Hey! Oh, first off, I need to announce the SO FAR progress of the votings. Now, I didn't just use votes from reviews, these are also my views, my friends, and other people. So, if these don't add up in your mind, then…that would be the reason.

Kurama: 14

Hiei: 17

Koenma: 2

Jin: 12

Voting will be going on further for a few more chapters, but it will end soon. So, vote while you can. And, no, constantly repeating your vote in a review will not count extra. Sorry.

IMPORTANT NOTE!

Okay, I know that there were a lot of things in the series about the whole 'Keiko and Yusuke' thing, but that's not the deal in here. So, I'm just skipping to where Yume is back and alive. Sorry, I'm just gonna skip through the episodes of: A Promise Between Men, and Yusuke's back. So, I will be most definitely be skipping around the whole thing of 'Requirements for Lovers.' Kay? Kay.

Yusuke or Yume: Chapter Six: Three Monsters, Yume's First Case

:Human World:

Yume yawned as she sat up in bed.

Everything was normal.

Her mother was conked out in front of the TV, the house was a mess, Yume was late for school…yep, everything was normal.

Everything's normal…yeah sure. Except for the fact that I'm now a Spirit Detective that has to deal with demons, ghosts, apparitions, and all other stuff that has absolutely nothing to do with being normal. Damn, why is it I always get stuck with stuff like this?

Yume pulled herself out of bed, stretched, then got dressed.

Without so much as a note to her mother, the delinquent teen went out the door and out into the neighborhood.

I think I'll go visit that little boy. She smiled at the thought of him.

He was so cute, like having a little brother.

After looking around for a while, she found the park, and there she found the little boy with his mother.

"Hello." She said, walking up.

The mother blinked. "Oh…dear. You're that girl…but they said you were dead."

"I wasn't. I was in a coma. Stupid doctors can't do anything right." She snorted, then smiled at the boy. "Hey! I heard you wanted to play with me." Her face was currently occupied by her secret 'momma' smile.

The little boy smiled brightly. "Yay! Can I momma?"

The mother sighed. "Of course. You've been a good boy lately."

Yume laughed. "Well, I guess we'd best get introductions outta the way. I'm Saiyume Urameshi. Or just Yume."

The little boy grinned. "Sai! Sai-chan!"

Yume blinked. She hadn't been called that since she was five. She grinned. "And what would your name be?" she asked, poking him on his forehead.

"Yuki."

Yume nodded. "Okay, Yuki. Let's go play."

Yuki jumped onto her back, and she carried him off to the merry-go-round, placing him in the middle, and spun as hard as she could.

The little boy was now a blur.

As soon as Yume stopped it, Yuki had spinny-signs for eyes.

"Wheeeee! That was fun!"

Yume started playing Tag with Yuki, then Hide and Seek.

They played for god only knows how long, Yume allowing herself to become the little kid she knew was in the back of her heart.

All too soon, the fun would have to end.

Suddenly, in mid-laugh, Yuki froze and fell over.

"Yuki?" Yume checked him over. He wasn't breathing, and his eyes were blank. "YUKI?"

Koenma suddenly appeared above her. "Yume! We are in deep trouble! I need your help! I have a mission for you that needs to be dealt with ASAP!"

"If this has anything to do with Yuki being like this, then I'm all for it."

Koenma looked over Yuki. "His soul has been taken. This is part of your mission. But don't let your emotions get in the way." Koenma sighed, closing his eyes. "Yume. There are three demon thieves running around. They made complete slush of my father's guards, and stole the Three Artifacts of Darkness. The Orb of Baast, The Shadow Sword, and the Forlorn Hope. The Orb can steal Human souls from their bodies, storing them in the Orb itself. The Sword can turn anything it cuts into a Demon, mindless and only recognizes the orders of its' master. The Forlorn Hope, a mirror, reflects the greatest desire of the holder, and it will grant that wish. At a price."

"That's all nice and all, but what do these thieves look like, and where are they?" Yume wanted to get straight down to business.

"Very well, Yume. It seems you don't want to waste any time. The first thief is Gouki. This is a hard-core criminal. His skin is tan, and his hair is grey. He is VERY tall. You won't be able to miss a mountain like him. But, I have to leave. Here are pictures of the three and the information we've been able to gather about them." Koenma handed her a stack of photos, and disappeared.

