Blind Sight
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Disclaimer: I own...Rika. Naw. I really don't even own her, she sorta owns herself. Anyway I definitely can't claim ownership to the entire YYH cast. But I claim this idea! ::huggles it:: Indeedy I do!!
Also....looking over this chapter...I realize that Rika may come off as a bit of a Mary Sue. Well...it's really the only way to develop her character the way I want to. So if she seems that way, I promise you that she has many....many flaws....isn't stunningly beautiful...and the cast doesn't fall in love with her. In fact I'm not even sure if there will be romance later on in the fic. ::shrug:: Whatever.
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There is a demon that works in some of the darkest parts of the Spirit world. Always she is searching, always. But she does not look for prey, nor does she search for power or wealth. No this demon searches for information. She is known for her ability to find anyone, anything, no matter where it is....for a price. She is somewhat of a neutral party, only taking the side of her client as long as she is on the job. The next day, she might be that same person's worst enemy. Everyone knows this, and yet they still use her services. She's just that good, and she won't give away any secrets. Everyone has used her services at least once, from the lowest of demon scum to the highest, even the 'Great Koenma' has called upon her from time to time, she is just that good. Her past is a complete mystery. It's like she just showed up randomly one day, her name and appearance aren't even real. No one knows anything about her except for one, simple fact: if you need something, Rika can get or do it for you. For a price of course.
She liked working for Koenma, though she'd prefer to die slowly and painfully before she'd tell anyone this. It might have been because she took a shine to him for some reason, or maybe because she got a long with him, more likely than not however it was because he paid her in cash. Lots of cash. She sat in front of his desk, feet propped up, cigarette in her mouth, the very picture of insolence, but then she could afford to be.
"You realize that there's no smoking in here?" was the pint sized bureaucrat's greeting to her.
"Yeah....your point? I brought my own ashtray this time," Koenma sighed, at least she wouldn't be knocking her ashes on his head.
"My other workers show me proper respect. Why can't you?" Rika smirked and tipped some ashes into the tray.
"Because I don't work for you. If anything, I haul your ass out of the fire all the time, because I'm a regular saint. Besides I hear that the little Spirit Detective thing gives you a hard time," she took a drag from the cigarette, "I'm somewhat impressed."
"You would be," he didn't bother to remove her feet from his desk, by now he knew better.
"So what do you need from me?" he sat down in his chair and punched a button, behind him a screen flickered to life.
"There's a crime syndicate that has based itself off oh what humans call a 'Mafia'. For the most part they weren't anything more than an annoyance."
"But....–"
"But since they got a new leader they've gotten bolder," the screen flicked to the next picture, "They've started to harvest souls. Using something similar to the magic of the Orb of Baast, they can steal hundreds upon hundreds of human souls. They trap the souls then turn around and sell them to–"
"Soul Junkies. The Spirit World's version of a crack addict."
"You've seen it?"
"I have. But how do they get away with stealing a hundred souls at any one time? Don't humans notice anything?"
"Thousands of people disappear everyday, Rika. Mostly children. What human pass off as kidnaping, is in reality demons at work."
"Go fig. So what do you want me to find out?"
"I want you to take some of my people into this syndicate and take out the leader," Rika tapped off some ashes thoughtfully, "You know I wouldn't ask this of you unless I really, really needed it. Please."
"Can't they get in by themselves?"
"You're the best at getting in and out of anything," she stubbed her cigarette out and dumped the tray into the trash.
"Alright. I'll do it. As long as it's clear to them that I'm the one in charge. I won't be able to get them in and out alive if they don't follow me unconditionally. So who are these people you want me to get in?" Koenma grinned around his pacifier and pressed another button on his desk as Rika lit up another cigarette.
"Send them in," she got her feet off the desk and stood up to face the quartet in front of her.
"You're joking right?" she asked Koenma.
"They're my best team."
"An arrogant prick, a moron, a demon with human envy and a midget triclops is your best team? No wonder crime is so bad around here."
"Hey," Yusuke sapped at her, "Who are you calli–"
"I don't recall addressing you," she cut him off coldly.
"I thought you looked familiar," Kurama said, "You're the one who gave us information on how to get those three artifacts."
"And now you're working for the police," Hiei said.
"They pay better," she retorted, "Besides, so are you."
"Wait....you're the one that got them in here?!?!?" Koenma shouted at her, she shrugged.
