AbhorsenSabriel87: Hey readers! I know I haven't updated or written anything in a while... but I have good reasons for that!

Teresa: She was busy...

Sabriel: Yup.

Teresa: ...And off-line

Sabriel: Yup yup.

Teresa: And lazy.

Sabriel: Yup... Hey! Shut up Terri!

Teresa: --rolls eyes-- It's true.

Sabriel: Grr. Everyone, meet one of my best friends, Teresa.

Teresa: Yo.

Sabriel: She's the one who gave me the idea for this fic and we're going to write it together without my other muse's knowledge!

Teresa: Yeah, or else they would kill us... literally in Kurama and Hiei's cases.

Sabriel: Sha. Yusuke and Kazuma would only beat us to a bloody pulp.

Teresa: --sweatdrop-- That's kind.

Sabriel: Hey, it's true. Anywho, there are two new OC's in this fic, as with most of my co-author fics, and it's an angsty fic so beware.

Teresa: ... I'm not sure "angsty" is a word Sabs.

Sabriel: Whose side are you on! Anyway, our legal disclaimer, drawn up by about three dozen lawyers, states that neither of us poor little otakus own any piece in part of Yu Yu Hakusho or any related incendia, any Shakespearean play I choose to use or reference, the Camero, or pretty much anything else that has been copywrited in the past seven billion years.

Teresa: That's the most you've said in one sentence this whole AN Section.

Sabriel: Disclaimers usually are. Now...

Both: Onto the fic!

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

---"You intend to do what?" A century-gothic style courtroom lay quiet, it's dark halls chilled by the voice that had so recently spoken. Seven judges lined the head of the room, two guards stood at every door, a few of them not even seeming human, but they all knew it wouldn't be enough if the owner of the chilling voice did not wish to cooperate with them. The owner of the voice stood in the center of the floor, flanked by three magicians on either side behind him as a precaution for the judges. The speaker himself stood barely five feet tall, but his icy tone and fiery gaze as well as his own dark and dangerous appearance marked him as one not to be messed with or angered. He stood with his feet together and his back straight, well-toned arms crossed over an equally sculpted chest as he glared vehemently at the seven judges before him. A black cloak flowed easily from his shoulders to his ankles, and a black silver-lined tunic covered his miniature frame well, giving him a regal yet lethal aura. "I demand an explanation," his alto voice stated coldly, his garnet eyes flicking to each judge in turn until they finally settled on the center judge.

---This judge seemed relatively human, the only thing betraying his god heritage being his slightly elfin-like ears, and he stood and met the demon lord's glare with a calm and commanding look in his own in his chocolate brown eyes. "As much as you have helped us Hiei," he stated in his tenor voice, showing how young he really was, "we of the Underworld Council believe that you are still a grave danger to Ningenkai and all humans in general. We cannot allow you to return to Makai until your sentence has been fulfilled, so we have decided to make sure that you are no threat to the Human World while you serve your probationary period." The young judge seemed only about twenty or so with short brown hair shadowing his eyes of the same shade, but he seemed to be the head judge by his position and the commanding presence he held. Robes of pure blue and red rested easily on his tall and slender frame, fitting well, but hiding his true nervousness well. The other godly and demonic judges murmured their agreement to this verdict until the demon on the floor set his deathly glare on them, bringing silence once more to the courtroom.

---"You doubt my abilities to not only keep myself invisible to mortals," he hissed, glaring once more at the center judge, "but you doubt my self-control to keep myself from harming or killing them? I thought you knew me better than that Koenma."

---"I know you well enough Hiei," the young god stated sternly. "That's one of the reasons it's so hard for me to do this. But as a precaution that is well argued for, it must be done." At the judge's last word, the magicians closest to the dark haired demon spoke in dark tongues and blasted the rouge in the back with orbs of white energy before he could react. The first orb knocked the demon to the ground onto his left knee while the second paralyzed him and kept him from drawing the sword at his hip in his defense. He managed to look up into Koenma's eyes, and the judge nearly stepped back at the renewed look of icy fury in the crimson eyes.

