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Chapter II--The Search
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The four Spirit Detectives had no sooner gone out the door when it stopped raining. They looked up in surprise; they had totally forgotten about the dismal weather.
"Well, _that_ was convenient," Yusuke said, stepping in a puddle. The sun was starting to shine brightly. "This kind of thing doesn't normally happen in Tokyo, does it? I've overslept a little too much to really know what goes on around here."
"Not that I'm aware of," Kurama replied. "It's too bad Koenma didn't tell us where to start searching. Nariko could be anywhere."
Kuwabara shook his head, disgusted. "This blows! She could be on the other side of town, for all we know!"
"Um...Kuwabara, actually, I was thinking of a bigger picture," Kurama said patiently. "As in, she could be on a different country. Or even a different continent, for that matter."
Yusuke groaned. "Oh shit...this could take a while. Next time I see Koenma, I'm going to kill him."
Just then, a bubbly voice spoke up behind him.
"Well, we don't want you to do _that_! I doubt if Koenma-sama would appreciate that very much!"
They all turned to see who the speaker was. It was a pretty girl with blue hair, sitting on a floating oar.
"Hey, Botan-chan," Kuwabara said, surprised. "What are you doing here?"
Botan slid off of her oar. "Well, Koenma-sama was a few details shy of telling you about the whole mission--"
Hiei snorted. "So we'd noticed."
"--so I thought I'd better come and see if I could help you boys out." She smiled cutely...well, as cutely as the Grim Reaper can smile, anyway.
"Like how?" Yusuke asked her skeptically. "Do you know how to use any weapons that actually work around demons?"
Botan sighed, exasperated. "No, you baka, I have some clues to Nariko's whereabouts."
"Oh. Where could she be, then?"
The young ferrywoman pulled a guidebook out of the folds of her pink kimono, flipping through the pages. "Well, Nariko's a Lightning demon, right? The good thing about Lightning demons is that they don't like to relocate much...so if there's been weather trouble here in Tokyo, she'd probably be somewhere around here, causing it."
"We've been having storms at least twice a day all this month," Kurama supplied. "Maybe she's causing them."
Botan nodded, flipping through her guidebook again. She read a page in it, looking thoroughly surprised and put out. "Huh."
Kuwabara looked at her. "What's up?"
Botan shook her head. "It says here that the Lightning demon race killed each other off five hundred years ago. They were an extremely violent race, which is why it's so important that you have to exterminate its last remaining member. Nariko could kill every person in Tokyo with a snap of her fingers...it's a wonder she hasn't done it already." She sighed again, but this time in disapproval. "To tell you the truth, I disagree with Koenma-sama's wish to eliminate her."
"Well, this is new." Hiei smirked at her. "Koenma's flunky disagreeing with him."
Botan ignored him. "I don't understand why he would want to kill her. Nariko's the last of her kind and she hasn't done anything wrong as of yet, and she seemed like a good person."
"'Seemed'?" Yusuke asked, flabbergasted. "You've met her?"
"Well, of course," Botan said, frowning at him. "And I feel sorry for her."
Kuwabara scratched his head. "But Koenma said that she was...what was it..."
"Verbally abusive." Kurama finished for him. The taller boy nodded. "Yeah, that's it. Anyway, if she was what Kurama said, why would you feel sorry for her? Didn't she just insult you?"
"No," Botan said, shaking her head. "She only insults the people she feels she might get close to. We were all right because she was quite sure that she would never see me again."
"But why do you feel sorry for her?" Yusuke asked. Botan pursed her lips.
"Because she's been through a lot and she's misunderstood, that's why," she said flatly. "But I'm getting off track. I would advise you to go to the Tokyo Shopping Plaza first."
"But there are so many people there," Kuwabara argued. "Wouldn't she be easily seen, if she's a demon?"
"Nariko is a master of disguise; there's not much that she couldn't turn into," Botan said. "And she's extremely intelligent. She would go to the Plaza for exactly the reason that Kuwabara said. There are so many people there, nobody will notice her."
"Then how, do tell, are we supposed to find her?" Hiei asked dully. Botan opened her mouth to answer, but Kurama beat her to it.
"Lightning demons can't suppress their energy levels very well," he said. "If she had, say, an energy level of 200, the best she could lower it to would be about 170. Not much of a change there."
Botan nodded. "I couldn't have put it better myself. Anyway, you four should go now. Remember, she'll probably be at the Tokyo Shopping Plaza. Good luck!"
They watched her soar off into the heavens for a moment, then turned to each other.
"Luckily, we're not too far from the Plaza," Kurama said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "And since she's a strong demon, all we'd have to do is stand outside the entrance and we'd know if she was there or not. Her energy would stand out." They started to walk.
"I wonder what Botan meant when she said that Nariko was misunderstood," Kuwabara mused as they passed various buildings. "Do you think she was talking about how she was mean to people?"
