Chapter One: In which Koenma talks a lot but doesn't do much else (so no change, really)

I really need a new assistant, Koenma thought.

"Can I have my assistant bring you something to drink?" he asked.

"I do not drink," his guest said. He looked young, but Koenma could feel energy off him that was hundreds, maybe thousands of years old.

That's one hell of a facelift, he thought. Though I guess I'm no one talk.

"Then would you like to sit?"

"There is no need," his guest said.

Well, that's a bit rude, Koenma thought. I am the Prince of the Spirit World. How many pacifiers do I have to suck to get some respect?

"My superiors have asked me to explain our concerns to you," he said. "The half-breed Yusuke Urameshi has intentions to marry a human girl."

"Yes, his girlfriend Keiko," Koenma said. "I've been invited to the wedding. They've been together for"

"We cannot let that happen," the envoy said, cutting Koenma off. "The boy is an abomination, and his dormant genes have awoken. If he perpetuates those genes the results would be catastrophic. We're having him quarantined. Personally I would have had him killed, but my superiors wish there to be a just means. He must be made to repent."

"You can't do that," Koenma said. "He's saved our world more times than I care to count. He's earned some peace."

"With all due respect, you can hardly stop us," the envoy said. "We do not recognize the Spirit World's authority in matters like this. Your father has already agreed to our proposal, and even if he hadn't, it wouldn't have mattered. My coming to you is nothing more than a courtesy call, because further relations with you will be far in the future but inevitable, when you inherit your father's throne."

Koenma slumped down in his desk and ran his fingers through his hair, sucking furiously at his pacifier. What am I going to tell Yusuke? How can I face him? He knew this messenger was right. He had no authority over these beings. No one did. He was powerless.

"Yusuke has very powerful and very dangerous friends," he said. He was grasping at straws now, but he owed it to Yusuke to at least try to talk them out of it. "They will not take kindly to you falsely imprisoning him and then you may have caused more trouble than you prevented."

"If you mean the fox thief and the three-eyed swordsman, they will be accompanying the half-breed," the envoy said. "No doubt that will be a comfort to the three of them, and my superiors don't care for the direction in which their abilities are headed. This action we are taking is both precautionary and penal. The three of them are the very definition of original sin; in its most extreme form: the only reason the swordsman was born is through his mother's evil frailty, and the only reason he survives is through his desire to destroy. The spirit fox's desire and ability to escape his righteous and richly deserved punishment is disturbing, and he survives still because of his theft of a boy's soul, now lost forever. He robbed an innocent woman of her chance to raise a human son who would not look down on her."

"Kurama would do anything for his mother," Koenma said. The envoy held up his hand.

"The half-breed Yusuke was engendered of a truly disgusting and abominable act, the union of a demon with a human," he said. "Their very essence is sinful, and the fact that they have grown more powerful as a result of this sinful essence is a blight on the world's soul that should never have been allowed to continue. We are rectifying this. They may still be alive, but they must stay alive in order to repent now. In some ways, where they are going, they will no longer exist. They will be kept alive, to feel this non-existence."

Koenma thought for a moment. He had to give it another shot, for Yusuke's sake.

"You know Hiei is the right-hand man of Lord Mukuro, right?" he said. "She is very old and very powerful, more powerful than Hiei, probably. Take Hiei from her and there is no telling what she will do."

"The demoness does not concern us," the envoy said. "She is getting older and calmer, and the calmer she grows, the more her power diminishes, while Hiei's own power continues to grow exponentially."

"But Hiei is what brought her that calm," Koenma said. "Take him away from her and she will be more dangerous than ever."

"At any rate, Mukuro will not be a problem," the envoy said. "We have taken steps to prevent any resistance from her."

"What steps?"

The messenger did not answer, and the silence was so thick and sickly that Koenma could have sucked it away like candy-coating. Koenma's shoulders slumped, and he rubbed a hand over his eyes. Yusuke, I'm sorry, he thought. I'll do everything I can to get you out. But it's out of my hands now.

The messenger bowed. "I regret having to inform you of this," he said. Despite his words, there was no trace of sincerity in his voice. "I know the half-breed has done great favors for humanity, which is why he will be given the opportunity to repent. But there is no way to prevent this, and they cannot be set free unless and until we let them out."

The messenger turned to leave.

Koenma thought he knew the answer, but he asked the question anyway.

"Where are you taking them?" he said.

The messenger paused and did not turn around. "Sinner's World," he said.