Finally, an update! Work has been pretty busy so I haven't had the time to sneak around and post this up.

I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, Darker Than Black or any of it's characters. I only own my OCs.

Forthwith!


"You've got to be kidding me. Are you serious?" Keiko took her fork and went for another stab at her salad.

"I'm not! They got my registration papers mixed up and because of that I was forced to wait another year before I could start the semester."

"And they were willing to fund for your entire first year? I wouldn't know whether I'd be upset or happy if I were in your situation. I mean tuition at Todai is no joke."

"You're telling me." Rin took the pause in the conversation to take another bite of her hamburger steak. It's been so long since she had a decent meal so she savored every last morsel, "Better late than never."

"Yeah, you're right but still, lost time is something you can never get back. Aren't you at least a bit upset?"

Rin startled at the thought. Had she actually been a student in these circumstances would she upset about her lost time? Lost time isn't something she ever had to worry about. She always had something of importance to do and when she wasn't busy she was resting her body for her next big assignment. Lost time was an unfamiliar subject. "I can't say that I am. I got a lot done in the past year," and by that she meant a lot of assignments, rogue contractors behind Syndicate bars, numerous deaths on her hands, and lots of secret packages delivered safely on her two-wheeler. Yeah, lost time wasn't an issue, but if she didn't get herself and Keiko out of here soon it might be.

Rin finished the last bits of her steak and looked at Keiko's plate. Her plate was, for the most part, cleared but she still has pieces of lettuce and tomatoes scattered all over her plate. For a starving girl this one didn't eat much. "Well, that was a much needed meal. How was yours?"

"Delicious. You were right about this place. It's nice." Keiko commented.

Rin looked at her watch. It was almost 7:30. She would have to move this along if she was going to catch Yusuke. "Let's pay our tab and leave. It's getting late." The two women went up front to the register and paid their bill.

As Rin stepped out into the cool, crisp air she contemplated which direction she should execute her plan. "Well, I live this way so I guess I'll see you around campus?"

"Of course, thanks for the company. See you later" and they went their separate ways.

Rin took slow strides making sure to put some distance between her and Keiko before she turned back around and started following the woman.

Keiko round the corner and disappeared. Rin wasn't too worried and continued to follow from a distance. About twenty minutes of walking she ducked into an alley. Quickly, she dropped her backpack and yanked out her long coat and her white mask. She dawn both items and tucked her hair underneath pulling the hood over her head further concealing her identity. Rin folded up the bag and stuffed it into of her pockets as she grabbed a pair of black leather gloves from the other. She walked back out onto the street in brisk strides while slipping on the gloves. Running up behind Keiko in silent steps she took the edge of her right hand and slammed it against the lower part of Keiko's neck, effectively knocking her out without injury. The girl slumped to the ground not even realizing what was happening as darkness immediately consumed her.

Rin bent down to pick her up, slinging Keiko's right arm around her neck and placing her own left arm securely around her waist. She dragged her off into the dark alley next to them in swiftness.


Yusuke reached in his pocket for the keys to Keiko's apartment. He had just gotten back from a quick trip to the Maikai. While Yusuke had been on leave from Tourin he left Hokushin in charge. He was supposed to return today, but after his little spat with Keiko he decided it would a better idea to stick around for a couple more days. It wouldn't do him any good to leave her on bad terms. Yusuke went back to notify Hokushin of his extended leave and to also check up on his land.

He finally fished the keys from his pocket and unlocked the door. He was greeted with nothing but darkness. "Strange, she should be home by now." He walked in and removed his shoes. "Hey Keiko, I'm back! Are you sleeping?" he shouted through the hallway. He walked over to her bed room and flipped on the lights not caring if she was indeed asleep in her room, but he found her futon empty. "Where could she be at this hour?"

Yusuke stepped out into the living and decided to make himself comfortable while he waited for Keiko to return home.

Just as he got settled in on the seat pillows on the floor the tv across the room clicked on. Yusuke didn't bother to move and only slightly opened up one eye to the sudden disturbance. Figuring he was just laying on the remote he closed his eye and went back to relaxing, leaving the tv on for background noise. He laid there still for a few seconds anticipating the noise of the television, but was rewarded with the humming sound of the black screen. Yusuke opened his eyes in annoyance and got up to look for the remote. He flipped the pillows over and found nothing there. He found it sitting on the table the whole time which he thought was strange but didn't think anything of it. Taking the remote he looked up at the TV and meant to click it off, but what he saw on the screen made his body still.

