!