Three Years Later

A young girl sat in the corner of the cell, holding her arms tightly across her stomach, and her knees bent as she slept. A loud sort of cackle interrupted her dreamless sleep as she snapped opened one of her forlorn eyes and saw a tiny demon the size of a small squirrel sneaking a peek up her worn mini-skirt.
"Do you mind, Jyaki?" she growled. Jyaki looked up to her, bared his teeth, and scurried back to the darkness of his side of the cell. She had been placed with him after her fifteenth escape. Their cell had magic cast on it to prevent using shadow magic - magic which both of them had.
Unfortunately, having been inside a human girl to carry out his plans, he had grown to be a pervert after seeing her...um...womanly parts.
The girl closed her eye again and kept a sharp ear for Jyaki's footsteps. Instead of Jyaki's 'pitter-patter' she heard shuffling coming closer and closer.
Ah...dinner time. Lucky those damn ogres don't have to eat their own shitty cooking. She opened her eye slightly as the ogre walked menacingly through the wall which separated herself and Jyaki from the hallways of the dungeons.
The shadow demons had noticed that this ogre didn't have any food, and Jyaki, who scrambled out of his hiding place eagerly anticipating for some, sulked back to it. The ogre was about four heads taller than the girl and was about three times as wide. Her eyes opened to their fullest extent as their visitor shuffled towards the girl, grabbed one of her arms with one of his sage ones and forced her up.
"Hey! Do you mind?!?" she spat, glaring at him as he roughly pulled her through the wall. Everything Koenma's ogres touched would be forced through the wall with them. The girl felt like her eyes were closed for a second, and then she began blinking rapidly, trying to get her eyes used to this brightness. She was abruptly out of the prison that she was so unjustly put in.
For three years, she had been in a dark, dank prison cell and this sudden brightness didn't help her at all. He then brought her to a staircase, literally dragging her up it. The hallway they entered so suddenly was so bright, the girl had to close her eyes while the ogre continued dragging her to - unbeknownst to her - their destination.
She heard a door slam open and heard a bunch of other shuffling footsteps running around as she cracked her violet eyes open, seeing ogres scurry around like the bunch of oafs they were. Always serving to Koenma, bowing down to him, enforcing his every whim.
Anei's definition of Koenma, Prince of the Makai:

A cold, heartless 703 year old bastard who did not care that her mother had just died when she was thrown into prison and did not care that if she didn't kill Urufu, he was going to force her to...

She shuddered at the idea. Anei's eyes opened even more, used to the blinding light called sunlight. There was nothing down in the dungeons but a small light in the high ceiling. The ogre stopped, grabbed her by both of her shoulders and spun her around to face the cold, heartless 703-year old...ah forget it. The ogre spun her around to face the baby-ish ruler of the Makai. The ogre held both of her arms twisted behind her back, sending pain shooting up her limbs, but she ignored it. That was not even a fraction of what she'd been through before.
He nodded curtly. "Anei," he said tartly.
"Koenma," she growled.
"Still bitter, are we?" he asked, a smirk on his face.
"No, Koenma. I'm just as happy as can be," she said, sarcasm dripping from her voice.
The toddler-shaped prince chuckled a bit. He stared intently at her, wondering if she would say anything else.
"Has it really been three years?" she asked, confirming Koenma's assumptions. She never really looked at him when she talked. Instead, her eyes hungrily looked at his office-he figured it was a relief to see something other than a small little demon with horns and a dark cell. Proof of a civilization above ground, perhaps.
Koenma nodded once again, and said, "Yes, Anei. It's been exactly three years since you were put into prison."
"More like thrown in..." she mumbled under her breath, so that only she could hear. Unexpectedly the ogre, he apparently heard her, kneed her in the back.
"Now, now. I'm sure she's been through much and we shouldn't give her a hard time while we're waiting for them," Koenma said, glaring at the ogre for a second. He looked down and continued stamping papers as if Anei and the ogre weren't standing there.
"Waiting for whom, may I ask?" Anei asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You'll see," Koenma replied, still stamping papers. He suddenly looked up at the ogre, and he must've nodded, because a second later, Anei was release and the ogre seemed to have disappeared. She wrung her wrists and once again surveyed his office-it hadn't changed much. She didn't think it changed at all, other than maybe more slacking ogres than were necessary. Her eyes traveled back over to the prince sitting in his throne-like chair.
Koenma's a fool. Having his ogre leave him like that. He knows I might kill him, but, what good will that do? I'll be thrown in prison again, and I certainly, don't want to go back and see Jyaki. Humph. I bet he's happy that he's all alone in that big, dark, dirty cell. Damn, Koenma. He knew this was going to happen. She shifted all of her weight onto her right foot and crossed her arms in a bored fashion. Looking around again, she hopped up onto the toddler's desk. Koenma, pretending to be oblivious, ignored her and continued stamping papers. She crossed her arms again and one leg over the other, and stared at her foot, which she started to jiggle to a beat of a song she only knew.
Blinded by rage, that's what you are. In a hole, you're too deep, too far. No one's here to pull you out, you've got nobody there for you now. It's eating me up inside. Tearing me to pieces. It's my life, that's screwed up, you just had to come up, with this stupid plan, for break-
Anei's song was interrupted by the door slamming open once more. Koenma's and her head shot up, looking at the newcomers. Koenma, knowing who they were, looked back down and continued stamping papers.
Anei, however, had no clue whom these people were, and being across the hall, she only stared at them while they came closer and closer. There were four of them, all shooting glances at her, sitting on top of the desk belonging to someone so highly respected. She blew a piece of hair that fell over her eye, and peered intently at one of them. He seemed so familiar, but five years of not seeing he had changed her vision of him...
Her eyes widened as she saw a boy whom she would least expect to be here, in the Spirit World.


