Author's note: I kinda ignored this fic for a while, didn't I? Well, it's not like people have shown any interest in it. Plus, I had crap to do.

Disclaimer: Yu Yu Hakusho and all the characters in the wonderful show do not belong to me but all original characters do.

Note: italics indicate thoughts.


Confinement
Chapter Three: Conundrum

The four arrived at the cave entrance at exactly 5 a.m. Everyone was still asleep, including the sun. The land was dark and air was cold, but they did not mind. They stood before the gaping blackness that was the cave and with a final resignation, entered into its obscurity.

There was no talking as they traveled along the tunnel, the glowing lanterns as their only source of light. They had agreed to the silence, not wishing to disturb the Siren or provoke her into singing her death song. Yusuke led the group with sheer determination. He followed closely by Kuwabara, whose mind was concentrated in countering the Siren's song, for the only defense against it was pure willpower. Hiei's keen eyesight missed nothing, even in the darkness of the tunnel, but Kurama was lost in his thoughts, dwelling deeply on the vision he received the night before.

After washing the blood from his hands, he discovered that they came from wounds caused by his own fingernails. Yet, after realizing the blood was his own, Kurama could not shake the feeling that he was responsible for the girl's death. It was preposterous, of course, for the girl, if she ever existed, died long ago and at the hands of her so-called lover. Kurama had no hand in her murder but something inside him just would not let go of this hidden guilt.

They walked for what seemed like hours in silence. Just when they thought the tunnel would never end, they came to the great opening that was the inside of the mountain. The beauty of the place, even in the dim lighting, surprised them. The sun was obviously rising because they could see beams of light through the cracks. It gave the place an ethereal feel. They had to consciously remind themselves that this utopia was the grave of more than three thousand souls. Once inside the vast space, they split up, as was the plan. They could not afford to remain together as one huge target for the Siren. Divided, there would always be one to finish the mission should the others fail. So, without a single word, they all went their separate ways in search for the singing demon.

Yusuke somehow found himself by a lake. He must've followed the rays of sunlight for they were most concentrated on the waters and its immediate surroundings. The lake seemed magical, calling and beckoning. At the shore, on top a large boulder, sat a figure in white facing the lake. Yusuke walked towards the figure with confidence and caution.

As he neared the figure, he heard a voice. A female voice. Yusuke's immediate response was to point his finger at the figure, concentrating his reiki into its tip. But after several moments of no reaction from the body on the rock, he gingerly lowered his hand. It was then that he noticed the voice was not singing; it was crying.

Yusuke, being the kind of guy that he was, had no tolerance for crying females. He quickly closed the gap between the two, throwing caution to the wind, and stood beside the figure. Because she was wearing a cloak with its hood up, she didn't notice Yusuke, even though he was only inches away. Therefore, she was rather startled when he spoke.

"Whatcha crying for?" he demanded in a tone that was rather harsh.

The figure turned her head towards him in alarm, fear evident in her light-blue eyes. Strands of fair-colored hair shaded those eyes and framed her pale, porcelain face. The girl attempted to run, but Yusuke grabbed her arm before she even stood up.

"Hey, I'm not trying to hurt ya," Yusuke said, his tone softening a bit after witness her frightened state. "I just have a few questions to ask."

The girl, still very much afraid and unsure, didn't speak.

"Look, you might think I'm crazy for asking this, but I just need to know if you're a Siren." Yusuke wasn't about to beat around the bush.

Her eyes widened in surprise at his inquiry, but still, she said nothing.

"I promise I won't hurt you. Just please answer the question: are you a Siren?"

With a shaky and hesitant voice, she said, "Y-yes, I am. How did you know?"

Finally, we're getting somewhere. "I'm Urameshi Yusuke, a spirit detective for the Reikai, and I'm here to arrest you for the theft of more than three thousand souls." God, I sound corny.

The girl cried even harder, tears pouring out of those crystal orbs of hers. She lowered her face into her hands in grief. "I didn't want to do it," she said between sobs, "I didn't have a choice. He forced me to. He made me do it."