"Well, what else could she have been talking about?" Yusuke asked him?
"I dunno...language, maybe."
Hiei groaned. "You are such a fucking idiot."
Kurama had to resist the urge to laugh.
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Eventually, they reached the Plaza, a large open area lined with shops. Yusuke leaned against the entrance.
"Well, I don't sense anything."
"Me neither." Kuwabara looked around. There were a lot of people around. "Maybe she's just not here, guys. Let's go somewhere else."
Kurama spoke. "Have patience. Maybe she just sensed us. Try to suppress your energy levels."
A few minutes later, they felt a huge energy coming from inside.
"That's Nariko," Yusuke said, amazed. "What power!"
Kuwabara stepped back a few paces. "Oh, man!"
_There's something different about this energy,_ Kurama thought as he tried to locate the energy's source. _It's not evil, as it should be...it's...I don't know what it is._
Then he saw her.
His first thought was that for an infinitely strong being, Nariko was rather plain. She had mouse-brown hair that went down to her shoulders. A pair of cat-eye glasses rested on the bridge of her nose, which was covered with freckles. She wore a white button-up shirt and a pair of navy blue slacks.
She was walking towards the entrance. Towards them.
"Hey, I found her," Kurama said quietly. They turned to face him. "She's coming towards us. Just act natural." He leaned against the fence, hands in his pockets, staring off into space. They did the same. Nariko walked out of the Plaza, past the Reikai Tantei.
Yusuke began to walk towards her retreating back, but Kurama put a hand on his shoulder. "Not yet," he said softly. "Wait just a second."
After Nariko had gone about ten paces, they began to follow her, walking carefully so she couldn't hear them. She led them through busy streets and city parks. They almost lost her a couple of times.
Finally she led them down an alleyway scattered with garbage. They had done well so far in keeping quiet; she didn't seem to have known they were tailing her.
And then--
CRUNCH.
Nariko stopped dead. Yusuke, Kurama, and Hiei slowly turned around to face Kuwabara, who was grimacing.
He had stepped on a soda can.
The girl whirled around to face them. Her eyes were filled with a mixture between hate and anger. When she spoke, her voice shook with fury.
"Who are you, and what do you want with me?" Her voice was cold and harsh.
It was Kuwabara who spoke. "We've been sent here to--"
He never got to finish. Nariko attacked him.
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::A.N:: Okay, there it is. Did you like it? Please review!
Chapter II--The Search
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The four Spirit Detectives had no sooner gone out the door when it stopped raining. They looked up in surprise; they had totally forgotten about the dismal weather.
"Well, _that_ was convenient," Yusuke said, stepping in a puddle. The sun was starting to shine brightly. "This kind of thing doesn't normally happen in Tokyo, does it? I've overslept a little too much to really know what goes on around here."
"Not that I'm aware of," Kurama replied. "It's too bad Koenma didn't tell us where to start searching. Nariko could be anywhere."
Kuwabara shook his head, disgusted. "This blows! She could be on the other side of town, for all we know!"
"Um...Kuwabara, actually, I was thinking of a bigger picture," Kurama said patiently. "As in, she could be on a different country. Or even a different continent, for that matter."
Yusuke groaned. "Oh shit...this could take a while. Next time I see Koenma, I'm going to kill him."
Just then, a bubbly voice spoke up behind him.
"Well, we don't want you to do _that_! I doubt if Koenma-sama would appreciate that very much!"
They all turned to see who the speaker was. It was a pretty girl with blue hair, sitting on a floating oar.
"Hey, Botan-chan," Kuwabara said, surprised. "What are you doing here?"
Botan slid off of her oar. "Well, Koenma-sama was a few details shy of telling you about the whole mission--"
Hiei snorted. "So we'd noticed."
"--so I thought I'd better come and see if I could help you boys out." She smiled cutely...well, as cutely as the Grim Reaper can smile, anyway.
"Like how?" Yusuke asked her skeptically. "Do you know how to use any weapons that actually work around demons?"
Botan sighed, exasperated. "No, you baka, I have some clues to Nariko's whereabouts."
"Oh. Where could she be, then?"
The young ferrywoman pulled a guidebook out of the folds of her pink kimono, flipping through the pages. "Well, Nariko's a Lightning demon, right? The good thing about Lightning demons is that they don't like to relocate much...so if there's been weather trouble here in Tokyo, she'd probably be somewhere around here, causing it."
"We've been having storms at least twice a day all this month," Kurama supplied. "Maybe she's causing them."
Botan nodded, flipping through her guidebook again. She read a page in it, looking thoroughly surprised and put out. "Huh."
Kuwabara looked at her. "What's up?"