Urameshi Yusuke said nothing to anybody as he and his friends made their way to Koenma's office in the Makai. This was the number one day that he didn't want to remember. Koenma...why did you have to do that? He thought angrily for the millionth time.
Kuwabara Kazuma and Yukimura Keiko, understanding how he felt, for they had known her too, didn't say a word unless spoken too, which was only when Botan had greeted them.
Feeling the tension, Botan wasn't as cheery as her usual self, remembering the shouting match Yusuke and Koenma had gotten into this day three years ago. She frowned... three years ago...? Then that means...! She looked eagerly at the girl sitting on Koenma's desk; she was looking bored, yet intrigued. She didn't think she recognized any in the group, from what Keiko had told her, it had been many years since they last saw each other.
Kuwabara opened the large doors to Koenma's office. Yusuke stared moodily at his feet as the four walked up to the desk. Surprisingly, all the ogres had left already, and there wasn't a single one in the room.
He felt eyes on him as he continued staring at his feet. He assumed it was Koenma. But he was very wrong. The three people around him stopped. So did he. Keiko suddenly nudged him hard in the ribs, and pointed to something in the direction of Koenma's desk.
Yusuke didn't see her pointing and said, "Ow, Keiko, did you have to-,"
He was interrupted by someone clearing their throat - rather loudly. He turned his head to glare at Koenma, but instead, he saw the girl that was imprisoned three years ago on this day. A grin broke out on his face and he realized exactly why Koenma had brought them here; to retrieve her, for her sentence was over. How quickly he had lost track of time.
They stared at each other, not believing their own eyes. Both had changed in their eyes, both had grown up so much, become almost unrecognizable.
Anei stepped down from the desk, her brain still not registering the fact that Yusuke was standing there-not registering the fact that he was in Spirit World, of all the places she would see him. He suddenly pushed pass the semi-unfamiliar face of Kuwabara and he walked to her, hugging her tightly.
Yusuke...is here...Yusuke...she thought. She hugged him back, burying her face in the dip of his neck. "Yusuke..." she sobbed, tears spilling out of her purple eyes. It was so nice to see someone she knew, someone she cared about. For three almost unbearable years, she had been thrown into cells with unfamiliar faces and people and personalities-one of which almost got her killed.
He felt Anei's tears run down his neck and her hot breath gave him goosebumps, but he enjoyed their tearful, yet happy, reunion. His mother would be extremely happy to hear the news.
Botan and Keiko smiled, overjoyed for Anei's freedom. Tears streamed down their faces as they silently cried, and they looked at each other and smiled. Kuwabara's face softened and broke out into a smile; he was just as happy as Yusuke to see Anei. He was probably the one who hadn't seen her the longest, as he was only seven when he met her, but after that, they never spoke again.
Yusuke pulled away from Anei, eyes wet with tears, putting his hands on her shoulders. His eyes swept over her body. She very slim, she looked weak, she was almost as white as paper, and she had dark circles under her eyes. Yusuke noticed some scars and bruises adorned her stomach, and her thighs, but he didn't worry about them now. He would ask about them eventually.
"You look so different," he said, his voice cracking.
Anei laughed a bit-how wonderful it felt to do that. "You try going to prison for three years and eating nothing but shitty cooking. Oh, and living with a perverted demon named Jyaki for three months."
About to comment on Anei's vulgar language-the jailtime must have toughened her up some, especially since one of the last times he saw her, she was crying because she had fallen down and barely got a scratch-he realized the name sounded familiar to Yusuke. He turned to Koenma suddenly and said, "You put her in with Jyaki?!?"
Koenma nodded and smiled. "I thought Jyaki would tell her about you, how you became a Spirit Detective."
"Yusuke? A Spirit Detective? My, my...is that what my darling cousin is doing in the Spirit World?" Anei commented, raising an eyebrow at him. Yusuke turned back around and smiled while nodding proudly. He noted she was much more sarcastic and cynical; she noted he was much more arrogant and flamboyant.
