Koenma stopped congratulating everyone on how well they have done in the past, and recapping all their cases. Kurama noticed something was wrong.
"Where did Hiei and Saiko go?" Yuske woke up when Kurama asked that.
"They're not here? When was the last time anyone saw them?" Yuske asked.
"Last I saw them was while Koenma was talking about when we rescued Yukina. I zoned out and missed everything else."
"I only got up to the Saint Beasts before I fell asleep." Yuske grinned.
"You fell asleep?!" Koenma jumped from behind his desk and hit Yuske in the back of his head. "Spacing out, I can tolerate, but falling asleep is unforgivable!"
"Uh… Don't you think we should be more worried about Saiko and Hiei?" Kuwabara asked. "Because…Uh… at least I think that's more important since after all, this mission is for Saiko. And Hiei is technically a part of our team…"
Saiko and Hiei both held swords as they faced off. Every charge Hiei made, Saiko blocked or countered. But Saiko couldn't make her own assault. Hiei held his sword down. He had started to become tired, and was breathing heavily, but Saiko had hardly broken a sweat.
"You're right, you're not very strong, but you have excellent stamina, and your defense is outrageous! I've never faced anyone who could counter my attacks." Hiei congratulated her.
"You're not bad yourself. You're so fast, but you're a bit noisy, and your attacks are sloppy when you try to rush like that, and it becomes easy to tell where you're coming from." Hiei looked at Saiko in surprise. "Well, here's you're sword back." Saiko handed it back to him. Hiei stood holding the two swards. "Hey, have you fought with two swords before?" Hiei shook his head. "I can tell you how to be in the best starting position. Raise your left arm like this while you turn your body like so, and cross your right arm over…" Saiko crouches and demonstrates as she instructed. Hiei tries to mimic her. "No, move your right foot back like this…" Saiko nudged Hiei's shin a little. She stepped back. "Great! And you see, from there, you can go either into attack or block and counter." Saiko smiled.
"So, there is something worthwhile in you." Hiei grinned. "I think I could like learning dual swords from you." The door to the room they were both standing in suddenly burst open and Kuwabara barged in.
"Hiei! What are you doing!? Saiko! Get away from him." Saiko rolled her eyes. "I swear Hiei, if you've hurt her…"
"Hardly, you blockhead. He couldn't hurt me if he tried." Kuwabara's face seemed to drop. "And I was showing him a dual-sword stance."
"Besides, I'm not stupid. I know what would happen to me if I did manage to hurt her. She's an exceptional swordswoman." Hiei turned his gaze towards Kuwabara. "Eh…? Kurama, you're there too, huh?" Hiei looked past Kuwabara. "So… How long have you been there?"
"I only came to see what the yelling is about. Could it be that you, Hiei, have made a friend with Saiko?" Kurama looked at him devilishly.
"Careful Kurama…" Hiei warned.
"Anyways, we're all getting ready to head out. Saiko, will you be joining us as well?"
"So… Where should we start?" Yuske asked as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I mean, Koenma spent so long yapping about how good we are that he didn't give us anything useful to work with… Sometimes this job really blows, you know what I mean?"
"Um… Yuske, I think that I know some places where we can start. After all, this mess is all because of me… Besides, there must be some good in my coming with you guys."
"Duhhh… I thought you were coming with us because Koenma's a creepy kid." Kuwabara had a thoughtful look on his face as he said that. Hiei placed his hand on his forehead with his fingers in an 'L' shape. Kuwabara didn't notice, but the others did, and Yuske couldn't help but snicker. "Hey! What's so funny! Yurameshi!" Kuwabara grabbed Yuske around the neck. "What are you laughing at?!"
"Hiei! I'm laughing at Hiei!" Yuske pointed as he still snickered. Kuwabara turned to look. Hiei stood there innocently.
"Ok… I'm confused now. Hiei looks honest… almost like he were a good guy…" Kuwabara stated with a dumbfounded tone.
"Don't be ridiculous." Hiei looked away.
"Kazuma, you're so dense." Saiko snickered. "It's a wonder that you're able to pass your tests."
"I've told you to call me Kuwabara…" Saiko laughs, then her face becomes more serious. "But we should move on. I believe a good place to start would be the orphanage I was adopted from."
"Are there any other places that you can think of? It would be best if we covered as much ground as we can." Yuske states.
"You're right. Let me think a moment." Saiko stares at the ground for a few seconds. "There is a church, a Catholic church, St. Mathew's. If you can find Father Seijin, he might know something."
"All right, Kuwabara and I will go to the church while you three go to the orphanage." Saiko nods.
"Hey, wait Yurameshi, why are we leaving demons to protect Saiko from demons?"
"Because, you moron! Do you think demons will go into a church?" Yuske snapped.
"Oh, I guess I never thought about that."
"Let's go guys. We can't stand here all day." Hiei glares at Kuwabara. The party splits up and head for their own suggested areas.
Yuske and Kuwabara were standing before a large stone building. The front was covered in stain glass windows and there was a large cross on the roof.
"You think this is the place?" Kuwabara asked. Yuske hit him.
