Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or it's characters. I do own Arissa and Alexia. I also own the twins.
Chapter Two
"Excuse me sir," Kurama asked an elderly man in a rocking chair outside of the local store. The old man squinted at the tall red head. "Ehh…You'll hafta speak up sonny. These ears ain't what they used to be." Kurama nodded politely and stepped closer. He held out a picture to the old man. "I was wondering if you have ever seen this girl?" He asked a bit louder. The old man took the photo and studied it. He slowly shook his head and handed the picture back. "Nope, never seen her. Sorry." Kurama nodded and left down the street, sighing. -We've asked all around and still haven't found anything out about the girl.-
Hiei stepped out of the shodows of a nearby building. "I take it you had no luck either." Kurama just sighed again, saying, "Let's go find Yusuke. We should head off to the next town. By the way, where is he?" Hiei just glared at Kurama. "Where do you think?" He growled. Kurama rolled his eyes.
They found Yusuke in the local bar, having a wonderful time with the local drunks. Kurama stood behind Yusuke and politely tapped him on the shoulder. Yusuke turned around and looked drunkenly at the two men behind him. "It's time to leave." Kurama said tightly. Yusuke nodded and stood up, wobbling just a bit. "Shorry fellas," He hicoughed, "But it's time for me to be a leavin'." With that he stumbled after his friends.
Once they were in the rented suv, Yusuke sobbered up quickly. He leaned forward from the back seat. "Guess what I found out?" He teased. "Would it have anything to do with the girl, or is it about how you can't seem to hold you're liquor." Hiei asked sarcasticaly. Yusuke laughed. "What can I say, I'm a good actor. And yes I did find out about the girl. They told me that she lives a few miles away from the ski resort." "Ski resort?" Hiei asked. "It's a place where you can ski." Yusuke teased. "I know what a ski resort is." Hiei retorted. "I just didn't know they had one close to here." "Yusuke," Kurama interrupted from the driver's seat, "do you know how to get there?" Yusuke nodded, chuckling. "Yeah, for drunks they sure can give directions."
"So this is the place…" Yusuke said, staring at the moderate sized ranch in a large clearing hidden deep in the woods. "It doesn't look like anybody's home." He walked over to the front porch. "I doesn't even look as if anybody's lived here for awhile." As he walked to the front door he stopped abruptly, covering his nose and mouth with his jacket sleeve. "Holy Hell! It's stinks!" Hiei walked up, scrunching his nose at the horrible smell. "I thought you liked the smell of blood and rotting corpses." Yusuke said to him. "Hn," was the only answer he got. "Oh my!" gasped Kurama from the suv. His sense of smell was far more keener than Yusuke's and Hiei's.
Hiei walked into the house, followed by a gaging Yusuke. What they saw in there was a massacre. Blood was splattered everywhere, from the ceiling to the walls and to the floor where it had pooled and coagulated in massive amounts. The blood had come from at least two adults and three children, one being an infant. Yusuke wasn't very sure but the variouse pieces of bodies they found and the amount of blood suggested it. As he stared at the infant sized hand, a sudden surge of nausea and horror ripped through him. He ran out the front door and puked. -How could anyone do such a thing!- His mind drifted to Keiko and their unborn child. He ran cold, remembering why Kuwabara was staying behind. -Please Kuwabara, protect them all with your life!- He silently begged his old friend. As he stood up, the image of the infant's hand flashed before him again. This time rage filled him. -I'll get the son of a bitch that did this!-
Kurama came beside him and rested a hand on his shoulder, understanding what was going through his mind. While Yusuke had been retching, he had dared to go inside. Hiei came outside then, saying "We should look around some more, I spotted a barn in the back." Yusuke nodded. He noticed that the fire apparition, normally stoic and impassive at the sight of death, was slightly pale.
They could smell the carnage before they had even made it half way across the back yard towards the barn. Inside the barn the scene was just as bad. Blood coated the ceiling and walls. On the floor it was ankle deep. Pieces and parts of several horses were scattered everywhere.
"Senseless killing." Hiei said quietly as they left the barn. "From what I could tell in the house, nothing was taken, and there didn't seem to be any motive for killing the people." "Yes, and even more senseless in killing the horses." Kurama added. Yusuke surveyed the house. "No, there was a motive." The other two looked at him. "Whoever did this, either did it because they love killing and blood, or they did it to get at the girl…"
A rustling sound came from the woods to the side of them. Kurama turned around quickly. "That wasn't a sound from some animal!" He said as he ran into the woods, Hiei and Yusuke close behind. "Someone was watching us!"
A stampede could be heared coming down the hall, the only warning Koenma had before several ogres rushed in, led by his assistant Jorge. "Sir! Sir! Emergency! We've identified what type of youkai she is!"
They had run deeper into the woods before they even caught a glimpse of the person they were chasing. The person had long hair that once might have been gold, it was hard to tell with all the leaves and sticks and caked grime in it, and was dressed in ragged and dirty clothes. At one point they had almost caught up with the person as she, it was definitely a she, tripped over a root. However, it was only a ruse for her to dodge to the side and run in a new direction, causing the three men to back peddle and run after her.
She led a great chase through the woods. Which was why she was able to stay ahead of them, even though Hiei and Yusuke normally would have caught up with her easily. She probably knew these woods like the back of her hand, and the men did not. But soon she made a fatal error. Very soon they were out of the woods and beside a small lake with a small dock. The open area gave the men an advantage, allowing them to use their impressive speed to catch the girl.
They cornered her at the lake edge, Hiei and Kurama on her sides, and Yusuke in front of her. She started to back away from them onto the dock, as the boys moved in slowly. Yusuke guessed that this girl must be Arissa, despite the worn out look of her. She looked as if she had been spending at least the last month out in the woods. "Are you Arissa?" The girl's indigo eyes narrowed as she backed farther on the dock. Yusuke knew what she was about to do, but before he could even calm her down, the little communication compact in his jean pocket went off. That startled her and she made a run for the end of the dock. Hiei had a hold of her in a second and held her down as she struggled. Yusuke sighed and opened the compact. "What Koenma? We're kinda busy chasing after this girl." Koenma's toddler face appeared on the compact monitor. "It's about the girl! It's vital! She's a Kakou Hoshi apparition! Don't anger her or frighten her! The consequences will be a disaster!" Yusuke looked over to where Hiei and Kurama struggled with the girl. A silver glow was starting to emanate from her. "…Uh-oh…"