First off, there will be mentions of characters that you'll have to read about in Densetsu no Kagami and Hanyou Lothuial's Kokitsune to understand. There will be death. There will be no, and I repeat NO romance between Hiei and our little heroine of sorts. There will be no Keiko bashing or Shounen Ai, unless Sensui and Itsuki randomly show up. Thank you.
Lastly, if anyone got a ferrygirl in Yarikake, now's the time to use her. In your review, remind me which one you got and she'll show up in this fic.
And without further ado, let's begin. We all know who I don't own and I DO own a good amount of ferrygirls in this. Be good.
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Kinsenka was dead. It was as simple as that. And yet, she was having the hardest time accepting this little bit of news. But for the sake of anyone who might have accidentally walked in with no idea what was going on whatsoever, we will very nicely backtrack for them.
It was Kinsenka's twelfth birthday, and she was very excited. She had gotten a little black kitten that had immediately attempted to bite off her finger when she'd extended a hand to pet him. She was already smitten with the little beast. And, even better, her parents were going to take her to her favorite restaurant so she could stuff herself with gleeful abandon like your typical red-headed sea green-eyed teenager. Ah, yes, birthdays were wonderful things.
However, as she and her parents piled into the car and took off, none of them suspected that lives would be stolen that blissful night. Kinsenka hadn't seen much of it--just a flash of black, narrowed crimson eyes, a gleaming blade, and three somethings bounding across the freeway like rabid bunnies. And then…everything exploded in a burst of fire and agonizing darkness took over the girl's body. She remembered screaming and reaching out to someone--who, she didn't know, but her last conscious thought was that someone had taken her hand and was ascending with her into the starry night…
---In a Different Place---
"Koenma-sama, with all due respect, I think this is a very bad idea! She's so…young! Do you really think she can handle all that you're about to thrust upon her small shoulders?"
"Very poetic, Jorge, but complain again and I'll have to take out my pacifier."
There was a thud, as if something very heavy had just dropped to the ground. "Gomen nasai! Gomen nasai, I'll be good!"
"That's more like it. Now, she'll probably take it better if I'm in my older form…"
Kinsenka let out a low groan, reaching out a shaking hand for those voices. They instantly fell silent and she laboriously opened her eyes. She was lying in a bed, covered by two white sheets and staring straight up at a ceiling that was, if possible, even whiter. In fact, the entire room, once she had managed to sit up and take a look around, was a blinding shade of ivory. She glanced down at herself and saw that her regular clothing had been replaced by a yukata of…you guessed it…white.
"Have I died and gone to a very whitewashed Heaven?" She muttered, as she rubbed at her eyes and blinked rapidly.
"You're half-right. This isn't Heaven, but you've definitely died. I thought you'd NEVER wake up!"
Kinsenka lowered her hand from her face and stared up at a brown-haired teenaged boy who (oddly enough) had his lips around a blue pacifier and the words "JR" embossed across his forehead. He wore a blue tunic, a white shirt, brown pants, and a red cape. And he was smiling.
"Welcome to Reikai, Kinsenka."
She'd never seen this strange boy before in her life, yet he knew her name. And what, exactly, was Reikai? She wasn't in Heaven, he'd told her that much…but…she focused on the one part that made the least sense.
"I'm…I'm dead?"
"As a doornail!" The boy said cheerfully. Thankfully, he sat down at her bedside so she didn't have to sprain her neck trying to look into his face. "My name is Koenma, junior ruler of Reikai…the place people go where they die…well…" He made a face. "Actually, it's the place where spirits go before they move on to Purgatory or Heaven or…you know…the not-so-nice place."
Kinsenka was silent for a few moments, taking in all of this new information. Then...
"I'm DEAD?!"
Koenma sighed, raking his fingers through his short hair. "Didn't we just go over that? Yes. You are dead. Mezurashii Kinsenka, aged twelve, deceased as of April fifteenth, seven thirty two P.M., cause of death car accident. NOW will you stop staring at me like that?"
The girl burst into tears.
"I told you," the blue-skinned oni beside Koenma said helpfully.
"Aaaaargh!" The boy clutched at his temples, eyes rolling upward. "None of the other ferrygirls were this hard!"
The oni shook his head. "That's not true. Hinageshi cried for a week, Katakuri convinced herself that you were a figment of her imagination, and Nobara bloodied your nose."
