Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho, characters or plot.
CHAPTER 8: ENGLAND
"Tell me again why I'm wasting my summer vacation going to England?" Yusuke picked up his backpack and hefted the strap onto his shoulder.
"Don't you have any spirit of adventure?" Asked Keiko, holding her own pink and slightly bulging at the seams backpack against her chest. "England has an interesting history. You might actually learn something."
Team Urameshi plus Keiko stood outside a bookstore that was just closing up for the evening. Each had a backpack with a few changes of clothes, plus toothbrush and other necessities.
"Keiko's right!" Botan trilled. "Just think, this time you'll be fighting demons in a whole other country. Won't that be a nice change of pace?" Botan's luggage, an orange duffel bag that matched the tee shirt she wore over her jeans, lay at her feet.
"Our opponents could turn out to be mere humans this time." Pointed out Kurama politely. "Sen-dex is, after all, a human run corporation." Kurama's backpack was basic black, and lay next to Kuwabara's khaki green duffel bag. Hiei scorned backpacks, and had no luggage.
Hiei muttered something darkly about humans in general as Kuwabara groused, "I miss Yukina already. How long do we have to be gone?"
The team fell silent as the bookstore owner came outside, locked the door with his key, and left down the street.
"Well, I guess this is it." Botan said, as she picked up her duffel bag and led the group around the side of the shop to a little alleyway. The bookstore had a large window that looked out on the alleyway. Botan stood against it, and faced the blank brick wall of the building next door. With a quick gesture, she opened the portal in the brick edifice, and stepped through.
The team exited into an alley almost identical to the one they'd left. A drizzly rain was falling, and the air seemed lighter, less humid than the summer haze they'd left behind in Tokyo. Traffic noises came from the mouth of the alley, as cars and buses whizzed by.
"So where is this Sen-dex place?" Yusuke asked, glancing around the alley.
"It's in a place called Oxford." Said Botan. "Koenma said that their corporate headquarters are there, so that's the best place to start looking."
"How do we get to Oxford?" Keiko was looking a little concerned.
"The train, of course! With our baggage we'll look just like students on vacation. I'm sure we'll blend in just fine." Botan tossed her silvery ponytail, settled her duffel bag strap more comfortably on her shoulder and made for the mouth of the alley. "Let's go."
Kuwabara glanced at Hiei's short, black encased form, with his headband and spiky black hair, opened his mouth to say something, thought better of it, closed it and followed along with the rest of the group.
After several wrong turns, and consulting Kurama's map of London, which he'd downloaded off the Internet before they left, they made it to Victoria Station. Kurama was unanimously voted to be the one to buy their train tickets, which he did, and efficiently guided them to the correct platform to board the train.
Kurama managed to get them seats in the same section, so they were able to discuss their plans in Japanese without worrying about anyone overhearing or understanding their conversation.
"I can't believe anyone would be dumb enough to try to steal the opal from Koenma again! What kind of a loser would do that?" Kuwabara asked rhetorically.
"I don't know, but I do know I've never seen Koenma quite so angry before." Botan shivered at the thought of those beady little toddler eyes, which had practically drilled holes in the report of the attempted theft on his desk when she'd been called into his office. "Even though the ogres chased the demon away before he could get to the strong room, he got pretty far before they stopped him. That's what made Koenma decide to re-open the case."
"Why not send someone else? I was just getting used to the idea of having a break." Yusuke complained.
Kuwabara broke in. "I don't mind so much. This trip will give me lots of things to tell Yukina when I get back." A big goofy grin plastered itself to his face. "She said she'd miss me when I was gone."
Hiei crossed his arms and glowered at Kuwabara, who didn't notice.
"Do you think we'll see Wind Slasher, I mean Sara, again?" Piped in Keiko, after giving Yusuke an exasperated look.
"I don't see why not." Botan reassured her. "After all, Kurama said she mentioned getting a job at Sen-dex in her letter. Did you happen to bring it with you?" She turned an inquisitive gaze on the red haired fighter.
"Ah, no. I'm afraid I left it in Tokyo." Said Kurama smoothly.
After that the team settled in for the train ride, Kurama quietly reading a book, Kuwabara listening to a cd, Botan and Keiko excitedly watching the landscape outside the window, trying to guess if they were passing any monuments or castles, Yusuke sleeping, and Hiei, as always, enduring his human company by ignoring them as much as possible.
The train arrived and the group piled out on the platform. Botan led the way to their small, anonymous hotel, and they agreed to meet in the morning for breakfast.
Over stale croissants, toast, and fruit –the only food offered since breakfast was included in the price of the room and the hotel was too cheap to spring for a free cooked breakfast- Team Urameshi planned their strategy.
