XD I need to be shot for shameless neglecting of this story. I'm so sorry, everyone! I love you all and I'm updating RIGHT NOW. Really. I have a ton of stuff to update, actually…but I DO need to update the Pretear one next before Chelsie eats my soul. But we're not here to talk about Pretear! We're here--err…I'M here to write this chapter!

Brief run-through…Kinsenka settled into her role as a ferrygirl and seems to have accepted it. Three years have passed and she's just been called for her first assignment. I wonder what it is? And yes, Hiei dies in this chapter. Feel free to try and eat my soul. Others have tried.

I do not own Hiei, Kuwabara, Koenma, Botan, etc. I only own Kinsenka, her cat, and her family. Thanks. And a special thank you to Bara-chan and Shin-san for renewing my inspiration. This chapter's for you guys!


This was annoying, infuriating, and just plain frustrating. Hiei had better things to do than lock blades with something that looked like one of those monsters from the horror movies that Yusuke was so fond of…complete with oozing green goo, glowing red eyes, and the constant urge to adamantly state its background and cocky intentions.

"I am SplorshGlurgleHee! You killed my father! Prepare to die, you of the hair like an evergreen!"

And another thing! Why was he letting this rotting pile of green gunk talk that way to him? He was a high-ranking general in Mukuro's army, he wielded the Jagan and the Kokuryuha and he could lop this thing's head off in less than a minute.

Well, for one, it had BITTEN him on the arm, and apparently its saliva was poisonous, for Hiei was feeling light-headed and not at all like himself. It was all he could do to keep focused on the battle at hand. The black dragon tattoo kept pulsing, urging him to hurry up and slay his cackling opponent. But he didn't want to waste such a powerful attack on something so blatantly pitiful.

"You have given me enough trouble!" Hiei gritted out, drawing back slightly to leap overhead and plunge his katana into the demon's skull. Rather easy, but the monster gave another hideous cackle as it hunched down.

"I've…served my purpose. Lure them out, Hiei…lure them!" And just like that, he was dead.

The Jaganshi stared down at the puddle with narrowed crimson eyes, then sheathed his katana. He didn't like cryptic death remarks, for they always foreboded catastrophe. And he was right, for he had taken no more than three steps away from his fallen foe when a painful shudder racked his body and he fell heavily to his knees, using the sheathed sword to keep his face from meeting the pavement. His right arm throbbed, reminding him of the bite the creature had applied, and he glanced down at it. To his horror, a sickening shade of green laced his biceps, pulsating with a life of its own.

Hiei had time for a stream of muttered curses before he lost consciousness, slumping down on the sidewalk. Those who could have helped had been previously killed by SplorshGlurgleHee and would be of no assistance now. There was only one person who could help in this sort of situation…and she was currently staring at a baby and a redheaded woman in sheer disbelief.


"You want me to pick up one of the Reikai Tantei?" Kinsenka demanded, forgetting her place and lunging across the desk to grab Koenma by the collar as Shinkou leapt to safety. "Those guys that go down to Ningenkai and fight bad guys and help preserve justice like super heroes…you want ME to bring one back? Who's dead?"

"Well, he's not dead YET--" The toddler managed to wheeze out, trying to free himself from her vice-grip. Then he paused as a small chime dinged from the center of the room. "…I stand corrected. He is now officially dead and I need you to bring him back here."

Silence greeted him, and Kinsenka didn't budge. Nobara had to come over and forcefully pry her student's fingers off of her ruler's bruised neck.

"So why me?" The girl finally murmured. "Botan's a lot better at it than I am, and the other girls have all been ferrying for so much longer…"

Koenma settled back in his chair, his brown eyes hidden briefly before lowered lids. "Listen to me, Kinsenka, and listen well. That agent was not meant to die, and his death will throw many things off-balance. As he is a head general in Mukuro's army, Mukuro will probably not be pleased to hear of his early demise. He will be needed for several other reasons that I can't disclose to you as of now, but all you need to know is that we intend to bring him back to life and we need you to serve as his guide until he achieves life again."

"And to answer your question…" Nobara seemed uncharacteristically hesitant, her violet eyes fixed sternly on Kinsenka's. "You're connected to him more than you know. You and he forged a bond the night you became a ferrygirl and to send any of the other girls to retrieve his soul would be foolish. And you know how I cannot tolerate foolishness. This is fitting for your first assignment and I don't care how much you protest, you will go down there and get him. Do you have any futile arguments?"

Kinsenka lowered her head andsweptit from side to side, her twin braids flying. "No, Nobara-sama…" Privately, she was very curious as to how she and this dead detective were connected and she was just a tiny bit thrilled that her first mission was such an important one. "You can count on me, Koenma-sama! I'll go get him and do my best to help him live!" She wheeled around, ready to dash headlong out of the room and onto her broom, but Koenma's cough made her halt.

