Yu Yu Hakusho – Remember the Child

Chapter One

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of its characters but I DO own this story. So :p

Author's Note: This story is inspired by a part in the first Samurai Deeper KYO manga series. In this story, Kurama meets the familiar face of Ido, a young cat demon (only a couple hundred years younger than Yoko Kurama) who Yoko Kurama helped when she was a child. You'll see as the story unfolds. Enjoy!

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Yusuke Urameshi walked down the street towards the video arcade, completely ignoring the after-school-help-session his history teacher insisted he take. He kicked an old can along as he went, whistling a tune on the way.

The can stopped by those oh-so-familiar dress shoes of his demon friend, Kurama. He looked up and saw him standing there with his hands in his pockets.

"Skipping your help session again, aye Yusuke?" Kurama teased.

"So?" Yusuke retorted. "What's it to you?"

"Nothing, really. I could care less about your education. You have a job to do. There's a demon in the human world causing all sorts of trouble with the human authority."

Yusuke's eyes opened wider at the sound of possible fun.

"Finally! I haven't had an assignment for weeks now!"

Kurama smirked. "This one should be fun for you, then. She likes to play pranks. All we know is that she's a cat demon with the power of levitation. You should get some more details at Koenma's office. Come on!"

They reached the Spirit World and were now standing before Koenma's large desk. The big screen was down and ready for viewing. Hiei was there, too. But just to see Yusuke's assignment.

Koenma sat in his large, purple chair, the character pacifier in his mouth.

"Alright, Yusuke," he said with his 'serious business' voice. "If you would direct your attention to the big screen, I will play the profile for your assignment."

Simply, Yusuke, Kurama and Hiei turned to face the big screen. On it was the profile for the demon.

"Your assignment is a cat demon by the name of Ido Ichigama. She's quite the mischievous character, she is. She's a master cat burglar with the power of levitation."

They were now looking at the picture of a young looking demon girl with dark tan skin and short blonde hair. She had yellow cat ears with black tips and green cat eyes. She was looking rather displeased as she had stuck her tongue out for her picture.

"This is my assignment?" Yusuke mocked.

Something in Kurama's memory, a fathom deep, clicked and Kurama now found himself thinking back on his past as Yoko Kurama.

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It was a dark night and the master thief, Yoko Kurama, was making his escape from his previous heist when his nose caught the sent of burning wood and his ears the sound of a grieving child.

Intrigued by both his eagerness to search for anything to salvage and his curiosity to find out what happened he headed in the direction of the weeping.

He stopped dead still as his keen eyes lay witness to the most grim of scenes he had witnessed in his experienced life.

A young demon girl in a dirty blue kimono sat next to the impaled figure of what Kurama took to be her mother. The mother's eyes were still open, devoid of all life, seeming as if they were peering into the back of her mind. Her mouth was gaping open and her purple kimono was charred and stained with blood.

This lay before the burning ruins of what must have been their home. A body could be seen hanging out of a window, burning on the spot, its flesh scarred with burns and boils.

A look to the side of the house revealed a ruined fence and the two slain bodies of a cow and horse. Chickens lay scattered and broken like twigs and debris about the blood strewn yard.

All the while, the horrified girl wept by the body of her dead mother and cried curses and vows of revenge into the wind.

Kurama dropped the bundle in his hands and walked over to the demon girl, who was, what Kurama soon found out, a cat demon. He shut his eyes to the burning home and looked down at the girl.

She looked up at him with innocent and scared green eyes, filled with tears and woe. She shrunk back and made to crawl away from the fox demon. Kurama lowered himself onto one knee and looked at the girl with a deep, sincere expression filled with intense determination.

"You cry your vows of revenge into the wind, girl," he said in a calm voice. "What I wish to know is do you mean them? For if they are nothing but an idol threat made by a fool anguished by the death of loved ones, my time here is wasted. Do you wish your revenge?"

Hesitantly, the girl nodded her head. "Yes . . . It is what I wish."

"Good," he said in reply. "I will extinguish this fire and give your family a proper burial. Then you will learn how to gain your revenge."

The girl's blonde hair was made red by the glowing light of the flames, her green eyes were made to sparkle like emeralds and her dark skin appeared to magnify the intense glow of the flames.

Kurama soon learned her name was Ido.

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Kurama's face was struck with such disbelief and surprise that he attracted the attention of the others.

"Kurama, you okay?" Yusuke asked.