Yusuke: "I saw we go in, and beat the truth out of them."
Keiko: "Yusuke! You're in a foreign country. How would that look?"
Botan: "Koenma wanted this done quietly, Yusuke. I don't think charging in is quite what he had in mind. He just wants to know who is trying to get the opal and why, so he can stop them."
Kurama: "I agree with Botan. Since Sen-dex is ostensibly a legitimate corporation, I doubt its daytime employees would know much. Perhaps if we waited until the offices were closed and then had a look around, we'd be more likely to find something incriminating. What do you think, Hiei?"
Hiei: "The less humans the better."
Kuwabara: "What's that supposed to mean? Hey, were you looking at me when you said that?!"
In the end, they decided to go with Kurama's plan, so they spent the day as they chose. Botan and Keiko went sight seeing. Kurama and Hiei walked the mile outside of town and cased the perimeter of the Sen-dex complex, and Yusuke and Kuwabara found the one activity that transcended language barriers among boys -the video arcade.
At midnight the team assembled in a field just off the parking lot, and lay bellies down on the grass, watching the last two cars in the V.I.P. lot drive away.
"Man, how can anyone stay this late at a job?" Yusuke complained when the headlights passed them.
"Maybe they love their work. It is possible to find a job that you love to do." Keiko informed him.
Kuwabara peered at the building nearest the next lot over, a steep walled concrete block construction with large, heavy metal pull down doors set into it. "I think they were up to no good." He opined. "Hey, are those security cameras?" He pointed to small boxes positioned on the corners of the buildings.
"Yes, Kuwabara." Kurama said approvingly, fixing his green eyes on the lanky human. "But you needn't worry about them. Hiei and I "adjusted" them when we were here earlier." He took a small black box out of his pocket and pressed a button. "As of now, the cameras will only show an empty parking lot. Shall we go?"
"That's so cool!" Kuwabara exclaimed, and set off toward the parking lot.
"I knew I picked the right man for the job!" Botan smiled perkily and hurried after Hiei who was muttering something about Kuwabara being easily impressed. Keiko dropped a smile and ran after Botan, while Yusuke lagged behind.
"You know a lot about security systems." He stated.
Kurama glanced at him. "I was, after all, a thief in the spirit realm. Once can't help but pick up old habits when the need arises."
"Believe me, I'm not complaining." Yusuke plunged ahead, then stopped dead, and dropped back to the ground with the rest of the group as Hiei hissed and motioned at them to hide.
From around the corner of the building, someone dressed in black slacks, sweatshirt, and knitted cap came forward, glanced around, and stuck what looked like a credit card in the wall near the metal pull-down door of the loading bay. The door groaned, and raised itself automatically.
As the figure stepped back to watch it go up, Kurama got up and walked over, ignoring the frantic hisses of Botan. The black clad person turned and threw their hands up, outstretched.
The grass of the field where the rest of the team were lying began to sway, whipped by a sudden wind. Kurama's mane of red hair swirled about his face, light from the parking lot lamps catching its ruby tones. Then, as suddenly as it began, the wind stopped as the figure dropped its hands, and waited placidly for Kurama.
"It's all right," he called over his shoulder, continuing to walk forward. "It's Sara."
"Who?" Asked Kuwabara, scratching his head.
"Wind Slasher, you fool!" Hiei informed him scathingly.
The team got to their feet and rushed forward to where Sara stood, gazing in shock at Kurama.
Everyone started talking at once, until Botan managed to get them all quiet enough for Kurama to question Sara in English, and translate the information for Yusuke, Hiei, and Botan. Keiko and (surprisingly) Kuwabara, were able to understand the gist of the conversation without translation.
Sara had been working at Sen-dex under the name of Ashley Morris as a secretary to one of the Vice Presidents. The Vice President who'd helped her stepfather sell her to the demons was now working in the corporate office in Germany, so he wasn't around to recognize her. She'd befriended the security guards by bringing them tea, and going on Starbucks' coffee runs for them on her lunch breaks. She'd also researched the "restricted access only" architectural plans of the Sen-dex headquarters and found there was a very large sub-basement under the three legitimate basement floors of the loading bay part of the compound. The loading bay couldn't be seen by most of the Sen-dex windows, and was oddly placed facing the V.I.P. parking lot, so she'd decided to stay late that night, put sedatives in the guards' coffee, and, using a key card stolen from an executive's desk, search the loading bay. That's when she'd seen Kurama.
"Well, your timing was perfect." Botan smiled at Sara, allowing Kurama to translate her words. "Now we can all go together."
Sara nodded, and they trooped up a concrete ramp, through the opening, and into the cavernous warehouse building.