"I'm…err…pleased by your enthusiasm, but you may want to take the book with you. His information and whereabouts are in there, but don't look in there until you've reached Ningenkai, understood? You can get the book from Mokuren before you leave."

"Yes, sir!" Kinsenka attempted to salute and bow at the same time, which looked rather ridiculous, hugged her teacher around the waist before Nobara could sharply reprimand her, snatched Shinkou up and was out the door in a whirlwind of red and white.

"…Do you think it was wise, sending her?" Koenma asked, mostly to himself as he sighed and propped his head on his arms.

The woman eyed him impassively. "Perhaps, perhaps not. She's a special girl and it will prove…interesting to see how she handles this particular case. We're running out of time."


Why am I doing this? Shinkou spat, digging his sharp claws into the handle of Kinsenka's broom. What idiocy was this?

"Yours, so don't blame me this time. You insisted on coming along to keep an eye on me, remember?" Kinsenka pursed her lips, doggedly trying to guide the broom on a straight course as they plunged off the Reikai tower.

You're rubbing off on me, the feline grumbled. That must be it.

She giggled. "Sure, Shinkou. Keep believing that." She had the small book safely tucked away within her blouse and now a small, devilish smirk crossed her lips. "Anyway, we're taking the less-scenic route!"

Shinkou blinked, not liking the sound of that--and liked it even less when his friend suddenly angled the broom into a straight dive.

You're insane! All humans are insane, but you take insanity to the extreme level! I want off! I WANT OFF!

"Oh, stop whining and hang on!"

Fifteen Scary Minutes Later---

"See, that wasn't so bad!" A beaming Kinsenka pulled sharply up on the handle and the broom screeched to a hovering stop before she kicked it into a slower and leveler descent. They skimmed over several rooftops, with the little redhead scanning the streets of the human world for anyone who looked remotely dead. To her surprise, she found what she'd LEAST expected.

Why'd you tense? Shinkou looked up plaintively, wanting nothing more than to get down, but NOT in midair. Did the dive just kick in or something?

Kinsenka said nothing, her blue-green eyes focused instead on two men a good few feet below her. One was a young man in his mid-twenties with tousled black hair and calm gray eyes, pushing an older man along in a wheelchair.

"…It's been three years, huh?" The former said softly, glancing down at the man. "Three long years…I keep expecting them to appear…"

The handicapped man coughed, a jarring sound that seemed to rattle his very bones. "Yes. I sometimes think they're teasing me, and Kinsenka will run out, laughing with her mother and yell, 'Sorry, Papa!' Eri, too…"

The cat carefully balanced on the vibrating broom, eyes fixed on the girl's pale face. Is that…?

Without taking her eyes off the men, Kinsenka nodded. "Yeah…that's my dad. And Akio-niichan…he was engaged to marry my sister when I was only eight, but then she was also killed in a car accident. He's still like a brother, though."

We'd better go, Shinkou urged, fidgeting uncomfortably. It's not good for you to see them now…

At that moment, Akio released the handles of the wheelchair and stretched, tilting back his head to admire the cloud-patched blue sky--that was, until his eyes widened and he pointed.

"K-Kin-chan?"

Kinsenka!

No further prompting was needed. Averting her gaze, the girl kicked the broom into motion and shot off, not wanting to look back.

"I-it was so long…" She whispered hoarsely, once they were safely out of sight.

Forget family reunions, that guy SAW you! You're supposed to be invisible, remember? Did you forget to apply it?

The fifteen-year-old shook her head. "No, I did! I know I did! See?" She darted past a window and flashed back to visibility, causing shrieks and pandemonium to occur inside the house at seeing the little redhead streak by on a broom.

So you WERE invisible before, Shinkou mused, licking a paw. So how did he see you?

Kinsenka sighed. "I dunno, maybe he sees ghosts…let's just find this dead guy and get back."

But it wasn't that simple. For so distraught was she at seeing her father and her almost brother-in-law in such a sad state that dear Kinsenka had forgotten to reapply the invisibility. Oops. Not to mention that the broom responded to her emotional state--by going into a bucking frenzy.

Kuwabara Kazuma woke and looked drowsily out of his window in time to see a shrieking redhead and a black cat crash into a tree right nearby. And thus the wheels of fate began to turn…

OOC---

Yeah, I know this chapter was sort of boring, but I had to get the technical stuff out of the way. But the next chapter is my personal favorite, for Kuwabara and Kinsenka meet, achieve great misunderstandings, and it results in broom beatings, being locked in a closet, and for Kuwabara, having to explain to your sister exactly WHY there's a little girl trapped in your closet. All that and more, next chapter! Thanks so much for reviewing, everyone!