---Damn you was the strained telepathic message Koenma received right before the next two magicians mercilessly shattered the magical barriers that had attempted to form around the demon. The two remaining magicians began chanting as well, making the youkai shake slightly and lower his rage-filled eyes to the ground as he felt his demonic energy being drained near completely. After two minutes that felt like two humiliating lifetimes to the little youkai, the spells slowly retracted, allowing him to relax minimally. Hiei drew in a few silent but shaking breaths before he slowly drew up his brilliant eyes to the judges again. Koenma himself felt ravenously guilty and afraid of him at that moment, seeing more emotion than he ever had from the small youkai at that moment, and none of the emotions that he would have asked to see come from him; anger, betrayal, condemnation, complete distrust... He expected Hiei to strike him down that instant as the rouge rose to his feet, his cloak falling silently behind him, but no strike ever came, only words harsher than an Antarctic storm to match the Hell flame fury etched in his garnet eyes. "What exactly did your magicians just do?" The judge steadied himself before responding evenly.

---"Your Jagan is shielded as well as its capabilities reduced. Your natural immunity to heat remains as well as limited portions of your demonic healing, but the ability to conjure your flames and the Kokuryuuha are gone. Your speed and strength have been reduced to a better than human level, but nowhere near your prior limitations." The crimson eyes regarded his for a moment longer, then without another word, Hiei turned and left, the only sound upon his departure being his cloak snapping behind him as he turned away. Even after he left, a fiery chill hung in the air, causing uneasiness for a few moments. Gradually, the atmosphere relaxed and Koenma dismissed the magicians with a wave of his hand, slumping back down in his chair in a very tired and almost pained manner. One of the judges, a young looking woman more beautiful than humanely possible with fire-red hair and warm lava-like eyes, turned to him with an unsure look upon her face. Her voice, although still holding power and a hint of seductiveness natural to her race, spoke quietly with slight fear, "You do realize, my lord, that we have very little chance of awaking the morning after this is over with our heads, or lives at all for that matter?"

---Koenma sighed, massaging his temples as he responded slowly and directly, "Yes Tanar'ri, I do. Hopefully, that day won't come until we figure out what to do when that day rolls around."

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

---"Hiei, what is the matter? You've been rather moody lately." The fire apparition glanced at the speaker, then resumed his prior task of glaring at the city of Tokyo from a high branch of an old gingko tree in front of the second story window of a small house on the northern side of the city park. "I'm always moody," he replied softly. "Today is no different." A low chuckle came from inside the room he stationed himself outside and the calm and soothing baritone voice spoke again, "I meant more moody than usual. Something is troubling you, I can tell. Don't even try to convince me otherwise; I know you far too well." Hiei looked over at the speaker once more, giving him a mild glare.

---"It is none of your concern Kurama," he said deliberately. The speaker sported bright red (and rather thick and messy) hair and equally bright emerald green eyes in a youthful face. He appeared, much like the fire demon outside his window, hardly over the age of seventeen, but his eyes glinted with wisdom well beyond his apparent years. His slender frame removed itself from his chair by the door of the room and maneuvered gracefully over various plants and vines that snaked all over the room and settled on the windowsill next to Hiei. "It is my concern Hiei," he said calmly. "I consider you a dear friend of mine and I wish to aid you in any way I can."

---"Unless you can overrule a unanimous sentence made by the Underworld Council, you cannot do anything, fox." The redhead frowned slightly at his companion, concern and confusion written on his handsome features. "Has the Council extended your sentence?" he asked gravely. "Neither you nor I have done anything illegal by any standards since we were tried... well, outside of our missions, of course. What basis would they have to do so anyway?"

---"They did not extend my sentence," the other muttered, looking at his bound right hand in mild interest. The familiar bandages still tingled his arm with the dormant wards keeping his spellbound and -made power at bay, but there was no true reason for them to remain. They only provided the fire demon with minimal comfort that his stolen power would be returned to him eventually. "However," he added as an afterthought, "they did harshen my punishment." He snapped his fingers, causing the other boy to start slightly, but when only a soft whiff of smoke reached the redhead's nose, he frowned and leaned forward curiously. "They took your youkai abilities?" he asked, a puzzled and perplexed look on his face. "I wouldn't have thought that they would stoop so low."