TO BE CONTINUED
CHAPTER 8: ENGLAND
"Tell me again why I'm wasting my summer vacation going to England?" Yusuke picked up his backpack and hefted the strap onto his shoulder.
"Don't you have any spirit of adventure?" Asked Keiko, holding her own pink and slightly bulging at the seams backpack against her chest. "England has an interesting history. You might actually learn something."
Team Urameshi plus Keiko stood outside a bookstore that was just closing up for the evening. Each had a backpack with a few changes of clothes, plus toothbrush and other necessities.
"Keiko's right!" Botan trilled. "Just think, this time you'll be fighting demons in a whole other country. Won't that be a nice change of pace?" Botan's luggage, an orange duffel bag that matched the tee shirt she wore over her jeans, lay at her feet.
"Our opponents could turn out to be mere humans this time." Pointed out Kurama politely. "Sen-dex is, after all, a human run corporation." Kurama's backpack was basic black, and lay next to Kuwabara's khaki green duffel bag. Hiei scorned backpacks, and had no luggage.
Hiei muttered something darkly about humans in general as Kuwabara groused, "I miss Yukina already. How long do we have to be gone?"
The team fell silent as the bookstore owner came outside, locked the door with his key, and left down the street.
"Well, I guess this is it." Botan said, as she picked up her duffel bag and led the group around the side of the shop to a little alleyway. The bookstore had a large window that looked out on the alleyway. Botan stood against it, and faced the blank brick wall of the building next door. With a quick gesture, she opened the portal in the brick edifice, and stepped through.
The team exited into an alley almost identical to the one they'd left. A drizzly rain was falling, and the air seemed lighter, less humid than the summer haze they'd left behind in Tokyo. Traffic noises came from the mouth of the alley, as cars and buses whizzed by.
"So where is this Sen-dex place?" Yusuke asked, glancing around the alley.
"It's in a place called Oxford." Said Botan. "Koenma said that their corporate headquarters are there, so that's the best place to start looking."
"How do we get to Oxford?" Keiko was looking a little concerned.
"The train, of course! With our baggage we'll look just like students on vacation. I'm sure we'll blend in just fine." Botan tossed her silvery ponytail, settled her duffel bag strap more comfortably on her shoulder and made for the mouth of the alley. "Let's go."
Kuwabara glanced at Hiei's short, black encased form, with his headband and spiky black hair, opened his mouth to say something, thought better of it, closed it and followed along with the rest of the group.
After several wrong turns, and consulting Kurama's map of London, which he'd downloaded off the Internet before they left, they made it to Victoria Station. Kurama was unanimously voted to be the one to buy their train tickets, which he did, and efficiently guided them to the correct platform to board the train.
Kurama managed to get them seats in the same section, so they were able to discuss their plans in Japanese without worrying about anyone overhearing or understanding their conversation.
"I can't believe anyone would be dumb enough to try to steal the opal from Koenma again! What kind of a loser would do that?" Kuwabara asked rhetorically.
"I don't know, but I do know I've never seen Koenma quite so angry before." Botan shivered at the thought of those beady little toddler eyes, which had practically drilled holes in the report of the attempted theft on his desk when she'd been called into his office. "Even though the ogres chased the demon away before he could get to the strong room, he got pretty far before they stopped him. That's what made Koenma decide to re-open the case."
"Why not send someone else? I was just getting used to the idea of having a break." Yusuke complained.
Kuwabara broke in. "I don't mind so much. This trip will give me lots of things to tell Yukina when I get back." A big goofy grin plastered itself to his face. "She said she'd miss me when I was gone."
Hiei crossed his arms and glowered at Kuwabara, who didn't notice.
"Do you think we'll see Wind Slasher, I mean Sara, again?" Piped in Keiko, after giving Yusuke an exasperated look.
"I don't see why not." Botan reassured her. "After all, Kurama said she mentioned getting a job at Sen-dex in her letter. Did you happen to bring it with you?" She turned an inquisitive gaze on the red haired fighter.
"Ah, no. I'm afraid I left it in Tokyo." Said Kurama smoothly.
After that the team settled in for the train ride, Kurama quietly reading a book, Kuwabara listening to a cd, Botan and Keiko excitedly watching the landscape outside the window, trying to guess if they were passing any monuments or castles, Yusuke sleeping, and Hiei, as always, enduring his human company by ignoring them as much as possible.
The train arrived and the group piled out on the platform. Botan led the way to their small, anonymous hotel, and they agreed to meet in the morning for breakfast.
Over stale croissants, toast, and fruit –the only food offered since breakfast was included in the price of the room and the hotel was too cheap to spring for a free cooked breakfast- Team Urameshi planned their strategy.