Now Yusuke was utterly confused. "Who's 'he'?" he demanded, watching the weeping figure before him. This is so not what I expected to see.

She raised one hand and pointed at the lake. "The demon that lives at the bottom of the lake," she explained. Her crying slowed and she wiped away the wetness on her cheeks. "He's the one that trapped me here and forced me to steal all those souls. He said that he'd kill me if I didn't obey."

Well, this is a different twist, Yusuke thought, Why are missions never what they appear to be?

"Please, you've got to help me," the girl begged, "Get me out of here. I don't want to steal any more souls. I just want to go home." Her tears started flowing again.

Yusuke couldn't stand it anymore. "Alright, alright! Just stop your crying," he said in an exasperated tone, "I'll get that bastard down there and then we'll get you outta here."

"We?" She stopped her weeping and looked at Yusuke with a puzzled expression.

"Yeah, there's four us altogether, including me," he answered simply, "Now, what's this demon like? What are his powers?" The girl shook her head. "I'm not quite sure. All I know is that he lives in the lake. I'd guess that he's a water demon."

"A water demon, eh? Piece of cake. How do I get him to come up?"

"He rarely comes to the surface. If you want to fight him, you'll have to swim down to him and lure him up."

Yusuke groaned. "It's never easy. Why is it never easy?" He took off his sneakers and his socks. He opted to leave his shirt on but then decided against it. After flashing a confident smile in the girl's direction, he jumped into the water. It was cold at first but Yusuke's body soon adjusted to the change of temperature. He effortlessly swam towards the center of the lake and then dove under. It was dark beneath the surface. After a minute of searching for a sign of the demon and his dwelling, Yusuke decided to go up for air.

He never reached the surface.

A cyclone formed around his legs, forcefully pulling him under. Yusuke fought against its power but it was just too strong. The twister pulled him deeper and deeper into the water.

On the surface everything seemed normal. The girl watched the water with narrowed eyes, a smile on her lips. "Gullible fool." She turned from the lake and walked away without another glance back. "Don't worry, Urameshi Yusuke, your friends will be joining you soon."



Kurama wandered aimlessly through the trees, not really caring where his feet led him. He knew that he should be searching for signs of the Siren, but something kept bothering him. Everything seemed so…familiar. It was an odd feeling, one that Kurama could not get rid of, no matter how hard he tried. It just felt as if he's been here before.

That's absurd, Kurama berated himself, Last time I was in China was five hundred years ago, and it certainly wasn't in this part of China. I would've remembered a beautiful cavern like this.

He continued to zigzag through the small patch of woods, lost in his thoughts. Visions of last night's dream danced in his head, calling him, teasing him. The redhead didn't even notice when Hiei appeared out of nowhere next to him.

"You're just asking for someone to attack you, fox," the fire demon said.

That shook Kurama from his thinking trance. "Hello to you, too, love," he retorted, "And don't worry, I'm a big boy. I can take care of myself."

Hiei 'hned' but did not reply.

"So, did you find anything?" Kurama asked, focusing on the mission, "Any sign of the Siren?"

"Not even a peep. Probably doesn't know we're here."

"Good, let's keep it that way."

"Hn, with Yusuke and that loud-mouth oaf, it won't stay that way for long."

They continued walking. Neither said anything for a while, each just enjoying the other's presence, forgetting that they're currently in the enemy's lair. Then, something hit them. It was anything physical; it wasn't an attack. It was more like…

"Kurama, do you feel that?"

"Yeah, it's some kind of binding spell. A strong one."

"Very strong."

Kurama nodded in agreement, eyes darting around, looking for danger. Yes…but what's it trying to bind?



She noticed Kuwabara coming towards the lake long before he noticed her. She watched as the tall carrot-top walked and she planned her next move. This must be one of his fellow detectives. She rustled her clothes a little and forced some tears into her eyes. Let the show begin.

With weeping eyes, the cloaked girl ran up to Kuwabara, who was caught completely off-guard. She promptly collapsed into his arms - almost shuddering in disgust because of it - and pretended to gasp for air. Then, she tilted up to stare at his face with her gleaming orbs. Ew, he's uglier than I thought. Clutching at Kuwabara's blue shirt, she put a panicked look on her face. "Please, you've got to help him!" she said in her most 'this-is-a-life-or-death-situation' voice.

