Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or it's characters. I do own Arissa and Alexia. And I've said this before, in another story, before I remembered that I had another story with the twins in it, sorry, but I own the twins.

AN: Sorry, don't know the japanese name for the Dimension Sword. I'll come back later and change it once I do. I just thought that I should put this up before the few that like it go rabid and try to eat me. ;p

Chapter Four

Yusuke looked at the comatose girl laying in a room in a shrine. He looked at a short old woman wearing a purple robe. "Hey, Genkai, is she alright?" Genkai nodded. "Yes, she just depleted all of her energy." A small blue haired girl in a light blue kimono came down the hall carrying a bowl of water with wash clothes. "Hi Yukina." Yusuke said. Yukina bowed slightly. "Hello Yusuke." She replied, then she entered the room and wetted a wash cloth and placed it on the blonde girl's forehead. Yusuke sighed, "Well, since I'm no good here, I'll go talk to Hiei and find out what he knows about Kakou Hoshi apparitions." Genkai nodded.

Yusuke walked into the training room where Hiei and Kurama were discussing quietly. "Hey, Hiei. What do you know about-" Yusuke started but he was interrupted by Hiei. "I know what you're going to ask Yusuke, so don't bother aksing, now shut up and listen, I don't want to repeat myself." Yusuke nodded, telling that Hiei was irritated.

Hiei took a breath then said, "Kakou Hoshi roughly translates as 'Desended Star'. And that is exactly what a Kakou Hoshi apparition is, a fallen star. I don't mean the Ningenkai fallen star that's a meteorite, I mean actual stars, though not made of gas. They resemble something akin to a meteorite, though the shape is that of a spikey sphere and they're made of some kind of rock that is like multi colored gold. These 'stars' possess spirits, slightly demonic. When they fall to Earth, whether in the Ningenkai, or Makai, the spirits are released and then possess some type of being, usually humanoid, to live in. From what we can guess, a Kakou Hoshi fell close to Arissa's family, where ever they were living at the time, and the star spirit became the soul of the unborn Arissa. Much like the case of Kurama. I'm guessing the soul of the star stayed dormant until it's powers were needed or the girl became strong enough to change into her Kakou Hoshi form." Kurama nodded, saying "I heard rumors of these beings from the ningens. The myth was that sometimes when a star fell at the time of birth or just before the birth of someone, they would be blessed with amazing talents in things like art, dance, and some of the other fine arts." Hiei nodded, "Yes, the Kakou Hoshi tended to love the fine arts before they came to Earth and then tended to pursue their interests in their new forms, which is why they usually possess humanoid bodies."

Yukina came in. "She's waking." She said before walking to the kitchen. The men looked at each other and then headed into the room the girl was laying in. Inside Arissa was sitting up, her hand rubbing her forehead. As they slid the door open she whirled around, reaching for her knife that was no longer with her. Realizing this she rolled across the floor to the wall farthest from the three strangers. Yusuke put his hands up. "Hey, we don't mean any harm. We're friends. Or hope to be." He said in his ever joking tone. Hiei rolled his eyes. Kurama, deciding it would be best if he talked to her, walked slowly towards the frightened girl. "It's alright. We aren't going to hurt you. We've been looking for you." He knelt in front of the girl, who was holding her kimono together since she realized she didn't have a bra on. "Arissa, we're not going to hurt you. We just want you to tell us what happened three months ago."

Arissa looked at him for awhile, measuring this man and the other two up. They didn't seem threatening, despite the short man's fetish for black and his perpetual glare. In fact, they seemed sincere about what they said. She started to cry. It had been so long since she had felt safe. Kurama saw her cry and he reached out and pulled her to his chest. "Shh, it's all right. It's alright."

She cried for a good five minutes before she calmed down. She moved away from the red head. "Who are you?" She hiccuped. "I'm Kurama," The red head said, then he pointed to the tall dark haired man. "That's Yusuke, and the other one is Hiei." He finished, pointing to the short man who only 'hn'ed. He turned back to the blonde girl. "Now, Arissa, can you tell us what happened? Please, we need to know." Arissa looked at Kurama, surprised that he knew her name. "How do you know my name?" She asked. "Well..." Kurama was at a dead end, how could he explain it to the girl without frightening her. "Uh...Please tell us what happened, then we'll explain how we know who you are. Please?" Arissa nodded reluctantly.