---"Well, they did," Hiei replied, dropping his hand back into his lap and leaning back against the tree as he shifted his gaze back to the city again. His right leg was propped up on the branch he sat upon, his left ankle resting underneath against his thigh. His left hand sat lightly on his left knee, and behind his mask of moody apathy, a twinge of sorrow passed through his eyes, quickly replaced by anger and loathing. "It's no problem of mine though; Koenma told me that they would be returned when my sentence is up or I have proved myself in no way harmful to the human race."

---When the door to the room opened, both boys snapped their heads around, Kurama reaching into his hair for some unknown object, Hiei sitting up and dropping his left hand into his cloak to grab a small throwing dagger in the lining. When a dark-haired woman in her late thirties or early forties appeared in the doorway, both boys relaxed visibly as Kurama dropped his hand into his lap and Hiei replaced the dagger once more in his cloak. The woman smiled softly at the young men and walked into the room with a tray of tea as the red-head spoke in a soft and lilting language to the plants, asking them to move out of her way. The various vines and exotic foliage complied almost immediately as she walked across the room and set the tray down on the desk upon which Kurama had seated himself. "Konnichi wa Hiei-kun," she said softly, her voice as kind and sweet and her appearance. "I thought I heard you boys talking up here."

---"Konnichi wa Minamino-san," Hiei replied, bowing his head slightly as she wrapped her arms around his companion's shoulders. The woman's smile grew only softer as she hugged the emerald-eyed young man and chuckled quietly. "Only Shiori, Hiei," she replied quietly. "I do not need as much respect as you give me."

---Quite the contrary the demon thought, attempting (and failing) to suppress the slight smile forming on his child-like face. You deserve far more. "Perhaps that is so," he sighed, "but I am not one to change quickly, so you may not be hearing the last of the formalities yet." Both mother and son chuckled at this comment and a slight pang of envy yet compassion beat in Hiei's heart. Hiei himself (as many of you readers undoubtedly know) never knew his mother, well or otherwise, as he had been exiled almost immediately after birth from his mother's wintry home. In all truth, he was slightly jealous of his best friend for having such a compassionate woman in his life daily, but he neither expressed this feeling nor acknowledged its existence. Although she was Suiichi's mother by blood, Shiori had always treated Hiei as she did Kurama; with warmth and kindness that only a mother can possibly show.

---"I heard you boys talking and decided to poke my nosy mother's instinct where it doesn't belong," Shiori continued humorously. "When I came in, you both seemed rather tense. It's not another mission from the little godchild, is it?" Now readers, you may be wondering (if you follow the Yu Yu Hakusho series) how Shiori Minamino, a normal human woman, knows about what Kurama and Hiei do for the Underworld Police (while those of you who do not have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about). For those of you who have just happened upon this story by pure chance and have decided to read it based upon the summary (as well as having no particular knowledge of this series before), I shall humor you with a very brief explanation.

---Kurama was originally a youkai thief by the name of Yoko Kurama. In all truth, he was so good, he was the proclaimed King of Thieves within the Thief's Guild of Makai, or the Demonic Plane. He managed to do quite well for himself until he made a slight error and was near fatally wounded by a bounty hunter. En route for an escape, he fled to Ningenkai (the Human Realm) and possessed a soulless embryo, thereby saving himself and being "reborn" as Suiichi Minamino, minus his demonic powers. He stayed within his human body and limits for nearly fourteen years without incident until he met Hiei. By this time, his powers had returned in full but he felt obligated to remain with the woman who had given him "second-life", as he had grown quite attached to her. Kurama helped Hiei find out some information about an Ice Koorime by the name of Yukina from a demon (whom the two of them killed) and Hiei in turn helped Kurama save a good friend of his. After this incident, the two parted ways for almost a year until the day the two of them (along with a demon named Gouki) stole three valuable treasures, each with their own interests in mind. They were eventually found and captured by the Underworld Police (minus Gouki who was killed by an Underworld Detective) and given a speedy trial that placed the two not only on probation for their crime but forced them to assist the Underworld Detective that apprehended them.

