I sighed and double checked my watch for the twelfth time. 10: 53 pm. Mr. Yoshiki was supposed to be here twenty-three minutes ago… I checked my posture and glared at the door waiting for it to open. Mr. Yoshiki is a very important client of the Tatsuhiro gang. I was to meet him in this back room of the Bonsai Club to hand over ten kilos of meth for one million yen. Buying in bulk is obviously the way to go. The room was poorly lit and musty from smoke. I pulled out a crumpled pack of cigarettes and a lighter and lit one up. I studied the smoke that gently swirled up off the cherry. If I stood perfectly still, the smoke would create lucid designs in the air. But as soon as I moved to take another drag, the swirls crashed into each other and puffed out around my head.

The door swung open and a big, broad man in a brown suit followed by two leaner men in grey suits strode in. "Sorry we're late, hope we haven't inconvenienced you too much," Mr. Yoshiki started chuckling as he lit up a cigar. I stood up slowly trying to make it seem like I was too shy to look him in the eye, but really I was studying their hands. "So where's my Hiropon*?"

I picked up a rather large suitcase that had been sitting next to me, "Where's my money?"

Mr. Yoshiki started to chuckle, "What makes you think I was going to hand over a million to a little, scrawny thing like you?"

"Are you implying that you plan to rob me?" my eyes picked up the two silent men's well hidden motions to their belts.

"Not just implying," Mr. Yoshiki snapped his fingers. The two silent men dug into their holsters as I dropped the suitcase and reached for my pistol. The three of us drew at about the same time, but what they were lacking in was the agility of a young teenager. I pulled the trigger twice at the guy on the left, who seemed to be the weaker of the two, and ducked under the coffee table. I watched the man hit the floor and blood splatter then turned to locate the other grey suit. He was rounding the lounge chair to grab the suitcase full of drugs. I twisted back towards the case and placed my hand on the handle of it to pull myself up as I made eye contact with the man and pulled the trigger. He dropped his gun and stumbled back against the wall and slid down leaving a streak of blood down the wall to his body.

"What the hell are you?!" Mr. Yoshiki cried out in terror as he soaked in what had just happened in less than five seconds.

I stood back up and wiped the few specs of blood that had hit my cheek, "I'm commonly referred to as 'Tatsuhiro's Girl,' but I'm not too fond of that name."

Mr. Yoshiki started laughing nervously, "You should come work for me; I can give you better weapons than that old, beaten up pistol."

"I chose to use this M1911," I raised it towards him and he started whimpering. He was drenched in sweat and frantically looking for an escape.

I pulled the trigger five times just to empty the magazine.


Botan closed the trap door that led to the Four Saint Beasts and stood back up. "Okay," she cheered, "Let's go kill some bugs!"

"Yay," I replied sarcastically as we walked back out into the alley. We searched for hours trying to kill the bugs and incapacitate infected people. The bugs were hard to find amongst the crowds of people everywhere. Their energy was so low I could barely sense them when they were right next to me. Dealing with the infected people was way worse. Botan strictly said not to harm them… too bad. They were still innocent people after all. We had to lure them into the allies, then I took over (usually with a few good punches to some pressure points) to knock them out. Then we'd tie them up and report them anonymously to the cops. They're better off locked up for the week. Botan reassured me that Koenma would handle the arrested zombies after Yusuke and the gang defeated the Four Saint Beasts.

By nine p.m. we had killed eight insects and booked twelve zombies— pretty lousy if you ask me. Regardless, we decided to turn in for the night. I invited Botan to stay at my place. When we got to my apartment, my father and sister were already in bed. Botan and I sat on the couch with some leftovers and turned on the news. We learned that the zombies we put away were transported to the hospital and the infestation was becoming a new epidemic. That hospital's gonna fill up real quick…

Botan jumped when we heard banging from my father's room. My little sister came out rubbing her eyes, "Daddy?" My father burst through the door at that point. His skin was pale and he was drooling, much like the other zombies. He growled and I lunged for my sister. I pushed her back into her room as my father grabbed me by the hair. Not cool. I shut the door to my sister's room and turned to face my father who was raising his free fist. I punched him square in the nose and he released his grip and fell backwards.

"K.O. bro," I replied while rubbing my head.

"Rhea?" I heard Neema cry, "I'm scared!"

"It's ok," I replied trying not to sound short, "It's safe to come out now."

She cracked the door open and stared at our unconscious, zombie father. I turned to Botan who had also been staring in horror, "Botan, help me with this thing, will ya?"

She nodded and came over to us. "Is he… dead?"

