Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or Darker than Black

"Good, you two are dismissed." Rin got up from her seat along with another and walked out the door. Though she wasn't able to see through the lens of her past self, she already knew who followed behind her.

Once out the door a quiet voice sounded behind her and she turned around to face the owner. "I look forward to working with you, Rin."

Rin didn't return the polite gesture, but instead stood stock straight. "What would you have me do for the remainder of the day?"

He waved a hand as if to dismiss her and started walking away. "Take the rest of the day off. I expect you in the training room at 0400 sharp."

Rin watched his retreating figure as spots of black began to fill her vision. "What is he doing to her?" she heard. The spots grew bigger, blotching out majority of the scene in front of her.

"Tell me!" she heard again. The voice sounded familiar. The hall in the Syndicate headquarters completely vanished and almost immediately light streamed into her vision.

"I demand an explanation! What is he doing to her?" Yoh. Is that Yoh? "If you've done anything to hurt her I will kill you!"

Slowly, Rin's vision started to come back into focus. She wondered if she was revisiting another memory, but didn't recognize which one. As her eyes got adjusted to the sunlight she found herself looking at a broad, albeit petite, chest clad in black. A few seconds later she could feel two fingers against her forehead, pushing her head back so that it leaned against the tree behind her.

Hiei released his hold on Rin and stood up. The woman in front of him fell and landed on her side. "Hn."

Yusuke let go of Yoh and he rushed over to Rin and sat her up letting her lean back against his chest as he tilt her face towards him to see if any damage was done.

"What did you find?" Yusuke asked as he watched the pair on the ground.

"Nothing I need, but you might want to ask her what other secrets she's hiding. Seems she's been holding back from even you." Hiei looked down at Yoh who returned the gesture.

Yoh turned back to the conscious, but limp woman in his arms. "What is he talking about?"

Rin didn't answer, but instead continued to stare ahead at nothing in particular. Yoh shook her slightly to get her attention. "Rin, answer me."

Completely ignoring Yoh she slowly got up and dusted her pants with her hands. "Are you satisfied? Did you find all the proof you needed?" No one had to ask to know whom that question was directed at.

Hiei said nothing and just sent a menacing glare her way.

"Hey, don't change the subject. What is Hiei talking about? Are you hiding something again?"

Rin tensed at Yusuke's question and it didn't go unnoticed by Yoh.

"Why don't you tell them who Jinen is?" Hiei said, his glare long gone was replaced by a knowing smirk.

"Takenaga-san where are we going?" Rin tried her best not to trip and fall as Shin pulled her through the crowded hallway of the science building hastily. He rounded a corner and went through a set of glass double doors. The hallway beyond this point was almost deserted. He dragged her to the furthest door on the left and went inside.

From the looks of it Rin could tell she was just taken to an empty lab room. Four black counter tops each covered in an array of beakers and test tubes, cabinets with glass doors lined the walls above the shelves with more supplies. Shin cleared his throat and that brought her attention back to the only other person in the room.

"Do you want to explain to me how this Jinen is your brother?"

"Well, Jinen is just a nickname. My parents gave it to him when he was just little. He often went by that name growing up though."

Shin walked over and leaned back on one of the counters, careful to not knock anything down. "And you're sure this," he waved the folder of signed documents in his hand, "is him?"

"Who else could it be? No person, especially Japanese, would name their kid Jinen."

Shin stood in silence, contemplating what this mean.t. When he stayed silent too long Rin started to get worried. "Umm, is my brother in trouble?"

"Not exactly, but I would like to know why he signed off on my paper work. These papers were only meant for my lab partners and professor. There are other exceptions of course but..."

"I understand." Rin started to look a little slum. She casted her glance downwards as if in shame.

"Here's an idea, how about we walk around campus and see if we can find him. These were only submitted this morning so there's a chance he's still here."

Shin gave her a smile, "It's worth a shot."

Shin and Rin made their way back to the lab they first came upon. "I'll just put these away and then we can head out."

"Sure, take your time."

After Shin shut the door behind him he made a quick walk through of the lab to make sure no one else was inside. When he confirmed that not a soul was in there with him he pulled out a cellular device from his pocket and dialed Jin's number.

"Hello?" came Jin's monotone voice.

"Jin? It's Shin. I need you to look up a Jinen for me, Jinen Shibata. See if you can find any connections to the university."

"Got it."

Shin hung up the phone and walked back out to meet with Rin. "Shall we?"

"Who is Jinen?" Yoh asked with narrowed eyes.

"Nobody you need to concern yourself with." Rin was trying her best to avert attention away from the topic. She didn't like the position she was put in. Silently, she scowled to the man that had made her life more complicated.