---I must now thank you for being patient for my rambling explanation those of you who know this already and shall admit to you that it is close to being over. Now being two years later, Kurama's human body has reached the age of seventeen and he has nearly died in service of the Underworld Judge (aka Koenma) many times. Worried not only for his mother but for his own soul, he confessed to his mother everything about his work now and what he could remember about his life before his "rebirth", even though he knew that there was a very good chance that Shiori could never forgive him for said atrocities. Much to his surprise and relief, she accepted rather than outcasted him and the two have never been tighter. These acts not only impressed Hiei, who had lost nearly all his faith in humanity quite a long time ago, but boosted his respect and loyalty for the two. Thank you for humoring me, and now I shall return to the actual story here in the present...

---Hiei shook his head at the woman and replied, "We have no new missions as of yet." He paused before adding with a hint of sarcasm, "Although I wouldn't doubt that we'd have another quite soon that Yusuke and Kazuma could handle by themselves in which-"

---"'We are only there to baby-sit and make sure the humans don't get killed'," Kurama and Shiori recited in unison with the fire demon, both having heard this complaint many times before and knowing it by heart. Quiet laughter came from all of them at the inside joke and Shiori brought up the conversation again. "Speaking of those two," she said, "I have extended them an invitation to a night out and would be delighted if you came as well." Hiei gave her an obviously startled look and tilted his head slightly in confusion. "Surely you jest, Mrs. Minamino," he replied. "I dare not intrude."

---"What made you think that you would be intruding old friend?" Kurama asked, smiling cheerily. "We would have sent you a written invitation, but alas we have no idea of your whereabouts or home address so we could not." Hiei looked over at his friend in a rather unamused fashion and countered, "That is for very good reason, fox."

---"Oh?" Hiei smirked and replied quite casually and almost mockingly, "Yes, and you have just given the immediately correct reason; I am not one for social appearances." Shiori laughed as her son sat stunned and smiled at Hiei earnestly. "'Tis only a play and dinner, Hiei," she said kindly. "Surely you can last that long among friends." Hiei gave a melodramatic sigh and shrug. "All right, I'll accept," he admitted, sounding defeated. "What play are we going to attend?"

---"Why does it matter?" Kurama asked, glad that his best friend would be joining him in this outing. Hiei shrugged and replied aloofly, "It doesn't. I just wanted to know if I was going to need to wake up Yusuke and Kazuma halfway through it." Another round of laughter echoed in the room as the three delighted in the fire demon's newly found (and rarely shown) talent for humor. Unfortunately, that night could never be what the expected, nor what they could ever have dreamed of in their darkest nightmares.

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

---"Break time!" The call ran through the nurse's station cheerfully as one of the many analog clocks struck 11:30. Two nurses looked at each other, grinning broadly. The two only looked about eighteen or so and seemed to be best of friends as they made their way down to the hospital lunchroom even though it seemed like they couldn't have been any different. One of the girls stood around 5' 10" and had platinum blonde hair pulled back with a black leather thong at the nape of her neck. Under the hospital apron she wore a black shirt with violet writing across the back in Japanese kanji, black jeans, and black mech boots. Her eyes, a startling gold, glittered with laughter and mischief yet to be shown. Her friend, on the other hand, stood almost a half of a foot shorter and had beautiful copper curls reaching her waist and tied back with a sapphire blue ribbon the exact shade of her kind and serene eyes. The outfit she wore was a stark opposite of her friend's; a white skirt covering white flats and a loose sleeved white blouse.

---"About time, huh?" the dark haired one said, sarcasm dripping over her American accent. "I mean, we've been working for almost twelve hours. They should have let us off earlier." The other sighed and shook her head, picking up a Caesar salad from the lunch line. "We're not here just to chill out, you know," she replied, her own accent also American but with a slight twist of Japanese due to her ability to adapt to her environments. "We're here on student and work visa's, so deal with it, okay kitsune?" The other girl gave her shorter companion an unamused look as they reached the outer doors. "Don't call me that Seraphina," she half-whined. "You're the only one who's known since I was four. I really don't think it'd be good for me or my reputation if word got out I was an honest-to-Enma yoko."

---"You mean 'you or your perfectly tarnished political activist rep', Teresa," the other countered playfully as she sat down on the front steps to eat her salad. The kitsune growled something in a darker tongue before sitting moodily next to her friend. "That's not funny, Serri," she growled, looking off at the waning quarter moon above them.