Anei walked a circle around him several times jokingly, nodding and murmuring approvals. He was well muscled, taller, broader, tanner. He still had that 'tough guy' exterior, but Anei knew better. She stopped her rounds, staring at something just behind his right shoulder. For a split second, she seemed lost in thought as to who it was, but recollection dawned over her face.
"KEIKO!!!" she squealed, rushing pass Yusuke to give her old friend a bear hug.
"Anei! I've missed you so much!" Keiko exclaimed, returning the hug just as hard and giggling with her.
"So have I!" Anei and Keiko pulled away and Anei noticed the girl next to Keiko.
Before she could even start, the girl erupted into an explanation, seizing Anei's hand. "I am Botan, Guide to the River Styx! Nice to meet'cha!" The girl shook Anei's hand vigorously.
"Err...hi, Botan," she said, putting a hand behind her head while Botan continued shaking her hand. Botan let go, beaming.
Someone tapped her on the back and Anei turned away from the two girls. She came face-to-chest with Kuwabara, although as she looked up at him, she raised an eyebrow. "And you are?"
Kuwabara looked exasperated and fell to his knees while Botan, Keiko, and Yusuke laughed loudly. "You..." he sniffed. "You really don't remember me, Anei?"
She looked around at the others laughing. "Uh...no...should I?"
"Yes!" he cried, pulling out a hanky and blowing his nose loudly. The other three were almost in tears. "I helped you get out of that really tall tree when you were only a kid!"
Anei blinked, "Wait...so you're that...Ku...kid?"
Kuwabara nodded happily and jumped up. "Yes! She remembers the first part of my name!"
Sighing, annoyed, Anei raised her fist and slammed it against the side of his head. "Idiot..."
Yusuke fell to the ground he was laughing so hard.
"Alright, alright, cut the chatter stuff! Get out of my office so my ogres can get back to work!" Koenma complained, getting sick of all the crying and laughing. Anei could see him frantically wiping tears away and she smirked. He'd been crying too.
He waved his hand like previous times, and they all stepped in, one-by-one. Anei, being the last one through, looked at Koenma before going, and nodded once again before disappearing into the portal.
Surprisingly, the portal had dropped Anei and the others in her old house. Anei smiled, despite the tainted memories she had to suffer here.
"DA-AD!" she called out, cupping her hands around her mouth to increase the sound. "MR. TANIZAWA, YOUR DAUGHTER IS HERE!!" Her smile disappeared as she continued walking downstairs, the gang waiting in the living room. Yusuke followed as they heard her bound up the stairs, taking two at a time. "Yusuke, I can't find him anywhere!" she cried, running out of her parents' old room.
Her eyes traveled over to the stairway when an unfamiliar red-head was walking up them. "Kurama!" Yusuke cried.
He nodded to Yusuke. "Anei, I think this is where your father went," he said, handing her a paper in his hand. She took it.
Anei stared at him, a why-haven't-I-ever-seen-this-boy-and-why-is-he-in-my-house look on her face.
"Oh! Anei, um, meet Shuichi Minamino, but you can call him Kurama," Yusuke said, reading the look on his cousin's face.
She smiled wistfully, no doubt trying to decide whether she would like this boy or not. She bowed, and he followed her actions, smiling warmly, and chuckling a bit. "Nice to meet you, Anei."
"Likewise." Her eyes turned to the paper as they ended their bowing, her face going instantly to a frown. She noticed it was yellowed at the edges, like it had been sitting somewhere for a long time.

Dear Anei,

If you ever want to find me, I'll be in Demon World, with the Ookami Clan. Contact Shidousha before you come. There have been some strange things going on concerning you and the Kage.

More later,
Daifu

"What're the 'Kage'?" Yusuke asked, reading the note over her shoulder, though Anei waved her hand, telling him to not worry about it.
"Where'd you find this Kurama?" she asked as they headed back downstairs.
Behind her, Kurama replied, "Hiei found it on the kitchen counter."
"When did you two get here anyways?" Yusuke asked.
"Only a few minutes before you four."
"Who's Hiei?" Anei asked Kurama, turning into the living room.
Turning around at the mention of his name, Hiei faced Kurama, Yusuke, and Anei. Anei glanced at him, and then did a double-take. She stopped and Kurama stopped, looking at her oddly. Anei was trembling and staring at Hiei in shock, her mouth gaping open in a silent gasp.
"You...you're the...the boy I-I punched...i-in the junk-junk yard..."