Chapter Eight: Ruckus
Higurashi Shrine - Tokyo, Japan - October 2011
"Trespassing? Hehe, no, no, we're just trying to visit the shrine! And what's this about demons? You guys are so committed to this act! Haha, what a silly greeting," Kuwabara stuttered nervously.
Yusuke shot his partner a deadpan look and stared at the young man who stood at the top of the thirty-or-so steps that led to the actual shrine. He seemed harmless enough except for the whole demon thing; if the guy hadn't said anything, Yusuke would never have been suspicious. Around twenty five years old? Definitely under thirty and kind of tall (just a few inches shy of Kuwabara, maybe?). Standard dark hair, dark eyes, and the basic robes of someone who worked at a shrine. He didn't really have a memorable face, either, but the smile he wore was definitely unsettling the crap out of Yusuke. The detective exchanged looks with Kurama while Hiei stood unwavering.
"We're here from the Reikai to investigate suspicious activity on these grounds," Kurama politely explained. "We don't mean to trespass and would like your permission to enter and collect what we need. We should be out of your hair soon." They could find out information on him later, the fox thought to himself. Right now, the Shikon.
"Wow, that was very diplomatic of you! You must be some kind of snake or kitsune! They're the only two who would think to talk their way out of something like this. Unfortunately for you punks I'm not falling for it and you'll need to get back to your tiny baby boss asap and tell him the bad news."
Kurama and Hiei simply stared while Yusuke and Kuwabara bristled at the man's response. The man was overly cheerful-and a little rude, Kuwabara thought-about turning them away. Yusuke turned to his team to talk to them.
"This guy is seriously starting to creep me out with his smiling. I know Koenma is stressed out over this, but we need to either force our way in right now or come back with Koenma's permission to force our way in. I don't want to cause a scene, but we're sort of out of options."
Hiei remained silent through all this, surveying the mysterious man who had forbid them from entering. Clearly nothing remarkable, but no human should know so much about the Reikai, if at all. He didn't smell or feel like a demon, either, but Hiei wouldn't put it past the Reikai to misplace or lose track of one here and there. In one swift motion he sped up the stairs and grabbed a handful of the green haori the man wore only for it to disintegrate in his hands along with the rest of his target.
"I tried to be nice, but you're forcing me to be mean, you little shit," a disembodied voice boomed. "If you keep me here too long, I'll only have an hour left to sweep up all these leaves and get everything ready for the day!"
The three other detectives ascended the steps and stood at the top, looking for the source of the sound. Hiei was beyond pissed that he had been fooled and sped around the perimeter of the shrine while Kurama tried to use the plethora of plants in the vicinity to reach out and feel around for the man. Suddenly, the vines and roots he had so easily controlled turned against him and wrapped him securely in their hold. He looked around for anything he could use to free himself, but gave up resisting when he saw the fire demon wrapped up next to him.
"Trying to manipulate my plants? I wrote that trick!"
"Hey! Stop hiding and come out! Fight us like a real man!" Kuwabara's spirit sword came shooting out of his fist and he looked around for any sign of their foe.
"Yeah, fight us face to face!" Yusuke was getting pretty fed up with this guy toying with them and started to charge up his famous spirit gun.
"I don't have to fight you," the voice said again. "You guys are too easy! Too young! Too eager to fight! Your fox friend was on the right path by being polite, but now I'm getting tired of playing with you and I'm going to tell you again to leave."
Yusuke and Kuwabara yelped as the ground seemed to open up and swallow them, leaving them bodiless heads in the concrete. As much as they struggled, they couldn't feel their arms or legs-just nothing. A pair of wooden geta appeared in their range of vision and they both turned as much as they could to look at the owner.
"You jerks think you can go gallivanting around someone else's property? You think trespassing is some kind of joke? Because I don't take lightly to people with bad intentions coming here to terrorize these nice folks. I don't know how many more times or ways I can say that to you, but you need to leave."
The whoever-he-was pulled a piece of paper out of his haori and handed it to Yusuke, who found that he and his teammates were miraculously freed (how did someone get spit out of concrete and not realize it, he wondered?). He hesitantly took the pristine sheet, feeling a hard wax seal keeping it closed. Would it blow up if he tried to peel it off? The stranger turned to walk away, but not before a few parting words.
"Take that to Koenma and tell him to leave us alone. I don't want to have another altercation with him and obviously he needs to be reminded of our agreement. You pipsqueaks can go now."
Kurama held out an arm, blocking Hiei from attempting another attack. 'Let's come back at a later time. It was a mistake to drop in here without scouting out the area first. We'll confer with Koenma and return when we're more prepared.' Hiei grit his teeth and took his hand off the hilt of his sword. 'Fine. But I am not going to waste my time like this again.' This time it was the fox's turn to clench his jaw. Why was everyone on this team so childish? He breathed deeply and dusted off his suit.
"Yusuke, call Botan and have her come get us."
"What? We're just going to leave? We don't even know who this guy is!" Kuwabara's yelling was making him almost as blue as his jeans and Yusuke was getting there just as quickly.
"Yeah, we can't just leave! What's wrong with you? Koenma sent us here for that stupid jewel and we're going to get to the bottom of it!"
The sun was higher in the sky now and the warmth of its rays made them all realize how cold and tired they were. The man, however, seemed unphased. He looked briefly over his shoulder at the detectives and smirked.
"I'll help you finish your quest. Give that letter to Koenma," he repeated. "And then poof, mission over. You're welcome."
And with that, he continued his walk back to the shrine and left the four confused and upset. Yusuke pulled his communication device out of his pocket.
"Botan, come pick us up at the Higurashi shrine. No, no answers yet, just questions for Koenma."
The reaper came within seconds and did a double-take at their tattered and dirty clothing.
"My, my, looks like you guys had quite the ball here!"
"Just take us back to the office, Botan."