The human was completely confused. All he could do was gawk at the beautiful girl in his arms, jaws opened in surprise.

Great, a complete idiot. It'll be easy to kill him…if I can ever get him to move! "Aren't you a friend of Yusuke's? You've got to save him!"

Hearing Yusuke's name snapped him out of his stupor. "Wait, what about Yusuke?"

"He's in trouble! The demon dragged him underwater. He'll die if you don't go and save him soon!" She used her best hysterical impression.

Kuwabara took all the information in piece by piece and finally reached a conclusion. "Don't worry, fair damsel. I, the great Kuwabara Kazuma, will go and save him." He ran towards the lake and dived headfirst into the water.

I don't care what you call yourself, just get in the water and die like the scum you are. Her eyes shined brightly as she tapped into her powers. And after several minutes without the appearance of either Yusuke or Kuwabara, she left the shoreline, with a sinister smile on her face, to search for the remaining two team members. Two down and two to go. Her smile turned even darker. And I know just where to find them.



Urameshi Yusuke was already out of breath by the time Kuwabara entered the water. He had been fighting the cyclone for the past twenty minutes with no avail. He had tried everything, even firing a few Rei Gun shots at the cyclone but nothing worked. The only thing keeping him alive was his demon heritage and his superhuman endurance. And now, not only did he have to save himself, but he must save his teammate as well. It was just not his day.

The raven-haired boy decided that now was not the time to throw some punches. If he wanted to get out of the water alive, he needed to concentrate and focus his energy. He glared down at the eye of the twister that had engulfed him and waited. Yusuke's form began to glow, a blue aura surrounding his entire body as he all of his power converged into his fingertip. With a muffled shout, he released his reiki into the very center of cyclone.

The impact of it echoed throughout the entire cave, catching the attention of everyone on land. Kurama and Hiei felt the power, and with a simple nod of affirmation between them, they ran towards the source of the attack. They didn't notice the streak of white that ran towards the lake as well. Masaka! How is he still alive? She continued running. He's more powerful than I gave him credit for.

At first the attack did nothing, but then the chain reaction began. The Rei Gun dissipated the bottom of the twister and the disintegration traveled its way upwards until the whole twister disappeared.

Yusuke was freed but he didn't celebrate quite yet. He immediately swam up for a much-needed breath of air but just as soon as he surfaced, he dove down again, this time to rescue his friend. Again, he concentrated his energy into his finger, but since he was not in the cyclone itself, he had to be very precise. An off-center attack would result in a wasted shot. Yusuke took aim and fired.

It hit the twister dead on.

With a smile of accomplishment, Yusuke swam upwards, not wanting to stick around for the inevitable chain reaction. His head popped up from the water and he breathed in the fresh air once again. Kuwabara soon joined him on the surface, gulping for oxygen. The black-haired teen gave him a victory smirk and swam for the shore, where the two familiar figures of their teammates stood waiting.

"What happened to you two?" Kurama asked after they reached land and flopped down on the grass out of exhaustion.

"Some girl came running up to me and told me that Yusuke was in trouble. I went to save him," Kuwabara answered, still trying to regain his breath.

"What girl?" Hiei demanded, immediately on alert.

"The Siren," Yusuke said, "She told me something about a water demon living at the bottom of the lake. Said it was making her sing and all that nasty stuff."

Kurama listened to their stories and shook his head. "I think you've both been played."

A silvery laugh came from behind them. "At least you're not all as gullible as you appear."

Kurama turned to face the speaker. He took in her shiny white hair and her glimmering blue eyes. Recognition struck him. "It's you!"

The girl fixed her glance on him and stared into his emerald green eyes. After only a second of exchanged looks, her face darkened with anger and hate. "You!" she hissed.

And then all hell broke loose.


This was a fun chapter to write. I really do enjoy creating cynical characters with complicated pasts. Muahahahaha! Please review!