Her eyes unfocused as she delved into the memories of three months prior. "I had been swimming in the lake. My little sister, Alex, had come to tell me she was going to tell on me, then she ran back to the house. I was about to chase after her when I heard a scream. I dashed into the woods but had to slow down so I didn't trip. Then..." She started to shake. "Then I heard something behind me. When I turned I saw dead eyes...evil eyes..." She was shaking so badly now it looked as if she would fall apart. Kurama quickly brought her back to his chest, holding her tightly as she began to cry again.

After several minutes she talked again. "I don't remember what happened after that, I only remember dimly of seeing the house and the stables but I didn't go in, it was too quiet and there was an odd smell, I was scared. Then I ran. I ran and survived on my own in the woods. I couldn't think of running away from my home, but I couldn't be near it either. I didn't know what to do. Then you came. I remember running from you and then ending up at the lake, then I woke up here." She looked up at the man that was holding her. "What happened?" Kurama sighed. This was going to be hard to explain.

Hiei decided he might as well move this conversation along. He pulled off his bandana, showing a third eye. Arissa gasped and crouched against Kurama. "Shh...It's alright. He's a good guy. He's just trying to make the conversation easier." He whispered. She huddled closer to him, unsure of what to make of the short dark haired man.

Hiei pulled the bandana back on as Yusuke bent down towards the girl. "Hiei's a fire apparition. You see, there are things called youkai and apparitions. You would know them as 'demons'. But there are good demons and bad demons. Hiei here, well, he rides the line. Don't you Short Stack?" He joked at the short man. "Hn," Was his reply. Kurama ignored the two and started to explain better than the half youkai. "The place where they usually reside is in Makai, another world that is connected to Earth. Where we are is refered to as the Ningenkai. There's a third world, Reikai. That is the world where spirits live. You would think of it as Heaven. It's where King Enma and his son Koenma, gods, live. There they rule over beings known as ferry-onnas or the pilots of the River Styx. The River Styx is-" "I know what the River Styx is. I studied Latin, and am into Roman and Greek mythology." She said distractedly. "Um, why do I have the feeling we're not talking in english?" Yusuke laughed, "Well... We're talking in japanese. Koenma had done something to make it to where you could talk and understand japanese and we could talk and understand english. It's like some kinda shot." He shrugged. Arissa looked shocked and angry. "So, while I've been out somebody has been messing with me!" Kurama shook his head, trying to calm the angry girl, "It wasn't harmful to you. The only reason we did it while you were asleep was because we didn't think you would trust us if we started to come at you with a needle and speaking in a foreign tongue."

Hiei heard the wind kick up outside as the elements were affected by the girls anger. -The girl doesn't know how to control her powers. I guess during those three months the weather must have been hectic.- He thought, watching the girl closely. As he looked at her something niggled at the back of his mind, like a distant memory long hidden, supressed by will and subconciousness. He shook his head, dispelling the thoughts and ignoring the memory trying to reemerge.

After Kurama had calmed the girl down, he continued. "There's also one other thing that's important specifically to you. There are beings known as Kakou Hoshi apparitions. They're, well..." He thought for a moment how to explain them in a shorter and easier way to understand than Hiei had done. After a moment he spoke again. "You know about stars, of how they're made up of gas, and how falling or shooting stars are actually meteorites or meteoroids. Well, there are 'stars' that are actually living beings, with souls. They look like a shiny metalic 'star' the kind that artists draw, with the many points. Are you following me so far?" He asked. Arissa nodded. "Well, when these 'stars' fall onto the Earth, whether in Ningenkai or Makai, their souls are released. They then inhabit a body, usually a newborn or an unborn child. Mostly the body is humaniod, this way they can pursue their interests in the fine arts. This led to the belief that sometimes a child that was born shortly before or shortly after a star fell they were then blessed with amazing talent in the fine arts. These beings are then called Kakou Hoshi apparitions. Normally the soul of the star stays dormant until the person is strong enough to control their powers or if the powers of the star is needed. Did I lose you?" He asked as he noticed the odd expression on her face. She shook her head. "No, but I think I know where you're going with this. Mom told me that she had seen a shooting star the night I was born, about a few minutes before she felt the first contraction." She paused, "Am I a Kakou Hoshi apparition?" She asked, though she already knew the answer. Kurama nodded. She opened her mouth to say something else but then closed it.

