Chapter 1 A New Assignment
(I do NOT own YYH or Fairy Tail)
It was all routine for Yusuke; wake up, get washed up, eat breakfast, open the Ramen stand at 10:30 and close it down after 7, go home, and eat dinner. After that, he had time to kill before going to bed. Sometimes he'd talk with Kuroko and Shogo or he would go out for a walk in the city. Even though he was free to be himself, however, things had gotten pretty quiet. Ever since relations between humans and spirits had mended, there were no longer any threats, minor or otherwise, for him to deal with. In truth, it seemed as though Earth no longer needed a protector, and the former Spirit Detective seemed to be wasting his time and energy.
In all actuality, however, it mattered not to Yusuke. The young Mazoku no longer found much joy in the activities tied to his ordinary routine. Not even the time he spent training with Kuroko and her children or even beating up thugs who appeared on the street gave him any pleasure. Without Genkai and Keiko, it seemed as though life lost all its' color and there was no real reason to stick around.
However, the young half born human was about to get an assignment that would turn things around, for better or for worse. It was on a warm night in August that he received a message from Botan, saying that Koenma requested his presence in Spirit World. As the two walked down the familiar hallway within the Gate of Decision, Yusuke felt a sense of nostalgia.
"Just like old times, eh Yusuke"? Botan asked as they walked.
"Heh yeah, except this time I'm not a ghost", Yusuke replied sardonically.
"Things certainly have changed since then", Botan noted, "This will be the first time in a while since you and Koenma talked face to face".
This was true, things between the spirit detective and the former prince had been shaky, at best. Ever since Koenma overthrew his father and took the throne, his and Koenma's friendship had been put on the rocks. Even though he was solely responsible for saving the Human AND Spirit Worlds multiple times, the fact that Yusuke had become a demon was too much to overlook. Sadly, it was for this reason that Yusuke and Koenma had not spoken to each other ever since.
The former Spirit Detective frowned as he closed his eyes.
"If he wanted to talk, he should have just came to me himself", he said bitterly.
"Come now Yusuke, would you really have talked to him even if he had"? Botan asked skeptically, raising a brow.
"...No", Yusuke said with a smirk, "But there's a thing called common courtesy, you know".
"And since when have you ever cared about common courtesy"? Botan asked.
"Hey! I'm all about common courtesty"! Yusuke argued, "I...well, I've never shot anyone in the back, and I make it a personal habit not to kick someone when they're already kissing the pavement".
"Oh yes, you're a real gentleman when it comes to brawling", Botan joked, raising a hand to her mouth to stifle a laugh.
"Oh shut up"! Yusuke huffed, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "What does he want anyway"?
"I'm not sure", Botan said with a surprised look, "But I can only surmise that it must be of great importance if he wishes to talk to you face to face".
"Hmm, well things have gotten pretty boring lately now that there's no more demons trying to invade the Human World", Yusuke said, scratching his cheek, "Guess we were due for another apocalypse".
"Just try to keep things civil", Botan said as they reached the door, "I'd rather not be in the middle between another one of your shouting matches".
"Hey, you know me, I'm all about keeping things civil", Yuske quipped, smirking as he put his hands behind his head.
Botan sighed as she opened the doors that led to the large office filled with ogres. Walking past all the rows of desks, Yusuke couldn't help but note the lack of change from the last time he was here. All the ogres were either signing forms, organizing files, or answering the phones. It just went to show that no matter how much things changed, the more things stayed the same.
The only real change came when Botan opened the door to Koenma's office. The layout of the room seemed to fit that of a king's throne room but at the same time it still resembled an office. Yusuke turned his attention to the large lounge chair lined with red velvet that sat behind the brown mahogany desk. There was Koenma, with the Mafuuken ring clenched between his teeth, sitting at his desk. As soon as their eyes locked, each of them bore a rather disconcerting scowl. Botan was particularly nervous, not knowing what would happen next.
"Long time no see, Yusuke", Koenma said in an uniterested tone.
"Yeah, it's been a while, hasn't it"? Yusuke said, his frown showing no sign of leaving his face.
"Well, at least their not at each other's throats", Botan thought, "That's a good sign".
"Let's cut to the chase, shall we"? Yusuke asked, folding his arms, "What do you want and who do I have to kill this time"?
"Straight to the point, huh? You certainly haven't changed", Koenma said in a bemused tone.
"Look, I got better things to do that waste my time here"! Yusuke exclaimed impatiently, "Now why am I here"?!
"Yusuke, calm down", Botan chided.
"Yes please, there's no need to be so hostile", Koenma agreed, "And to answer your question, you actually don't need to "kill" anyone".
"What"? Yusuke said in a confused tone, "Then what? Did you just call me here to shoot the shit? Chat about old times or whatever"?
"Quite the opposite", Koenma said, folding his hands, "I've asked you here so that I could tell you that you're reinstated as a Spirit Detective".
"I thought that my firing was permanent", Yusuke said confused.
"As Spirit Detective of Earth, yes", Koenma pointed out, "But this time, you'll be the Spirit Detective of a different realm".
"Is that so"? Yusuke said, "What, are you sending me to Demon World or something"?
"No, but to be honest, that would be a bit of an improvement for you", Koenma said in a joking tone.
An angry tic mark appeared on Yusuke's head as the new ruler of Spirit World hopped down from his chair and walked toward Yusuke with a file folder in hand.
"With the newfound peace between humans and spirits that you've helped manage to cultivate on Earth, I've decided to send you somewhere where I know you can be of better use as a Spirit Detective", Koenma explained, handing him the folder, "You'll find all the information you'll need in those files".
