Title: Time Distortion: Clash of Two Worlds
Summary: Yusuke and the Gang have been given their new assignment; close the portal that has opened in Makai and that connects it to Ningenkai. One problem, the portal has been opened in Sengoku-jidai and traveling back in time may or may not cause the portal to get bigger. So, teaming up with the InuYasha Gang, the two groups of unlikely humans and even more unlikely demons try to fix this 'little' mishap.
But, they're not the only ones who found out about the portal... Two evils join, hoping to stop them at all costs...
Pairings (Yu Yu Hakusho): Yusuke/Kayko, Kuwabara/Yukina (though, she doesn't know it yet, shhh!), Kurama/Shizuru, and Hiei/Botan.
Pairings (InuYasha): InuYasha /Kagome and Miroku/Sango. Shippo gets no one.
Categories: Action/Adventure/Romance/Humor
Rating: PG-PG-13 (Come on. I put Yusuke and InuYasha together. What would you expect?)
Author's Notes: This story came to me while I was reading another one (Forbidden Puppet by: MoonLightFight98, check it out). It was a great inspiration, so was Kaede (no, I will not to you who he is), who helped me understand more about time and space, so yeah.
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha (copyrighted to Rumiko Takahashi), nor Yu Yu Hakusho (copyrighted to Yoshihiro Togashi)
Time Distortion:
Clash of Two Worlds
Chapter One:
The Fates are Mocking their Master
All I know, time is a valuable thing, watch it fly by as the pendulum swings, watch it count down to the end of the day, the clock ticks life away.
Linkin Park, In the End
For Koenma, today was not a good day.
Oh, sure. The sun was shining, the sky was bright, birds were singing, and he just had one of his 'special' rice balls.
But, that didn't mean that today was supposed to be a good day, now did it?
The airy, joyful air was an omen; a sign predicting that the Fates were now mocking Koenma (even if he was considered said Fate) and that horrible things would soon happen. It didn't matter what would happen, just that it would happen and the Prince of Reikai would have no control over it, whatsoever.
So, Koenma was not having a good day.
But, of course, he was no philosopher, and he would have never thought about it in such detail.
So, he settled for sighing, instead of announcing that he had made a possible life-altering conclusion.
Though, if he did that, it would have had the same effect as sighing.
Koenma decided to keep his face neutral, not showing any of the inner turmoil that he felt as he pondered his decision; why did he want to end his life?
That was what would happen, if you called Yusuke in for a mission during summer vacation. He already knew how the others would react.
He knew this bit of information, for he had drawn a chart explaining it:
1#: Kurama: Glower slightly, before politely, though with a hint of annoyance, ask what the mission was.
2#: Kuwabara: Demand to know why Koenma took him away from Yukina, then ask what was happening.
3#: Yusuke: Swearing and yelling.
4#: Hiei: Expect the next apocalypse.
In essence, Koenma wasn't exactly thrilled that he had called Yusuke in, nor did he want the apocalypse to happen, but, as they say, drastic things call for drastic measures. And this was drastic.
"Are you alright, Koenma, sir? You seem pale..." Said Koenma turned brown eyes to an equally brown ogre, whom had blonde hair, and was wearing an orange bow tie. This was Jorge's cousin, Gred. Jorge was also on vacation, but had suggested Gred because he was 'eager to please and very intelligent.'
Koenma had to remind himself never to trust Jorge again.
"No, I'm not alright..."
"May I ask why, sir," Gred asked, wringing his hands together, which had started to sweat.
"No... you may not." This statement brought about slumping shoulders and downcast eyes. But Koenma did not fall for it, instead, he turned his eyes back to the door, and waited for his inedible doom, hoping numbers one and two would show up first. God forbid if numbers three or four showed up together, or worse, number four all alone.
He shuddered at that thought, knowing exactly what would and could happen. But, perhaps it wouldn't be so bad. He would go down in a glory of flames, like he always wanted. He wanted to be remembered when he retired, wanted ferry girls and ogres alike to speak about the old Prince, hoping the new one can do a good job, just like him.
Yes, Koenma wanted to leave Reikai in a glory of flames.
Just not literally.
Though, that would enable him to be remembered.
He groaned; his train of thought was not helping at all.
"My thoughts aren't helping," Koenma whispered his thought aloud, burying his face in his small child hands. Gred perked up slightly; the fact that Koenma was speaking was enough to lighten up his mood.
"Not helping what, sir?"
"Nothing, Bed, nothing..."
"It's 'Gred', Koenma, sir..."
"Right... right, Jed, I'm sorry."
"That's 'Gred'."
"That's what I said, Gred. It's 'Gred', not 'Fred'. Why did you think it was 'Fred'?"