"Indirectly, yeah," she grabbed her ashtray and tipped some ashes in it, "I don't work with people. Hell, I don't even like people. So try not to get offended if I ignore you completely."
"As long as you don't get offended when we don't listen to anything you say."
"Do you even know what you are getting into Spirit Detective?" Yusuke shook his head, Rika smiled sweetly and walked up to him, "Then it would be to your benefit to do whatever it is I tell you," she blew some smoke in his face before pushing past him on her way out the door.
"Is she normal?" Kuwabara wanted to know.
"She often forgoes social interaction in the face of work."
"You know her or something?"
Kurama shrugged. "I know her reputation. She's the best at what she does."
"That- *coughcough* Who the hell does she *coughhack* think she is!?" Yusuke exploded.
"She is the one person who can get you all in and out of that syndicate with your lives intact," Koenma replied, "She's are best chance at stopping them."
"How much are you paying her for this little stunt?" Hiei asked.
"Far to much."
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She waited patiently for her new team outside the building, smoking her third or fourth cigarette.
"Those things will kill you, the way you go through them."
"Kurama," she greeted cooly.
"Hikari," was the kitsune's calm reply, Rika stiffened, cigarette nearly falling out of her mouth.
"How did you–"
"You can change your appearance, but not your scent and mannerisms."
"Yeah you're the same as always too."
"Am I?"
"Oh yeah, nice and polite on the outside, but dig a little deeper and you find a shitload of cockiness."
"Hikari–"
"Don't. Ok? Just don't. That isn't my name. I lost that name when I lost my past. And you know what? I don't want it back," she stubbed out her half finished cigarette, the only sign that she was disconcerted, "Look. I'm not happy with this job. I don't like working with other people, least of all you. So don't even try to sit there and act like nothing's happened. I just want to take this asshole out quickly, so that things can go back to normal," Kurama was about to reply when the rest showed up.
"You waited for us? What's the occiasion?" Hiei asked her dryly.
"I believe in helping out the mentaly incapacitated," she replied, equally dry, "I wouldn't want the humans to get lost."
"What did you say?!"
Rika turned cold eyes on him. "Did I stutter? I don't belive in playing nice detective. People like you are bad for business, and I hate anything that fucks up my work," she regarded her pack of cigarettes, decided that she needed to save the last two and turned back to them, "In the human world there's a night club called the Kitsune's Den. The three of you have the rest of today and most of tomorrow to figure out where it is. If you aren't there by eleven o'clock tomorrow night then you can consider yourself no longer involved," she began leaveing, "Don't think I won't do it either, sayonara."
"What the–Who does that lady think she is?!" Yusuke sputtered.
"That," Kurama said, "Is someone who knows exactly how good she is at what she does."
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Hiei and Kurama where the first to show up, and early too. Rika wasn't surprised, not really, in truth she had hopped that no one wound up comming and she could do this job alone, like she was used to, but at least they weren't the stupid humans.
"That's what you're wearing?" she asked them.
"What's wrong with it?"
"You're supposed to blend."
"This comming from the one in leather?"
She looked at Hiei with a raised brow. "Look around you. In fact I'm dressed pretty modestly. If you want I can remove some clothing."
"Please don't," she wanted to sigh with exasperation, she had truly hoped that the humans wouldn't have made it, "You're scary enough right now."
"Congratulations, you've made it here," a slight face, "All of you."
"Can I ask a question?" Rika lit up a cigarette, nodding slightly, "What's so important about this place?"
"Simple. This is the one place where you can get anything your little black heart desires. Some of the nastiest denizens of the Spirit World operate here."
"So why isn't it in the Spirit World?"
"Do you know what the best selling illegal drug is in the Spirit World, detective?" Yusuke shook his head, "Didn't think so," she began to head into the club.
"Wait, aren't you going to tell us?"
"You're the Spirit Detective," she called over her shoulder, "You figure it out," several whispered floated around the crowd.
"Spirit Detective? Where?"
"It must be that kid!"
"Get him!!!" Rika smirked as several people from the crowd attacked the group.
"Nice work," Hiei commented from just behind her.
"Think so huh? This from the short one who was critizing me not ten minutes ago."
"You look ridiculus, that doesn't mean you aren't planning something."
"Hey cutie," a tall swrthy man sidled up to Rika, eyeing her slyly, "You want something to drink?"
"We're looking for something a bit stronger," the man looked around her and caught sight of Hiei who scowled back at him, "Think you can hook us up with some Myst?"
