Author's Note – "Ante Fictionus":

This was actually written AFTER I wrote the chapter, but then again, that's how I go about going my author's notes. I write them after the fact – post fact, if you will. But I always try to write one "Ante Fictionus", and one "Post Fictionus" – meaning Before the Fiction, and After the Fiction. Before the fanfic, and after the fanfic, in essence. One of each goes with every chapter, responding to reviews, adding in notes, and stating any random material that I please, whether it concerns the story or not. Usually, it will concern the story, of course. Also, my disclaimer will be nudged in each time, despite the pain it causes me to say that I do not own something I wish I did.

Either way, I won't keep you from the story. I hope for this to become a long, blossoming fruit of my labors, one of the juiciest kind for myself, and what readers I actually have. So…

My Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Yu Yu Hakusho, nor do I own any of the characters from Yu Yu Hakusho. Thank you.

And now, without further ado…Mute Song, Capitulum Unum (chapter one).

Hush…the wind speaks.

She was about the age of ten, with her messy, wind-swept hair somehow able to retain a way of looking good, and free, at the same time, due to its not-so-very-long length. She sat on the edge of a front porch, her strong legs dangling down the side, now and then slightly bumping the turquoise-painted wood beams with her heels. Her usually restless hands gripped the edge of the porch, as though she would fall off in a moment's notice, her fingers often twitching unintentionally with tension. She was slightly hunched over, and even as the wind suddenly gusted with zeal, she remained as unmovable as a mountain. The gust swept her unrestrained bangs clear away from her forehead, revealing in lucid vision her eyes. They stared out into the sky as seriously as the grave appearance of the eye of an eagle, and with focus strong. Her eyes were deep and dark, the darkest brown known to man without appearing somewhat black, holding a stern gaze in their wake. They were so perfectly focused, and glare so greatly concentrated, that a glance strait from those eyes could send shivers down the spine of even the bravest of men. The rest of her face was without expression, and if it weren't for the current look of meditation her eyes, one might consider her a cute little girl.

As the wind slowed just slightly, the girl blinked but once, letting a puff of warm air out of her nose, like a heavy sigh from a previous deep breath. She continued to stare. She continued to stare a long, long time, many minutes of her silence joining the minutes before them. Not a bird nor cricket chirped; the only sound to penetrate the barriers of absolute silence was the whispering of the wind on its variable course. Not only was she staring, but listening as well. Listening to the wind, which carried words unspoken and secrets hidden from all others. It whispered into her ears, tipped red from the slight cold on that early autumn morning in Seattle. It whispered to her, and to her alone, with mischief in its voice.

Many more moments passed until the girl finally shifted with the wind, straitening up in her posture, and startled demeanor affecting the width of her eyes. The wind blew against her left side now, its relentless whistling breath whipping through her hair, and cold whispers dashing through her ears, again and again without pause. Yet her eyes moved not an inch, as she let the wind say and do its will. It seemed to laugh haughtily through her ears, the cackles of this cold, but breathtaking wind, echoing through her mind as it spoke to her, and her alone. Being the curious young girl that she was, she listened, and continued to lend her ear, even after the words began to fade…

"Kinetsu."

It was only when a human's hand touched her shoulder gently, that the girl's glance shifted. For the first time in several minutes, she blinked, eyes changing from stern, serious and eerie, to innocent and bright, as they usually were. They lighted up her entire face at their surprise. Her head turned to the side, and she glanced solemnly over her shoulder, giving a naive glance to the lady behind her. She blinked, seeming clueless.

"Kinetsu, come inside. It's very chilly out here – you mustn't catch a cold." The woman softly told her, making motions with her hands at the same time, and then gently shaking Kinetsu's shoulder as she pointed towards the house, and stood up from her kneeling position.

Her brown eyes closed as she slowly stood up, taking the time to brush dust and dirt off of her black pant-legs, and her purple sweater, which was much too big for her build. She took one last, glaring look at the land before her as the wind began to fire up again, whistling softly, although saying not a thing worth listening to. Then Kinetsu turned away without a single word, walking towards the screen door of the cabin-like house she had grown up so familiar with. Slowly, she opened it, the only sound other than the ever-whistling wind being the loud squeak of the door. She stared into the house, carelessly allowing the wind to flow into the entering room. Her ears were the only ones to hear of the troubles to come – the only ones toned for the warnings of the wind…and her mouth was the only one trustworthy of never saying a word of what the wind said…

Three months later, far, far away, somewhere in Japan, two adolescent boys, and one well-mannered girl walked briskly down the street. They appeared to be in quite a rush…

"Hurry up, Yusuke! We're going to be late for school!"