"No," I snorted, "If anyone can survive my beatings, it's him. Believe me, this is not the first time I've had to lay him out."

"Oh, my," Botan replied, "Is he abusive?"

"No, just stupid," I answered as I picked him up by the shoulders. Botan picked up his feet and we threw him onto the bed. I found the handcuffs I used to tie him up over half a year ago and did so once again. "Last time I did this, he was overdosing on heroine."

"Are you serious?" Botan asked surprised. "He does drugs?!"

"He used to."

"What happened?"

"Kurama happened."

Botan looked at me very confused.

"I have no idea what he did to my father but it worked. He's clean and can hold a real job now. Before Kurama came along, I was the head of the household."

"That sounds awful."

"Try frightening."

"Why?"

"Over two years ago my dad had a bad run in with a gang. They took control of our lives. My father was supposed to sell drugs for them, but instead, he took them. That's when I took over to protect my sister from them. I dealt drugs for a year and a half while taking care of my sister and my father."

"I don't understand how Kurama fits into all this," Botan admitted, shock and horror plastered on her face.

"One day, the mafia cracked and kidnapped my sister after my father spent the drug money on prostitutes. The next day at school Kurama caught me crying on the roof. That night the mafia was mysteriously annihilated, Batman saved my sister, and the next morning my father was a normal, functioning man."

"Batman?" Botan caught.

I laughed a little, "It's in inside joke we have."

"Batman!" Neema cheered at the doorway. We both looked over to her. "Batman saved me! I remember that! You know Batman's true identity?"

"No, of course not," I sweatdropped.

"Oh," Neema sighed, "Well, what happened to daddy?"

"He's very sick, but he'll be okay," I reassured her. "Come on, it's time to go back to bed." I escorted her back to her room and tucked her in. I came back into the family room where Botan found her spot on the couch.

"Why did Kurama do all of that?" she picked the conversation back up.

"I still don't know," I admitted, "I probably never will."

"That's lame," Botan huffed. "I think he likes you," she teased.

"Erm… what?" I choked a little taken back.

Botan giggled, "Why else would he do all of that?"

"I just said I didn't know," I replied quickly, "He was planning on killing himself a few days later, remember?"

"Oh, yeah," Botan put a finger to her lips as she recalled her first encounters with Kurama and me. "I still think he likes you."

"I doubt it."

"He doesn't seem to show interest in any other girls, does he?"

I sweatdropped, "Heh… I don't think so."

"Do you think he's gay?"

I erupted into laughter, "That's a good possibility!"

Botan eyed me over, "You know something about him, don't you?"

"Why, you like him?" I lifted an eyebrow.

Botan pulled back blushing, "Well, no… I mean… I'm technically dead, so I don't really look at guys like that."

I laughed again, "Good night, Button."

"It's Botan!" she tied not to yell. "Hey, wait! You like him, don't you?!"

"Does it matter?" I looked back at her from my bedroom door, "I'm not mentally stable enough to be in a relationship like that anyways."

Botan's face blanched as her mind started making connections, "Oh… I'm sorry, Rhea. I didn't mean to…"

"Don't worry about it," I smiled as warmly as possible. "Good night, Button."

"Botan!" she shrieked as I closed the door behind me.


The next morning I was awoken by my hollering father. Botan and I ran into his room. He was still chained up but was thrashing around and yelling obscurities. I searched through his closet and found quite a bit of rope. Botan and I fastened him to the bed with it and then I tied a handkerchief around his mouth. Neema walked in sleepily as we finished up and we quickly scurried her back out of the room. We got Neema ready for school and dropped her off. I went to class to survey the students while Botan surveyed the streets.

It was almost lunch time when a loud chirping went off in the class room. No one, including the teacher, seemed to hear it. I looked around then dug into my pocket and pulled out a little purple compact mirror. Botan had given it to me before I went to class. A light on the thing was blinking in unison with the chirping. I looked around again. Not a single person reacted to it. I quietly stood up and walked out of the room. I flipped it open and Botan was on the screen.

"Rhea!" she shouted.

"Yes?" I peered out of the corner of my eye to double check that I was alone in the hallway.

"I need your help!"

"What's wrong?"

"I think the Four Saint Beasts launched another wave of insects!"

I was already toning her out when I noticed the backdrop on the screen, "Hey, is that my sister's school?"

Botan looked behind her, "Yes, there's loads of insects here too!"

"I'll be right there," I snapped the mirror shut and slid it into my pocket as the dean turned the corner.

"Miss Sarama," he greeted harshly.