"Hmm", Yusuke said, looking at the file folder, "So where exactly are you sending me"?
"Somewhere you couldn't possibly imagine", Koenma said, walking back over to his desk and hopping on top of it.
"What are you talking about"? Yusuke asked.
Koenma had now caught the newly reinstated spirit detectives attention with this revelation. Even Botan was curious as to what the new ruler of Spirit World was referring to.
"There's a place I've been visited multiple times that will soon face rather harsh times of its' own", Koenma explained, "It's unlike any place you've ever been. The people there have skills and abilities that could rival and even dominate yours. Even Hiei could prove to be no match for some of them".
"What kind of people are we talking about here"? Yusuke asked, "Do they use Spirit Energy like me too"?
"No", Koenma replied, "These people are wizards, and their home is a world known as Earthland. Some of them have managed to hone their magical abilities to the point where they are masters in their own right".
Yusuke blinked his eyes before he suddenly burst laughing.
"Come on man, wizards"?! Yusuke chuckled, completely unconvinced, "There's no such thing as magic, it's all make believe"!
"Can you really afford to say that when you yourself have encountered things that would also be considered "make believe" "? Koenma asked, raising a brow, "And need I remind you where you are now"?
Yusuke suddenly stopped laughing. He hated to admit it, but Koenma had made a valid argument. A few years ago, if someone had told him he would find himself in a place like the Gates of Decision, he'd laugh his ass off and call them crazy.
"He's got a point, Yusuke", Botan piped up, "How can you afford to be cynical when you're friends with a fox spirit, a three eyed demon, and me, the grim reaper"?
"Okay, okay, you've made your point", Yusuke sighed as he held up his hands in defeat, "So, what exactly will I be doing in...uhh, where did you say I was going"?
"It's called Earthland", Koenma said, sighing at Yusuke's poor memory, "Anyway, you'll be doing the same thing you did as Spirit Detective on Earth; protecting humanity from supernatural incidents of a vile and malignant nature. Spirit World Intelligence says that Earthland will soon be put in grave danger on numerous occasions. I can't say for certain what they'll be or when they'll happen exactly, but I can only speculate that they will need someone of your caliber to aid them".
"Hold on a sec, didn't you say that there are wizards or that have honed their magic powers to become badasses or whatever"? Yusuke asked curiously, "If they've got so many heavy hitters, why would I need to go"?
"It's true that there are some wizards that have practiced their craft to the point where they themselves have become known for their power and strength, many of them lack the experience that you have", Koenma explained, "While many of them have gone through and even survived battles that would make any war you've heard about on Earth seem like a game of kickball on the playground, there aren't that many who are familiar with the kind of monsters you have faced. Evil spirits and demons are not as common in Earthland as they used to be, and a vast majority believe them to be nothing more than scary stories told to frighten children into behaving. Which is why they need someone there who knows otherwise, someone who's had experience fighting demons and spirits. Although there are people who have encountered and even battled demons that would make Toguro and Yomi seem like pushovers, the sad truth is that they are either too old or they serve the wrong side. Which is why, Yusuke, I have chosen you to be the new Spirit Detective of Earthland".
Yusuke was silent for a moment, because he was unable to comprehend the information given to him. A world of magic and wizards? Sounded like a loud of crap to him. But with all the things he's seen over the course of his time as Spirit Detective, anything seemed possible. That said, one singularly important question remained; should he go? He'd be living in a completely different world unlike that of Spirit World, the Demon realm, or even Earth for that matter.
Although, if he were being completely honest with himself, there wasn't really anything keeping him there. Keiko and Genkai were gone, Kuwabara and Kurama were gearing up for college, and he could only imagine what Hiei was doing. Aside from his mother, Kuroko, her family, and his job, there weren't that many things tying him down to his world. There was also the fact that the better relations between humans and spirits meant there was no foe left to look out for on Earth, and he had to admit, the boredom that came with that peace was starting to get to him.
Taking it all in, Yusuke slowly started to develop an interest in this proposition.
"If I'm going, I'll have to make a living, you know", Yusuke pointed out, "I'd be giving up the free room and board I've gotten while living with Kuroko and her family".
"I've already taken that into account", Koenma replied, "Earthland is filled with many guilds whose members are hired and even paid for various jobs that pertain to their skills and abilities. There are even several wizard guilds that have gained their societies' favor, and there's one guild I know personally that I think would be the perfect fit for you".
"And just what's the name of this "guild" anyway"? Yusuke asked.
"It's name...is Fairy Tail", Koenma replied in a soft tone.
Author's note: OK, now that the stage has been set, I've been thinking about some things regarding the next chapter. First of all, I want to say I LOVE Yu Yu Hakusho and would never want to try to change any of the characters in any way. Maybe a few tweaks here and there but I don't want to "rebuild" them. This is all in the way of me saying that I'm thinking of retconning some of the content in the next chapter. There's quite a bit of moments where Yusuke is a bit "emotional". I'm not saying he's having a breakdown or anything, no. It's way too early to even consider adding a moment like that. It's mostly just him being relatively kind and whatnot. I know as well as any other fan of the show that Yusuke's always been known as hard boiled, cynical, belligerent, basically the kind of protagonist that would have inspired Jotaro Kujo.
But keep in mind, one of the biggest focus's on the story is Yusuke's character development. Basically, his slow but sure evolution from the closed off loner to that of a more open and self assured adult. Think back to the end of the Demon Tournament arc, the narrator said that Yusuke was growing up. So, in a sense, I could probably be staying true to the vision. I'll think on it some more. Either way, I'll try to make it to where it's not so schmaltzy. I don't want him going soft, after all.