Sosaku shoved the raven bangs from her face, staring down at her English essay. She hated this class. If they wanted students to learn something, why not teach things the students DON'T know? Writing is easy for anyone that can hold a pen. Write what you think.
THERE! HA! I've beaten the evil writer's block demons! she thought triumphantly. I shall write about the incompetence of high school teachers! She began scribbling a messy rough draft when a feeling hit her. That feeling. She HATED that feeling. She hated it with a burning purple passion. Whenever she had that feeling, something bad inevitably happened. Why? Well, it might have to do with the fact that her grandfather was the incarnation of dementia... Yeah, that's about right. Or it might be her insatiable appetite for adventure. And adventures begin- though some would hate to admit it- with a disaster that needs explaining. Something like the death of your mother and father. Sosaku's parents died long ago, when she was only nine years old. But as long as she was friends with Lord Koenma, she could visit them whenever she wanted. Plus, she had a step-father of sorts. Now that isn't a very good beginning to an adventure. She had solved that problem already.
But she still had that feeling. She had stopped writing and was sitting up perfectly straight, listening attentively for any noise that wouldn't be normal in the silent classroom. Something unlike the familiar scratch of pen on paper, the occasional cough or sneeze of one of the freshmen, or the impatient shuffle of feet as students waited for the bell to ring. It was only a few minutes, anyway. Why shouldn't they be impatient? There were no sounds that seemed out of place. Everything was so average on this warm Friday evening just waiting to happen.
But, as you will understand, things are not always as they seem.
A loud crash resounded from down the hall and Sosaku was up in a fraction of a second, sprinting past the high schoolers that had run out of their rooms to check it out and the teachers scrambling to get control of them. The explosion had come from the front office. She didn't stop even for a second. When she got there, there was a remnant of smoke, and paper and debris was strewn about everywhere in a confused muddle.
She smirked to herself, as was the custom of her adopted father. Finally, something to do instead of schoolwork. She closed her eyes briefly, searching for a trace of energy other than that of a human's. She found it almost instantly, making her eyes snap open in stark fear. Too close! She shifted quickly to the right, just dodging a fist aimed at her face. How rude. She moved again, dodging another punch, and ducked, then swept her leg across the ground. It came in contact with a pair of ankles, just as she had hoped. Whoever attacked her school, and her, must not be very strong OR smart if he couldn't hit her or dodge her. But it mattered not.
She swept a finger through the air and the dust that clouded her vision seemed to merely be erased. There was a man in front of her on the ground, struggling to get back up. She shook her head in a condescending manner and leaned down, pinning the man to the ground by his shoulders. "Who are you?" she asked in a simple, cold voice. She swept her eyes over the man, taking in his appearance briefly. He had blue eyes, blonde hair, a stubbornly-set jawline, a slender yet muscular build, and was about six feet tall.
He grinned up at her. "Wouldn't you like to know?" With that, he gave a shove and Sosaku was flung off of him and back a long way, almost into the wall. She stood there stunned for a moment, then recovered and held her arms up in a roughly defensive stance. She would see this man's ability then discover his weakness and exploit it. He threw rash punches left and right, punches she dodged with ease. Then out of nowhere a ribbon-like rope appeared in his hand and she suddenly found herself bound. She couldn't move very well, but she struggled as well as she could. The man grinned again, almost sadistically. When she screamed, he gagged her carefully. He slung her over his shoulder, in spite of her wriggling, and left the school.

Hiei sat in a tree outside Kurama's apartment, grouchily awaiting the fox. Normally on a Friday he would be in Makai. But noooooo! He and the fox had to go pick up Sosaku from that hell humans refer to as "school." Sosaku was something of a nuisance to Hiei, but he promised to look after her. He had promised Kairai that. Kairai, Sosaku's mother, died... how long ago was it? Seven years ago? He didn't really remember. He would live for centuries yet, so time really wasn't a concern to him as it was to others. Mostly these idiot humans. Anyway... Yes, seven years ago, Kairai had died, leaving Sosaku with no living relative. Hiei had promised her, as she was dying, that he would watch over the little girl. He hadn't been able to look at Sosaku for a while, though, for he had loved Kairai. Yes, the Imiko loved her. He would never admit it of course, even if he had a gun to his head. Well... That might not be a proper expression... Since guns aren't really... Oh well. You get the picture, neh? He wouldn't admit it. EVER. But he watched Sosaku carefully. In watching Sosaku, he had also discovered something. The fox liked Sosaku a little more than he should. Hiei didn't like that. Was Hiei actually getting paternal? Ye gods, that's scary.
Kurama finally pulled up in his little blue convertible BMW. -a good car for Kurama. (nod)- The fox jumped over the door, as the top was down, and headed for the front door, keys in hand. He unlocked the door and rushed inside.
Hiei blinked. The fox was moving quickly today. Usually he noticed if Hiei was sitting in the tree near the window. Odd.
Kurama was out again in half a minute, the dumb college uniform gone. He was graduating this year. But that's not important. The fox sprinted to Hiei's tree and shook the branch the Imiko was sitting in, causing him to fall on his adorable tushie. Hiei got back up fast, glaring. "The hell'd ya do that for!" he snarled.
Kurama looked down at him, a concerned expression on his face. "Hiei, something horrible has happened!"
Hiei's right eye twitched. "Hm?"
"It's Sosaku. Someone has kidnapped her, Hiei!"
The Imiko's eyes widened. "The school!"
"Hai. Come on, we have to be there yesterday."
Hiei nodded and took off, the fox running alongside him relatively easily. Cars would just be a nuisance in this situation. They were there in less than five minutes and met a half-burnt-down school house. Apparently the police and fire trucks and that whole ordeal hadn't arrived. Kurama looked around for any sign of life, but no students or teachers had witnessed the kidnapping. No one would even know till the morning. The fox looked over to Hiei, who was staring at a bit of black ribbon. Sosaku's ribbon. Her favorite ribbon, her most prized possession. The last thing she had of her mother's. She wouldn't just drop something like that. Hiei picked it up carefully and closed his eyes, bowing his head slightly as he pressed the satin ribbon to his heart. Kairai.
Kurama stood and walked over to his friend, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Hiei." he said quietly, startling the Imiko from his brief reverie. "Are you all right?"
Hiei nodded and stuffed the ribbon in his pocket, looking away. He slowly lifted a hand and pulled his headband off, exposing the Jagan. It opened and looked everywhere, the pupil darting in all directions. After a moment, he put the headband back on and turned to Kurama. "She was kidnapped by a man, and they are en route to Kyoto on the bullet train." he said emotionlessly.
Kurama sweatdropped. "Kyoto! It'll take forever to catch up! I hope this person is not intending to kill Sosaku..."
Hiei shrugged. "If he was, he couldv'e done so easily before now. That's obvious." he said, a hint of sarcasm weaved intricately in his tone as he gestured to the debris of the school.
Kurama sighed. "We better hurry then..." he muttered, turning to the street.
Hiei looked up, thinking. "There's a portal that corresponds to Kyoto. We could just go through near here and find the one there. It'll probably take less time if we go through Makai and just massacre everything in the way."
"It amazes me how lightly you say that word..."
Hiei shrugged and walked off, the fox close behind.

End Chapter One