"I have to go," I turned to him, "My sister is ill." The dean growled and drool hit the floor. "Figures," I deadpanned. He lunged for me and I round kicked his head into the wall. "Sorry, Deany, I don't have time for your bullshit right now." I looked around once more to make sure no one witnessed what I had just done and took off running for the elementary school. I incinerated at least twenty insects on the way.

"Botan!" I called as we met at the entrance.

"As far as I know, they haven't gotten inside yet," she informed me.

"Have you told Yusuke?"

"No, not yet. I was concerned about your sister."

"Thank you," I replied more calmly, "I'm going to pull her out of class ant take her home."

"Ok," Botan agreed, "Call me on the mirror when you're done."

"Got it," I waved it off and ran to the door of the elementary school. Getting my sister out of class was easy. Getting her home would be a different story.

"What's going on?" Neema asked as we left the elementary school.

I scanned for Botan but there was no sign on her. I picked up my sister ant started running towards our apartment. "It's sort of complicated," I replied, "It's just not safe to be out in public right now."

"Why?"

"There's just a lot of stuff going on. I'd rather know you're safe at home than to worry about you," I tried as we rounded a corner.

"Where's da—ahh!" She screamed as an infected person jumped out from behind a dumpster at us. He howled and lunged rather robotically. I tightened one arm around my sister's waist and used the other to balance as I kicked him in the stomach. He flew back into the dumpster and I ran the other way.

"What's going on?!" Neema cried out scared.

"To put it simply, zombies."

"Zombies?!"

"Yes."

"Is daddy a zombie too?"

"Yes."

Tears broke through Neema's eyes as we got inside the apartment building. I set her up on the couch with snacks and the remote. "Neema."

She looked up at me in despair. The thing I loved about her the most I also hated, her ability to feel emotions as deeply as she did made things hard sometimes. I knelt down next to her, "Everything is going to be alright. I promise."

"How do you know?"

"Because Batman is working on it."

"I knew it! You do know Batman!"

"Yes, I do. But he can't help if you don't follow his rules."

"What are his rules?"

"One, you have to stay in the apartment. Two, don't open any doors or windows. Period. Three, ignore dad. He's harmless at the moment. If for some reason he gets loose, go out your bedroom window and down the fire escape. Then run."

"Ok."

"You got it all?"

"Yep! Don't go anywhere. Don't open anything. Escape plan if dad gets out."

I laughed a little, "I'll be back in a few hours."

"Where are you going?"

"To kick zombie ass, duh."

"Okay!" I watched my sister become absorbed into her television shows before I left. These quick, childish plans I came up with weren't going to work on her much longer. She's just about at that age where asking the "who's," "what's," and "where's" aren't enough. I locked the door and pulled out the mirror Botan had given me that morning. I opened the mirror and studied it; the inside was just as purple as the outside. The top half was a screen and the bottom half had three little red buttons to one side and a small speaker. I hit the first little red button and it starting ringing and the screen turned on.

"What now?!" Yusuke shouted as his face appeared on the little screen.

"Yusuke?" I yelled back in surprise. He was staring at me through the screen just as I had communicated with Botan earlier.

"Oh, hi Rhea!" He sounded more pleasant knowing I wasn't the grim reaper. "How're you calling me?"

"Moron," I groaned, "I can't believe the fate of our city is in your hands. Botan gave me one of these too."

"Hey!" Yusuke shouted in defense, "The Brainiac is over here," he handed his communication device over to Kurama.

Kurama looked curiously through the screen, "Yes, what is it?"

"Nothing, he's just being retarded. I called his mirror on accident. Doesn't really come with instructions, you know?"

"Oh," he replied lightly, "Well we're currently fighting the second beast now."

"Are you fucking serious? My dad's a fucking zombie and I just pulled my sister out of school so she wouldn't get infected too!" Kurama's face changed to one of more urgency. I noticed a rip in his jacket and realized he was holding himself together. "Is that a chest wound?"

"Abdomen," he corrected.

"You have a death wish, don't you?" I deadpanned.

A light chuckle was his response, "We're fighting as fast as we can."

I sighed, "Alright," and closed the mirror. How the hell am I supposed to know which of these calls Botan? I opened the mirror again and tried the second button this time. Botan answered shortly after that.

"Oh, Rhea!" she shouted.

"Where are you?"

"Between Eighth and Ninth Street."

"I'll be there in a few."

"Oh, Rhea?"

"What?"

"You should bring more bug spray."

"Why can't you just swat them?"

"Eww!"

