This is where the story gets complicated, readers! Hm...I have finally introduced our villan! (sp?) Now what is her motivation for wanting the Destinies dead? Why did she sob kill their parents? Will the girls hone their powers and be able to defeat her? Heck don't ask me! Read the story for yourself! grumbles Going to be another short chapter!

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Chapter Nine

"I'm scared..." Olivia clutches Botan's shoulders in an effort to stay balanced. The two sit on her oar, flying to Spirit World to meet Koenma in person.

"There's nothing to be afraid of, silly!" Botan picks up her speed, sliding through the clouds with ease. "You won't fall off."

"Can you put your life on that promise?"

"Um...no."

"Hn. Didn't think so. Why do I have to ride with you?"

"Because everyone else wanted to take the portals, and the portals only hold so many people. You were the only one not paying attention at the time, so I grabbed you!"

"Gee, thanks."

The clouds are dark, tainted with the slightest bit of pink as Botan manueveres her oar around them.The wind rushes past them with a fury, leaving Olivia feeling a bit sick as they reach the large gate that is their entry. Botan begins pulling to a stop as she nears the ground near the double gates. Olivia scrambles off the oar, getting down on her hands and knees as soon as she is completely off.

"LAND!"

Botan puts on her cat face and mews, waving her paw, "You really don't trust me, do you?"

"Not in the air, no."

Sighing, Botan presses the button outside the gates and requests entrance. The two are let in and soon find themselves in an office full of ogres running around with stacks of paper in their hands and arguing about the arrivals of different things. Other ferry girls are scattered around the office, looking bored. They brighten and wave when Botan comes into their sight.

"Hi guys!" Botan waves furiously, happy to see her old friends again.

Olivia clears her throat and points to the ogre who is waiting to take them to Koenma. Botan gives one last over-enthusiastic wave and grabs Olivia by the arm, dragging her past the confused ogre and straight to her boss's office. Olivia's stomach rumbles, partly from lack of food and partly because of the frightening ride to Spirit World.

"Botan...not so fast or I'll puke..."

"Hello Koenma, sir. We're here!"

Yusuke and Co. and the Destinies turn to stare at the two late arrivals. Koenma, now in teenage form, nods and begins to speak.

"Eh? Where's Koenma?" Olivia interrupts him before he can even begin.

"I'm right here," the taller and much cuter Koenma informs, waving.

"I'll explain later!" Botan whispers, sitting Olivia down next to Meagan.

"As I was going to say, I've called you all here for an important reason. I hope you've been practicing your powers a bit, because I have a case for Yusuke and his team and as they have to protect you, you have to go with them."

The Destinies can only stare, trying to take in this new piece of information. Well, they know what he wants from them. that's easy enough to understand. They just cannot believe he is asking them after only two days of training to develop their powers. Botan is stunned as well. Koenma had not told her what he wanted when he called them all down here.

"K-Koenma, sir! This is a bit sudden, isn't it? They haven't even had one week of training!" Botan exclaims, demanding an explanation.

"Yes, but this may concern them," Koenma explains. "It seems that these four have been mentioned in numerous prophecies throughout all three worlds: Spirit World, the human world, and Makai. I can't believe I didn't notice it before, but it seems like demons have been after these four their whole lives."

"What?" the Destinies ask, confused. "Nobody's ever attacked us."

"It doesn't have to be physical to be an attack. Have you ever heard little voices in your head, one's you know are not your own?"

"Sure, it's called your conscious (sp?)," Nissi giggles.

"Seriously, Nissi," Kurama scolds. "Your lives could be on the line."

That straightens the Destinies up real quick. They dig very deeply in the caverns of their minds, searching for times lost to their memories. "Well, even though I can't name a specific time, I'm sure we've all heard those voices but dismissed it as the one in the back of your head that tempts you to eat a cookie right before dinner kind of voice, you know?" Meagan shrugs.

"Could you tell us about the case?" Olivia implores, resting her chin in her hand.

