Note: Wow, definitely took me long enough to update this. Hopefully it won't in the future. Anyways, I apologize for the delay. More coming soon – enjoy!

Disclaimer: I (sadly) do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.

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The rest of the group gathered in Koenma's office turned to stare at Kurama who was staring at the two pictures on the screen with a rather startled look on his face.

"It's been a long time," he said softly.

Yusuke broke the silence, "Well, who are they?"

"Solan and Nox," continued Koenma, "Quite possibly the most notorious partnership of thieves in the Makai. Both kitsune and both equally dangerous. They've been high on the Spirit World's most wanted for some time but this latest crime pushes them to the top. Not much is available on either one in Rekai records, however I think Kurama can fill you in a bit further on your hike." The infant ruler uttered this last statement in a somewhat shrewd tone.

Yususke's ears pricked up at the mention of the word "hike." "Wait a minute now, Koenma. What's this about a hike? I mean, I'm all for kicking a couple of murdering thieves' asses, even this early in the morning, but how far are we talking here?"

"Oh not too far, not far at all. Botan will show you where you're going. Go on, can't you see the piles of paperwork I have to finish?"

"Oh! And Yusuke?" the toddler added absentmindedly as he started flipping through papers, "We have reason to believe that these two are involved in something more than a simple robbery gone awry. I need them brought back alive."

Yusuke grumbled as he headed to follow the ferry girl. Koenma couldn't quite hear what he said but it sounded suspiciously like something about "dirty diapers."

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The few rays of sun that managed to pry their way through the perpetual gray cloud cover cast a sickly yellow light on the huge fortress. Protruding from the forest like some massive gray wart, the castle seemed almost as gnarled and twisted as some of the ancient trees that surrounded it. One lone tower broke free from the warped convolutions of the main building, soaring nearly to the low, ever present thick clouds.

In the top room of this tower stood a demon, his back to the sole window. Looking in at him from this angle, everything about him seemed to be made entirely of black. A long, heavy, black cloak fell from his shoulders to lightly graze the floor, and his black hair hung long enough to almost be a second cloak.

From the front however, one could see that his coat was lined with red satin, crimson, the color of blood, the same color as the eyes that gleamed cunningly from his unnaturally pale face. A look at his face told the discerning viewer that he had once been handsome, but those good looks were marred by the hideous scarring, as if from some terrible burn, that covered most of the lower right side of his face, which when he smiled, a rare occurrence, left him with a disturbing half- smirk.

He stood, dispassionately, until the scraping of claws at the stone windowsill reached his ears. He turned to watch an ugly flying creature land awkwardly on the ledge. The demon creature's bulbous head was too big for its small body. Its ragged, leathery wings flapped heavily and its three eyes bulged grotesquely from its face, rolling as its tiny, horny beak clicked. The man crossed the room towards the creature, taking from around its neck a leather collar to which was attached a small case. Only a flicker of his eyes betrayed any disgust he might have felt in touching the creature. Turning away from it, he slipped a small piece of parchment from the case. Scanning the writing on it, the unsettling half-smirk appeared on his face. He pushed it into a pocket on the inside of his cape and his hand emerged holding a small piece of dried meat. He proffered it to the creature, who took it from his hand with its beak. The man patted the creature's misshapen head as it swallowed the treat.

"Very good, Frollo, very good," he whispered, "Go on now, rest. I'll need you in time."

The creature emitted a gurgling noise and made its ungainly way back into the air, dropping like a stone for several feet before its wings found the current. The man remained staring out the window, the half-smirk still on his face.

"Very good, Koenma, sending out the Rekai Tantei. Following my plan exactly. Genius of you, especially since you have no idea. Very good"

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Meanwhile, in a nearby part of the Makai, the sun was shining down quite brightly on five sweating hikers. The terrain was mountainous here, with thick forest covering the slopes, and the path was, for all practical purposes, nonexistent. Barely the shadow of what had once been a cart road, now overgrown with lush vegetation and pierced with the roaming roots of trees.

"So, tell me again why we're hiking five miles?" asked Yusuke in an ever so slightly annoyed tone.

"This is the fifteenth time, Urameshi. Surely you understand it. Even the baka gets it by now," interjected Hiei, gesturing to Kuwabara as he spoke (as if the gesture was necessary).

"No. I do get it. It's just that every time I laugh it makes this 'little walk' seem that much shorter. Humor me."

"It's your turn, Kurama," Botan, ever perky, chirped from the front where she lead the way sitting on her floating oar. The fox demon smiled and obliged.

"Solan and Nox are not your everyday thieves, Yusuke. They have much spirit energy at their disposal. They've placed a barrier powered by that spirit energy in a huge circle with a five mile radius from the center, their hideout. Any kind of teleportation or opening from the Spirit world into the Makai within this boundary sets off alarms. However, ordinary comings and goings do nothing, otherwise the system would be set off left and right by the movement of forest animals, villagers and such like. So, we walk the five miles in."

"And tell me again exactly how Koenma knows that this is where two, apparently very rich to judge by all the cases they're implicated in, thieves, are staying? Shouldn't they be living lavishly in the middle of some great Makai metropolis?"

"Koenma doesn't know for sure that this is where they are. But he has had Rekai agents on their case for years now, and this spot has popped up more and more often." Kurama shrugged, "It's the type of place I would have chosen in my days as Youko. It seems likely that Nox would do the same."

"And that's because she was your student, right?" piped up Kuwabara from the rear where he was lagging.

"Very good, Kuwabara!" Botan interrupted, "We'll make you into a teacher's pet yet. Won't Yukina be proud!"

The slightly dense human actually had a look of pride on his face for a moment, but he quickly dropped it, slightly perplexed, when Hiei's angry glare fell on him. Kurama went on. "Yes, I taught her everything she knows of thievery. We made a good pair for a while, but after a number of years we split up. Too many differences of opinion, I suppose. I later heard that she had taken up with a kitsune assassin by the name of Solan.She taught him the art of thieving; he taught her the art of death. Solan and Nox – I thought it quite amusing that two with those names should end up partners. Make no mistake, Nox is the more skillful of the two. Solan is a good thief, but not the best. Nox, however, could steal the shirt of your back while you watched and you'd never know until you felt a draft. And she could kill you so deftly that you wouldn't know you were dead until Botan took your soul by the hand."

"No one's that good," Yusuke responded, disbelieving.

Kurama cocked his eyebrows and slipped his hands into his pockets. "One of the cardinal rules of fighting – and one you seem intent on breaking every time – don't underestimate your opponent."

Yusuke was interrupted in his eye-rolling by Botan's exclamation. The group had come to a break in the tree cover on the side of a mountain. From here they could see the top of the next mountain in front of them, a stony protuberance jutting like a short blade from the wood. It was to this that Botan was pointing.

"That's your target, boys!" she exclaimed, "And this is where I leave you. The same portal will be open to the Spirit World when you're done. Just drag 'em back there!"

"Can't we get one opened closer?" complained Yusuke and Kuwabara together.

"Sorry you two. No can do. Too much paperwork to open a new portal when a perfectly good one's already there. Get a good workout! See you later. Good luck!"

With that, the ferry girl headed back the way she had come, leaving the four boys to finish the mission.

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That's it for now! Chapter 3 to follow soon – reviews may help my speed (hint hint )!