AS: First of all, I want to assure you guys the OC isn't going to be a Mary-Sue. She isn't the most beautiful girl to ever walk on Earth and neither does she have any kind of superpowers, so be cool. Also, forgive any misspellings mistakes, okay?
Broken Peace
By Angel's Stunt
Act One: The Amazing Mission From Hell
The brown-haired girl fastened her pace as a shiver ran down her spine and her face took a light, bluish color. Brown eyes scanning her surroundings nervously, she mentally berated herself from taking so long at her friend's house.
Oh, God...! I hope there're no crazy rapists around here...The girl froze when a loud, male shout reached her ears and then broke into a mad run, looking for cover. Ducking behind some boxes and trashcans on the end of an alley, the girl peeked through a small opening as she tried to control her shivering.
Suddenly, a man came stumbling into the alley and the brunette bit back a scream, especially as what had scared the man so much appeared. Hovering several feet above the frightened man was a creature the girl couldn't say if it was male or female. Its scaled, jade skin shone against the moonlight as a bifurcated tongue came out between two long, silver fangs.
"S-stay a-away f-from m-me!" The man stuttered, backing away as the thing's gray eyes stared at him hungrily. The girl watched in disgust as bitter bile threatened to come out as wings sprouted from the creature's back on a wave of blood and rotten flesh. The thing rose from the floor and flew in the direction of the screaming man, grabbing him by the waist as the sound of bone's snapping was heard, and disappeared into the night.
"Ah...Ah..." The girl shakily came out from her hiding place as her wide and terror-stricken eyes searched into the sky. Her mouth tried to form words as her mind raced. "Ah...AAAAHHHHH!!!!" She screamed, running through the streets, going straight to her house.
broken peace
"Koenma-sama! Koenma-sama!" A blue ogre came stumbling into the prince's room, panting violently.
"What is it?" Koenma asked, sucking into his pacifier as he twirled on his chair. The ogre grabbed the prince's shirt and shook him desperately.
"Sir, sir! An awful murder caused by an unknown demon! There was a witness, sir! The girl ran away screaming bloody murder! The Reikai's Power Measurer went crazy when it felt the demon's energy! WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?! WHAT ARE WE GOING T-?!"
"LET GO!!!!" The toddler shouted, kicking George's face and striking a karate pose. Frowning, he sat back on his chair and folded his small, chubby arms. "Obviously, we're going to gather as much information about the demon as possible and then assign Yusuke and the gang on a mission."
"B-but what about the young girl?" The ogre asked, a red footprint on the middle of his face. Koenma raised an eyebrow.
"What about her?"
"She saw the demon and the murdering!"
"...Your point being?"
"Shouldn't we send someone to her? I mean, she may help us finding the youkai! Besides, she's terribly stricken!" The ogre frowned, "Don't you have a heart, Koenma-sama?! We should at least send someone to erase her memory!"
Koenma frowned right back, his voice raising several octaves, "What do you think we are, baka?! The Men in Black thing?! We can't erase memories!"
"...Oh..." The ogre smiled sheepishly, sweat-dropping. "But what about those memory-blocking spell we use on some missions?"
"Those only work with humans who hasn't been in touch with demons." Koenma rolled his eyes, "But I think we should send someone after her."
"Eh?" George's eyes widened a little, "He-Hey! That was my ide-!"
"AFTER ALL..." Koenma interrupted loudly, "She may help us finding the youkai!" Jumping on his desk, Koenma grinned superiorly, "Hah! I'm the best!"
"..."
broken peace
Kurama's eyes filled with surprise as a ferry-girl from the Reikai knocked on his window. Standing from where he was sitting on his desk, the redhead opened it and politely eyed the girl.
"Yes?"
"Koenma-sama asks you to go to this address..." The girl handed him a paper and a small file, "And talk to this girl after reading this file. Please, do it quickly."
Raising an eyebrow, Kurama opened the file and saw a picture of a brown-haired girl with big, almond-shaped eyes. Nodding, he told the ferry-girl he would do it before closing the window gently. Sitting on his bed, the fox spirit read the file calmly.
"Sora Aoino...15 years old...Sagittarius...This doesn't really matter." He skipped a few pages that only spoke about the girl's life and finally found what really mattered. "Witness of violent murder involving an unknown youkai with high powers...Terribly shaken, no surprise here..." The young man leaned back on his bed.