I rolled my eyes and headed towards Eighth Street. When I stepped out onto the street I was greeted by two zombies. One had a machete. I really hope he doesn't realize that's a weapon… They seemed to have sensed me because they turned on me rather quickly. Well… Fuck. I kicked the first guy into the stairwell and had to jump out of the way of the machete. I threw my shoulder out to break my fall as I hit the ground in the street and used the curb to kick off of to help myself back up. I sprinted down the street avoiding cars. This confused the zombie and traffic came to a halt. I turned around and jumped up on a car and started back towards the zombie via car roofs until I landed my heel in the zombie's back as he tried to destroy someone's engine. The zombie dropped the machete and knocked his head against the hood. He was out. I picked up the machete and took off into an alleyway.

"Rhea!" Botan cheered coming up to meet me.

"Hey."

"That was Marvelous!"

"That's not really the word I'd use, but thank you. I think we should get out of here though."

Botan nodded, "M-hm!" We dipped in and out of allies until we were about five blocks away from the scene I had just caused. We posted up against a building and Botan pulled out her mirror while I surveyed the area.

"Yusuke, this is Botan. Do you copy?" she greeted the mirror.

"Sure," Yusuke replied grumpily.

"Hey!" An unfamiliar, dark, and raspy voice cheered from somewhere on Yusuke's side of the mirror. "Tell her I say hi!"

"How are things in Maze Castle? Please tell me you've defeated three out of the Four Saint Beasts by now," Botan ignored the man.

"What?! Are you crazy, Botan?" Yusuke whined. "We've barely beaten two. These guys aren't easy!"

"I understand, Yusuke, but that's not fast enough. The city is losing its grip. The mayor declared a riot alert, thinking these people are just insane. So far the police have detained most of those taken over by the Makai, but it won't be long until the police turn infected as well," she informed both Yusuke and me at the same time. I felt something in my mind tingle as I scanned the area again. I could sense two zombies behind us and one in front.

I turned and peered down the alleyway. "Looks like it's already got the police," I mused to myself, "Boy, I've always wanted to uppercut a cop!" I took off towards them and kicked one of them in the stomach. The other tried to grapple me and I tossed him over my head. The first got back up and charged with a baton. I ducked, missing his swing, and launched up into an uppercut with a grin. It felt like pure justice. The police zombie fell back and passed out. The second came back and grabbed my arm. I watched his hand reach for his gun and my sight went black.

I blinked the darkness away and the police zombie was face down on the ground with a missing hand. "Uh, Botan?" I managed as I realized what had happened.

She came over and turned the police zombie over. His hand wasn't the only thing that eroded away. "Oh, no," she gasped and stood up, "I thought I told you not to use your powers on the infected!" she cried.

"Yeah? I thought I told you I can't use my powers at will!"

"Then how are you eroding the bugs?!" She yelled back in a panic.

"I'm still trying to figure that one out!" I raised my voice as well. I stood back and took a deep breath, "Look, I saw him go for his gun and the next thing I knew he was like this." Botan sighed and called in to report the three zombies, the third being a civilian who approached from that opposite direction that Botan took care of. When she was done, she knelt down and started healing the gaping wound in the police zombie's side. "What are you doing?"

"I'm cauterizing the wound so he won't bleed out," Botan replied in a strained manner.

"That's the same type of energy you used to keep the eye from opening on Yusuke's girlfriend. I don't understand," I cut myself off trying to make sense of it in my head.

"It's called life energy," Botan squeezed through her discomfort. "It can be manipulated to do quite a bit… with the proper training." She ceased the transfer of power and slowly rose.

"Life energy? Why would Kurama not tell me about that?" I asked while starring down at the police man I had just scarred for life. I didn't feel any real guilt except for the fact that he was going to wake up uninfected today or tomorrow and never know how his hand went missing.

"Mm, probably because he doesn't want you to know about it," Botan replied pensively. "Learning how to use life energy is much more dangerous than learning how to use spirit or demon energy. The slightest mistake and you could die."

"Teach me."

"Not right now!"

"Of course not!" I paused, "And please."

"I'll think about it, but right now we should get out of here."

I nodded and looked back down at the police man's hand then proceeded to run away before the authorities showed up. We decided to go back to my apartment and grab some late lunch. My sister was right where I left her, only she had fallen asleep after eating too many snacks. She woke up right as we finished eating.

"Rhea!" she exclaimed.

"Good afternoon, sleepy head," I forced a smile.

"Did you beat up all the zombies yet?"

Botan and I tried not to chuckle at her sleepy excitement. "Not all of them, we got hungry."

"I don't think I'd be able to eat after killing zombies," she stated.

I laughed again, "Well it's a good thing you're not out there with us then."

"I want to! Can I?"

"No."