---"Yes it is," Seraphina countered in between bites. "I know your secret and you know mine. But our blood doesn't make a difference to our friendship, right fox?" Teresa glared at her companion before giving her a wry smirk. "Right," she replied casually. "Plus, I'm the only one now who knows about you Serri. I mean," she continued mischievously, "who else would have any clue that you're half-" An alarm within the hospital as well as emergency lights upon the outer walls went off, cutting off the two girl's conversation. More nurses ran outside to greet the three ambulances speeding in as the girls stood and ran to the ER, pulling on their uniforms as they went. As they ran to the unloading area, they both heard quite clearly the conversation between the head surgeon and the paramedics.

---"How many are there?" the doctor asked, helping the paramedic unload the first bloodied-up victim onto a cart. The medic shook his head. "Five," he replied gravely. "But if they don't get operated on soon, we'll have nothing but five corpses." The surgeon nodded and helped the other medics get the victims into the hospital as nurses carted away the first two past the girls. Seraphina gasped as they went by and Teresa froze in place, her delicate nose twitching slightly. "Those two..." Seraphina breathed heavily, gazing at the sheet-covered youngsters. One of the carts accidentally received a slight kick from one of the nurses wheeling it and a sharp cry of pain came from the occupant as a tightly bound right hand dropped to the side. The voice was screaming something in another language unknown to any humans within the area.

---"He's... speaking Demonic," Teresa muttered as two more occupied carts passed them, both of these also carrying young men. "But I can't understand it... I don't know that region..." Teresa turned to her copper-haired companion, who seemed on the brink of tears. "Let's hurry and get to where we can be of use," she said sharply, pulling the other after her as the final victim was loaded onto another cart. They managed to miss the doctor's conversation with the paramedic as the final occupant was wheeled from the ambulance. The doctor stared in shock at the woman on the cart and looked up at the paramedic, who shook his head. "Sorry Doc," he said softly. "She didn't last the ride. Nuthin' we could do." The doctor nodded in shock and stared down at the corpse, unbelieving of what he was seeing. The paramedic looked at him cautiously, then asked, "Sir? You all right Doc?"

---The doctor nodded again and sighed. "I never thought I'd see her in my ward again," he said quietly, placing a hand to his face, "especially not dead. She was a patient of mine about two years ago that was miraculously cured." He gazed down at the body again with regret as an orderly covered her lifeless face with a white sheet and carted her down the hall. "She had her son with her all the time then.

---"I only hope that he can withstand the news."

()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

Teresa: That ended on a weird note...

Sabriel: It's called a "cliffhanger", and I use them all the time, thankyouverymuch.

Teresa: --sweatdrop-- I know what a cliffhanger is, but I thought we were going to start with the other thing first.

Sabriel: --shrugs-- We'll let the reviewers say what they like and hate about this fic. Besides, I kinda wanna do a flashback scene in the next chapter.

Teresa: ...

Sabriel: What? They're cliched, but they're really fun! --V-sign and cool pose-- (Note: "cool" is a relative term here at Otaku Inc. We do not presume our otakus to be cool or even up-to-date. In fact, many are still wearing bell-bottoms and ty-dye bandanas and corsets and the few with children at all still name them Mildred, Sunshine, Edwina, Moonbeam, and various other old-fashioned and frankly out-of-date names. Please also note that any offended by this AN Sectional should review and complain. To those offended, we are sorry and will listen to all your complaints carefully. However, please note that most of us really don't care. We're sorry. Thank you.)

Teresa: Whoa, that was new.

Sabriel: Yeah, I know. I decided to give my writings a name. Kinda cliched though...

Teresa: I dunno, I've never heard "Otaku Inc." before.

Sabriel: Well, that at least was original. Anywho-

Teresa: You love that word, don't you?

Sabriel: That is my word! Do not dis the God of all continuing-or-changing-the-subject words, "Anywho"!

Teresa: o.O --starts backing away slowly-- Review readers or Sabs here may just blow her top.

Sabriel: Who says?

Teresa: --points at Sab-o-Meter, which is now showing a danger level equal to DefCon2--

Sabriel: Oh. I forgot that Anna and Trenity170 made me get that installed. Aw well. See y'all later now!

Teresa: --sweatdrop-- Buh-bye.