Sora Aoino must be persuaded to help the Reikai Tantei in finding this demon, since she has seen it. The Reikai's authorities believe this isn't a youkai and have reasons to believe there are others out. To ensure the witness safety on the process, the Reikai Tantei also are responsible to ensure her well fare.
Raising an eyebrow, Kurama re-read the last paragraph to make sure he had gotten it right. He could just picture the reaction from Yusuke and co.; Going back to the start of the file, he searched through the page for the girl's spirit awareness.
S.A (scale from 1-10): 5,0 – Able to have visions of small, unimportant future events through dreams. Slightly high intuition and ability to see and sense ghosts, spirits and youkais. Not rare to be found among humans, especially those born under the Zodiacal signs of Sagittarius and Scorpio.
So, to put it briefly...The emerald-eyed boy thought, raising and preparing to go out, She's just your everyday high-school girl.
broken peace
Sora clutched the pillow tightly against her body as she sat on the corner of her bedroom. She was lucky her mother worked until late and hadn't come home yet, or else she would have had a hard time explaining her state to the black-haired woman.
But, after all, what was that thing? She asked herself from the billionth time. Suddenly, the doorbell rang through the house and Sora's heart came to her mouth. "Oh, Jesus!" She gasped, taking a hand to her furiously beating heart.
Going quietly to her front door, she grabbed an umbrella before carefully looking at the peephole. Her eyes widened when she saw a calm young man with flaming blood-colored hair waiting patiently.
Frowning, she readied her cell phone just in case before shouting without opening the door. "W-Who is it?"
On the other side of the door, Kurama blinked before answering, "Shuuichi Minamino. I'm here to talk to Sora Nagano.". He heard the soft sound of someone walking closer to the door.
"What do you want to talk to her?"
"It's regarding something Miss Aoino saw today." He said, masking the fact he knew he was talking to Sora already. His sensitive ears picked as she took a sharp intake of breath.
"What did she see?"
"I can't tell you. This involves Miss Aoino only." He sighed. This was getting boring.
"Well, she can't speak to you right now." Sora answered, hoping he would buy it. However, he shocked her with his next answer.
"Well, you see Miss Aoino..." He looked directly into the peephole and Sora gulped, "The thing is, you're in danger and I'm here to assure your safety. Also, we need your help to find the demon that killed that man."
"Go away or I'll call the cops!" She threatened, praying that he would just leave.
"Miss Aoino, please hear me out." Kurama said peacefully, "We really need your help. Trust me, I won't hurt you."
"Yeah, right..."
"Miss Aoino, if you don't let me in willingly, I'll just force my way into your house." Kurama said firmly, a stern look on his features although he didn't lose his serene exterior.
"You can't!" Sora said, frowning. She saw Kurama shrugging before he ran a hand through his hair and took a small...plant?
She backed away from the door as something entered the lock and moved around swiftly. She hid and pressed the 'dial' button on her cell phone just as the lock clicked open and the stranger entered the house.
"Miss Aoino, really..."
Sora cursed having letting go of her umbrella as she crouched lower behind the counter. However, Kurama found her way too quickly to her likeness and she bit back a scream.
"What are you going to do to me?!" She asked, backing away from him. Kurama smiled, trying to calm her.
"Nothing." He said, sitting on the far side of the living room. "Here. I'm going to sit on this spot and I'm not going to move. You can tie me down if you want."
Sora looked at him in disbelief and light annoyance, "After what you did to the lock?!"
Kurama blinked, "Well, I admit it would be useless to tie me down, but I assure you-" He added as the girl stepped back, "I do not intend of harming you. Now please, hear me out."
Sora tentatively advanced and sat on the couch opposite to Kurama's chair, making sure she had a hard thing at hand, like the porcelain vase. "What do you want?" She asked. Kurama leaned back on the comfy chair, his face turning serious.
"I hope you have time...This will take long."
After Kurama had patiently explained Sora all about the Reikai (or at least what she needed to know) and about how it would need her help on finding the demon while ensuring she would come out alive and whole, he waited for her answer.
The girl was glued to her spot, hardly moving besides the rising and falling of her chest. Sora was still trying to digest all the new (and rather unbelievable) information she had received. If this guy had showed up today's morning, she would have laughed at his face and said he was crazy.