"The demon seems to think otherwise." Yoh got up from the ground and walked over to Rin. She looked up at him and saw the face that demanded an answer. "You will tell me who this Jinen is and you will say so without holding anything back."

"Or else what?" She spat. "Are you going to report me to the Syndicate for sabotaging an assignment? Are you going to tell Yamori about how we ended up teaming with demons too? When was the last time you even reported to him?"

"That is none of your concern." Yoh spoke through gritted teeth.

"And neither is this. Leave the name alone. It has nothing to do with our objective."

"I beg to differ, and I never beg." Hiei decided he found an opportunity to jump in on the conversation. Rin shot him a stink eye.

"I'll permanently paralyze you where you stand." she threatened.

"Try me." Hiei countered.

"You test my patience every time you open that mouth of yours, do you know that?"

Hiei smirked at the remark, not in the least bit annoyed, rather he was entertained. "No I don't, but now that I do I feel that I'm more inclined to speak my mind."

Rin clenched her hands into fists so tight that the leather gloves began to squeak. Tiny sparks were seen dancing around her knuckles. "I will tolerate this no further." Just as she was about to lunge for the fire demon her balance was thrown off by the ground shaking beneath her. Rin looked up to see if the others had felt it too and judging by their wary stances she didn't just imagine it.

"What was-" Before Yusuke could finish his sentence an explosion was heard in the distance. Everyone's head snapped in the direction of the sound.

Hiei disappeared into the tree tops and scanned the area. Smoke streamed into the air and sparks of fire caught the edges of what use to be there, the bridge.

"Hiei, what do you see up there?" Yusuke called out from the ground. Instead of answering him Hiei ran towards the direction of the explosion. "Hiei!" Yusuke screamed but to no avail.

Rin and Yoh ran in the same direction. Upon exiting the foliage the two contractors walked out onto the main road. Neither said a word as they watched the chaos before them. Yusuke joined them in the shock.

Cars lined the street and some were even turning around to head back east. People weaved in and out of the lines running and trying to get to safety. Behind the rush of civilians was a big black cloud of smoke that only continued to grow. Dim flickers of orange light reflected off the massive cloud indicating a fire.

"Somebody, call help!" Their attentions snapped over to the voice of a man covered in soot running for his life. Yusuke stepped in front of him to block his path.

"Whoa, slow down. What happen?" he tried his best to sound calm.

"The bridge exploded!" The man exclaimed in between breaths. "Everyone that was on it has gone under." He wheezed and leaned forward, resting his hands on his knees, "Some of the cars that weren't on the bridge got caught up in the explosion. It's causing a chain reaction!" Suddenly catching his second wind the man stood straight and grabbed onto Yusuke's shoulders. "If we don't get out of here quick we'll get caught up in it!"

Another explosion went off and another staff of smoke filled the air. The man let go of Yusuke and ran past the group. He looked behind him and spoke without slowing down, "As long as there are cars lined up the explosions won't stop. Get running!"

Yusuke whipped his head around and looked at Rin. "We can't just stand here. We gotta do something!" Both nodded their head and started running towards the fire.

Hiei ran off the side of the road, weaving through the trees so that he remained out of sight. His senses were on full alert, trying to maintain his grasp on the energy signal he managed to pick up when the first explosion happened. He could feel it coming closer with every second. He was about to pick up the pace when something made him stop abruptly. His head snapped right then left. Suddenly, the energy signal he had been following multiplied. A second one was coming from the same direction as the one he was heading towards and the other from his left. He concentrated a little more and was able to pick up the original signal again, but it too soon blended with others. Hiei clicked his tongue in annoyance and darted out of the forest to get a bearing on his surrounding area. He stopped when he heard a loud groan coming from the main street. Turning to look he saw the ground before him split.

Rin pushed her way through the crowd of people, Yoh and Yusuke following from behind. Everyone was either crying or scream all while running for their lives. She didn't miss the scene when a man had tripped and fell. No one stopped to help him up, a mass of people crushing the poor civilian under their feet. Rin's balance was thrown off a moment later. Everyone around them became silent, listening to the rumble coming from the ground.

Straight ahead, Rin spotted a piece of the road split across the lanes, the force pushing both cracked ends up so that it created a hill. Cars from either sides of the split toppled down and landed on the cars behind them. What- Rin thought, but immediately rephrased her question when she saw the person responsible for the sudden earth quake.