Yume walked home, looking over the pictures.

The first one she had already been told about, Gouki. Damn is he ugly.

The second one was another male, short. Black gravity-defying hair with a white starburst in the middle of his forehead. A white bandanna covered his forehead, partially shadowing his ruby-garnet-blood red eyes. He looked like a real punk/killer. Hiei. A fire demon/ ice apparition. Also known as a Forbidden Child. Very strong. Lower D-Class Demon. Hmph. Okay. He doesn't seem so tough.

Yume almost dropped the next picture. This is the guy I ran into the day I died!

Red hair, green eyes…effeminate features. This was definitely him.

Hmmmm…Kurama. So that's his name? Apparently they don't know what he is. The only thing they can tell is that he's a fox demon. Well…it shouldn't be too hard to find people like this. They'll stick out like sore thumbs.

With that last thought, Yume ran off into her house and rummaged through her closet to get ready for a fight.

Yume looked up at the sky. It was starting to rain. "Just great. As if I don't need to get wet along with irritated."

She shook her head, looking down at the watch on her wrist.

The Demon Compass, along with her Psychic Spyglass were the only two items that Botan had given her.

She focused the Compass, and followed it into a dark alley. Why is it always a dark alley? Can't bad guys be more…flexible and less predictable? Is there some kind of code that bad guys have to live by or something?

Yume shook her head. "This sucks." Especially my so-called 'plan'. I really hope this Kurama is the kind of guy I take him for.

Yume continued to walk down the alley until she came to a large apartment area in the slums.

Bums and thugs littered the ground here and there.

Whoa, reminds me of home.

"Well, hey little girl. You lost?" came a voice from behind her.

Yume sighed. Here goes my plan. Thank god for acting lessons.

Yume turned to face the man, fear shining in her eyes, her fist held up at the bottom of her lip. "I-I'm sorry. I think I may have…taken a wrong turn." Her voice quivered, unsure of whether she should be scared or run.

"Well, why don't we help you? I'm sure you could give us something for our trouble." A man came behind her, surprising her.

She 'eep'ed', jumping back, accidentally bumping into yet another thug.

She started to cry. "I…I wanna go home…"

"Well, you can go home. Soon as we have some fun." The leading thug grinned at her, looking her up and down, and Yume resisted the urge to barf. Keep up the innocent act. All gentlemen fall head-over-heels for that kinda stuff.

The thugs surrounded her, and she cried harder. "Help…Somebody…" she whimpered, sounding as helpless and scared as she could muster, her body shaking. "Somebody help!"

Kurama sighed as he sat on top of the building with Hiei and Gouki.

Remind me again why I'm in an alliance with these two nitwits?

Gouki was busy gloating about the Orb, and Hiei was having fun with the Sword.

A sudden scream came to his ears.

"Somebody help!"

He looked over the edge of the building to see a young girl being harassed by a group of thugs who looked ready to rape her.

Damn. Why do I have to be a gentleman?

Kurama jumped down from the top of the building, ignoring the yells from Gouki and Hiei, and proceeded to grab the girl from the middle of the group, and jumped back up to the roof.

The girl screamed when he grabbed her, obviously afraid he was one of the thugs.

Her body shivered as he landed near the others, tears falling down her tan face.

"Are you okay, miss?"

"I…I'm fine…" she whispered. "Thank you…" she paused, her shivering halting. "Kurama."

A sudden punch sent him flying across the roof into Gouki, who caught him. "Watch it, Red."

"Aaah!"

The girl suddenly stood, sweeping her long hair over her shoulder. "That's the problem with recruiting gentlemen. They're always predictable." She grinned. "I'm Yume Urameshi, the Spirit Detective of Earth."

The three looked at her.

This little girl is the Spirit Detective? That was the only thought resonating through their minds.

Gouki started to snicker, as did Hiei and Kurama, then they all burst out laughing.

"Th-This…is the Great Spirit Detective that is meant to destroy all demons in the Human World?" came Hiei's scornful voice. So she's finally back. Welcome back, Detective. Though, I must say she looks much different.