There on the screen were four panels flipping to different images every few seconds just like a security camera. Yusuke's eyes darted from panel to panel every time it changed. Each time he did a small ball of rage grew deep within the pit of his stomach. Images of Keiko blind folded; gagged, slumped over and tied to a chair appeared before him. They were showing him views from other angles and repeated in that fashion.

Yusuke continued to look at the images trying to look for any clues or signs of where she may be, but the only thing visible was her under the spotlight.

"Dammit!" the hand holding the remote slammed into the coffee table in front of him crushing the device into pieces. Suddenly, images on the panels began to change. What was going on now? Who could be targeting him? Why would they be targeting them? Is it a demon? Did some asshole from the Makai sneak his way through his portal without even knowing about it? So many thoughts went across his. He couldn't think straight. He looked up at the screen again and saw that different video images were appearing now, with the occasional shot of Keiko. One appeared to be from a street camera viewing a spot on an empty road right under the street lamp. Another one was of a silhouette of what seemed to be a square-ish building. It flipped back to a shot of Keiko again.

Yusuke sat glaring at the screen as if to will it to move faster through its rotation. Finally the panels disappeared and the screen's contents just merged to one full view of Keiko in the chair. The slight humming noise from the TV was gone and was replaced by slight echoes of footsteps. Out from the shadows came a pair of black boots. The figure walked into the light towards Keiko's stilled body. He stopped just a few steps later, enough so that the upper portion of his body was still shrouded in darkness.

Yusuke's hands gripped onto the remains of the remote. The pieces left of the poor device crumbled into nothing but dust. His knuckles whitened at the grip. He was furious, white hot anger coursed through his body. Who was this person and how dare he have the audacity to mess with him.

The screen blanked and then numbers showed up, counting down. Whoever this was, he was telling him he had exactly one hour to find Keiko and after that who knows what?

Yusuke slammed his fist one more time onto the table, effectively destroying it beyond repair. He got up and ran out the door slamming it closed behind him. Sprinting down the street he headed for the only location that slightly resembled the images from the video cam.

He was going to find Keiko and once he did he was going to kill her kidnapper.


Rin sat in silence. She waited in the dark and abandoned warehouse in the chair Keiko had occupied not too long ago.

After Rin had managed to drag Keiko to the warehouse she had made a couple of quick phone calls to her colleagues asking for favors. Shin arrived moments later. By then Rin had already tied Keiko to the chair, gagged and blindfolded. She filled Shin in on the plan mentioning this was slightly off her official assignment and asked for him to not include this into his report to HQ.

"Once I'm done here I need you to bring her back to her home safely. I need her out of the way before the person I am expecting gets here."

Shin didn't ask any questions and just sat himself on a crate in the corner of the warehouse. He looked around observing his surroundings and found a couple cameras set up in the warehouse. He guessed Jin must be on it too. To confirm his suspicions Rin was heard talking on her phone, "Everything is ready. Go ahead and start recording."

The room was silent for a few minutes. Shin could hear the small movements of the cameras around the building move, capturing images of the victim before them. He watched Rin take a few steps into the light and stopped, careful so that she didn't reveal her entire self to the cameras. The buzz of Rin's phone echoed interrupting the silence. She picked it up immediately. There was a pause as the caller on the other side spoke. Shin knew it was Jin on the phone. He was wondering if he should ask Rin what exactly she was up, but brushed the thought away. He didn't really care.

"Send this as soon as you see him enter the apartment and call me right after he leaves." Rin closed her cellular device and tucked it into her pocket. She walked over to Keiko and started untying her hands and ankles from the chair. She removed the gag and blindfold and motion to Shin for him to come over. She handed him a piece of paper and he opened it. On it was an address. "That's her home address. I need you to bring her back as quickly as possible. I'm expecting her partner here soon."

Shin lifted Keiko onto his back. He shifted her body higher on his back so that she would not fall over. "And what exactly do I get out of this?"

Rin started at him blankly, "I have nothing to offer you at the moment, but if you ever need my assistance in the near future I will be obliged to help."

Shin snorted at the word. "Obliged," Rin didn't miss the sarcastic tone in his voice and shot him an empty glare. She walked over to the big sliding doors and opened them to let Shin through. She mumbled a thank you as he walked past her and out of the warehouse.


Yusuke was panting and out of breath. He was bent over, hands on his knees trying to catch his breath. He had finally arrived at the spot that now held fond memories of the past though weren't so fond at the time that particular event happened.