Off to the side Hiei spotted a man leaning over with one knee on the floor. He had his opposite hand placed on the ground in front him. He followed the man's line of vision and found it directing towards the sudden split in the earth. He sensed the same the aura coming from the man as the one he had been following earlier. Must be one of them. He retreated to just behind the tree line so he could continue to observe the spectacle before him. "Let's see what these contractors are made of."

Rin zeroed in on the man off the side of the road, he was bent over on one knee. It would be easy to mistaken him for an injured person, but judging from the focus in his eyes she could tell that wasn't the case. "Yoh!" She yelled over the screams. Rin pointed over to the man and Yoh whipped his head in the directed indicated. He squinted his eyes to get a better look, but they soon widened in recognition.

"He's one of us. Yusuke, we have to split up. Do whatever you can to contain the situation but most importantly, keep out of sight!"

"Okay!" Yusuke saluted. He ran off to the left, Rin saw him head into the direction of the fallen man. She refocused her attention to Yoh.

"What do you suggest we do?"

"I want you to get on the other side of the river and see if you can sto-" another explosion interrupted him, but Rin was quick to catch the order. She left his side and started running for the river.

It didn't take long for Rin to reach the now non-existing bridge. Carefully, she peaked over the edge to see the damage done. Rin didn't bat and eyelash as she over looked the rubble and pile of cars in the river below. The few people that did survive the fall she could see trying to scramble atop of some of the vehicles. Luckily for them the current wasn't strong. They will be okay for now, she thought. She brought her attention back to the matter at hand and that was getting across to the other side. The next bridge was not an option. It would be miles along the river and Rin had no time for that. She looked down at the river again. The current wasn't strong, perhaps she could swim across. It wasn't ideal, but it would have to do.

Rin ran off the road and down the river a ways so that she was out of view from most of the crowd. She reached the line of trees and shed her coat. Throwing it into the bushes she proceeded to remove her shoes.

"What are you doing?" a familiar voice sounded behind her.

Without turning around she answered him while removing the first boot. "I need to cross the river."

"What for?"

Annoyance tickled the end of her nerves. She stood up and faced the fire demon behind her. "To chase after the one responsible. Why else?"

"And how exactly do you plan on crossing without your shoes?" Hiei showed no signs of amusement on his face.

"I'll swim across. Now if you'll excuse me." She bent down to remove her other boot, but was interrupted when his arm hooked around her waist. He hoisted her atop his shoulder, her legs dangling in front of him. Rin looked to the side and saw him grab her other boot.

"What are you-ah!" The words flew out of her mouth as suddenly the ground in front of her had disappeared. Colors flew past her in a flurry. Rin couldn't make out what was going on. It seemed like everything was happening so fast that her brain couldn't quite catch up. She felt pressure on her stomach as his shoulder dug in deep creating an uncomfortable feeling in her gut, but the feeling soon passed when she found herself flying across the river.

Hiei used his speed to help launch himself and the woman across the river. It was much too easy for him considering the width of the river wasn't too wide. Like an agile cat, he landed on his feet without the slightest stumble and dropped the woman from his shoulder. She fell on her side to the ground with an oomph. The woman made no move to get up as she was still trying to recover from the sudden rush of movement.

Hiei watched her as she slowly got to her feet. "Thank you." she said as she reached out a hand. He handed her the boot.

"Hn."

"Look out!" someone shouted. "It's going to explode!"

Rin and Hiei turned their heads in the direction of the voices. Down the road they spotted a car on fire. A stack of smoke was rising from the hood. Seconds later Rin felt slight movement of earth when the car had finally detonated. Pieces covered in flames scattered everywhere, catching onto nearby vehicles and setting those a flame as well.

Rin quickly put on her boot and ran towards the cars. "Running towards a disaster isn't the smartest choice here." Hiei called out to her.

"You're looking for him aren't you?" Rin stopped running and turned around to face Hiei. "I know what it was you were running after, or rather, who and you are right to think so. I know who caused this and now I am surer than anyone that he is the same person you should be going after."

Hiei didn't say a word. He just looked at her, waiting to see where she was getting with this.

"We're after the same person. Why don't we help each other?"

"And why would I ally myself with you? You've already proven yourself to be untrustworthy."

"Did that trip down memory lane teach you anything? No one knows him like I do. I am the only one with any chance to get to him."

Hiei snorted. He dawned a haughty smirk and spoke in a condescending tone. "And what makes you so special? I far surpass you in any physical activity, my spiritual energy is numerous compared to yours, and my physical body can withstand much much more than what that scraggly one of yours is capable of." Hiei stepped closer, "I can circle you a hundred times over, and I can crush your bones to ash with my bare hands." He took another step and then another. "I can penetrate your mind and show you fear like you've never seen, I can even eat you whole." He was standing inches from her now. Rin tilted her head back to look at him. He sneered at her from above. "I outclass you in every way possible. So tell me why it is only you that can capture someone who would probably fall at the flick of my finger."

