Genkai walked briskly down the forest path to her home. She felt as if that Tournament had been the most difficult battle of her life. 'That dimwit apprentice of mine brought me back. What's the point if I'm just going to die in a few years?' Genkai had always believed that death was a natural part of life that one should never run away from. Her fight with Toguro had only strengthened that belief. Though she disagreed in principle with Team Urameshi's wish, there was a part of her that was touched by the love they had shown her.

"Kaitou! What do you think you're doing?" Genkai heard a boy's voice shouting in the distance.

"I have to know what'll happen, Kido!"

"At least wait for Genkai to get here," said another voice.

"It's been three days, Yana. I can't keep obsessing over this question."

"Yuu, wait!" said a girl's voice. "This is insane!"

Suddenly, Genkai felt a surge of energy. She rarely ever felt something like this, but she recognized it immediately. A soul was being expelled from its body. Without hesitation, she darted at full speed towards the source of the energy, which was near the entrance to her compound.

'They're channeling demon energy,' Genkai thought to herself. 'But their life energy is definitely human. Who are these people?'

She arrived at the entrance of her compound to find three young boys and a girl that was a few years older. The orb of a human soul hovered over the petrified body of one of the boys.

"Genkai!" exclaimed the boy with tall purple hair, as if he had known her all his life.

"Who are you people?" Genkai demanded. "And why have you come to my home?"

"Our stupid friend needs your help," said the blond boy. "Dumbass was crazy enough to remove his own soul!"

Genkai relaxed her body. She did not trust these people, but if they were demons, then they were about as powerful as cockroaches. Approaching the petrified boy, she performed the necessary movements to channel her spirit energy. With a final shout and a burst of light, the soul sank back into its body.

The boy sat up and adjusted his glasses. Staring intently at her, he said, "You must be Genkai."

"Yeah, I must be," she replied. "Well, I can see you kids have a trickle of power in you, so I might as well let you in. Come on." She pushed open the door to her compound.

Later, the four psychics sat around a table with Genkai, drinking the tea that she had provided. Genkai looked up from her cup. "So, the four of you woke up one day and found out you had psychic powers? That's odd. Normally, people would have to train years before they could remove a soul from a body." She looked at Yana. "So, Mr. Hair Gel, how do you know who I am?"

"My name's Mitsunari Yanagisawa. I'm Naoko Yanagisawa's son. My power allowed me to copy my mother's appearance, abilities, and memories. From her memories I learned about you and thought that you would be able to tell us about our powers."

"Your mother had incredible spiritual awareness, Mitsunari. I've only met one person who could surpass her. But she never realized her full potential. If she had, the things she must be seeing now would be clearly defined. Instead, they must be vague and shadowy, making them even more frightening."

"H-how do you know about those things?" asked Yana.

"Someone with your mother's abilities couldn't help but notice what's going on in Mushiori City."

"What are they?" asked Yana.

"Your mother knows the answer. You tell me," said Genkai with a dismissive wave of her hand.

Yana put his forehead into his hand and began sifting through all of Naoko's memories. What was she thinking when she saw the things? "Demons! They're low-level demons."

"That's right. The levels of demon energy in Mushiori City have increased greatly. Demon insects are already swarming everywhere. This is happening in other places in the area, but Mushiori's definitely the worst.

"The rise in demon energy is most likely the reason you've developed these powers," Genkai continued.

"What?" exclaimed Kido, standing up.

"Master Genkai," said Kaitou, "are you saying that our powers are demonic in nature?"

"Pretty much. Yeah."

"No way!" shouted Kido. "I'll never turn into some human-eating freak like Goki!" He slammed his fist into a table.

"Please calm down," said Sumiko. She lay a hand on Kido's arm as she activated her power. Her hand glowed briefly with a pink light as she felt what Kido was feeling. "You're appalled at what Goki has done and I know that you despise having anything that connects you to demons. Your powers might be demonic but your mind, body, and soul are completely human."

"You've met a demon, have you Asato?" asked Genkai.

Kido nodded. His face shot up as he said, "How do you know my name? Can you read minds?"

Genkai snorted. "No, I can't read minds, but I can read newspapers." She tossed the paper onto the table. "You're on the front page."

MUSHIORI TEEN KIDNAPPED

Asato Kido, 15, disappeared from his home in Mushiori City last Monday night. Authorities say that broken windows and doors suggest a kidnapping, though no suspects have been named. When asked for comments, Asato's father, who had been at a bar during the kidnapping, threw beer bottles at the reporters and demanded that they get out of his home or he would set a pink elephant on them. Needless to say, Mr. Kido made these statements under the influence of alcohol.

"Doesn't it say anything about a dead body? A guy who died of suffocation?" asked Kido. Genkai shook her head. "Then Goki's still out there!" Kido cried out fearfully.

"Calm down, kid," said Genkai. She took another sip of her tea. "Goki," she said softly to herself. "Is he a Kyuukonki?"

"Yeah. How do you know?"

"My apprentice Yusuke fought a demon by that name. And while we're on the subject…" Genkai glanced at Kaitou. "Not many schools would have a pink boys' uniform. Do you know a guy named Shuichi Minamino?"

"Minamino?" gasped Kaitou.

"Yeah. Red hair, green eyes. If you don't know him well, you might have confused him for a girl."

"I wouldn't mistake him for a girl," said Kaitou. "Neither have most of the girls in my class."

"So you do know him."

"Kaitou's test scores are always second to his," said Yana. "He's not too happy about it." Yana's chuckle was cut short by the Heero Yuy Death Glare, which Kaitou had perfected after hours of watching anime.

Kaitou looked towards the ceiling. 'So Shuichi's got some secrets, huh?' "How do you know Shuichi?"

"I've fought alongside him. I don't think he'd appreciate me telling his secrets to his school rival, but I will tell you, he's pretty damn tough."

XXXXX

This chapter's not so great. Too much dialogue and not enough action for my taste, but I needed it to set up for the rest of the story. And as for my comment about Sensui's Seven, I'm kind of taking it back. They might have some influence on the story, but I don't think I'll give them any central roles. I'll just have to wait and see how the story turns out. Thanks for reading and don't forget to leave a review.

DXM