Yusuke scoffed, rolling his exasperated brown eyes to avow his churlish nature, "It's not like I really care, anyway…"

"You should!" Keiko snapped at him angrily, veering all the way around until she was able to face him head on, her hazel eyes ablaze with fury as she glared into Yusuke's laid back, but slightly irritated stare, "It's bad enough that you don't come to school nine out of ten days! You shouldn't be late the one day you do come!! I keep getting in trouble because of your poor attendance!"

Yusuke growled, trying to comb his jet-black hair back with his fingers, having not had time to do so earlier that morning, when he applied the gel for his hairstyle, "Hey! Gimme a break! I just so happen to have the stupid job of chasing stupid demons away from this stupid world that want to destroy it in stupid ways!! Geez, you people just don't cut any slack…" Yusuke shoved past Keiko and Kuwabara, tucking his brown school bag under his arm as he continued to mutter and grumble pessimistically under his breath.

Keiko sighed, her cheeks slightly puffing as she pouted angrily, and proceeded to follow…

Kuwabara scampered after them, but once he had caught up with his fuming friend, he slowed down, adjusting his pace to fit Yusuke's. With a gloomy sigh, he took a lamenting glance towards the gray, cloud-congested sky above him. The clouds gave the city a gloomy glow, making him feel almost depressed, "Aw, c'mon…why can't we just skip? It's such a gloomy day. Doesn't feel right to be doing anything at all, except playing stupid, rainy-day games, and sleep…"

Keiko glanced around at the people walking down the streets around them, but stopped in bewilderment at the sight. As she looked around, it came to her…there were more people than usual walking through the town today. Shaking her head, she walked on, dismissing the fact as insignificant, even though it appeared that several of these people were high school students, in red uniforms…

Yusuke and Kuwabara complained, moped, and whined to each other, taking turns expressing their deep hatred for junior high, for teachers, for dreary days, and for the idiotic pressure of everyday life. Keiko just walked behind them, seeming quite preoccupied with other things. Unlike the two boys, she was well aware of something suspicious happening in the sky. The clouds were darker than your average, shower-fall rain clouds. The sky was darkening fast, and the wind was picking up not gradually, but rapidly, in speed. With contrast, as the wind picked up speed, it dropped in temperature, causing Keiko to shiver slightly, and grip onto herself, as it blew by. As a rather cold gust darted past her face, she hugged herself tightly, lowering her chin towards her chest as she painfully winced from such cold. Temperatures like that were certainly far from normal here, especially considering that it was early autumn - hardly fall at all.

Yusuke and Kuwabara froze in place as a chilling breeze blew strait into them, eyes widening in their pause. When that breeze had come and gone, they immediately flinched, shivering violently. The fact that such a wind had been unexpected was probably the thing that weakened their immunity to its cold grasp the most.

"Jesus!" Yusuke exclaimed through chattering teeth, "How the hell did it get so cold??"

Kuwabara stammered, "I-I dunno…but man, that was just freezing!!" He gripped his arms, shivering slightly as he grimaced from the sharp pain of the cold.

Yusuke turned his chin up to the sky, peering at it with squinting eyes. He took a sniff, and smelt the sure scent of approaching rain, "Oh, great…" He mumbled, "It's going to rain…"

But something here did not seem right, with the chilling winds, and the sudden rain. Keiko did not find this close to ordinary, especially, considering the amount of attention it received from other passer-biers. Suddenly, as the sky rumbled, like the empty stomach of a big, hungry bear, people began to change their courses, or quicken in their pace. Some began heading into buildings they would have not normally gone into along their way to wherever it was they were wishing to go. Others pulled out umbrellas, put over their hoods, or ran for roofs in which to shelter the coming rain.