Koenma nods, "It's deep in Makai, which is why I hope you've developed at least one power. If you can't defend yourself, you'll die easy."

The Destinies gasp, obviously frightened, clutching the arms of their chairs so hard that they snap in half.

"Hey Koenma, don't scare them," Yusuke scolds the prince.

"Yeah, they're not used to this kind of stuff!" Kuwabara puts his two cents in.

The boys each come to comfort their charge, save for Hiei who stands in a corner and secludes himself from the rest of them. Olivia stares into space, horrible thoughts slinking one by one into her mind. And no matter how far away she pushes them, they continue coming back. She shudders, and Kurama sends Hiei a look that clearly is read as get over here and comfort your charge or you will see a wrath I haven't shown since I fought Karasu. Growling, Hiei grabs Olivia by the shoulders and forces her to look at him.

"Look. It's a kill or be killed world. If you're not strong enough to survive in it, you deserve to die. Get over it."

Olivia sits, stunned by his words. Soon though, her surprise turns to anger as she clenches her fists and hits him with it. "Hiei you jerk! Is that any way to make a girl feel better!"

The Destinies laugh at Hiei, who sits cross-legged on the floor, rubbing his cheek. He looks amused, "That one hurt."

"Really Hiei!" Kurama frowns. "I think you scared her more."

Nissi tugs his sleeve, and he looks down at her, "No, Olivia is just fine. We're all the same. Say something to tick us off and we'll forget our anger quickly. We're just like that..."

"By the by, I forgot to ask something!" Olivia smiles and turns to Koenma. "What kind of demons are Nissi and I?"

Koenma shrugs, "I don't know."

Botan drops to the floor, anime-style, "Koenma! You're the ruler of Spirit World! You have everyone's life in a file, and you don't know what kind of demons these two are? How can that be?"

"These four girls...their files are missing."

"WHAT?" Botan shouts, causing everyone to wince. "But Koenma, that's a major breach in security! Why hasn't King Enma been notified yet?"

"Do the words 100 spankings mean anything to you?" Koenma retaliates.

Kurama gestures for everyone besides the two quarelling friends to exit the office, "This will go on for some time. I suggest that we settle into our rooms for the night."

"We're staying here?"

"Yes, it is not safe to use the portals at night, and we wouldn't want to tire Botan by having her take numerous trips back and forth between the worlds, so we will stay here for the night, then depart in the morning. Ah, girls here is your room. Sorry there are only two beds."

"I CALL THE FLOOR!" Vanessa shouts, running in to claim it as her own.

"WINOWSILL FOR ME!" Olivia runs in also, settling onto the very comfortable space right next to the window.

"Well...I guess we get the beds," Meagan says to Nissi, who nods.

"Guess so."


The wind runs through the open window, sending Olivia's hair in her face. It flows through the room and to the other Destinies, gently caressing their faces, lulling them into a deeper sleep. But with the wind comes a spy, a spy that relies on the wind to carry it from place to place. It is a bug. A tiny, tiny, microscopic bug that carries in its body a deadly poison. The bug buzzes around, biting each of the girls on the neck, letting the poison enter their weak bodies. The bug flies back out of the window witht the wind, remembering what its master had told it earlier.

Flashback

"The girls will be weak. Their bodies have not yet toughened up, and they will not be able to fight off the poison. Do not go for the Detective and his team, for then they will be able to track me...and we don't want that, do we?"

The woman sets the bug free. "If I find you've betrayed me, you will die..."

End Flashback

The four infected girls begin to twist and turn in their sleep, nightmares suddenly taking over. Over their skin, small white dots begin to form...


Mwuahahahahaha that is the end:) Wow, I can't believe I wrote that. I got side-tracked on Koenma telling them about the mission, but oh well. We shall be informed later. I'm so happy for all the reviews I've been getting. Maybe I'll reach 100! (gasp) That would be soo cool. TT.TT You guys are awesome! Ja ne! xCalismo