Kurama started to talk again, "Three months ago, Reikai intelligence noticed a huge reading of power where you lived. They also noticed other strange auras where you lived. Koenma wasn't sure about those but he was positive that you were the one that emitted the blast of power. He then sent us when the Reikai intelligence could no longer find you. When we found where you lived..." He paused, unsure of what to say to her about the inside of the house and the barn. "Everyone was dead." He said simply. The girl sat still, tears coming to her eyes. They sat in silence for awhile before she could compose herself to talk. "I..I think I knew that, but I didn't want to believe it so I stayed away from the house. I guess the horses are dead too." Kurama nodded.

He continued, "When you ran from us and we caught you, you panicked. You're true form, your kakou hoshi form, came out. Kakou Hoshi have power over elements, and the elements are strongly affected by the emotions of a kakou hoshi. When you panicked your emotions set off a powerful miniture hurricane on the lake. Without control over your powers you quickly used up your energy and passed out. Then we brought you here." "What is this place?" She asked, looking around at the pallet on the floor and the sliding door. The room was pretty bare. "You're in the shrine of Genkai, a powerful psychic." Kurama said. Arissa nodded, as if she knew who Genkai was. She started to stand but a wave of dizzyness hit her. Kurama caught her as she fell down. "We had orders to take you to Reikai once you woke up but I think you'll have to stay here and we can tell Koenma about what you said ourselves." He said gently as he carried her to her bed. Arissa nodded and fell immediately to sleep even before Kurama finished tucking her in. Kurama smiled gently as he and the others left the room. Hiei saw the smile and his eyes narrowed.

"...And that's all she remembers." Kurama finished. He and the other two demonic detectives stood in Koenma's office. Kurama, being the one that could give a report without resorting to slang or using an irritated tone, had been telling Koenma everything they had found out about Arissa and what had happened three months ago. Koenma sat behind his desk, his color returning after Kurama finished. He had turned visibly green when Kurama had told him about what they had found in the house and barn then he turned white when he heard about the dead eyes. His imagination had decided to run wild at what the eyes could have looked like and who or what they belonged to. He sighed and said, "Well, I guess it's a start. It's marginally better than trying to find out what those energies were without any information. I guess I'll have to join the search for info in the archives. I hate that place. Too much dust." He looked at the three youkai, only one of which was fully youkai. "I guess you're dismissed. And Hiei, you're to stay in Ningenkai until this mission is over." Koenma said. The fire apparition glared but stayed silent. Secretly he wanted to stay near the kakou hoshi, for what reason he couldn't fathom.

Koenma sighed. "Well, I guess the sooner I start, the sooner I can finish. Oh hell." He got up and yelled for Jorge, the blue ogre that was constantly at his side, though he almost never called him 'Jorge', just 'Ogre'. "Yes Koenma sir?" The blue ogre asked nervously. He was still in trouble for what he did at the last tournament for king in Makai. Since it's begining about twelve years ago there had been four tournaments to decide who would be king of all of Makai The three demonic detectives participated (and lost) in each and he, Koenma and Koenma's lead ferry-onna, the blue haired Botan, attended in disguises. Last tournament, two years ago, he had made a spectacle when he stole the mike from the announcer, the female fox apparition named Koto, and did a rap. Shaking his head of the memory of getting whacked by both Koenma and Botan, he turned his attention back to the teen god. Koenma walked out of his office, motioning for the ogre to follow, and headed to the large catacombs that held all the records of Reikai and some other miscellaneous books, such as cook books and the like.