Kuwabara, Yusuke, and Keiko looked between each other quizallicly, standing in the middle of a now almost barren street in confusion. However, they were soon accompanied by several high school students, all shouting to each other, and running towards the nearest building – a finance company…

Kuwabara raised an eyebrow dumbly, and Yusuke did the same, as both of them mumbled, "Huh…?"

"Yusuke! Kuwabara! Keiko! What are you - crazy??"

All three immediately had their heads turned to a figure standing behind them. It was Kinomi, dressed in the red, high school uniform she wore daily when at school. Why wasn't she at school, either?

Kinomi seemed tense, and her voice expressed her urgency, "Quickly – get inside that building!! There's a monsoon on its way!"

A monsoon…?

Without giving much time to the three to allow this new thought to process through their minds, Kinomi rushed forward, her long, soft, beautiful, light pink hair flowing out behind her, with almost complete freedom. She grabbed Yusuke and Kuwabara by the sleeves, dragging them off towards the finance building. She didn't have to grab Keiko; Keiko was cooperative, and followed instantly, and with haste.

No sooner than all four had gotten inside the building, and Kinomi kicked the glass door closed behind them, the rain pummeled the ground outside, pouring relentlessly onto the pavement, and unfortunate pedestrians who still happened to be outside. Yusuke and Kuwabara looked up from their spots on the floor, eyes widening as they heard the wind howl and scream from outside, rattling the strong windows, and pulling the rain this way and that, as though it were all part of some mystical dance.

Keiko stood quietly, staring out at the people running about outside, whom were now trying desperately to get out of the open. However, she gasped a warning as several soaked high school students stampeded towards the finance building in a massive throng, tugging on Kinomi's shoulder as her jaw dropped open, "Kinomi!"

Kinomi had taken notice long before, and pulled Kuwabara and Yusuke off the ground, making certain they were out of the doorway's path before an endless group of teenager poured into the building with sighs of relief, and constant chattering of this strange occurrence. With them they brought their bags, their umbrellas, and plenty of rain. The newcomers managed to create a large puddle of water onto the carpet of the lobby, which made the secretary of the first floor feel quite distraught. However, she, and none of the other workers, had much room, nor right, to complain, as more and more people from the streets seeped into the building. It was no longer just teenagers – old women, young, working men, local shoppers, and other adults and children came into the building. This just happened to be one of the few places that would willingly provide shelter from the hammering rain, and blistering wind from outside.

Within minutes, the main lobby of the building was filled with people, all talking amongst themselves. Those who drifted in later hopped into the arms of other family members, bringing food and blankets with them in plastic bags, or waterproof backpacks soaked on the outside. Parents took the wet jackets and coats off of their young children, in hopes that they would dry, while some workers went around and passed out blankets to the shivering elderly.

Somehow, in this entire time-span, Kinomi, Yusuke, Keiko, and Kuwabara had remained completely dry. Not a single drop of water wet down their clothing, hair, or skin. While Keiko combed her rich brown hair quietly, Kuwabara and Yusuke watched Kinomi pace around what little space she was allowed, mumbling and fretting to herself in a worried stance, "Oh, no…oh, no, no, no, no…no…" She bit a bit of skin from her index finger, which she had gently put to her lips as she paced.

Finally, Kuwabara couldn't help but ask, "Kinomi, what's wrong? You look all nervous and stuff." Surprisingly enough, he had been aware enough to notice her disturbed, rustled, irked vibe.

"Oh, am I?" Kinomi countered in an un-amused, somewhat sarcastic voice. She glanced to the three, pausing to send them a clearly anxious gaze. Her normally sparkly, calm, brilliant, sea green eyes, which would shine in the light of the sun, and the reflections of the rain, seemed different now. They were darkened, and as variable and ever-shifting as the sea itself. It was like a clear ocean view, as a storm just began to brew. They had gravened - that was certain, "I have reason to be," Was all Kinomi said in reply, before going back to pacing, mumbling, and whining from worry.