And silence reigned over the small office room, nothing making a sound, no sounds outside the room. It was almost as if every ogre and ferry girl in all of Reikai had fallen silent, just to hear what happened in Koenma's office. Or possibly what had been said. That conversation wasn't even interesting, he thought, eyes peeking out of his fingers.
"Koenma, sir," spoke Gred again, still not unfazed by that fact that Koenma had a hard time remembering his name. "You asked me to contact some people this morning; who were they?"
"Don't you know," Koenma said irritatingly. Gred shook his head fiercely, blonde hair whipping around.
"I just read the addresses, sir. That's all..."
"Oh... Well, I have a feeling that they'll be here soon, you'll meet them then..."
This received a sigh, and shuffling of the feet. It was quite apparent that Gred worshipped the ground that Koenma walked on, and was going out of his way just to speak with him. But it was also quite apparent that Koenma had no time for speaking, for he was less then eagerly awaiting the arrival of Yusuke and the Gang.
Who would arrive in three... two... one...
"KOENMA!"
"They're here..."
And almost in an instant, loud stomping noises were heard heading straight for the office and Koenma was expecting the door to burst open and possibly smack him against the wall. Well, the former did happen. Fortunately, or unfortunately however you look at it, the latter didn't happen.
So, he slumped farther into his seat as the rumble cleared and out stepped Yusuke Urameshi, in all of his teenaged and furious glory. Said teenager dusted himself off and straightening out his gray sweatshirt and jeans, before rushing over to the desk, one of his fingers raised and shaking in fiercely.
"You idiot! Why the hell did ya' call me here," Yusuke roared, towering over the small toddler.
"I don't have time for a mission, bastard! An' it's summer vacation, for Enma's sake! What the hell were you smokin' when ya' sent me that damn letter about a mission!"
But sadly, Koenma didn't get to voice his side of the story, for Kuwabara marched in, chin held high as he adopted a rather arrogant strut. He was wearing a blue T-shirt, rather oversized, and baggy jeans the effectively showed some plaid boxers.
"Why did ya' give me that letter, toddler? I was so close to gettin' a date with Yukina!"
"Well, now we see where you're mind was," retorted Yusuke, adopting a Kayko-like pose; hands on hips and jutting the latter out. Kuwabara turned to Yusuke and growled.
"Up yours, Urameshi! My Yukina is more important then anythin' in the world, so shut your ass up!"
"Make me, idiot! But before that, I gotta settle somethin' with Pacifier Breath!" And that was when both teens turned to Koenma, glowing furiously as it became obvious that they were gathering up their spirit energy.
But, once again, Koenma couldn't say anything, for two other bodies entered the room. What he could do, however, was remember to make arrangements for a new diaper or two.
"Hiei, stop!"
"Not until I teach this toddler a lesson."
"Hiei...!" And then a blur whizzed passed both Yusuke and Kuwabara and onto Koenma's desk. Standing there, was Hiei, also in furious glory. Slowly, the fire demon edged out his katana from its sheath and pointed it directly at Koenma.
"What the hell is your problem," Hiei whispered icily, Kurama directly behind him. Yusuke and Kuwabara nodded fiercely, agreeing with the fire demon. Koenma gulped and opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off again.
"I was under the impression that the meaning of human vacations was not to be bothered while one has one. So, tell me, did you just call us here to piss us off, or make our vacation longer? For your sake, choose the latter."
Oh, Koenma wished he could choose said latter.
But, he also wished many other things also.
None of them came true.
So, this wish wouldn't come true either.
"I wish I could do that," whisper the toddler, causing Hiei to growl dangerously, the katana wavering in his hand. "But, this is important, hear me out!" He raised his hands over his head, a sign of submissiveness. But, sadly, it didn't work.
"Important! I'll show you important," was what Yusuke yelled, moving closer to the desk, but Kurama stopped him. Placing a hand on Hiei's shoulder, he sighed.
"While I am just as annoyed as you are, we can't murder our employer. Step down Hiei." Growling, the fire demon turned to him, eyes blazing.
"I don't think so, fox." Hiei moved forward slightly, but Kurama pulled him back.
"Hiei, perhaps it would be easier to just hear what he has to say..." That made the two teenagers stop for a moment and think. And like two dummies in a ventriloquist act, they nodded. Hiei still glared, though jumped off the desk, landing at least a foot away.
"Start explaining, Prince, or I'll change my mind..." The teenagers nodded in sync with the disgruntled fire demon and Koenma found himself nodding also.
"Yeah... Gred, I'll have to ask you to leave the office for awhile..." And they all turned to the forgotten ogre, who was looking at Hiei and Yusuke frightfully, before said ogre took off like a lightning bolt. Kurama looked after the fleeting ogre quizzically.
"New assistant...?" Koenma nodded.
