So, here goes. This is my second attempt at YYH fanfiction and the first of (hopefully) many chapters to follow. Be nice, leave reviews!!!!
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho.
A pair of deep-blue eyes peered through the darkness of the room, settling on an intricately carved box resting in the center of a large bureau. Sliding soundlessly across the room, the owner of the eyes reached for the box. It was a fine-grained mahogany piece, heavily inlaid with gold and precious jewels, but she desired only what it held inside. Her quick eyes noted the lock affixed to the front and she grinned. A simple lock couldn't keep her away! With her small sharp claws, she swiftly picked the lock, inwardly wincing at the slight 'click' that echoed in the quiet room. She paused, dark furred, sensitive ears monitoring her surroundings. Certain then that the occupant of the room had not stirred, she carefully pushed back the lid. Her eyes lit up.
"Solan, look…" Her whisper was barely a breath, but her partner heard and came silently to her side. Deep-blue and golden eyes now took in the object laid carefully in the velvet interior of the box. A small dagger and sheath. The sheath was a masterpiece of smith work, a handsome silver base with shimmering gold filigree, sparkling with the fire of the precious stones set in the metal. The dagger itself couldn't have been more different, the blade a night-devouring black, some powerful metal of the ancient Makai, the hilt a dull gray steel wrapped in rough leather, serviceable and plain.
A soft moan emanating from the sleeper in the bed interrupted the thieves' appreciation of their quarry. The male gave a low growl, "Let's go, Nox. Grab it."
The smaller female nodded and without a word slipped the dagger into its sheath and slid the weapon into the numerous folds of her robes. Both slipped back across the room, seeming almost to glide above the floor in the delicateness of their movements. A crack of the door, a slight glow from the gentle hallway candlelight into the room, and the two thieves had disappeared.
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"Mmmph, go 'way Mom…" Yusuke Urameshi mumbled into his pillow as he felt himself being shaken awake. "It's not time to get up yet!"
"Yusuke," a voice spoke above him, "Wake up! This is important!"
Slowly it penetrated the Spirit Detective's bleary mind that this was not his mother's voice. But he knew it from somewhere. His sleep-filled brain just wouldn't respond with an answer. Groaning, he rolled over and opened his eyes. Lively pink eyes framed by turquoise hair filled his vision. He sat up straight, startled by the unexpected sight.
"Botan!"
"Correct the first time, Yusuke!" the cheery grim-reaper chirped, "But you have to get up and get dressed quickly. Koenma sent me to bring you and the rest of the team to the Rekai. Something big has happened!"
"Wait a minute, slow down! How'd you get in here? What exactly does 'something big' mean? And why in the middle of the night?"
"No time for questions now Yusuke. Koenma will explain everything later. Now hurry up, Kuwabara and the rest are already there!"
Grumbling, Yusuke did as she urged, muttering something that sounded to Botan's ears suspiciously like 'damned diaper-wearing baby.'
Yusuke was still rubbing his eyes when he and Botan landed at Koenma's palace in the Rekai. The palace was quiet at this time in the early morning, free from the shuffle of papers, the chatter of ogres, and the squeaky voice of its temper-tantrum prone ruler. Said ruler was pacing on top of his desk impatiently, sucking furiously on his ever-present pacifier.
"Yusuke!" he explained as he caught sight of the tardy Spirit Detective. "Where have you been?"
"Sleeping," came the none too polite reply, "Like most normal people at this hour."
"What, are you putting yourself on the idiot's level?" asked Hiei, smirking and pointing to a snoring Kuwabara, and earning himself a growl from the team leader.
"Now boys!" interjected Botan, "Stop fighting and listen to Koenma. He is your boss after all! One of you wake Kuwabara up so we can continue with the briefing."
"Gladly," Hiei responded, reaching for the hilt of his katana.
"Gently!" Botan interrupted his action. "Kurama?" she asked with a sigh.
Kurama reached over to shake the orange haired human and Yusuke turned back to Koenma, "So what's the big deal?"