Yusuke glanced from Kinomi to the windows, staring out at the pounding rain listlessly, as he spilled himself over a sofa-like lounge chair. With a heavy sigh, he lethargically twiddled his thumbs, watching the rain run down the windowpane in huge gushes, rather than tiny, dispersing droplets. What a dreary day indeed. A bizarre, but quite dreary day. Though Yusuke appeared to be doing, and thinking of nothing, his mind was racing. Could it already be monsoon season? For a split second, he wished he had paid better attention in science class when they were explaining seasonal whether patterns, but he mentally kicked himself for that. Science class? As Scrooge would say, 'Bah Humbug'. Either way, such hard rains were quite strange. But then he remembered something equally peculiar, to make the situation even stranger. When he had taken a sniff of the air beforehand, he had smelt rain. What he hadn't told anyone, was that with it, he also smelt the unmistakable scent of salt…

The quiet mood of the small group was broken by a familiar, bubbly voice, which chirped in delight upon the eyes of its owner lying upon them, "Yusuke!! Kuwabara!! Keiko!! Kinomi!! My Goodness – are you alright?"

"Botan?" Kinomi piped up, eyes bugging out as she looked towards the blue-haired ferry girl, her green eyes flashing.

Botan, dressed in 'human' clothes, took off her poncho, tossing it onto a metal chair nearby them with a sigh of relief, "Good heavens – what a terrible patch of weather hanging over this city! I'm amazed I even arrived here remotely dry…"

Kuwabara, Keiko, and Yusuke were now at attention, watching Botan with intrigued eyes. Yusuke was the only one out of the three that showed displeasure upon the sight of her; he was the only one thinking about the possibility of a new mission due to her sudden appearance. He had barely gotten a chance to recover from the last one, making another mission the last thing he felt the need for.

Kinomi turned to face Botan, now feeling able to spill her troubles out of her mind, "Botan, this is terrible – they drove us out of our school, and I don't even know why!"

"That's the least of our worries," Botan informed her, holding up an index finger, and pointing it towards a TV hosted in the ceiling corner of the room, "Just take a look there…"

The four were now curious, and all of them looked towards the TV. It was on, and on to a News channel of some sort. The reporter, sitting at his desk, spoke to the screen, staring out at his audience of the many drenched people in the lobby…

"Well, it appears that some strange weather patterns, unlike the normal patterns of the yearly cycle, have brought fierce weather to Japan, and China alike."

"I'm telling you, Bob, I've never seen a storm like this around this time of year."

"You betcha – the weather's gotten really bad, folks. Wind gusts are up to sixty miles per hour, and the temperature has dropped dramatically to 12 degrees. Way below freezing!"

"Not to mention the rain that's come with it."

"Yes, Bill – It appears to have been brought in by the wind from the sea. But it's puzzling; the sea water is warm, yet the wind makes it all colder-"

"Wait, Bob, I've just got a reading from our weatherman. Clarence?"

"Thank you, Bill. If you take a look here at this map, you'll see that right over Japan, there appears to be a typhoon building up."

"What?"

"Bob, you heard me right – a typhoon – and it's enormous! I haven't remembered seeing a typhoon this large in my entire career, and from the statistics we've had brought in, this typhoon looks to be larger than any on the past few thousands years!"

"…Okay, people, I'm sure you're thinking what I'm thinking – stay indoors, at all costs. We repeat – stay indoors. This storm is going to be deadly. Do what you can to find safe, stabile shelter. We'll keep you as up to date as possible on the situation at hand…"

Botan looked back towards the group, watching them stare at the TV screen in shock. She waited a moment, and then said, "I hate to tell you this, but this storm is exactly what Yusuke's next assignment is about…"

Yusuke jerked his head in Botan's direction, his eyes glimmering with anger as he gritted his teeth together, "WHAT?! HEY!! No way am I going on another mission! I don't want to hear that crap! I just got back!!"

Botan crossed her arms, frowning lightly, so that her expression remained soft, "This is serious, Yusuke. Koenma believes this building storm to be a huge threat, and we all know there is something else behind it…"

Kinomi nodded to Botan, as though she already understood the gist of the mission, and the targeted goal itself. Although she concealed it well, she was beginning to feel frightened inside. A typhoon was bad enough, but thinking that the thing that created it was a threat to them as well made her wonder how hard it would be to overpower it. If the creature that had created this enormous storm came from the demon world, it would be an even greater problem, and task, to defeating it. All in all, she had a very, very bad feeling about this mission. Even though she still had no true perception of exactly what was happening, a churning feeling in her stomach accompanied her worry, accenting its throbbing, but delicate whisps.