However, this was before she had witnessed the killing on the alley. Now, she highly doubted anything the young man had told her was a lie. Suddenly feeling very tired, Sora supported her forehead on her hands, taking her face away from Kurama's vision.
"Are you okay, Miss Aoino?" He asked, concerned.
"I..." She thought about saying 'I'm fine' for a second, but it would be no use, "am not. I want things to be the way they were before." She said as firmly as she could, "I'm sorry but I can't help."
Kurama raised an eyebrow, "Miss Aoino, there's no possible way things can go back to normal for you. You have only two options left: The first is accept the facts and adapt so they can become your normal. The other is to live a lie, being afraid to go out of your house in fear something will attack you at any instant."
Sora's eyes met Kurama's and the girl held back a sob. "Will it come after me?"
"It's highly possible. Too highly, in fact." Kurama crossed his arms before his chest as he studied her calmly, "My bet is that the demon was so hungry it didn't bother killing you, but it most certainly must have smelled your scent or sensed your presence."
"How can it do it?" She asked, weighting her options.
"Demon's senses are highly developed and sensitive, some more, some less. But-" He added, reading her thoughts "We're all capable of sensing human's presence."
"We?!" She asked, her face turning pale, "You're a demon, too?!"
"Yes, but I'm different." Kurama said, "I don't eat humans nor will I attack you. I told you already: I'm here to make sure you're safe."
Sora bit her lip, "Y-you think people around me, as in my family and friends, will be in danger, too?"
"Without a doubt." Kurama said, "If the demon attacks you while you're together with another person, it will attack the person too."
"And why would they go after me?" She asked, shivering, "I'm just another human!"
"Demons are not all stupid, especially this one." Kurama explained, "I recall telling you about the Reikai barrier, didn't I?" Sora nodded and he went on, "If this powerful demon was able to go through it, this means it's intelligent."
"So?"
"So it will know that there was a witness and that the Reikai would go after her." Kurama explained, "I believe it just didn't count Koenma-san would act so quickly."
Sora's shoulders slumped and she looked at the floor. "So, I'm always in danger, right?"
Kurama nodded, "Yes."
Silence fell between them as Kurama waited for her to make up her mind. Sora sighed and looked at him. "I'll help...But my parents have to be included on this safety thing!"
Kurama nodded, "Okay."
broken peace
Botan flew among the clouds floating on the night sky as her pink-topaz eyes searched for a certain apparition. Sighing, the Reikai ferry-girl took a small whistle from her kimono's sleeve.
"Kurama, sorry if it hurts you..." She said, sweat-dropping and taking a deep breath, blowing on the whistle with all her strength.
broken peace
"ARGH!"
"What's wrong, Minamino-san?!"
broken peace
Botan stopped blowing when a very grumpy looking Hiei sent his energy towards her oar, making her lose some altitude. Directing her oar downward, Botan spotted the koorime leaning against a tree trunk, perched on one of its branches. Floating before him, she smiled.
"Good night, Hiei!"
"Good for you." He growled, "Thanks for that damn whistle, I'm partially deaf."
Botan paled, "What? Oh, nononononononono! I'm sooooo sorry! How can you ever forgive me?! C-can you hear me, Hiei? HIEI?!" She shouted. The spiky-haired demon snarled.
"Partially deaf, and not for long, if there's some justice on this world." He said, eyes narrowed. Botan stopped trying to communicate through hand signals and smiled sheepishly.
"Oh, that's good."
"One would think." He sent the blabbermouth a pointed look, although she didn't get what he meant. "What do you want?"
"I came here to give you this." Botan smiled cheerfully, handing him a file identical to the one given to Kurama. "It's a mission that Koenma-sama is assigning to you guys."
Hiei didn't take it and Botan sweat-dropped, "Ne, Hiei..."
"I don't work for Koenma."
"Yeah, I know that." The girl laughed, a little uneasy. "It's just that I though you would be interested, since this youkai is so strong. As a matter of fact, we're not even sure it is a youkai at all!"
If Hiei was surprised, he didn't show it. He eyed the file and asked coldly, "What about Kurama and Yusuke?"
"They're assigned to it, too."
Hiei took the folder. "Hn."
"Is that a 'yes'?"
"Hn."
"Is that a 'no'?"
"Hn."
"...Is that a simple 'hn'?"
