A New Mission

Sao: Hi again and welcome to Chapter Two!

Karuri: Sigh she just came from this crazy festival called "Chocolate Fest." Guess what she had there?

Kurama: Two tons of chocolate?

Karuri: That and some new invention called drinkable chocolate, which is really chocolate espresso/vodka. And several packages of kettle corn, and many cans of vanilla coke, and I don't even want to know what else.

Sao: Lalalalalalala... (turns up music until house shakes)

Once again the dreaded interrogation session and new-mission receiving at Koenma's office. Yusuke sighed, wondering, 'Why me?' Because of course, in true Koenma style, the communicator had rung right as he was getting ready to finally have that uninterrupted date with Keiko. Apparently, this was not on Koenma's schedule.

"Where's Kurama?" Koenma whined.

The aforementioned person chose this moment to enter.

"Ah, there you are. Now, the briefing can start."

"Yeah and it better be good, toddler, or else you're going to answer to me instead of the other way 'round." Yusuke threatened.

"DON'T CALL ME TODDLER! And it is good! There is an elemental kitsune that we have been trying to catch for three years running loose in Tokyo."

"Three years? And you still haven't caught him?"

"She! She's the last of the elemental kitsunes, and we have been trying to catch her ever since she made it through the barrier somewhere in Russia."

"Whoa, Russia?"

"Yes, Russia! Did I stutter?"

"Uh, no." Kuwabara said stupidly. (A/N my comp. wanted to change Kuwabara to 'cowberry' umm, wow.)

"Well, anyhow, she just came from America, and we nearly caught her... but she got on the plane before we could and now she's your responsibility!"

"So, do we get a description? How are we going to find her?" Yusuke probed. Koenma reddened slightly.

"All I have is a name: Karuri."

It had been several school days since the principal had asked- no, ordered him to show Karuri around the school, and she hadn't really ceased to fascinate him. She wasn't like the rest of the female population of the school- thank Kami for that- and she seemed to have a grace that surpassed human limits. Despite her obvious humanity. Youko had taken to teasing him about crushing.

Then there had been the strange paper the other day. She had walked off and left it on her desk after foreign language (English) class the other day, and, intrigued, he had picked it up. The first part was most definitely in English, though for some reason it seemed to be far above the level they were learning it at in class. But then it switched into... something else. He could still perceive a couple words written in English, but the rest was some sort of gobbledegook.

Then, seemingly to make matters simpler, she had stopped with the Latin lettering to regular Japanese. Unfortunately, this soon became hopelessly intertwined with none other than the demon script of Makai. Puzzling much? Of course, then there was the end. The end was the one and only ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. Which neither he nor Youko could read, so they were stumped.

How could she know so many languages? She mentioned having had a rather spread out education, and having come from America lately, but... this? So he had taken the paper and planned on asking Koenma to translate it, though Youko's thoughts were more along the lines of 'he will translate this baka piece of paper or ELSE!'

Of course, then Koenma had called them all together, saying that he had yet another mission for them. He had said nothing up to this point, but at the name, he just had to speak up.

"Karuri?"

"Yes, Karuri. She's probably hiding out somewhere, hoping to get us off her tail... all the teams before might have failed, but I expect better from all of you!" the child ruler screeched at them.

"How did they fail?" Yusuke asked.

"Never mind that, all you need to know is that they are no longer being employed by Reikai. And I would keep that in mind if I were you!"

"Hn. Why is it so important for this kitsune to be captured?" Hiei spoke up from his shadowy corner, where he had went mostly unnoticed by all until now.

"Because without her Makai is a mess! She's supposed to be inheriting a throne right about now, since her father, the last elemental kitsune aside from her, recently was assassinated. And if she's not there to receive the throne, there will be a tournament held to name the ruler."

"So?" Yusuke asked, clearly still in a foul mood.

"SO? You should know what these demon tournaments are like! And ones for a royal position are even WORSE! NOW GO!" Koenma yelled, opening the portal beneath them.

"Screw that." Yusuke muttered as the appeared on a curb. "As if I'm going to go chasing after something like that immediately. You go get the thing, Kurama, you know where a kitsune would be." Without waiting for an answer he stormed off.

"Uhh... Where are we, anyway?" Kuwabara asked.

"Try reading the street signs, ningen. If you are even capable of so small a task as that."

"Of course I'm capable, shrimp!"

Kurama tuned them out.

It couldn't possibly be the same person. Sure there were a few matchups in the story, as well as the shared name, but there were facts a and b. A) she didn't have the aura of a youkai of any type, or the scent, and B) she just didn't act like a kitsune.

–:Nor does she look like one, unless she's very young.-

-Youko...- he warned. He didn't want the thief flashing the provocative pictures of all the kitsune women he had ever known in his head.

The next day dawned bright and early. And with nothing to do, since it was after all Saturday, and the weekend. Maybe he should just wander around the city, and perhaps pick up hints of where this mysterious kitsune might be.