Kuwabara questioned Botan's statements, "So…what is this thing all about?"

"I can't tell you here," Botan whispered to both Yusuke and Kuwabara, "There are too many humans around. Their ears will not be able to comprehend it."

"Huh? Wait, what do you mean 'not be able to comprehend it'?" Yusuke chimed in, seeming more intrigued upon hearing this last phrase…

Botan sighed, eyebrows arching as her eyes glistened, and her face lined with worry, "I'm afraid that it would stun them…it might even stun you, Yusuke. That's how bad it is…"

Keiko watched Botan gravely, not knowing what to say or do to act upon this situation. Was there anything she could do, she asked herself? She found nothing. Keiko tiled her chin to her chest, a downward direction and downcast aura to her gaze. Very slowly, Keiko turned her head up and to the side, her stare quite blank. However, to where she had turned revealed a slightly surprising sight, causing her eyes to obtain focus again from interest, and start. It was Kinomi, and Kinomi's frightening, boggle-eyed glare to Botan, "?!"

Botan, Kuwabara, and Yusuke soon caught on, turning their heads so that Kinomi was clear in sight. The soaked up the mood of her suddenly persistent expression, yet only remained silent. That is, until Botan found her shoulder in Kinomi's grasp – Kinomi's tightened grasp.

"Who else will be attending this mission?"

Botan gulped, then awkwardly stammered, "Just…just the usual, Kinomi: Yusuke, Kuwabara…Hiei…Kurama – you, of course…a-and Koenma said Touya, Chuu, Rinku and Jin would be coming to help as well – "

"Jin? Touya? Rinku? Chuu?" Kinomi repeated, like a disbelieving mocking bird…

Botan tried to crack a small smile, in hopes of lightening the mood, "Shishiwakamaru and Suzuka also offered their help…?"

"Is it really that serious?"

Botan gave a small nod, and upon it, Kinomi gently let go, regaining composure and her usual, tranquil demeanor. What she had to say in response made Botan's small, forced smile drop right into a frown, "I'll go see what help I can get as well. From what you're telling me, we're going to need it," Kinomi began to step away, continuing, "Botan – set up a meeting in Spirit World for all of the fighters on this mission. Tell Koenma, if he opposes, that he can give the mission briefing to all of us in his office."

Keiko, Botan, Yusuke, and Kuwabara watched as Kinomi turned away, and slithered towards the door so quickly, it looked as though she had been sliding towards the door on ice. Botan immediately raised her voice, calling out to Kinomi in alarm as she opened the door, "Kinomi!" She half-shouted, straitening up and holding a hand out to her, "Are you out of your mind?? Didn't you just hear what the human reporters said on the TV? You've got to stay inside!!"

Kinomi paused at the open door, the bitter cold air seeping through. She glanced back to Botan, and without another word, dashed out the door and into the rain, a glide in her stride, and mystical feel with every quick step taken. As soon as she had taken to her run, she had disappeared, like an illusion that could only come from reading many myths, and bending the mind to believe that the magical creatures within them were actually real.

Botan lowered her hand with a sigh, staring out at the fierce wind, and pounding rain, through the glass of the doors and windows.

Kuwabara looked from the windows to Botan, and like a young child, asked, "Will she be okay?"

"…Yes, Kuwabara. I think so. She'll be fine. Kinomi's a strong fighter; a storm shouldn't cause her much trouble. Besides…" Her eyes glazed over as she began to loose focus, and think of the bigger picture of the so far unknown mission, "We are definitely going to need all the help possible…"

Author's Note – "Post Fictionus":

Ah! Well, here is the first chapter to my hopefully long, juicy, fulfilling series! I stretched myself to write as well and as descriptively as possible when the fanfic was first written, and, hey, striking out nine pages doesn't seem so bad! Either way, I hope to continue this very soon, because it seems like without the other, proceeding chapter, people don't want to read this. Hey! Don't look at me! I'm terrible with cliffhangers! But you know what? I'm still going to try my hardest to do it right!

Yours truly,

J.I.G. – Jin's-Irish-Grin