Botan shook her head. "It says here that the Lightning demon race killed each other off five hundred years ago. They were an extremely violent race, which is why it's so important that you have to exterminate its last remaining member. Nariko could kill every person in Tokyo with a snap of her fingers...it's a wonder she hasn't done it already." She sighed again, but this time in disapproval. "To tell you the truth, I disagree with Koenma-sama's wish to eliminate her."
"Well, this is new." Hiei smirked at her. "Koenma's flunky disagreeing with him."
Botan ignored him. "I don't understand why he would want to kill her. Nariko's the last of her kind and she hasn't done anything wrong as of yet, and she seemed like a good person."
"'Seemed'?" Yusuke asked, flabbergasted. "You've met her?"
"Well, of course," Botan said, frowning at him. "And I feel sorry for her."
Kuwabara scratched his head. "But Koenma said that she was...what was it..."
"Verbally abusive." Kurama finished for him. The taller boy nodded. "Yeah, that's it. Anyway, if she was what Kurama said, why would you feel sorry for her? Didn't she just insult you?"
"No," Botan said, shaking her head. "She only insults the people she feels she might get close to. We were all right because she was quite sure that she would never see me again."
"But why do you feel sorry for her?" Yusuke asked. Botan pursed her lips.
"Because she's been through a lot and she's misunderstood, that's why," she said flatly. "But I'm getting off track. I would advise you to go to the Tokyo Shopping Plaza first."
"But there are so many people there," Kuwabara argued. "Wouldn't she be easily seen, if she's a demon?"
"Nariko is a master of disguise; there's not much that she couldn't turn into," Botan said. "And she's extremely intelligent. She would go to the Plaza for exactly the reason that Kuwabara said. There are so many people there, nobody will notice her."
"Then how, do tell, are we supposed to find her?" Hiei asked dully. Botan opened her mouth to answer, but Kurama beat her to it.
"Lightning demons can't suppress their energy levels very well," he said. "If she had, say, an energy level of 200, the best she could lower it to would be about 170. Not much of a change there."
Botan nodded. "I couldn't have put it better myself. Anyway, you four should go now. Remember, she'll probably be at the Tokyo Shopping Plaza. Good luck!"
They watched her soar off into the heavens for a moment, then turned to each other.
"Luckily, we're not too far from the Plaza," Kurama said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "And since she's a strong demon, all we'd have to do is stand outside the entrance and we'd know if she was there or not. Her energy would stand out." They started to walk.
"I wonder what Botan meant when she said that Nariko was misunderstood," Kuwabara mused as they passed various buildings. "Do you think she was talking about how she was mean to people?"
"Well, what else could she have been talking about?" Yusuke asked him?
"I dunno...language, maybe."
Hiei groaned. "You are such a fucking idiot."
Kurama had to resist the urge to laugh.
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Eventually, they reached the Plaza, a large open area lined with shops. Yusuke leaned against the entrance.
"Well, I don't sense anything."
"Me neither." Kuwabara looked around. There were a lot of people around. "Maybe she's just not here, guys. Let's go somewhere else."
Kurama spoke. "Have patience. Maybe she just sensed us. Try to suppress your energy levels."
A few minutes later, they felt a huge energy coming from inside.
"That's Nariko," Yusuke said, amazed. "What power!"
Kuwabara stepped back a few paces. "Oh, man!"
_There's something different about this energy,_ Kurama thought as he tried to locate the energy's source. _It's not evil, as it should be...it's...I don't know what it is._
Then he saw her.
His first thought was that for an infinitely strong being, Nariko was rather plain. She had mouse-brown hair that went down to her shoulders. A pair of cat-eye glasses rested on the bridge of her nose, which was covered with freckles. She wore a white button-up shirt and a pair of navy blue slacks.
She was walking towards the entrance. Towards them.
"Hey, I found her," Kurama said quietly. They turned to face him. "She's coming towards us. Just act natural." He leaned against the fence, hands in his pockets, staring off into space. They did the same. Nariko walked out of the Plaza, past the Reikai Tantei.
Yusuke began to walk towards her retreating back, but Kurama put a hand on his shoulder. "Not yet," he said softly. "Wait just a second."
After Nariko had gone about ten paces, they began to follow her, walking carefully so she couldn't hear them. She led them through busy streets and city parks. They almost lost her a couple of times.
Finally she led them down an alleyway scattered with garbage. They had done well so far in keeping quiet; she didn't seem to have known they were tailing her.
And then--
CRUNCH.
Nariko stopped dead. Yusuke, Kurama, and Hiei slowly turned around to face Kuwabara, who was grimacing.
He had stepped on a soda can.
The girl whirled around to face them. Her eyes were filled with a mixture between hate and anger. When she spoke, her voice shook with fury.
"Who are you, and what do you want with me?" Her voice was cold and harsh.
It was Kuwabara who spoke. "We've been sent here to--"
He never got to finish. Nariko attacked him.
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::A.N:: Okay, there it is. Did you like it? Please review!