Without even flinching Rin replied with a flat, "Wit."

Hiei let out a low growl from the cavity of his chest, his lips pulled back slightly as he spoke through clenched teeth. "What?"

"Though it is impossible for me to match you in physical prowess there is one area that I am capable of excelling at." Clearly not intimidated by his act Rin closed the remaining gap between them. She could feel the heat emit off of him in waves. Was this normal for him? "I know how he thinks. I know how his brain works. I know what makes him jump and I know what makes him sleep at night. I am the only one suited for this assignment." Rin cocked her head to the side and stepped back. She took a second for her eyes to roam his body. She found his stature tense, his eyebrows knit, and his jaw clenched. "Are you offended?" She asked.

Hiei didn't move an inch. As slightly uncomfortable as he was with being this close to her he couldn't give her the satisfaction of showing it.

After receiving no response Rin continued, "Does it anger you knowing that a simple human such as I has the ability to surpass you, a powerful demon with the strength of a thousand men and speed as fast as lightning?" Again, Hiei did not respond. "Do not underestimate me just because I am human, I am just as capable as you. My body may be scraggly, but my mind is sharp and I know how to use it well." Rin could feel the heat around her increase into an uncomfortable degree. She couldn't tell if it was because of the fires around them or because she had intentionally ticked a nerve of the man in front of her.

Hiei was completely enraged at this point that he couldn't even move, afraid that if he did he would tear her heart out first thing. In all his living years and across the expanse of two worlds never had anyone spoken to him like she had. Was he conscious? Was the woman in front of him just a figment of his imagination? Was this just a nightmare and he was actually sleeping in a random tree back in the Makai?

Hiei's hands opened up from their tighten fists and began to raise them, aiming for the pale area of bared skin that is, and soon to be was, her throat but before he even knew it he had grasped onto thin air. He blinked once, then twice. The woman had her back turned and was once again heading in the direction of the explosion. Hiei was so angry that he couldn't see clearly. When did she start walking away?

The woman turned around and watched him with careful eyes as he lowered his hands. "If we are going to catch him then I need you to set aside our differences. The faster you work through that the better. There's no telling how far he could be now." She flicked her gaze back up to his face before turning around.

Hiei watched her walk away for a few moments before following.

But little did they know how wrong Rin had been, for it would seem that the two had more in common than they could ever imagine.

Yoh ran up to the contractor kneeling on the ground and grabbed his wrist. "What do you think you're doing this out in public?"

The man looked at Yoh, slightly confused by his question.

"Go back to HQ and let the authorities handle the rest." The man slowly and wearily got up. "And don't bother reporting the incident, lest you don't mind being interrogated by the council."

The man got up and withdrew from the scene. Yoh sighed in relief and continued his way to the river.

Most of the pedestrians had already escaped the wreckage. Yoh was pretty much the only one left on the site. Everything within a three mile radius was in ruin. Abandoned cars scattered all over the now wrecked road, debris littered almost every inch of ground that was left. Yoh jogged the rest of the way to the river and stopped when could proceed no further. He had sent Rin to other side in hopes she could somehow catch up to the perpetrator, figuring she could handle herself just fine he made a turn and ran back to find Yusuke.

"How much further?" Rin asked, perched on the demon's back.

She had managed to convince him to carry her the rest of the way if they were going to catch the perpetrator. Since crossing the river in a flurry Rin was quite impressed, and now well informed, about the incredible speed the demon possessed. Using him to get their target would be the most logical decision. That, and because of his ability to sense spiritual energies, auras, whatever, she thought.

"Just up ahead." Hiei made one last leap from the tree branch and landed in a crouch. Rin heard a gasp, but didn't see who it came from since she had her eyes closed the entire time, the force of the wind making it too hard to keep them open. She slid off his back and took a second to recuperate. Finally able to stand straight she rested her eyes on the man she had been looking for.

"Rin, what a pleasant not-surprise."

Hiei recognized the face of the man in front of them though he has aged since the memory. He waited for Rin to register the presence before them, but the name that came out of her mouth wasn't the one he had heard in her flashbacks.

Her eyes hardened at his greeting, clearly not amused. "Shizen."

I apologize for the delay in updates, again. It's just that I've finally caught up to my writing and it's taking a bit longer to edit and go through stuff. Please review and let me know how it goes. Thank you!