~High Voltage~

. . .

Chapter One: The Mission
. . .



Yusuke Urameshi walked along, hands in his pockets, staring at the ground. He wasn't in a terrible hurry; after all, he was already over an hour late for school, so why rush now? He had actually planned to get to school on time for once, but as he had rolled out of bed at eight-thirty that morning, that plan had been shot. It looked like he was going to catch it from Keiko again. Oh well.

Yusuke kicked a small stone, and watched as it skipped down the sidewalk ahead of him and finally came to a stop. He walked up to to it and was about to kick it again when he felt something poke his shoulder.

Nearly jumping three feet in surprise, Yusuke whirled around to face the one responsible.

"Botan?" He blinked.

"Hello, Yusuke," she replied cheerfully.

"Don't do that!"

"Oh, don't get all upset," she waved a hand. "I see you're running a bit late."

"Hah! I'll say. ...What are you doing here, anyway?"

"Well, Yusuke, I've been sent to tell you that Koenma has a new mission for you," she anwered. "It seemed pretty important."

"What? Another mission?" Yusuke groaned. "Come on, I just finished that stupid Dark Tournament! Don't I ever get a break?"

"I'm sorry, Yusuke," Botan appologized. "But after all, I'm just the messanger. You'll have to take it up with Koenma--by the way, he needs to see you as soon as possible. Is right now a good time?"

Yusuke sighed. "As good as any."

"Great! Now what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Botan grabbed Yusuke's arm, and they were off.

. . .



Yusuke stepped inside Koenma's office and immediately noticed the ones in the room. Koenma sat at his desk, while the blue ogre stood over him looking a little nervous. Kurama was standing a few feet away from them. Hiei was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, looking bored. Kuwabara was pacing the room impatiently.

"Koenma Sir, I'm back," Botan announced from behind Yusuke.

"This better be good," Yusuke told Koenma.

Koenma shifted his gaze to the young Spirit Detective. "Oh, it's good all right. Now listen up, everyone. This mission is very important. As you may or may not know, last night another precious item was stolen from--"

"Here we go again," Yusuke broke in. "It's like the Hiei and Kurama thing all over again, isn't it?"

"Not quite. You see, whoever has stolen the item is a master thief who's been at it for years. Nobody has ever seen this person. For years, priceless items have turned up missing from various places in Spirit World."

"Yes, I've heard of this," Kurama threw in. "I believe they call this person the 'Shadow', as nobody knows his--or her--name."

"Hn," came a grunt from the corner.

Kurama turned around. "What do you make of this, Hiei? Is it possible that you know something we don't?"

"What gives you that idea?" He snorted in reply.

"A-hem," Koenma cleared his throat, and once again he had their undivided attention. "Anyway, you're right about that, Kurama. Apparently this person IS known as the Shadow. Very dangerous, or so I've heard. Nobody who has ever crossed paths with him has ever lived to tell about it."

"So let me guess--you want us to catch this guy, right?" Yusuke shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Oh, great guess, Yusuke," Koenma said with a roll of his eyes. His expression then changed to a more serious one. "But I have to warn you: this won't be an easy task. Others like you have tried and failed, and they were a lot more experienced then you are. To be completely--yet brutally--honest, I have to tell you that there is a good chance you could be killed on this mission."

"Koenma Sir!" Botan cried out in shock. "If he's going to be risking his life that much, then why are you sending him?"

"I really don't have much of a choice, Botan," Koenma answered. "If I don't send him now, there are going to be a lot of problems in the future."

"Problems? Like what?"

Koenma shook his head. "Now that I can't tell you right now." He fixed his gaze on Yusuke. "You must find the Shadow and get him to come here, Yusuke. It's very important. I know that you could possibly lose your life in the process, but I also know that you have a much better chance of pulling this off now than you did before the Dark Tournament. At that time your chances would have been slim to none, but now that you have Genkai's power you actually stand a chance--especially with Hiei, Kurama, and Kuwabara at your side.

"Now, I've given a few different items to Botan; she's going to assist you as well. They may come in handy. Unfortunately, I can't tell you where to start looking for the Shadow--you'll have to get Hiei to help you with that one."

"Hn," came another grunt from the corner.

"Another thing," Koenma continued, "It's very important that the Shadow arrives here in one piece. Don't kill him, Hiei."

"I won't if I can help it," Hiei replied with a scowl.

Koenma sat back in his chair. "All right, Yusuke, you five are on your own from here. There's nothing more that I can tell you that will be of any help."

"Koenma Sir," Botan began. "You mean the only thing you know is this guy's name and the fact that he's a master thief?"

"I'm afraid so," Koenma admitted. "At this point we don't even know if the Shadow is a demon or a human; from the amount of information we have, he could be either. In fact, we don't even know for sure whether the Shadow is male or female. Like I said, nobody has ever seen him."

"Oh dear," Botan sighed.

"My sentiments exactly," Kurama commented.

"I don't see what you guys are all worked up for," Yusuke, always the confident one, turned around and prepared to leave. "After all, how bad can one little crook be? Don't worry Koenma, we'll catch this guy and have him up here in no time." He turned to wink at Koenma, who just sighed as the others prepared to leave as well.

"That's right, Urameshi," Kuwabara agreed. "That little punk won't know what hit him!"

Koenma shook his head as he watched them go. "I hope you're right, Yusuke."

____

AN: Well, that was chapter one! How'd I do? Reviews are greatly appreciated!]

Next chapter: The Search