"What are we looking for Koenma sir?" Jorge asked. Koenma didn't look back at him as he headed to the 'horror' section. "Beings with 'dead eyes'." Jorge paused, waiting for more details. After awhile he asked, "Uh sir, I think you forgot to give the rest of the details..." "Nope, we just know they have dead eyes." Jorge fell to the ground on his face. Koenma looked down at him from his pech on the ladder. "Well, don't just lay there. Get started!"

"Hellooo!" A cheery voice called from somewhere. Arissa opened her eyes and sat up. She looked groggily around, wondering at the strange surroundings. Then memory hit her. She was in the shrine of some psychic named Genkai. Three men had brought her here, the red haired Kurama, the joking Yusuke, and the fire apparition Hiei. She looked down at her self. Her body hadn't changed, not from what she could tell. Yet she knew they were telling her the truth about her being a Kakou Hoshi apparition.

Again she heard the cheery voice, this time coming closer, and two other voices were with her. Deciding to check it out, she got to her feet clumsily. She still felt pretty tired. She slid the door open and peeked her head out. Three women stood down the hall, conversing. One was a mousy brown haired woman dressed in a beige sweater and a long brown skirt, the other two were, shockingly, blue haired. One had her hair up in a ponytail and was wearing a pink shirt, a brown vest and blue jeans. The other had her hair in two braids and was dressed in a blue blue dress with a white shirt under it. They heard the door slide open and looked towards her. "Um...sorry." Arissa appologized. The tallest one, the blue haired in the vest, shook her head. "No, you didn't do anything wrong." She said, identifying her voice as the cheery one she heard. She practically bounced towards her and stuck out her hand. "Hello, my name's Botan!" She said cheerily, pink eyes friendly. Arissa shook her hand. "My name's Arissa." The other two came up to them. The other blue haired woman bowed. "Hello, my name is Yukina, I'm pleased to see that you're awake." When she stood back up Arissa saw kind red eyes. The mousy woman came over, her brown eyes as friendly as the other two. "Hello, I'm Keiko. Pleased to meet you." Arissa nodded to them, then turned to Botan and Yukina. "Um, is your hair naturally blue and is that your natural eye color?" The two nodded. "Are you two demons?" Botan shook her head but Yukina nodded. "I am a koorime, an ice apparition." Yukina said. "And I'm the cheif pilot of the River Styx!" Botan piped. Arissa nodded again then turned to Keiko, "Are you a demon too or human? Sorry if it's impolite." Keiko smiled. "I'm fully human, or as the youkai say 'ningen'. My husband however, is half youkai, mazoku as they call him. Sometimes I don't know if it's the youkai blood in him or if he's just a plain idiot, what with the things he does." She said the last part rather irritatedly. Botan and Yukina smiled. "Yusuke's a youkai?" She asked shocked. She decided to start using their word for demons.

Arissa felt a draft and pulled her kimono closer. Botan noticed then she made an odd sound as she snapped her fingers. "I remember why we came! We came to see if you wanted to go shopping. After all, the only thing you were wearing when the boys carried you here was Hiei's cloak. We managed to find you a pair of panties that fit, but we don't have any bras that fit you." Arissa started blushing when Botan said that the only thing she was wearing was Hiei's cloak. -Does she mean that those men saw me naked! But they're so much older than me. Some people would call me jail bait!- Keiko saw the girl's horrified look. "Oh, don't worry, they're gentlemen, even Yusuke." She then reached into the tote bag she was carrying and brought out some clothes. "Here, you can have these, in a few months I won't be able to fit into them so someone might as well wear them." She said laughingly, her hand resting on her tummy. Arissa smiled, "Thanks, and congratulations." She said as she disappeared into the room.