"…"
"Tsubaki thought it was all some sort of joke, Chuurippu refused to speak to you, Byakushin tried to run away…"
Koenma visibly twitched. "I swear, you remember all of that as if you INTEND to use it on me at your convenience. Go get Botan…she's better at this than I am."
"Why, Koenma-sama…was that a compliment??"
"JUST GO, IDIOT!"
The oni went, although he smiled reassuringly in Kinsenka's general direction.
There was a pregnant pause as the twelve-year-old sobbed into her hands and the young Reikai prince fumbled for words. No words could express his relief when a girl in a pink kimono rushed in, her blue hair pulled up into a high ponytail. Hesitating for a look at the situation, she knew where she was needed and leapt onto the bed, pulling Kinsenka into a warm hug.
"Ssh, it's okay," she whispered, stroking the girl's reddish-gold hair comfortingly. "Nothing bad is going to happen to you, I promise. You have a new family now, Kinsenka-chan! You're a ferrygirl!"
"I'm…I'm a what?" came the muffled response.
"A ferrygirl." Koenma had deemed it safe to speak again. "A messenger of Reikai who delivers souls from Ningenkai to here and also carries messages back and forth to our Reikai Tantei down there. Occasionally, they serve as advisors to those detectives, like Botan here."
"Normally, you would have known this all already," the older girl told Kinsenka, smiling slightly. "But Reikai was just restored after a bad flood and those who died during that time were in limbo for a few days. You've actually been unconscious for a week."
Kinsenka frowned as new questions entered her mind. "Why did you choose me to become a…a ferrygirl? And what about my parents? Are they dead too? What am I supposed to do now?"
Koenma glanced at her warily, sensing that she was on the verge of crying again. He'd have to tread carefully here. "When a person dies, their spirit is visible. You had a great deal of reiki…spiritual power…than we'd previously thought and since you're too young and your body too mangled to became a Reikai Tantei, it's only logical that we make you into a ferrygirl. As for your parents…your father survived and is in the hospital in stable condition as we speak. Both you and your mother were killed, but she has already gone on. And lastly, pertaining to the duties of a ferrygirl…your instructor will explain that to you shortly. A few others have perished recently as well, so you won't be the newest arrival."
"…I don't really have any choice in this, do I? I'm dead and now I'm going to be a messenger, right?"
"That's right. Get used to it and get some rest. Nobara will start lessons tomorrow. Who knows," he added, as he rose and turned to leave, along with his blue assistant. "You may even get a chance to guide a Reikai Tantei once you get some more experience." Even though he muttered it under his breath as he exited the room, Kinsenka still heard an audible "Let's just hope you don't end up with Yusuke. I wouldn't wish that boy on anyone."
The instant he had left, the redhead turned questioning eyes to Botan. "Yusuke?"
"He's the most recent detective," came the ferrygirl's reply. "He works with a Youko, a fire youkai, and a ningen. I help him out and give him information on new cases. He's really not all that bad. HIEI'S the one you want to watch for." She shuddered delicately. "He's scary."
Kinsenka made a mental note to stay far, far away from anyone named Hiei. ((A/N: Famous Last Words…first for this story! Hooray!))
Botan giggled to herself as she resettled the smaller girl back under the covers. "It'll be fun, you'll see. Good night!"
She flounced out and Kinsenka rolled onto her side, staring off into the sudden darkness once Botan had turned off the lights and shut the door behind her.
"A ferrygirl, huh?" She murmured. "Even dying can't be easy…"
-OOC-
Ah, first chapter. Yes, I know it's short, but bear with me, I'm rusty. This first chapter takes place during the second Yu Yu Hakusho movie. Remember when Hiei is fighting the two youkai thingies and they land on the freeway and cars blow up? See the green one? That's Kinsenka. XD So basically, she wakes up a few days after Yusuke and co. save the day and Botan is revived and Reikai is restored, etc, etc. It'll fastforward to after the series after Chapter Two.
A special thanks to Lexi-chan for inspiring me to get this started after she updated TWICE. She's an awesome muse! Thanks so much, Lexi!
You lot will get to see Hiei, Kurama, Yusuke, and everyone in chapter 3. And I'll repeat this one more time: There is absolutely NO romance between Kin-chan and Kurama or Hiei. Or Yusuke. Or anyone else you can think of. She's only TWELVE.
Please review!