"The big deal," said Koenma, "is the murder of one of the Spirit World's most valuable employees!"
"Did you get your files mixed up, boss? I'm still here!" Yusuke replied impudently.
"Yusuke! Be serious for once! This is important!" Koenma pressed a green button on the control panel on his desk and the screen in front of it lit up. The face of a male demon appeared on the screen, humanoid except for the lavender colored eyes and pointed ears.
"Atsaku Bolivard," Koenma explained, "Curator of Spirit World artifacts in the Makai. He was responsible for procuring valuable Rekai artifacts that had been lost to the Demon World and guarding them from theft until they could be safely transferred to the vault in this world.
"His latest find – the Obsidian Dagger," Koenma pressed the button again and the image shifted. Displayed on the screen was a dagger alongside its sheath. The dagger's plain black blade and leather-wrapped hilt contrasted sharply with the bejeweled and filigreed beauty of the silver sheath. "Probably the most powerful artifact Atsaku had yet laid hands on."
"What's so special about it?" piped up Kuwabara, "It just looks like some fancy knife to me."
"Well for starters, the blade is made from obsidian, the frozen breath of dark dragons," snarled Hiei in impatience with the human, "Blades like that are only made in the shadowed depths of the Makai. They're like living stone; they seek the life's breath of any one they cut."
"Quite right, Hiei," Koenma continued, "And this particular dagger has some even more peculiar qualities. It first surfaced as a gift for my father from a small-time thief and assassin in exchange for a lenient sentence. We never did find out its origin; the thief was killed within a month of his release. It was then kept in the royal vault until it was stolen during an inventory. Efforts were made to restore it to the Rekai, but they had to be abandoned during the first Demon Wars. In the chaos, the dagger reappeared once or twice, but never long enough for us to reclaim it and after the struggle was over, all traces of it had been effectively erased. Until Atsaku Bolivard came along. We hired him in spite of his previous record because he was damn good at what he did, regardless that most of it had been illegal. He'd been on the job close to three years when he came across tracks of the Obsidian Dagger. He had contacted us about a week ago to let us know he was very close to laying hands on it and he just informed us two days ago to pick it up at midnight this night. Unfortunately, by the time our agents arrived, Atsaku was dead and the dagger gone
"However, the agents did find a file in his room, a compilation of all known information about the dagger. You'll have to be careful Yusuke, this dagger is no playtoy! Obsidian from the depths of Makai is a powerful stone in itself without enhancement and if Atsaku's records the demon mages who crafted this dagger wove their ancient runes into the very stone. The runes weave a powerful spell allowing the dagger to suck the living soul out of whomever it cuts, even if the cut is only a prick. The soul can be stored in the dagger but it is at the mercy of whoever holds the blade. On top of that, the soul cannot be returned to the body after four days have passed. After that, if the soul is released, it will simply drift into death. Do you understand? You don't want to get cut by this weapon!"
Yusuke gave the infant ruler an exasperated look, resembling a child being scolded by its parents for the millionth time. "Yeah, yeah I get it. You think I'd be dumb enough to get myself cut by this thing?"
"Well," put in Kurama softly, "You did almost let Jin hit you with his Tornado Fist during the Dark Tournament and nearly got both of you killed."
"That was a long time ago," Yusuke answered with a dismissive wave of his hand.
"Yeah," muttered Hiei, "All of four months ago."
"So, what leads do we have for recovering this Obsidian Dagger?" Yusuke continued, ignoring the fire demon.
"I was hoping you'd ask," Koenma replied, pressing the button on his desk yet again. This time, two pictures appeared on the screen, one male, one female. The male's blonde hair fell in artful disarray, framing sky blue eyes, and parting to allow two golden-furred ears to be seen on top of his head. The female had brushed back her dark hair behind her shoulders but several strands resisted, falling across her forehead and covering one deep blue eye. Like the male, two furred ears poked out on top of her head, but like her hair, hers were dark colored. Both demons were kitsunes.
"I was hoping you'd recognize them, Kurama," said Koenma.
Parting A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Lemme know and leave a review!!!