"Leave, woman."
broken peace
Yusuke crossed his arms behind his head as he sat on Sarayashiki High's roof. The spirit detective was (again) ditching class. At least this time he had a good reason.
Or at least, that's what he convinced himself of.
"Great...Now we have to baby-sit some girl..." He complained, frowning. Botan had told him all about their new mission yesterday's night. She told him Kurama had convinced the girl to help the Reikai Tantei and that people at the Reikai were already providing everything that would be necessary.
"Like what?" He had asked her. Botan rolled her pink eyes before answering as if it were obvious.
"Spells to make people think they don't know her, transferring her to another school, arranging a small apartment where she can stay..."
"All that stuff?!"
"Yep. We have gotten the apartment already. It's close to Kurama's house. So we're thinking about sending her to Meiou High, but we aren't sure yet."
"Jeez..."
Sighing, Yusuke threw an arm over his eyes to protect them from the sunlight and hopefully get some sleep while Keiko didn't come to nag him about schoolwork.
"YUSUKE!!!"
Not my lucky day...The black-haired boy though, frowning as a shadow fell over him. Opening one eye, he stared into Keiko's angry ones.
"You promised!!!"
"Eh..."
"You promised me you would at least try to pass! You promised you would attend classes! You-!"
"Keiko!" He interrupted her, standing up quickly as the girl furiously glared at him. "I was tired, all right?! Botan woke me up at two in the morning to tell me about another stupid mission that pacifier-breath assigned me! I needed to catch up on my slee-!"
"You're an irresponsible jerk!" The brown-haired girl shouted. "I have lost sleep before but I don't use it as an excuse to ditch class!" She lashed out, showing her back to him.
Yusuke opened his mouth to reply but closed it in frustration. Massaging his temples, he pondered if he should say that he was sorry. However, his pride glued his lips shut as he sulkily sat back on the floor.
Keiko sighed before sitting too. They stayed in silence for a few moments before the girl spoke: "You know, there's a new girl studying here. Her name is Mai Shiroyama."
"What does she look like?"
"Blue eyes, dark hair...She's really cute."
"Was she cool to you?"
"Yeah."
"Good."
"Ne, Yusuke..." Keiko asked, looking at him, "Will you go to class after lunch break ends?"
Yusuke grinned at her, "Yeah."
broken peace
Kurama sighed, handing his history test to the old teacher. Walking back to his seat, he sent a quick look to Sora's way. Koenma had worked pretty quickly in transferring her to his school. The girl was currently handing her test as whispering ensued.
"C'mon! The test started seven minutes ago! How can they be finished already?!"
"Well, she finished after Minamino...So he's still top, right?"
"Quiet!" The teacher scolded, "You're all doing a test, for God's sake! Minamino, Aoino, you're already dismissed to lunch break."
Sora and Kurama exited the classroom quickly and, once outside, the boy asked casually. "So, how did Koenma arrange things?"
Sora sent him a quick look, "Ahn...He told me to give you this." Kurama took the small paper the girl handed him and read it, "It's my new temporary address, while the mission isn't solved."
"Okay." Kurama folded the paper and stuffed it on his pocket. "What about your family?"
"They placed a memory-blocking spell on my parents and friends and erased my scent on the house." She answered, clearly without knowing much. Kurama nodded.
"Don't worry, this will be over soon."
"Well, that's what the blue-haired girl told me..." Sora smiled a little.
"You mean Botan?"
"Yeah."
Kurama studied her. She looked very tired and down. Smiling a little, Kurama put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "It must be hard, people you love not recognizing you."
Sora's smile faltered a little as she nodded, "But it can't be helped, right?"
"Not now, it can't." Kurama agreed. "Is there anything you need?"
"Ah, no." Sora smiled, shaking her head. "But thanks for asking."
"Okay." Kurama said, eyeing her. Then, he heard Kaitou's voice.
"Hey, Minamino! Come here, you have to sign that report of our group work so we can hand it to the teacher!"
"All right!" Kurama answered to the other boy. Turning to Sora, he nodded, "So..."
"I guess I'll see you around." Sora helped.
"Yeah."
Kurama went after Kaitou, who greeted him with a raised eyebrow. "A girl?"
"Mission." Kurama said, signing the biology report.
"What?" Kaitou asked, frowning in confusion. Kurama explained Sora's situation and the other boy nodded in understanding. "I see now...But then, isn't she an easy prey, living alone and without any kind of powers?"
