Chapter 11
"So two vacant warehouses and one apprehended demon," Hiei ticked off the list, talking to Kurama through his communication mirror.
The red head nodded. "Kuwabara's team searched all over their warehouse but only found trace amounts of youki. My team managed to capture one of the criminals at our location. But Yusuke still hasn't reported in."
Hiei rolled his eyes. "The detective is probably lost."
"Has your team arrived at the warehouse?"
"We just got here." Suzuki and Kats stood next to Hiei, waiting for to move on.
"Then I'll leave you to it. Good luck."
"Hn." He closed the mirror and turned to the pair. "Let's get this over with."
The moment they entered the warehouse, Hiei knew there was something off. The warehouse was bare, no crates or machinery left behind. He began to feel another presence in the building.
"Someone else is here," Suzuki observed.
Hiei nodded. "Keep close."
They moved around the building slowly, aware of the eyes starring at them but unsure from where. As they neared the center of the building, Hiei looked up towards the ceiling. 'Too many shadows for this time of day,' he thought. He saw one shadow in the far corner move. His hand reflexively went to his katana. His teammates went into their own fighting stances. "Come out!" he shouted.
"You don't have to yell," a smooth, feminine voice answered from above. A pale skinned woman with red lips landed in front of them. She had short white hair and seemed completely drained of color except for her lips.
"Banshī," the woman introduced herself. "Or at least that's what they call me."
"I don't want to hear your life's story," Hiei snapped. "Tell us where your master is and I might let you live."
"Might?" Banshī laughed. "You're a brave little man if you think you can make me talk. Or stupid, I haven't decided which yet."
"Wrong answer." Hiei lunged at the woman with his sword, aiming for her stomach. But just when he thought he had pierced her, her body dissolved into black mist. He felt her lips next his ear.
"A banshee is a messenger of death, no one knows if they are responsible or if they are just there to escort to the afterlife."
Hiei swung around to face her, but froze. A woman with long golden hair and amethyst eyes was standing in front of him. 'Ren? But how?'
"Hiei! It's a trick!" Suzuki shouted as he prepared to attack. "Rainbow Cyclone!" Again, only black mist appeared where the woman had been standing.
Yusuke appeared to be standing next to Kats. "Come on kid, aren't you gonna at least try?" Kats backed away. "Dad?" He smiled as he brought up his fist and punched Kats in the face. The black haired girl raised her finger and began charging her energy into it.
The phantom Yusuke stood with his arms open at his sides. "Are you really gonna shoot your old man, Kats?" The girl's hands started to tremble. Hiei attacked the phantom from the side with his sword. The banshee's disappearance was bad timing on Hiei's part since Kats unleashed her spirit gun on him instead, knocking him through the warehouse wall.
"Oh crap!" Kats shouted.
"Keep focused!" Suzuki ordered. He blasted another cyclone at the demon who now wore the face of a fish girl.
"Suzuki," she pouted. "You wouldn't hurt me would you?"
"You're not real!" he shouted as black mist replaced the phantom.
"This isn't working," Kats said dejectedly.
Hiei groaned as he pushed himself off the ground. Gritting his teeth he ran back to the warehouse. 'Damn girl,' he thought. 'She has about as much brains as Yusuke.' When he returned, he saw his teammates wasting energy chasing phantoms. 'Fools, shadow demons send out projections.' His eyes went back to the ceiling where he spotted the banshee hiding in the shadows. He jumped and landed onto the rafters where he began making his way towards the woman.
The woman stood up and looked the fire demon in the eye. In a sweet tone she said, "Hiei, you used to be like us. Remember? You and Kurama stole those artifacts from Reikai and got arrested by that Spirit Detective? You didn't stay long in prison before that brat Koenma sent you off to assist your enemy. Doesn't it make you sick, working with humans?You never did get your revenge did you?"
"Revenge is for the weak," he spat. Hiei reached up and pulled off his head band. Removing his cloak, he revealed a bandaged right arm.
Banshī wagged a finger at him. "I wouldn't do that: do you want to risk this building coming down on you and your friends? And besides," she began to transform again, this time she appeared shorter with long black hair. "You wouldn't dare harm your own daughter, would you Daddy?" At her last words, her voice became more high-pitched.
Hiei shook his head. "Dammit you are not real! Fists of the Mortal Flame!" He then lunged at the demon with his flaming fists. The phantom didn't disappear this time. 'It's the real one now,' he thought. His fist connected with her stomach, followed by an uppercut. The banshee seemed stunned as she flew through the air and landed on the floor.
"Weak fool," he mumbled as he jumped down after her. Hiei reached down and grabbed the woman by her collar. She was back in her original form. "Depending so heavily on illusions, it makes me sick."
"No," she gasped. "You are the fool. This whole thing is an illusion."
"What?"
"Even your Jagan eye couldn't see."
"What are you talking about?"
"Open your eyes," she whispered.
Hiei felt like he was falling backwards but he never hit the floor. His head jerked forward and he saw he was lying on his back in the warehouse with Suzuki hovering over him.
"Finally," the inventor sighed. "You've been out for hours. When you came back inside, you looked like you entered a trance. I guess Kats's Spirit Gun really drained you."
"Where is Banshī?" Hiei croaked, his throat was unbelievably dry.
"Gone. We tried to fight her phantoms for so long, she managed to escape."
Hiei stood up and looked around. Something was wrong. "Where is Katsumi?"
Suzuki straightened but didn't look Hiei in the eye. "Banshī took her."
"Shit."