This…girl, had long black hair in a braided ponytail on top of her head, cinnamon-brown eyes that shone with anger and cockiness, a body most girls would kill for, and tanned skin that was most likely natural or from staying in the sun for too long. Her clothes were what made them laugh.

She wore a pink peasant shirt, flowy and loose around her form, but tight around the chest. The pink was a soft rose with butterfly patterns in blue and purple flitting across the ¾ length sleeves and the bottom of the shirt. Her…skirt…was long, reaching to her knees, colored a very pretty color of sky blue, and a pair of sandals finished her outfit.

How was she planning on fighting them with an outfit like that? This is supposed to be Yusuke? What did becoming a girl do to him? He's so…different…

Hiei contained some of his laughter. "Who dressed you, onna? You're mother?"

"No, my mother would have dressed me in tight black leather that shows off as much of my body as possible without doing a strip show and a whip. So…this is my best friend's doing. Now, will you just hand over the damned Artifacts of Darkness, and I'll leave you all in one piece."

Kurama sighed. "I'm sorry, but I must withdraw from this alliance."

What did he say, and did he just completely ignore my warning?

The other two stared at him. "What? What are you talking about, Kurama?" Hiei spat.

"Let him leave, but you'll have to leave the mirror." Gouki held out his hand to take the mirror from Kurama's hands.

"I apologize. But I am in need of this mirror's aid. Farewell." He jumped off the building's top, and walked off, calm as you please.

"Hmph. Coward." Yume muttered. "Afraid to fight a girl." Why do I get the strongest feeling of déjà vu? It's like…all of this has happened before. At least I think it has. Anyway, Yume! Concentrate on the fight!

Yume looked at the other two with her 'fighter' look. "So, are you two going to follow your friends' example and run away? Or are you gonna be men and fight me?"

Hiei snorted. "You aren't worth it. But…" He looked her directly in the eyes, and for some strange reason, when those large, crimson red eyes looked directly into her own, her heart clenched, and she felt that she never wanted to break eye contact with him. "We'll probably see each other again, Onmitsu (Detective)."

He disappeared.

"Hey! Jeeze, shorty! What is it with demons and not fighting girls?" Yume muttered, annoyed that she hadn't been able to fight yet. This had been the one drawback to her plan. You dress up like a chick, they treat you like a chick. And that meant being talked down to, teased, and underestimated. Course, the underestimating was fun.

Gouki chuckled. "Well, it seems you're anxious for a fight, little girl. So, I'll fight you, right after I have a little snack." Gouki took out a glowing black and green ball, and pulled out a wispy white cloud.

"Is that…?" Yume let her sentence drop, for she knew the answer. That's Yuki's soul…

Gouki grinned. "That's what I love about this thing. I don't have to cook anymore. People don't understand how hard it is to eat human souls. You have to cook them long enough so they taste good, but not enough to kill them." He placed the soul in his mouth, not noticing that Yume's eyes were bleeding red.

"Spit it out!" she ran towards the giant of a man, punching him in the chin, causing the soul to escape from his mouth.

She looked at the sky, eyes following Yuki's souls' ascension into the sky. You're welcome Yuki. I'll see you tomorrow. If I live that long.

Gouki glared at her, wiping a small trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth.

I guess I knocked his jaw outta place. Cool.

"Well, looks like you're not as weak as I first thought. That actually slightly hurt."

He then grinned. "Guess I'll have to kick things up a notch."

Sounds of bones cracking and growling filled the air, and Yume's eyes widened in horror, her mouth falling open slightly.

Before her was the most hideous creature she had ever seen.

Red skin, long gray hair, three horns in his forehead, and a huge case of overbite.

This is Gouki? Yume actually had the sanity to look scared. Hell, why wouldn't she?

Gouki took her moment of shock to pick her up and throw her off the building, hoping to kill her quickly.

Yume shot out of her reverie and grabbed onto a tree branch, swinging herself around a little, making good use of her twelve years of gymnastics. She then let go, flying to the ground, landing perfectly on the balls of her feet.