"Myst only comes in the moutains, honey."
"No problem, we have our climbing equipment," they stared each other down for a minute before the guy turned and began leading them through the crowed.
"I got a van out back."
"What the hell was that?" Hiei demanded.
"Sterotypical drug lord slang," she replied, "I swear, most of these demons get their ideas from bad TV movies. And Myst is....y'know....myst."
"Explain."
"Are you shitting me? You really don't know? Ok. Some genius discovered that you can get a decent high after injecting yourself with a human soul. Myst is the street name."
"How the hell do you inject a soul?"
"Simple. You get a soul jar and a custom made syringe."
"Hn," they had reached the back of the club, and had walked into a sort of back room area.
"How much you got sweety?" Rika smiled seductivly at him.
"I was told that I might be able to strike a deal with you."
"Yeah? What kind of deal?" she slid her hand down his thigh.
"Oh I don't know...." she grabbed his balls painfully, "How about you tell me what I need to know and my little friend here doesn't cut off anything important," the guy squeaked.
"Who–who the fuck are you?"
"Just a girl with a job to do," another painfull squueze, "Now, are you going to tell me what I need to know?"
"Fuck off."
"Hiei?" the katana was taken out, the guy visbly paled.
"Alright! Alright I'll talk!!!"
Rika smirked, the guy was practicly in tears. "Good boy. Now, I want you to tell me about your supplier."
"I don't know nothin' about him!" the grip tightened, "It's the truth! All I know is that he's a part of the Syndicate. They got a base of operations in the Red Light District. That's all I know I swear," Rika realeased him.
"He's telling the truth."
"How can you tell?" the katana was still held in a ready stance.
"I just can," she turned around, fully intenting to leave the guy in peace, Hiei sheathed the sword and followed.
"I'll kill you, you filthy bitch!!" Rika whirled around in time to see a knife thrown her way, she dodge rolled out of the way, just in time to have the knife cut through her fishnets and through the thigh underneath.
"SonofaBITCH!" she closed her eyes breifly against the pain, when she opened them the man was in five pieces, "Wha–I only closed my eyes for a second."
"Have you forgotten my speed?"
"No, I just never expected you to save my life."
"I didn't," he replied as she got to her feet.
"But you...with the sword....and the guy..."
"Only a coward strikes from behind. I despise cowards," he bent over to pick up her glasses.
"Oh. Of course," she put her glasses back on her nose and looked at the body, "We're done here. Let's go before someone notices."
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Yusuke was not happy about being left behind and attacked. Not happy at all and damn if he wasn't going to inform Rika of that the moment he caught sight of her.
"Listen you," he snarled, putting his face right up to hers, "I don't care who you think you are but this shit's gotta stop! What the hell was the big idea leavin' us out here to get beat up by that crowd!?!"
"You don't look to injured to me. A bump or a bruise or two. Nothing life altering. I told you I work alone."
"You took Hiei with you."
"He followed. Besides if we all went in there I wouldn't have gotten any information."
"You wouldn't have gotten knifed either," Hiei pointed out.
"You're injured?"
"I didn't get knifed."
"But are you ok?"
"What was your name again?"
"Kuwabara."
"Thanks. Yes, I am ok. It's a scratch. It's nothing."
"So what was this information that you needed to leave us to get the crap pounded out of us to get?" Rika rose a condescending brow at him.
"We need to go to the Red Light District."
"Where's that?" Kurama asked.
"Spirit World. Not many have the balls to go there. It's the slimiest, nastiest, most disgusting place ever. I once had to hide out there, so I know my way around a bit," she took a pad of paper and a pen from her purse, "Come to this address no later than ten o'clock tomorrow and I can get us there," she handed the paper to Kuwabara and departed only to have Yusuke catch up and spin her around sharply.
"Look, lady I don't know who died and made you king–"
"Let me ask you something," she interrupted, "Do you know what Myst is? Where to find it? How to make it, who to sell it to? Do you even know where the Red Light is?" he shook his head, "How about the Syndicate? Do you know their hierarchy? Who the leader is? How many there are?" another shake of the head, "I've been around detective. I can get you in, and out of there so you can do your job but only if you let me do mine. And I don't work with people, so it's either my way or the four of you can find a way to get in there yourselves. Do you think you can do it?" Yusuke opened his mouth once or twice, but didn't reply, "I didn't think so," she turned around giving them a half wave, "Ten o'clock. I mean it. Sayonara."