–:And your friend Karuri should be off work today... you do remember that, don't you- Youko reminded him. Indeed, Karuri had said she wouldn't have work today. Apparently she worked at a local diner as a dishwasher after school almost every day and Sunday. She had even given him her address, but as a friendly gesture rather than the flirtatious way innumerable others at the school had. Thus, he had actually kept the scrap of paper around.

-Why Youko. I would never have suspected you to actually remember that.- he teased.

–:Hmph-

Still, it was a good enough idea. He had nothing to do, she should be there... He could convince himself that she was definitely not the kitsune they were supposed to be catching. Of course, he couldn't go this early. Or maybe not early... he checked his clock and found it reading nearly 10:45.

Half an hour later found him at the same corner Koenma had dropped them off at from his office. From the name of the apartments, he hadn't expected them to be in such an... unsavoury corner of the city. After all, 'Sunshine Waters' didn't exactly scream filth. It screamed randomness, a bit, but not filth.

Shrugging this off, he glanced at the apartment number and headed down the street. An attractive fronting and a sign reading "Sunshine Water's Apartments" greeted him before long, and with the slightest thrill of apprehension he opened the door and looked around.

A hall and stairway greeted him, and besides the slight odor of dust and mold, and a cobweb or two in the corners of the ceiling, it wasn't nearly so bad. The first level was decorated in light blue, the next, from what he could see, in yellow. Guessing by the apartment number (432) she would be on the fourth floor.

The stairs creaked slightly as he made his way up them. He didn't really know why he was here. What was his excuse again? Oh yeah, I'm here to make sure you aren't the runaway elemental kitsune my otherworldly boss has sent me to bag for him. That was real smooth.

As if in a dream, he found himself in front of the door marked 432, ringing the cheap plastic doorbell. The carpeting was cheap too, as were most of the materials used in the construction of the building.

The next sight startled him out of his dreams. It was Karuri standing in the doorway looking up at him, wearing light blue fleece pajama pants with yellow stars and moons, white clouds, and a turned over waistband revealing the word 'cute' all the way around, in English, and an thin black sports bra, which left little to the imagination. Her hair was up in a black clip, but more haphazardly than it had been at school, so that the strands falling out were more numerous. The glasses were gone, leaving her long black lashes in sharper focus, and a black braided choker necklace with centimeter-long silver spikes was around her neck, as well as another, a copper-colored oval nearly three times as long as it was wide and with an intricate wire pattern inside, hanging from a tiny copper chain. A dark grey armband with a white star went around her right bicep.

–:Oh, does she know how to work the casual style.- Youko gloated in his head.

-I thought you were saying how there were better in the world the other day-

–:That was when she was in that old uniform-

"Gomen. Is this a bad time?" he asked. Some sort of music was blasting from another room, sounding like another language, but it was hard to be sure.

"Not at all, providing you don't mind a bit of a mess and me currently cleaning the bathroom." she said without sarcasm. "Come on in."

A bit of a mess was a bit of an understatement. The counter was clean, but cluttered with dishes. A teapot stood on one corner, looking like it was about to fall off. She shoved it away from the edge as she passed. He couldn't tear his eyes from the curve of her back in front of him. And Youko was replaying the image of her torso from the front in the bra, including the flat, muscled stomach and what the bra showed off. Damn him and his all too perfect memory.

She led him through the boxes lining the walls to the purple-painted bathroom, where the radio playing the extremely loud music was located. He caught enough of the words to realize the song was in English, but whatever it was saying seemed like gibberish. Randomness.

"Yeah, sorry 'bout this, but the place is kinda a dump and I only moved in last Tuesday. There's tea in that pot and a mug in one of the cupboards, but I'm pretty sure it's cold by now." She took a sponge and cleaning substance, and put them on the edge of the tub, then stepping in and turning on the water, proceeding to wet down the walls of the tub and seeming to forget he was there, though he knew she hadn't.

–:She's very modest... Not.- Youko commented gleefully. He was definitely storing the images of her with the sponge and water-spattered pants to torture his host with later. –:You know, now she's definitely acting like a kitsune.-

-Oh thanks very much.- Kurama said. It was hard to remain coherent with Youko in his head and the speakers of the radio blasting gibberish into his ears. -You're very helpful-

–:I try.-

Sao: O.o I think Kurama liiiiiikes someone.

Kurama: Well she's being very provocative there.

Karuri: I try. Don't you just love R.E.M?

Kurama: Do you have to play it so loud?

Karuri: Of course.

Sao: I LOVE R.E.M! DoN't diss the R.E.M-ness!

Karuri: that's it, no more Chocolate Fests for her.

Kurama: Definitely not.

Karuri: Oh, and manymanymanymanymanymanymanymanymanymanymanymanymany manymanymanymanymanymanymanymanymanymanymanymanymanymanymanymanymanymany thanks to Angel Sari Neko Jeminie Indigo, and cyber two tons of cupcakes for you! Sao ate all the chocolate...

Sao: HEY! REVIEW! PRETTY BUTTON!