She looked up at Gouki, who was watching her from the roof. Here's a sign, bucko. She flipped him off, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Come and get me, bastard!" she yelled, running into the forest.

She heard loud thumping sounds, meaning he had taken her words seriously.

Shit. Shitshitshitshitshitshitshit. A million times shit, damn and fuck!

These were Yume's only thoughts as she continued to run through the forest, sometimes having to leap over a random rock, grounded tree branch, or duck under a hanging branch.

Yume stopped in an open clearing, shaking her head to clear her eyes of the falling rain.

Her clothes were holding her body in a tight embrace, accentuating every curve of her body she had always tried to hide.

Her hair was extremely heavy and cold against her neck and back.

The sound of a tree falling over alerted her to Gouki's entrance in the clearing.

He was waving around a tree!

Yume gasped, and jumped out of the way, trying to avoid getting hit by the large piece of heavy vegetation.

But, persistence pays off, and Yume screamed as the tree came in contact with her stomach.

Yume collapsed against another tree, holding her stomach.

Pain burned throughout her whole body, making her want to scream, cry…anything to get her mind off of the pain.

Damn it, he had to have broken a rib or two with that shot.

Gouki suddenly loomed before her, and punched her into yet another tree.

Yet another pained scream was wrenched from her lungs and forced through her.

"Had enough yet, Onmitsu?" Gouki growled, standing over her.

Yume lay on her side, holding her stomach, her eyes squeezed shut and her mouth set, teeth clenched. She whimpered from the pain. Damn, I'm going to die…again. I only just got back I don't want to go…

Gouki snorted, then turned and started to walk away.

Yume whimpered, and released one of her arms from her stomach, pushing against the ground, trying to get it to let her up.

Yume pushed herself onto her knees, holding herself up off the ground with her hands.

She gasped for breath, trying to force it into her aching and screaming lungs.

She grunted in pain, but ignored the fire seeping all throughout her veins, and was finally able to stand, holding her stomach with her left arm.

A sudden, crazy idea occurred to her. She didn't know where it came from, but a slight warm feeling was resonating from her finger.

She looked, seeing the purple light (Yes, I decided to make it purple. Boys use blue, girls use purple. It would be SO un-Yusuke to have pink. Deal with it.) coming from her index finger.

Yume blinked at it, then rose it to her face.

Maybe…

Yume turned back to Gouki, pointing her glowing finger at him.

"Yo! Ugly!"

Gouki turned around to face her, mouth wide open.

Yume formed a gun shape with her hand, and shot the purple light at him, making it shoot through his mouth, out the back, and knocking down a couple of trees.

What the hell was that? She limped over to where Gouki now lay, dead as anyone could be.

She sighed. Good. She took hold of the Orb, holding the ball-like creation of Hell in her small hand.

One down…I almost lost my head getting this one, what will it take to get the other two?

Now that she wasn't in danger of dying, Yume sighed and lay on the grass, looking up at the clearing sky, sunlight shining down on her.

Her thoughts wondered to the other two thieves.

Kurama and Hiei…what is it with them? Why do I get the strangest feeling when I'm near them? I've met Kurama once before, and I know he can't really be all that bad…but what about Hiei? I get the strangest feeling that I know them…from somewhere. But where? How could I know them, I don't remember them.

Yume groaned, covering her eyes with one arm, trying to block out the images of Kurama and Hiei from her minds' eye.

Why? Why can't I stop thinking about them? Why do I feel like they're somehow important to me? Like…I want to protect them. Yume sat up and shook her head vigorously, trying to shake those thoughts out of her mind. What am I thinking? Protect thieves? Criminals? Murderers? Why? What's so important about them? Did I know them in a past life or something? Oh whatever! Yume stood, ignoring the pain shooting through her body, and walked on home, intent on finding Botan and informing her of a mission accomplished.

A/N: There, there's the end of the chapter. That was a lot longer than the others, wasn't it? Well, I hope that makes up for my short absence. I got…pre-occupied. I had some library volunteer stuff to do, and I had to go and buy some stuff. Hope you can forgive me! Oh, and the votes are still on! Don't forget to vote for who you want Yume to end up with! In the next chapter, I'll take down the next one that has the smallest amount of votes. Good luck!