Yusuke: "I saw we go in, and beat the truth out of them."
Keiko: "Yusuke! You're in a foreign country. How would that look?"
Botan: "Koenma wanted this done quietly, Yusuke. I don't think charging in is quite what he had in mind. He just wants to know who is trying to get the opal and why, so he can stop them."
Kurama: "I agree with Botan. Since Sen-dex is ostensibly a legitimate corporation, I doubt its daytime employees would know much. Perhaps if we waited until the offices were closed and then had a look around, we'd be more likely to find something incriminating. What do you think, Hiei?"
Hiei: "The less humans the better."
Kuwabara: "What's that supposed to mean? Hey, were you looking at me when you said that?!"
In the end, they decided to go with Kurama's plan, so they spent the day as they chose. Botan and Keiko went sight seeing. Kurama and Hiei walked the mile outside of town and cased the perimeter of the Sen-dex complex, and Yusuke and Kuwabara found the one activity that transcended language barriers among boys -the video arcade.
At midnight the team assembled in a field just off the parking lot, and lay bellies down on the grass, watching the last two cars in the V.I.P. lot drive away.
"Man, how can anyone stay this late at a job?" Yusuke complained when the headlights passed them.
"Maybe they love their work. It is possible to find a job that you love to do." Keiko informed him.
Kuwabara peered at the building nearest the next lot over, a steep walled concrete block construction with large, heavy metal pull down doors set into it. "I think they were up to no good." He opined. "Hey, are those security cameras?" He pointed to small boxes positioned on the corners of the buildings.
"Yes, Kuwabara." Kurama said approvingly, fixing his green eyes on the lanky human. "But you needn't worry about them. Hiei and I "adjusted" them when we were here earlier." He took a small black box out of his pocket and pressed a button. "As of now, the cameras will only show an empty parking lot. Shall we go?"
"That's so cool!" Kuwabara exclaimed, and set off toward the parking lot.
"I knew I picked the right man for the job!" Botan smiled perkily and hurried after Hiei who was muttering something about Kuwabara being easily impressed. Keiko dropped a smile and ran after Botan, while Yusuke lagged behind.
"You know a lot about security systems." He stated.
Kurama glanced at him. "I was, after all, a thief in the spirit realm. Once can't help but pick up old habits when the need arises."
"Believe me, I'm not complaining." Yusuke plunged ahead, then stopped dead, and dropped back to the ground with the rest of the group as Hiei hissed and motioned at them to hide.
From around the corner of the building, someone dressed in black slacks, sweatshirt, and knitted cap came forward, glanced around, and stuck what looked like a credit card in the wall near the metal pull-down door of the loading bay. The door groaned, and raised itself automatically.
As the figure stepped back to watch it go up, Kurama got up and walked over, ignoring the frantic hisses of Botan. The black clad person turned and threw their hands up, outstretched.
The grass of the field where the rest of the team were lying began to sway, whipped by a sudden wind. Kurama's mane of red hair swirled about his face, light from the parking lot lamps catching its ruby tones. Then, as suddenly as it began, the wind stopped as the figure dropped its hands, and waited placidly for Kurama.
"It's all right," he called over his shoulder, continuing to walk forward. "It's Sara."
"Who?" Asked Kuwabara, scratching his head.
"Wind Slasher, you fool!" Hiei informed him scathingly.
The team got to their feet and rushed forward to where Sara stood, gazing in shock at Kurama.
Everyone started talking at once, until Botan managed to get them all quiet enough for Kurama to question Sara in English, and translate the information for Yusuke, Hiei, and Botan. Keiko and (surprisingly) Kuwabara, were able to understand the gist of the conversation without translation.
Sara had been working at Sen-dex under the name of Ashley Morris as a secretary to one of the Vice Presidents. The Vice President who'd helped her stepfather sell her to the demons was now working in the corporate office in Germany, so he wasn't around to recognize her. She'd befriended the security guards by bringing them tea, and going on Starbucks' coffee runs for them on her lunch breaks. She'd also researched the "restricted access only" architectural plans of the Sen-dex headquarters and found there was a very large sub-basement under the three legitimate basement floors of the loading bay part of the compound. The loading bay couldn't be seen by most of the Sen-dex windows, and was oddly placed facing the V.I.P. parking lot, so she'd decided to stay late that night, put sedatives in the guards' coffee, and, using a key card stolen from an executive's desk, search the loading bay. That's when she'd seen Kurama.
"Well, your timing was perfect." Botan smiled at Sara, allowing Kurama to translate her words. "Now we can all go together."
Sara nodded, and they trooped up a concrete ramp, through the opening, and into the cavernous warehouse building.
TO BE CONTINUED