"For the moment, Jorge is on vacation for awhile and Botan... well, she just didn't want come today." And Koenma watched as a fleeting presence of pride entered Hiei's eyes as he spoke about Botan. Koenma would admit, it was rather eerie learning that Hiei had marked Botan as a potential mate, but she seemed happy about it, so he let it go.
And even if he wanted to go down in a glory of flames, doing so in that context would be cowardly.
And, he wouldn't be remembered as much as he wanted.
"So," he started. "You want to know what's going on I suppose?" Yusuke growled.
"Hell yeah! What's so damn important this time?" The others nodded and suddenly, Koenma found it very hard to speak. He had prepared himself for the arrival of Yusuke; he just didn't prepare what he would say to Yusuke. He chuckled nervously, wondering if it was too late to call Gred back in.
"This century, toddler."
Apparently, it was.
Groaning, he looked futilely at Kurama, who obviously didn't know what was going on let alone know how to formulate their mission into words. So, Koenma decided to start from the beginning, though doubted that would help much.
"Time, as you know, is both powerful and fragile," he started, sounding very strained. "A problem in time can result in disastrous results in any time period. For instance, mess with the past, and you change the future. Mess with the future and you have to change the past. One reason why time travel has been outlawed in both Makai and Reikai."
"Now, if one changes the future or past, the timeline has altered and everyone only remembers the most recent outcome. No one would know that time as changed because they would accept the new timeline as if it were always there. So, in essence, no one would remember what happened before time was changed."
This statement earned him two lost looks and he sighed.
"Yusuke and Kuwabara, think of it this way. If Yusuke hadn't died, he wouldn't have become a Spirit Detective and you two wouldn't be friends. Thus, if him becoming a Spirit Detective never happened, you wouldn't remember that it had happened, because it never happened. It is impossible to remember something that has never happened."
"Are you with me so far?" Yusuke nodded, the understanding light bulb clicking up stairs, even if it was slightly dull. Kuwabara continued staring.
Well, three out of four wasn't so bad.
"So, now you know what would happen if time itself was changing. Now, a history lesson. The Three Worlds: Reikai, Makai, and Ningenkai all existed in the Medieval Ages of Japan, also known as Sengoku-jidai. You know how Ningenkai was like, most of you having learned about it and most of you around that age," Koenma stated.
They all nodded, though Yusuke and Kuwabara were looking at Hiei and Kurama, trying to figure out which of them was that old.
"Reikai, was less productive; no filing was done, or paperwork for that matter. My father was more concerned about building his army, in order to protect Reikai from obstacles. I only have my father's word, and anybody in Reikai, when he told us of the events, for he is that old. Last is Makai, the worse and less productive out of all three."
"Fire reigned over Makai and it followed the 'kill or be killed' rule."
"Nothing has changed," Hiei whispered darkly, a dangerous spark enlightening in his eyes. Koenma chose to ignore it, though that was rather hard to do.
"Makai, even in this age, had a barrier stopping the demons from entering Ningenkai. Though, there was a slight problem around seven hundred years into Sengoku-jidai; there was a rip in the barrier. Demons, by the hundreds, leaked into Ningenkai. It was later revealed that there was no real problem, however, for demons have natural survival instincts and this enabled them to live in Ningenkai without mishaps or time fluctuation."
He stopped for a moment and allowed that information to sink in, eyeing the three people in front of him before he continued.
"Demons knew that they had to change some of their ways, become less primitive and learn how to survive in Ningenkai. So, some took human guises for protection and or camouflage. These demons became accustomed to humans and only killed when it suited their needs. Which was often, and this is how the myths about demons rose about."
"But, demons were never supposed to enter Ningenkai, and my father quickly sealed up the portal that had opened. This stopped anymore demons from migrating into Ningenkai. But helped keep the demons in Ningenkai from getting back to their home world. Now, the problem lies in time-"
"So far," interrupted Yusuke, who looked annoyed by Koenma's history lesson. "I haven't heard no problem. Demons are no longer enterin' Ningenkai cause of this new barrier Enma made, right? An' this all happened in the past! The only demons here are ones that have escaped from Reikai prison, not Makai!"
"That's the problem, Yusuke," Koenma whispered, sighing and slouching in his seat. "Time is being changed. I already told you that you would not notice it, right? Well, I do. Some other Reikai beings and I exist out of time, never truly aging. Something is causing the past to change along with the future."
"Though it may not look like the past is changing, because by this time in Sengoku-jidai, it's normal for the people in the past to experience this. More demons are appearing, roughly five hundred years after the new barrier was installed. This has happened because of a time traveler."
Kuwabara gave a dramatic gasp while his counterpart in intelligence looked slightly interested. The two demons didn't show any sign of understanding, though they were also listening to every word.
"Though it may be forbidden in Reikai and Makai to time travel, it is not forbidden in Ningenkai. A human has discovered how to do this, and in doing so, is causing the portal in the past to grow bigger. As the portal in the past grows bigger, one in our present grows, exactly proportional to the past's portal's size."
