Quote: "Fear me, for I am a samurai – of balls!" –Corinne (:shakes head: poor, poor Corinne...)

KKC: Yay! Two questions for "Ask Rogerik!"

Rogerik:stares at reviews and blanches: Yes, just drag my personal life into this...

KKC:pokes thief with sharp pointy stick: Just answer them.

Rogerik:sighs: Okay... hrm... which one first? Cripes... :ponders, then picks one: Okay, to Ciardra. I didn't get pummeled – as long as I did what they wanted. I don't like pain.

KKC: Because he's a wuss.

Rogerik:eye twitches-And I don't like fighting...

KKC: Because he's a coward.

Rogerik:whaps KKC over the head: So it was smarter to just let them be higher than me in the hierarchy. Besides, demons are much stronger than humans are –

KKC: And can cause more pain.

Rogerik:massages bridge of nose: For once, you said something right... So that's why I let Yusuke beat the crap out of 'em; now don't tell that idiot I'm just using him or I'm a goner. :smiles... evilly:

KKC:looks over Rogerik's shoulder: Okay, onto the next one, blondie.

Rogerik:reads review and shudders: Do I have to..?

KKC:glares: YES.

Rogerik:cringes and stares at review: Hrm... how do I word this..:mumbles: Better make it good or she'll kill me...

KKC: Rogeriiik...

Rogerik: Okay, here's the thick of the relationship between me and Lark. :sighs: We're friends.

KKC: Liar.

Rogerik: Okay, so we're roommates.

KKC: Embyr-chan won't be happy with that answer, you know.

Rogerik . It's my life.

KKC: You're in denial.

Rogerik: Damn… :sweatdrops: Fine; our relationship is in pending.

KKC:sweatdrops: Come on, even you don't believe that one. Spit it out!

Rogerik: If I do, the plot goes down the drain. :smirks:

KKC:palms forehead: Crap! Sorry, reviewer-peoples...

The door softly clicked shut, and he stepped away, feet dragging slightly over the carpeted floor. Green eyes blearily looked over the others, all sprawled somewhere in the living room or adjoining kitchen.

"Is he any better?"

Kurama turned to Lyra, who was curled up in his armchair. The fox had to admire her; her friend kidnapped by a monster, yet she hadn't broken down – instead helping where she could. Comparing it to the situation last June, one could call it a definite improvement.

He tried to give her a smile, but failed horribly. "Until he wakes up, he's fine."

Awkward silence was shared all around. Lark, unusually withdrawn, traced her finger along the side of the goldfish tank, watching the carnivorous fish attempt to bite her through the clear plastic; Kuwabara rubbed Bones' skull, nearly chewing on his own nails. Hiei moodily glowered from the corner, and Erica was busy talking over something on the phone – the fox couldn't make out her exact words, but could guess the topic well enough. A call to Holly's grandmother, perhaps? Or to tell the office to mark the witch absent?

No... Not absent. He wouldn't even try to be optimistic at this point in time. She was likely dead by now.

"Agh... this is total and complete crap!" Yusuke suddenly punched the carpeted floor, staring at the fireplace as if his very gaze would set it up in flames. "There was no warning. One minute, everyone's out partying, and the next..."

"It all turns to hell." The spirit detective blinked, a bit taken surprise by Hiei's blunt comment, but nonetheless nodded in agreement. "Yeah, hell fits it."

There was a rapid scratching from the door, loud enough for Mara's eyes to nearly flutter open as she dozed upon Hiei's shoulder. The muscles of her wings twitched, her tail curled ever so slightly tighter around the demon's neck, and the fire youkai was standing at the front door. The scratching noises increased until, with an obvious sneer upon his face, Hiei opened the door and a minute black figure trotted in. Green eyes blinked as the cat looked wildly about the room; everyone was quiet.

The cat's gaze focused upon Yusuke, who sat closest to the feline, and suddenly the black creature leapt into the air, only to land clutched onto the spirit detective's chest. Yusuke yelped and fell backwards, trying to pry the kitten's claws out of his chest.

"Kyuro, you crazy little shit! Get off!"

"Where is she? Where's Holly!"

Yusuke had no luck disentangling himself from the witch's familiar, but Kurama helpfully aided him. While the fox unhooked tiny claws from his partner, Hiei smirked at the scene. Something like this always happened to shift the mood.