The building that stood before him was the abandoned warehouse where Keiko was first abducted and taken to by Hiei. Now that he had thought about it how long ago was that? It had been years since then and he couldn't believe where the time had gone. Yusuke shook his thoughts away. Now was not the time to reminisce. He had to find out where Keiko was before it was too late. He check his watch; only twenty minutes left to find out if she was here and if not then he was doomed because there would not be enough time for him to search elsewhere.

Yusuke jogged closer to the building. As he did he could begin to feel the slight presence of someone in within the walls, but what was strange was that he could only feel one person in there and it was not the familiar feeling of Keiko. Yusuke slowed his pace as he got closer. The energy in the building started to grow and twist as if the person inside had sense he was there.

Yusuke couldn't place his finger on it, but the energy he was trying to read was a bit different than what he had ever experience. It wasn't a demon that was for sure, it didn't feel anything of the sinister like. It also wasn't quite human either. He wondered for a second if it was something comparable to Kuwabara's with his high amounts of spiritual energy for a human being, but decided it was slightly more different than that. The energy flowed smoothly around the body, but had sporadic pulses here and there. What puzzled him most was that not only was the spirit energy flow of this person different but it felt like a completely different form of energy entirely. It was empty, a powerful presence with an empty shell.

Yusuke took hold of the door and slid it open. This was it. He was sure this was the place. He could feel slight trails of Keiko's presence having been there, but where was she now? "Alright, if this is your idea of some sick joke I am not impressed!" he shouted into the darkness. Yusuke considered once if this was Hiei's warped idea of playing fun but quickly dispelled the thought. Was this just coincidence? Was he reliving his life years ago?

The light flickered on and in the middle stood an empty chair. There were ropes lying on the floor, probably the same ones that were used to tie Keiko up. Footsteps were heard and surely a figured revealed himself into the light. Any and all confusion from before had left Yusuke and was replace with anger, "Who are you, why did you do this, where is Keiko, and are you ready for me to snap your neck?" The figure did not respond and stood there unmoving. Yusuke was quickly getting annoyed and impatient, but he couldn't just rush into it. He needed to find out where Keiko was before he knocks the guy's lights out.

As if reading his thoughts the person before him spoke in a flat tone. "She's safely back at her home. There is no need to worry."

"What?" was all he said. He was surprised to find that Keiko's captor was not a man, but a female judging from her voice.

"I took her but meant no harm. I simply needed to grab your attention as I have a request."

Yusuke snorted, "Why would you do that? Are you stupid? What makes you think I believe you? You kidnapped my girlfriend!" Yusuke watch as her hand went into her pocket. He body stiffened and immediately went into a defensive stance. The kidnapper pulled out a cell phone. She bent down and slid the phone over to him.

"Call her. She should be awake by now." Yusuke stared at the phone and after finally deciding that it wasn't a bomb picked it up. He opened it and dialed the number quickly. He mentally counted four rings before a familiar voice picked up the phone.

"Hello? This is Keiko." Yusuke's eyes widened the slightest bit in shock and relief.

"Keiko?"

"Yusuke, is that you? Where are you?"

"I'm out right now. Just thought I'd check in. Listen, I'll call you back."

"Hey, wait a se-, "he ended the call and sighed in relief. Yusuke tossed the phone back to the stranger, "Alright, you proved one point, but you must be really stupid. I mean, now that I know she's safe I have no reason to help and nothing holding me back from slugging you in the face."

"Don't be so quick to judge. She may be safe in her home, but she definitely isn't so far out of my reach that I wouldn't have some sort of leverage." Yusuke narrowed his eyes.

"What are you talking about?" his voice suddenly low and serious.

"Do you see those cameras I set up around us?" Yusuke took four seconds and darted his eyes around the room. He counted three.

"What about them?"

"A colleague of mine is watching from the other side. If I give him the signal he can contact another one us who is so patiently waiting outside your partner's door."

Yusuke can feel his anger seeping back into his body but he couldn't let it get the best of him. He had to make sure Keiko remained safe and in order to do that he couldn't afford any stupid mistakes. "Fine, my hands are tied. What do you want from me?" he spoke through gritted teeth.

The woman crossed her arms, "Let's not stall any more time. I'll get straight to the point."


What now?! What is our mysterious Rin up to and what does she want from our favorite hanyou spirit detective? Also, I'm wondering if I should start including a small summary for following chapters at the end of every one... Let me know if it seems like a good idea!

Thanks for reading! Review any questions, comments, ideas, complaints, blah blah blah, etc. bahahaha and see you next time!