" So, while primitive demons are entering Sengoku-jidai where the humans are already accustomed to them, primitive demons are also entering the year 2005, where humans aren't accustomed to them. They've been appearing at random and doing what primitive demons do; steal, rape, and kill."
At the last word, a certain fire demon's eye lit up, crimson eyes shining malevolently. Koenma gulped slightly, but was happy to see Kurama moving closer to said fire demon.
"These demons don't have the time needed to evolve, and that is why they act like this. The humans in our time haven't noticed them yet, because most of the demons are congregating, planning their next move. In a few weeks time, these demons will become stronger and may or may not plan on attacking Ningenkai, full force."
"That is your mission. Find the portal in Sengoku-jidai and close it, stopping all demons from entering Ningenkai in the past and future, our present. I will have a squad ready to eradicate any demons in this time once you have completed your mission."
"Now," he said calmly, looking at all four of them sternly. "Any questions?" They looked at him with mixed emotions. Finally, Kurama spoke.
"So, it's a paradox? And wouldn't it be less wise to send us back in time, for that would cause the portal to become bigger," he whispered, green eyes puzzled. Koenma sighed.
"I have realized this, but there is no other way. If you close the one here, the one in Sengoku-jidai would still be there because if you change the future, you must change the past." Kurama nodded slightly. Yusuke and Kuwabara looked confused still.
"A time traveler," Kuwabara pronounced the last words slowly. "Do ya' know who he is?" Koenma shook his head sadly.
"No, we do not know who he or she is," he stated slowly. "Though, we do that he or she has been time traveling for almost a year now. This person traveled back to Sengoku-jidai yesterday morning and hasn't come back yet. It is possible, if you go back in time, to find this person and arrest them."
"Wait, this has been happening for a year," Hiei stated irritably. "And you're only now telling us? Why did it take you so long to find out about it?"
"Because, the time fluctuations were so small when it first happened and barely any demons showed up in this time. Eventually, five months ago, they have gotten bigger and demons frequently entered through the portal. Though we have found out about them, we do not know the exact location of the fluctuations."
"Hn, and about arresting the person responsible for this; most likely, it will be a human, and Reikai jurisdiction doesn't cover humans, only demons," the fire demon continued, crossing his arms. Koenma sighed.
"True, but nevertheless, I would like you to track down this person if you can."
"And if they know that what they are doing is allowing demons to enter Ningenkai," continued Hiei.
"Then, I will give you permission to arrest that person no matter what jurisdiction he or she is covered by. This is important, and it doesn't pay to be politically correct," finished Koenma, quite surprised that Hiei wanted to know so much about this.
Apparently, so were the others.
"Aww, Hiei does care," crowed Yusuke, clasping his hands together and closing his eyes childishly. Kuwabara made baby sounds, twirling around in place like a clumsy ballerina. Hiei growled slightly, but made no move to decapitate them on the spot. Koenma thought that this was a little unfair; Hiei wouldn't even try to resist the urge to kill him.
"Now, I am not sure how long this particular mission will take, so I have arranged those with family members staying in Ningenkai to have some of my people within their proximity. I have also erased some of their minds so that they do not know where you are going; special excuses are used for each one of you."
"So, one night is hardly enough time to prepare for this mission," said the fox, slightly irritated. Koenma nodded.
"I know, but that is all the time we have. Now, I know that some of you care about you education, so I will have someone collect your schoolwork and keep it until your mission is complete. That way, you won't be falling behind."
Yusuke rolled his eyes and Kuwabara seemed bored, while Kurama was rather satisfied with this arrangement. Koenma nodded, and placed his hands on his desk importantly.
"That's all. I want you to try your hardest, all of you. The space time continuum rests in your hands. Godspeed." Kuwabara stared at him blankly and gulped. Yusuke shook his head slowly.
"Ya' said somethin' he didn't understand; no surprise. His brain is overloaded with info, I think it would be best to let 'im sleep on it," with that said, Yusuke dragged Kuwabara out of the room, trying to explain to him what had just happened. Though he was doing no better.
Watching them go with a smile, Kurama followed, with a respectful nod towards Koenma. Hiei was the last to go, sighing and placing his hands in his coat pockets. Shaking his head, he left the room silently and shut the door with equal silence. Koenma stared at the now closed door, before sighing himself.
Today had been a long day.
Koenma could hear the Fates leaning back and laughing at the expense of their master slightly, just slightly.
And Koenma, for all his high and mightiness, leaned back also and had a laugh, in sync with the Fates.
Even if they were laughing at him.
Author's Notes: I do not like flames, don't write them. I'm really happy wit' the way this story is goin' so far!
Ja ne ICBINA