Then again, if they knew where the witch was, this would have been funnier.

"Cat, she's missing." The fire demon spoke plainly, arms crossed over his chest. As unguarded as he might have appeared, however, Kyuro knew it wasn't wise to attack the youkai. Instead, the cat reined in his anger as best as possible (allowing Kurama to fully separate him from Yusuke), and glared at Hiei as he limply dangled from Kurama's grasp.

"My witch, missing? How could you idiots let her just up and leave! She's my responsibility!"

"If I do so recall, you belong to her-"

"Hiei, let Kyuro calm down for a moment. He's probably the only one who can really help us," Lyra said, curling even deeper into the armchair. Although Kurama was rather busy restraining the small animal, he gave the girl a grateful look – which was quickly soured as sharp little fangs sank into his arm.

He would be even more grateful if he knew whether or not the centuries-old cat had all his shots.

"Well, it looks like you didn't get out in time." The voice came from the communicator propped up on the cliff wall steps. Fighting off the fall chill in his fleece-lined pilot's jacket, the thief merely glared at the unopposing slim device. Instead of a video, the junior kami's figure was replaced by a sky-blue geometric screensaver.

"We still screwed up – big time. Holly got captured."

"Ah... that provides a problem. Are you going to go look for her?"

Rogerik growled. Didn't the toddler have some paperwork to do, for once? Why was tonight the one night that Koenma had some free time...

"She's dead." He supposed he was trying to sound unaffected by the recent turn of developments, but Koenma heard the thief's voice crack a tiny bit. With a sigh, the junior lord rubbed his temples. Well, he supposed Rogerik would have seen this action had the thief bothered to charge the power coil earlier today; there was barely a strong enough charge to keep up an audio connection.

"Kyuro is still fairly sane; there may be hope, yet."

Rogerik considered simply shutting the compact-talker off before he got into any other messes; his bed seemed rather nice right now. With a grimace, he looked out over the ocean, water flowing over the rocky shore. "How do you figure that?" He asked, not really caring how the cat Kyuro was involved.

"After four-hundred years without harm to any of his charges, I doubt that the familiar could accept failure. He wasn't able to even when he was free."

Well, how nice. And all this was supposed to help how..? Reminiscing back to the days before Kyuro became a housecat didn't bring Holly back. With all that had happened, even if the witch was alive how could they track her down? That thing had disappeared into thin air – like a ghost.

And then it hit him; something that big and powerful had to find its energy somewhere, even when the barriers were weakened. There was no way some random monster would just skip through on a Halloween night and decide it wanted to steal a young girl on it's own free will. The energy costs were too high. So what had forced it to come..?

"Did I ever tell you about the legend of Castle Lain?" For such a horrible night, Koenma sure seemed cheerful. Rogerik furrowed his eyebrows at the communicator. "I don't feel like listening to a horror story right now. I'm already stuck in one."

Koenma seemed not to care, and prattled on. The thief groaned and buried his head in his arms. Why was the lord acting more like his blue-haired ferry girl? Rogerik glared at the communicator, then slammed the screen shut, enjoying the silence. A few waves crashed upon the rocks, but the sea was calm, and the gulls were gone. Ever since they had left the town, no birds had cried, no nocturnal animals had made their rounds. Even Koryu, who was unusually empathic to his "Miss Lyra", was missing.

He brushed blond hair out of his face, and grabbed the communicator, popping the power coil out and stuffing it in his pocket. If Koenma wanted to chat, he could call back later. Right now, all Rogerik wanted to do was go to bed. His footsteps dragged as he walked across the backyard garden; he was too tired to even grasp the fact that, because everyone else was home, there was no need for him to use the house key that he had dredged up from his jacket pocket.

With a roll of his eyes, he jammed the key back into his pocket and grasped the worn doorknob, twisting it and letting the door swing open of it's own accord. What greeted his eyes, however, was anything but the homey little living room he had been expecting.

The high-backed office chair swiveled around, and Rogerik, opposite the giant desk, just gaped at who was seated in it. The young man smirked, which was easy to tell even with the blue pacifier in his mouth, and brushed his brown hair out of his golden eyes.