"Aaawww!"

"Neema," I warned.

"Okay," she pouted and switched the television from the news back to her cartoons.

Botan and I cleaned up after lunch and hit the streets again. The rest of the day was rather uneventful considering; we must have killed at least a hundred bugs and I lost count at eighteen for the zombies. We got back in near ten in the evening and practically collapsed on the floor. Chasing zombies and bugs is a lot more work than it sounds. I checked in on my father, who started trying to thrash around when I opened the door so I assumed he was as good as he was going to get. We went to sleep without much chit chat.

The next morning we awoke to the sound of an explosion. I ran to the sliding glass door in the living room and threw it open. Botan came up behind me to observe the high rise building a block down the street catch on fire. Neema at some point wiggled in between us and pressed herself against the balcony to get a better look. After a few moments I pulled her back inside and got ready for another long day of exterminating. Whoo.

By midafternoon the traffic on the roads and sidewalks was impossible to get through. Pretty much everything was starting to come to a complete halt. Botan and I agreed to weave in and out of the allies. We were nearing the end of an alleyway when a man collapsed next to the bustling square. Botan and I looked at each other in understanding and started creeping up to him. He growled and stood back up and walked out into the sidewalk. Botan sprinted after him and knocked him out with a metal bat. Then she gasped.

"What happened?" I asked while looking over the knocked out zombie.

"I forgot to report back to Koenma!" she announced and ran back into the alley.

"That guy?" I spat out like it was a nasty taste on my tongue. I still hadn't forgiven him for convicting me of a crime everyone knew I didn't do and then punishing me by forcing me into the Spirit Detective role as a human shield so Kurama could do his dirty work, which in return, meant I was doing the prince's dirty work too. Total Bullshit, by the way. "Hey," I followed Botan back into the alley.

"I'm afraid the news isn't good. The Makai insects are moving too fast for us to battle everyone who's been taken over," she was informing the mirror. I peered over her shoulder and realized I was being stared at by a toddler with "Jr." written on his forehead. Wait, who the fuck is this toddler? What the fuck does "junior" mean?! Oh… You can't be serious… "All I can do now is contain them into one part of the city."

"Then the toddler spoke, "Very well. We'll just have to hope Yusuke destroys the whistle before the city bursts into flames." I snickered the irony of that statement and he eyed me, "But that's no guarantee, so keep exterminating where you can."

"I understand. Over and out," Botan closed the mirror and gawked at me.

"Koenma… is a toddler? Your boss is a toddler?" I asked trying to not sound like I had just been bitch slapped by fate.

"He is not a toddler," Botan defended.

"We're screwed," I started laughing.

"Come on," Botan groaned, "They're becoming more violent." I nodded and we went back to business. Within an hour we were no longer the hunters. A gang of zombies latched onto us and started to charge. There were about six or seven of them. They threw rocks and knives as we ran away. Eventually we ran into a dead end. A chain-link fence and zombies… this day couldn't get any better, could it?

"Botan, climb the fence, I'll take care of these guys," I offered.

"But—," she started.

"GO!"


Hiropon: Essentially the Japanese Trademark for meth when they used it for military/medical purposes before they knew better. Using it in this chapter as a really nasty joke :P


MWAHAHAHAHA That burns, doesn't it?

I told you this shit would be coming out my ass for a while now that I got over that stupid writing hump.

Thank you so much for your always wonderful reviews coolstorybro7, Kairo Minamino, mrsbeggins, and Just 2 Dream of You.


AND YES, IT STILL APPLIES:

FOR EVERY REVIEW, IT'S ONE LESS CIGARETTE I SMOKE!

HELP ME QUIT!

It's been working! Not to mention my roommate turned my arm black and blue because I told her I wanted to associate the physical addiction with physical pain, and smoked 2…or 3 cigarettes (which is a lot less than I normally smoke while drinking) XD Basically what I do is I keep all the emails sends me notifying me of a review and I leave it in my mail box. Then when I've ignored a cigarette craving for over an hour (coming from someone who smokes ½ to a full pack a day an hour is about how often I smoke a cig) then I delete the message from my inbox. So for example with last chapter; I bought a pack of cigarettes right before I posted it. So I got 16 reviews since the last chapter posted and I have 6 reviews still in my mailbox. That means I've resisted the urge to smoke a cigarette 10 times :D Of course, I'm not quitting completely cold turkey, I don't have time to be bedridden with withdrawal symptoms for half a week and I already have anger management issues… Definitely threw someone into a wall the last time I tried to quit soooo…. Yeah…. But anyways!

PLEASE REVIEW!

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