Empty pizza boxes were stacked all over the floor and soda cans on the counter. Bowls of chips, pretzels, and candy wrappers were piling up on the dining room table. The song, "Releasing the Demons," (by Godsmack) blared from the stereo speakers. Dragging an angry Wanda and embarrassed Keiko to their feet, Tabitha and Rogue danced around the living room, smiling as their feet pounded and hips swung to the beat of the music.
Kuwabara and Yusuke sat alone on the floor having a soda-drinking contest. It eventually got Tabitha's' attention and she rushed over and began to endlessly chant for Kuwabara.
"Go! Go! Go! Ku-wa-ba-ra! Ku-wa-ba-ra!" She cheered, handing him another can of coca-cola. Yusuke looked over and glared. How come no one was cheering for him?
***
The black silk Chinese style top was very supple and easy to move in. White cuffs and collar was an interesting contrast to the rest of the outfit and her hair and eye color. Of course, that really didn't matter much to her, as long as she was able to move quickly, just as she could those many years ago.
Flipping through the memories of that once happy and exciting time, she remembered the raids she would go on, all the things she used to steal just for the thrill of the hunt. If anyone ever stole from her, she'd go and steal it right back. Meibatsu had a partner at one point too. They had been friends and secretly, she loved him dearly. Never did she ever think that it would be him that would betray her. That day, everything, everyone, the pain and fear, it was all horribly burned into her mind.
That bastard! He had left her to die. When King Yama and the others caught her, she had kicked and tried desperately to scream but Yama had been thorough and had her gagged. She remembered the way the cold iron chains and cuffs had cut into her pale wrists and ankles. Her feet dragged on the floor since the chains were heavy and she couldn't lift her feet off the ground to walk. Being tossed onto the ground, she looked up at King Yama, her lavender eyes flaring with hatred and fear, she had heard of this mans reputation and she could only have nightmares of what he could do to her. But even her nightmares seemed tame compared to what he did. The pain was excruciating and she knew well that the scars would never leave.
***
Stretching his arms toward the sky, Yusuke grinned. That party had been quite a lot of fun although he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something different about those girls. What ever it was, he didn't know but their spirit energy seemed different. And he was sure that he had seen Rogue and Wanda somewhere before, on the news, he thought. Why? He just couldn't remember why but it had been a big deal, he could at least remember that much.
"Those three sure are…interesting aren't they?" Keiko said smiling.
"Yep, but hey these next three months might be more exciting—"
"Yusuke! Oh Yusuke!" A voiced yelled from above. Almost dive bombing down to the ground, Botan stood in front of him, her skin paled and her eyes shining in panic.
"Botan? What's going on?"
"I don't have time to explain it, I'm afraid!" she said. "You and Kuwabara have to come to spirit world, quickly!"
The two of them, Yusuke and Kuwabara exchanged glances. They had seen times when Botan panicked, but they had never seen her like this. She was so pale, and she couldn't seem to hold still from anxiety. Her eyes were darting in every direction, as if whatever this new threat was, could be standing directly behind her. Maybe it was best that they partied like that. Maybe it would be the last time they'd get the chance.
***
"Meibatsu!" Yukio shouted bursting into her room. She sat calmly in front of a vanity mirror, her hair tied back and her face painted in the way of the geisha. Turning to face her benefactor, her eyes narrowed to glare at him. She hated being interrupted while thinking.
"Spirit World has become aware of your escape. However, I have opened a door way into the living world,"
"Then I suppose," Meibatsu began with a grin. "I should leave them my calling card."
***
Flopping down onto the beds, in the bedroom they shared, Tabitha, Rogue, and Wanda smiled. Today had been a good one. Maybe this whole trip to Japan thing might not be so bad. After all, Yusuke and the others seemed all right, and they didn't appear to know anything about mutants. That was the best part. It felt good to be accepted into a high school after being shunned by everyone in Bayville, heck, everyone in US probably hated them now.