"Considering you didn't feel like listening in the comfort of your own home, I had to make a detour. Castle Lain is important to this particular mission, and rightfully so."

Another groan, and Rogerik slumped to the floor of the immaculate office, thunking his head against the door behind him. Only Koenma would rearrange the physical plane to make sure the psychic would hear his little horror tale. Koenma's smirk faded, and the prince absently picked up his signature stamp, eyeing the blond across the room. If that idiot even thinks he can sleep in the middle of my floor..!

THWACK.

"Agh! Holy crap!" Rogerik seemed to spring to life, although the burst of energy was spent clutching his forehead. A tiny dribble of blood ran from the small cut, and he glared at the offending stamp, with its official mark of the young lord, from its spot on the floor not three feet away from him.

Koenma was not at all bothered by his employee's reaction, and leaned back while lacing his fingers together. "Are you ready to listen, yet?" The stamp was chucked back at him, and the brunette caught it expertly, then eyed Rogerik. The blond looked a bit perturbed; the psychic was amazingly patient and enduring, but after all of that night he was a bit frazzled. The prince thoughtfully chewed his pacifier. It was best to sum everything up quickly. No special effects this time.

"That monster and Castle Lain are closely linked; both originate from the same source."

Green-gray eyes blinked in confusion, but the blond was quickly piecing together some theories of his own along with what the Reikai lord had told him. That thing had to come from somewhere, and needed a lot of energy. It most likely came from that castle, he judged; now to find said castle.

"And if you will kindly backtrack to about two weeks ago, you will recall that source..."

"Eh, what?" How could he forget, really? Evil cuttlefish of doom and all that...

Koenma smirked once again as Rogerik's face blanched. It was amusing when young mortals found out about the not-so-pleasant things in life. Although it would be wrong to admit it, even he had laughed once or twice in his early years when a departed soul couldn't accept the fact that it was dead and had tried to go on and possess some other (sometimes inanimate) object. Of course, that was before the job had been handed over to him, but that was beside the point.

"The painting..." It was shockingly clear, now that he thought about it. Givanni had needed a ton of energy to power the cursed thing - as to be expected when changing one alternate reality to fit the current one. It had all been in a painting... one he was glad he hadn't glared to look at. Although, now he was a bit curious about the artwork's potency...

No, stop it. The voice went off in his head, and he recalled a conversation with Kurama from earlier that summer. That selfsame curiosity had killed even Youko in the end.

"What was that painter on..?" for some reason, he could imagine some twisted version of Picasso. That had been the guy that had cut off his ear, right? Not that he ever paid attention to whoever had made what he stole, unless they were alive enough to come after him for it.

From his desk, Koenma pulled out a small wooden box, tapping his fingers on the latch experimentally. "No, in all truth the man was rather sane and drug-free. He got his inspiration for the painting while visiting a nefariously haunted castle in the human world, and painted it during his stay. Unfortunately, although Castle Lain is supposed to be entire fictional, it and it's real-world counter-part are the one and the same."

"So what happened to the guy?" Rogerik was standing now, leaning against the doors as he did so. From behind the thick doors he could hear the hustle and bustle of the ogres and ferry girls on the other side.

Koenma opened the box, and took out a rusted chunk of metal, gingerly placing it upon his desk. He motioned for the teen to come closer and look for himself, and the thief did. What he thought was a piece of rusty trash, turned out to be a thin chain with a pendulum of sorts. He toyed with the engraved cover of the pendulum, and nearly jumped as it snapped open with an audible "twing". The inside face was cracked and dirty; there was a dirty reddish-brown smudge streaking across it, starting from the eight. Neither of the hands moved, and the minute hand had been twisted at an unusual angle.

"That watch is all that's left of him during an excavation of Lain's real-world counterpart."

He looked up at the prince's words, and then back down at the watch. Silence hung heavily about them, until he asked"So, what are our chances of getting her back.."

"I believe there is another who can provide a portal to Castle Lain." When Rogerik blinked at Koenma's words, the junior kami sighed. "Another entry to the castle, besides the painting, is available, you know. It's a bit of a stretch, but plausible."

"Thanks." He didn't know what to say, really. Here, the lord of the dead was sticking his neck out for the thief's friend, yet what did he have in return? Koenma seemed to notice this, and smiled. "Don't worry; I may still be in need of your services. Givanni hasn't stopped trying to locate artworks he can manipulate, so I'll contact you if need be."