"Of course this is the place! How many Catholic churches are there in Japan? Besides, look at the sign." Yuske pointed to their right to a sign that read 'St. Mathew's-Welcome' in bold golden letters.
"Ok. I won't say anything else again." But Yuske was already walking up to the door. Kuwabara hurried and followed. They stepped inside and almost ran into an elderly man.
"Oh, hello there young lads. How can I help you?" The man was short and nearly bald. His only hair was a ring around the back of his head from ear to ear. His skin was wrinkled and leathery looking, and there were small glasses resting on his nose.
"We're looking for Father Seijin. Do you know where we can find him?" The old man looked at them in surprise.
"Seijin? Now, why would you be looking for him?"
"It's a favor for a dear friend of ours." The old man smiled at them. "What?"
"I am Seijin. Now, what can I do for you? Oh, wait, please, follow me. We can talk in my office." He motioned for the two boys to follow him, so they did.
The office was a spacious room with a couch along one wall, and a desk facing it on the other. Seijin sat down behind the desk.
"Please, have a seat." He waved at the couch. "Now tell me, what can I do for you?"
"Well, we need to know if you know anything about a girl named Saiko Kagami…"
"Saiko? I haven't heard that name in a long while. How is she doing?"
"Um… She's having a few family problems, but other then that, she's fine. But the reason we're here is we're trying to find out where she came from." Seijin raised his eyebrows. "You see…" Yuske fished for an excuse. "…she's looking for her birth parents and we were going to try and help her, but all we've run into are dead ends." Seijin rested his chin on his hands as he stared thoughtfully at them. "It's almost like a birthday present, if we can find enough information before then." Kuwabara shot Yuske a quick glance.
"I wish I could help you out. But I don't know anything about that. Maybe the orphanage where she was adopted from would know."
"We already have some of our other friends asking them there." Yuske stood up. "I guess if you don't know anything, we'll have to try and find some new leads. Let's go Kuwabara. But thank you for your time." Kuwabara stood up as well.
"Wait a moment boys. I have a letter that's addressed to Saiko. It was left on my desk about a week ago, but I don't know how to find her. Since you're friends of hers, maybe you could give this to her?" Seijin pulled a letter from one of his desk drawers and held it out to the boys. Yuske took it.
"We'll make sure she gets it. Thank you again." Yuske and Kuwabara bowed as they left the room.
Once they were outside, Kuwabara tried to take the letter from Yuske.
"I wonder what it says…" Yuske pushed Kuwabara back.
"Whatever it says, it's not ours to read. This is a letter for Saiko. We'll give it to her without reading it. If she sees fit to tell us what it says, then she will. Now, let's go find the others. Maybe they had better luck."
"Where did Hiei and Saiko go?" Yuske woke up when Kurama asked that.
"They're not here? When was the last time anyone saw them?" Yuske asked.
"Last I saw them was while Koenma was talking about when we rescued Yukina. I zoned out and missed everything else."
"I only got up to the Saint Beasts before I fell asleep." Yuske grinned.
"You fell asleep?!" Koenma jumped from behind his desk and hit Yuske in the back of his head. "Spacing out, I can tolerate, but falling asleep is unforgivable!"
"Uh… Don't you think we should be more worried about Saiko and Hiei?" Kuwabara asked. "Because…Uh… at least I think that's more important since after all, this mission is for Saiko. And Hiei is technically a part of our team…"
Saiko and Hiei both held swords as they faced off. Every charge Hiei made, Saiko blocked or countered. But Saiko couldn't make her own assault. Hiei held his sword down. He had started to become tired, and was breathing heavily, but Saiko had hardly broken a sweat.
"You're right, you're not very strong, but you have excellent stamina, and your defense is outrageous! I've never faced anyone who could counter my attacks." Hiei congratulated her.
"You're not bad yourself. You're so fast, but you're a bit noisy, and your attacks are sloppy when you try to rush like that, and it becomes easy to tell where you're coming from." Hiei looked at Saiko in surprise. "Well, here's you're sword back." Saiko handed it back to him. Hiei stood holding the two swards. "Hey, have you fought with two swords before?" Hiei shook his head. "I can tell you how to be in the best starting position. Raise your left arm like this while you turn your body like so, and cross your right arm over…" Saiko crouches and demonstrates as she instructed. Hiei tries to mimic her. "No, move your right foot back like this…" Saiko nudged Hiei's shin a little. She stepped back. "Great! And you see, from there, you can go either into attack or block and counter." Saiko smiled.
"So, there is something worthwhile in you." Hiei grinned. "I think I could like learning dual swords from you." The door to the room they were both standing in suddenly burst open and Kuwabara barged in.
"Hiei! What are you doing!? Saiko! Get away from him." Saiko rolled her eyes. "I swear Hiei, if you've hurt her…"
"Hardly, you blockhead. He couldn't hurt me if he tried." Kuwabara's face seemed to drop. "And I was showing him a dual-sword stance."
"Besides, I'm not stupid. I know what would happen to me if I did manage to hurt her. She's an exceptional swordswoman." Hiei turned his gaze towards Kuwabara. "Eh…? Kurama, you're there too, huh?" Hiei looked past Kuwabara. "So… How long have you been there?"