Kurama shook his head, "She's my neighbor."
Kaitou's eyebrow shot up again, "So, basically, practically only you are responsible for the girl's safety."
"Basically." The redhead agreed. "Koenma thought it was better this way. Hiei doesn't really care unless the demon, or whatever it is, is really strong. Yusuke and Kuwabara..." He paused, looking for a word.
"Are Yusuke and Kuwabara." Kaitou helped. Kurama nodded.
"Exactly."
broken peace
Sora finished drinking her soda and threw the can on a nearby trashcan, walking among the tall trees as the sun hit the cemented floor.
Sighing, she sat under a sakura tree and stared at the blue sky while fluffy white clouds moved slowly with the wind. Sora's attention was taken away from her surroundings as she though about her situation.
It's strange...How suddenly I miss my old school...Hugging her legs, she supported her chin on her knees as a group of girls went giggling by, talking about boys. Sora smiled, remembering when she did that to her friends.
But for now, they don't know me...Biting her lip, Sora hid her face as she breathed hard. She didn't notice a shadow fall over her figure until the girl spoke.
"Hey, are you all right?"
"Eh?" Looking up, Sora saw a girl with dark skin and curly ebony hair staring at her with a concerned look. Sora nodded, smiling a little. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"Can I sit here?" The girl asked, without waiting for an answer. She extended her hand to Sora, who shook it. "I'm Akane Yamano."
"Sora Aoino." The pale girl smiled. "Did you attend here before?"
"Yep." Akane smiled, "But you look like a new girl."
"I am." Sora answered, "Just got transferred."
"So late?" Akane frowned in confusion, "Why is that?"
"She moved from Shizuoka."
Both girls gasped in surprise and turned to see Kurama and Kaitou standing behind them. Akane's eyes glowed as Kurama looked at them. "Minamino-sama! How did you do on your test today?"
"Very good. Thanks for asking." Kurama smiled a little at the girl before turning to Sora, "Can you come with me, Aoino-san?"
"Yes." Sora nodded, confused. Standing up, she started to go on Kurama's direction. "See you, Akane!"
"See ya! Bye, Minamino-sama!"
Kurama waved as he and Kaitou leaded Sora inside the school's building. Once inside, Kurama looked at Sora seriously and opened his mouth to speak, but Kaitou beat him to it.
"What do you think you were doing?"
Sora frowned, not liking the way he talked to her. "Socializing, if you ever did that."
"Aoino-san, you must understand." Kurama interfered, not letting Kaitou retort. "If you make friends here they'll be endangered."
"So, in a few words, for God's-know how long I simply can't talk to other people?" Sora asked, frowning. Kurama nodded, already thinking of a way to convince her if she started shouting. Sora, however, did something else.
"Great, just great." She shook her head, rubbing her forehead and starting to walk away. Kaitou shouted at her back.
"Where are you going?!"
Sora didn't answer, fastening her pace. Kurama frowned and walked to her, standing by her side. "Please, Aoino-san, where are you going?"
"I want to be alone." Sora said, her temper starting to boil.
"What if the creature attacks you?" Kaitou asked, "Ever though of that?"
Sora spun around to face him, "Well, you weren't really concerned some time ago. I had lunch and stayed a nice five minutes alone outside. Much more, I can assure you, that what would take to kill me."
"Obviously." Kaitou answered, eyeing her.
"That's the best come back you could think of? Because I'm not the least ashamed of my condition." Sora said, raising an eyebrow at the black-haired boy. Kurama interfered again.
"Enough." He said, sending Kaitou a clear look of 'Shut Up'. "Aoino-san, please cooperate."
Sora frowned even more, "It's not like it's going to attack me right now, you kno-!!"
Just then, she was proved wrong when a huge explosion sound was heard and a green-skinned being came breaking through the wall.
"Okay..." She said, Kurama staying defensively before her. "I take that back."
To be continued...
Act Two: Sora finally meets the rest of the gang after a hard fight with the youkai. But that wasn't the creature they were looking for...More is found out about the strange murder as an arrogant lady shows up.
AS: So, what did you guys think? Please, do review. And no, Sora isn't becoming best friends with the girls on a blink of an eye and neither is Kurama falling head over heels for the girl. It will take time, don't worry...HxB will be quicker, though...