Sighing heavily, Rogue opened her textbook and began silently reading. It felt so good to be able to read without having to listen to Kitty's marathon phone calls. The girl said, "like" nearly every other word and it had nearly driven her to the edge on more then one occasion. Besides, now, they were all as far away from Magneto as humanly possible. No fighting Magneto (Or that damn Cajun! Rogue thought to herself), no Logan sessions, and no Brotherhood boys. Yeah, for now, life was good. If only they had more extensive knowledge on the Japanese language. It would've made their classes easier. Maybe she just should've absorbed that jerk that was hitting on her at lunch.
"I'm gonna go take a shower okay?" Tabitha said getting up.
"Did we really need to know that?" replied Wanda looking up from her book on the Black Death.
"No, but the silence was starting to bug me. That party got me all hyped up!"
"Ya know, for some reason…Ah don't care!" Rogue shouted irritably. The sound of breaking glass down the streets made them all look up in alarm.
"Whoa! Nice one Rogue!" Tabitha teased.
"Sugah, that wasn't me…"Rogue replied. "Whatevah that was, it sure as hell wasn't human."
***
Koenma paced back and forth in his office in panic. Leaning leisurely against his desk, Kurama stared down at the floor his green eyes glazed over in thought. In the back corner, standing in the shadow of the bookcase stood Hiei, his usual scowl on his face and fists clenched at his sides. Standing here waiting for Urameshi was not his idea of taking action.
"Okay, Botan won't tell us, so you tell us Koenma, what the hell is going on here?" Yusuke demanded.
"Oh, Yusuke, thank goodness Botan found you so quickly!" Koenma replied. Sitting into his chair and typing on the keyboard, a picture of a tall stone tower appeared on the screen behind him. "This is Spirit World's highest security tower. As of this year, there was only one prisoner held within, unfortunately, she was put there hundreds of years ago and any information we may have had has been lost. She was one of the most famous thieves Spirit World has ever seen."
"But why was she thrown in there if she's just some common thief?" Kuwabara asked confused.
"It was her power that made her dangerous," Koenma replied. A tape clip rolled and they all watched as another stone building appeared on the screen. Everything seemed all right but then, it all suddenly crumbled away and fell into massive crevices in the ground. "The entire attack took 18 minutes."
"What kind of powers are we talking here?! If whoever this guy is did that in 18 minutes, what chance to we have?!" shouted Kuwabara.
"For one thing, this isn't a guy, it's a woman, and with her screams, she's able to create a strange kind of sound wave that will destroy everything within ear shot. Because of her power, when she was captured 387 years ago, it was ordered that her lips be sewn shut and that she remained chained in the tower."
"Koenma sir! The girl's escaped into the living world!"
Keiko! Yusuke thought suddenly. This wasn't good, if there was something that he had learned since becoming a spirit detective, it was that wherever he managed to get into Spirit World, it was where other's managed to escape.
"Some one has already engaged her in battle!"
"What?! Who?" Koenma replied.
"We're not sure, we have no names, no photos, profiles, we don't even have a definite race!"
"Bring it up on Living World surveillance! NOW!" he demanded. The screen glowed and everyone looked at the occurring battle in shock. They watched as the demon woman flew over the roads, the glass windows of the business buildings shattered and fell into the roads. Tires burst and the cars skidded off onto the sidewalks, some crashing into the streetlights. Not far behind her, flew another woman. Dressed in black leather pants, halter top, and a brown leather coat and black gloves. Sunglasses covered her eyes and her pale skin was cut in a few places and the blood streamed down her cheek. Her brown hair was streaked with white.
"No way!" Yusuke exclaimed in shock. "Rogue?!"
Author's Note: Yes that's right, I've decided to give Rogue some of her other powers that she had in the comic book. However, I'm not going to give her the super strength or invulnerability that she has. Power like that is just too much so I'm only going to give her flight and absorption.