"I only came to see what the yelling is about. Could it be that you, Hiei, have made a friend with Saiko?" Kurama looked at him devilishly.
"Careful Kurama…" Hiei warned.
"Anyways, we're all getting ready to head out. Saiko, will you be joining us as well?"
"So… Where should we start?" Yuske asked as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I mean, Koenma spent so long yapping about how good we are that he didn't give us anything useful to work with… Sometimes this job really blows, you know what I mean?"
"Um… Yuske, I think that I know some places where we can start. After all, this mess is all because of me… Besides, there must be some good in my coming with you guys."
"Duhhh… I thought you were coming with us because Koenma's a creepy kid." Kuwabara had a thoughtful look on his face as he said that. Hiei placed his hand on his forehead with his fingers in an 'L' shape. Kuwabara didn't notice, but the others did, and Yuske couldn't help but snicker. "Hey! What's so funny! Yurameshi!" Kuwabara grabbed Yuske around the neck. "What are you laughing at?!"
"Hiei! I'm laughing at Hiei!" Yuske pointed as he still snickered. Kuwabara turned to look. Hiei stood there innocently.
"Ok… I'm confused now. Hiei looks honest… almost like he were a good guy…" Kuwabara stated with a dumbfounded tone.
"Don't be ridiculous." Hiei looked away.
"Kazuma, you're so dense." Saiko snickered. "It's a wonder that you're able to pass your tests."
"I've told you to call me Kuwabara…" Saiko laughs, then her face becomes more serious. "But we should move on. I believe a good place to start would be the orphanage I was adopted from."
"Are there any other places that you can think of? It would be best if we covered as much ground as we can." Yuske states.
"You're right. Let me think a moment." Saiko stares at the ground for a few seconds. "There is a church, a Catholic church, St. Mathew's. If you can find Father Seijin, he might know something."
"All right, Kuwabara and I will go to the church while you three go to the orphanage." Saiko nods.
"Hey, wait Yurameshi, why are we leaving demons to protect Saiko from demons?"
"Because, you moron! Do you think demons will go into a church?" Yuske snapped.
"Oh, I guess I never thought about that."
"Let's go guys. We can't stand here all day." Hiei glares at Kuwabara. The party splits up and head for their own suggested areas.
Yuske and Kuwabara were standing before a large stone building. The front was covered in stain glass windows and there was a large cross on the roof.
"You think this is the place?" Kuwabara asked. Yuske hit him.
"Of course this is the place! How many Catholic churches are there in Japan? Besides, look at the sign." Yuske pointed to their right to a sign that read 'St. Mathew's-Welcome' in bold golden letters.
"Ok. I won't say anything else again." But Yuske was already walking up to the door. Kuwabara hurried and followed. They stepped inside and almost ran into an elderly man.
"Oh, hello there young lads. How can I help you?" The man was short and nearly bald. His only hair was a ring around the back of his head from ear to ear. His skin was wrinkled and leathery looking, and there were small glasses resting on his nose.
"We're looking for Father Seijin. Do you know where we can find him?" The old man looked at them in surprise.
"Seijin? Now, why would you be looking for him?"
"It's a favor for a dear friend of ours." The old man smiled at them. "What?"
"I am Seijin. Now, what can I do for you? Oh, wait, please, follow me. We can talk in my office." He motioned for the two boys to follow him, so they did.
The office was a spacious room with a couch along one wall, and a desk facing it on the other. Seijin sat down behind the desk.
"Please, have a seat." He waved at the couch. "Now tell me, what can I do for you?"
"Well, we need to know if you know anything about a girl named Saiko Kagami…"
"Saiko? I haven't heard that name in a long while. How is she doing?"
"Um… She's having a few family problems, but other then that, she's fine. But the reason we're here is we're trying to find out where she came from." Seijin raised his eyebrows. "You see…" Yuske fished for an excuse. "…she's looking for her birth parents and we were going to try and help her, but all we've run into are dead ends." Seijin rested his chin on his hands as he stared thoughtfully at them. "It's almost like a birthday present, if we can find enough information before then." Kuwabara shot Yuske a quick glance.
"I wish I could help you out. But I don't know anything about that. Maybe the orphanage where she was adopted from would know."
"We already have some of our other friends asking them there." Yuske stood up. "I guess if you don't know anything, we'll have to try and find some new leads. Let's go Kuwabara. But thank you for your time." Kuwabara stood up as well.
"Wait a moment boys. I have a letter that's addressed to Saiko. It was left on my desk about a week ago, but I don't know how to find her. Since you're friends of hers, maybe you could give this to her?" Seijin pulled a letter from one of his desk drawers and held it out to the boys. Yuske took it.
"We'll make sure she gets it. Thank you again." Yuske and Kuwabara bowed as they left the room.
Once they were outside, Kuwabara tried to take the letter from Yuske.
"I wonder what it says…" Yuske pushed Kuwabara back.
"Whatever it says, it's not ours to read. This is a letter for Saiko. We'll give it to her without reading it. If she sees fit to tell us what it says, then she will. Now, let's go find the others. Maybe they had better luck."