When she came out she was dressed in blue jeans and a white button up shirt. The women had already gone shopping for the essentials because there were new bras, socks and panties in the bundle of clothes that consisted of three pairs of jeans, a pink t-shirt, a blue sweater, a green turtle neck and a pair of tennis shoes. Luckily she remembered having heard from one of her city friends about animes and what they've learned of the japanese culture from them so she knew not to wear the shoes in the house. She said her thanks as they walked through the shrine. She looked around, impressed. The shrine was big with many rooms, most of which had the signs of being occupied or at least reserved for occupants. "Who all lives here?" She asked. "Genkai, myself, my husband Kazuma and occassionally Hiei when he's in Ningenkai. Also, there are six other youkai that spend time here training." Yukina replied. "There are alot of youkai here. I thought they lived in Makai." Arissa said as they reached a large room with a statue. Botan shrugged, "Well, that's where most of them live. Every now and then some might escape into Ningenkai for whatever reason. Yukina here came to find her brother. Hiei came here thinking to rule the humans, mostly youkai call humans ningens, he, Kurama and a youkai named Goki came here after stealing three powerful artifacts from Reikai. Don't take it wrong, Kurama stole one of them to save his dying human mother."

Arissa's eyes widened, "You mean Kurama's a youkai too?" Botan nodded. "But his situation for being here is a bit tricky. He used to be full youkai, kitsune, or fox apparition, to be exact. He was a nortorious thief in Makai, the king of thieves. Twenty-nine years ago he botched a raid and was chased by one of the Spirit Defense Force officers, the 'police' of Reikai. His body was mortaly wounded. His soul managed to escape into the womb of a human mother. And now he's half human half youkai. He had originally planned to go back to Makai when he had gathered enough energy, but then he came to love his mother and stayed. That wasn't the case with Hiei, he was determined to go back 'home'. But then Yusuke caught him when Yusuke was barely fourteen and he was tried in Reikai and sentenced to probation in the Ningenkai. He had been there for almost a year when we really needed his help and I had to make a deal with him, I would convince Koenma to cut Hiei's probation to time served if Hiei would help us. So he did." Arissa went silent as she thought about what they had talked about.

"Why didn't he go home?" She asked after awhile. Yukina answered her. "Well, up until fourteen years ago there was a barrier called the Kekai barrier. It seperated the two worlds, keeping youkai of class A and Class S from crossing between the two worlds." Botan nodded and took up the story, "By the time Hiei was released from probation, he was close to A-class. The only thing was that there were no portals opened to Makai for him to cross over. Then a man named Sensui created a tunnel to Makai. Yusuke and the rest of the Reikai Tantei had to battle him. Yusuke, Kuwabara and Kurama were fighting him to close it but I think that deep down Hiei was fighting him so that he could get into the tunnel. During the fight however, Kurama and Hiei boosted up into A-class. So he couldn't get through. Kuwabara, however, has a reiki weapon called the Dimension Sword that was able to cut through dimensions and the Kekai barrier. At that time they were chasing Sensui into Makai to get revenge on him for killing Yusuke, so Kuwabara cut the barrier and they went into Makai. The barrier hasn't been the same since. There are flaws in it that occasionally let youkai of any level pass through, like Hiei, who is now an S-class apparition." She finished. Arissa wondered if the bouncy woman had even taken a breath while she spoke.

Again Arissa muled over what she had learned then came up with two questions. "What's these levels and what do you mean Yusuke died? I just saw him. Or is he a ghost?" Keiko laughed. "No, Yusuke died when he was fourteen but his death was sudden and Koenma gave him a second chance at life. Then he was killed by Sensui but it turned out that Yusuke is the Atavism of the Mazoku. He had youkai blood in his veins and the youkai blood, as the name says, genetically reapeared after several generations in Yusuke. So his youkai blood brought him back and now he's half youkai." She said. Yukina explained the youkai class. "The levels we were talking about is a system of identifying the power levels of youkai and apparitions. The classes range from the weakest, E-class, to D-class, then C-class, next B-class, the strongest class that could pass through the Kekai barrier. The next two levels is A-class, extremely strong, then S-class, the strongest class. Though mind, just because two people are in the same class doesn't mean their powers are equal." Botan nodded then looked at her watch. She jumped, "Oh my, look at the time. We should be off to beat the crowds. C'mon girls." She said, rushing them out the large door were they put their shoes on.