"Huh?" Kurama snapped back to reality looking rather dazed. "Oh, yes. I'm fine."

"Do you know this girl?" Hiei asked.

It was at times like this that Kurama could've sworn Hiei was psychic.

"In fact, I do know her," he said as he looked back up at the screen.

Yusuke grinned. "Ooo! Does Kurama have a little girl friend? Eh? Eh?"

Kurama gave Yusuke an annoyed expression. (Like this!  T)

"Hardly," he said simply. "I met her a long time ago when I was Yoko Kurama. She was just a little girl, then, still wanting revenge."

"Revenge for what?" Yusuke asked, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jacket.

"She wanted revenge for the murder of her family," Koenma interjected. "It's all on her file. Her family was part of an Uchiudo (or rogue village) clan. There was a war between two demon clans and her village was caught in the middle. Ever since then, the enemy clans have been picking off members of the village, trying to exterminate them before they could get too rowdy or join the other side."

Yusuke and Hiei looked at Koenma then at Kurama.

"That's what happened, Kurama?" Hiei asked.

Kurama nodded his reply. "Koenma, I would like to take this assignment, if Yusuke doesn't mind."

"What?!" Yusuke exclaimed. "No way! I haven't had an assignment in weeks!"

Hiei glared at Yusuke. "Have you no brain? This is a personal issue for Kurama and I'm sure he doesn't want your dumb ass in the way."

"WATCH WHO YOU'RE CALLING A DUMB ASS, SHORT CAKE!!!"

"ARE YOU CALLING ME SHORT?!?!"

"IF THE SHOE FITS, SHORTY!!"

"THAT'S IT!!!!"

"BOYS!" Koenma interjected. "That's enough!! Kurama, you may accompany Yusuke on his assignment. Case closed. And look at it this way, Hiei. You're taller than me!"

"WHAT WAS THAT?!"

But Hiei was cut off for Koenma had pushed the new, shiny red button on his desk and the floor beneath the three fell out.

Koenma grinned sinisterly. "I'm glad I put in that new trap door! HEE! HEE! HEE!!!"

Mischievous green eyes danced with glee as they looked down at the tiny, almost ant-like figures of humans, bustling about on their 'important' business. These eyes were in the head of a young demon girl by the name of Ido, or, to her demon posse, Ido the Trick Mistress.

Ido smirked maliciously as she formed another plan in her head.

"I wonder what my next trick will be. Human authorities are already stir crazy trying to figure out who I am, so maybe I should mess with them some more?"

"How about no for an answer?"

Her pierced cat ears perked and she turned about to face the Spirit Detective, Yusuke Urameshi. Ido was sitting on the ledge of the building, her slender cat tail curling and waving about,

"Oh? Could this be the infamous Spirit Detective? It took you long enough."

She hopped up to her feet nimbly and gracefully as she walked back and forth on the edge of the ledge. (I rhymed!)

She wore a white button up blouse with flared sleeves. It was unbuttoned at the belly and she wore dark purple pants and black shoes. She had gold bracelets on her wrists as well as on her ankles and she looked like a gypsy.

"So? Aren't you gonna TRY to arrest me?" she said, placing her hands on her hips.

She leapt down from the ledge and walked toward the rather calm looking Yusuke. He had his hands in the pockets of his jacket with a rather smug look on his face.

"Not yet. I thought I'd give my buddy a chance to meet an old friend first."

"Your buddy?" she said, looking perplexed.

Yusuke pointed his finger behind her and she turned around.

"I don't know him," she said as she scratched her head.

"Well," Kurama said, shrugging his shoulders, "not in this form." With a flash of power, the peaceful human form of Kurama was replaced with the form of his counter part, Yoko Kurama.

(You see, Koenma had lent Kurama this potion that would enable him to transform into Yoko Kurama for exactly two hours.)

Ido's eyes went wide and her hand came up to cover her mouth in shock.

"K-Kurama? Is that you?!"

TO BE CONTINUED . . .

Author's Note: Well, that's it for chapter one. You'll get chapter two later. Well? What did you all think? Send me your reviews, please! I'd greatly appreciate it. I've been concocting an idea for a serious YYH fan fic for a while now and, by George, I think I've got it! But I can't be sure if I've got it or not unless you all say so, so start sending your reviews please!

Oh! And if you've got any ideas for the next chapter or for a story of mine that you've read and might want me to continue, please, don't hesitate to say so.

Forever writing, gametaken.