The blond nodded, and went to drop the rusted pocket watch back into the wooden box it had been contained in earlier, but Koenma slammed the lid shut. "Take it. It'll come in handy - trust me." Rogerik stared at the watch, with it's twisted and shattered face, and placed it in his pocket.

"Hey, uh, hate to ask for more, but is there a way out of here"

Koenma flipped his seal between his fingers, smirked, and slammed it down on an inkpad on his desk. The thief felt the sickening sensation of his stomach floating above his body, and nearly choked out a scream before everything turned black.

Yusuke stared at the microwave clock, and angrily stabbed at his scrambled eggs. Eight-thirty in the morning, the night before still fresh in his mind, and here it seemed that the witch would hop down any moment. If she did, perhaps he could manage to pry Kyuro out of the window. All night long the familiar had sat on the sill, green eyes ever searching for another human.

The black cat had been told, repeatedly, that Holly wasn't coming back, but he sat there just the same. Nothing could make him move. Not even when Salvatore had alighted on the familiar's furry head.

And then there was Jin... the wind master had nearly lost it when Holly had been taken. If not for Kurama's sleeping drug, the youkai probably would already have snapped a few necks. Where the redhead was normally cheerful and nearly childish, all that had been replaced by a grim anger over the last twenty-four hours. Yusuke dreaded having Jin wake up later, but it wasn't as if he could sleep forever.

"Hey." Kuwabara walked into the kitchen, pulling a pop tart out of the pantry, and slumped down in a stool by the kitchen island. Following at his heels was the gaunt skeleton frame of Bones. The black-haired boy grunted, watching the bubbles on the top of his orange juice float in the cold liquid, and slowly scraped at the yellow-ish egg remains on his plate.

Kuwabara blinked, then slammed a fist down on the concave of Yusuke's unused spoon. The utensil flipped up, landing with a clatter on the shorter teen's dish, and Yusuke turned a one-eyed glare on his roommate.

"Well, now that you have my attention, what do you want"

"Just wanted to tell you that some ominous presence is lurking about. It might have something to do with Holly"

"Oh, will you shut up and drop the frickin' subject" Yusuke grabbed the dish off the table and nearly threw it into the kitchen sink. Bones jumped and hid underneath the table at the clatter; Kyuro still stared out the window, not even twitching a whisker. Neither of them spoke for a bit, and the quiet seemed eerie. Where was the morning commotion he usually hated when he needed it? The yelp of indignation that usually signaled a fight between Lark and Rogerik or the squawking of Salvatore would have been welcome right about now.

Suddenly, the windows rattled and a shrieking whistle was heard. Brown eyes widened, and Yusuke almost ducked right under the kitchen island counter, Kuwabara not far behind. An earthquake? No, wait - the floor was perfectly stable. There was a tug on his sleeve, and Yusuke glanced back at Kuwabara, who seemed about ready to have a heart attack.

"That ominous presence... I think this is it."

No time for a snappy comeback, as the door slammed open on its hinges, creating a good-sized dent in the wall before it fell to the floor, screws flying out of the frame and scattering about the floor. The whistling grew to a roar, and wind whipped about the room, chucking whatever wasn't bolted down into the tornado that had suddenly sprung up in the living room (for some reason unknown to them, Kyuro was still unaffected by all of this, and still sat, untouched, looking out the window).

Hesitantly lowering his arms from his vulnerable eyes, Yusuke looked out at the door, and his mouth nearly dropped open as a tall figure with flying red-brown hair stood in the doorway, green eyes alighted by fire.

"WHERE! WHERE IS MY BABY SISTER"

Ne... somebody's mad... . ;;

This chapter might have lasted longer, but I really couldn't think of a better place to make a break. Hey, it means that it's posted earlier, and the next segment will most likely be up by Sunday (I hope :crosses fingers:).

In the next chapter!

Between Jin and this new arrival, Kurama might not have enough sedatives for the both of them (or a powerful enough painkiller for the headache he's brewing).

Once a scapegoat, now a savior. Who could possibly know the second entry to Castle Lain?

Guilty as he is, will Hanabi be acquitted for his actions?