Sun and Moon
Chapter One: You sound like C3PO
One dry, scorching afternoon in the Makai's hottest desert...
A rather odd-looking jeep drove through the desert sands at a pace faster than that which was healthy to drive. The driver didn't care; she was busy staring at the nonexistent road. The vehicle was odd not because of its flagrant decor, but rather because of the lack thereof. It was white, entirely white. Neither mud nor paint besmirched its complexion. As a result, the open-canvassed transport seemed to glow under the hot sun, which was not very promising for a reconnaissance mission. However, since the last week, the mission of Division X of the Reikai Special Defense Force had been put on hold.
The occupants of the jeep were three in number; one was the driver, the other two passengers. There was an extraordinary amount of sand resulting from their speed, the driver noticed with suspicion. Too much so to be normal. Then, to confirm her thought process, the sand suddenly rose and formed a hand, in perfect, as perfect as to planned, vision of the rearview mirror. Not just an ordinary hand, however; this hand was making a rather lewd motion involving a circle and another finger. Irritated that her comrade could joke at a time like this, the girl yelled to the back seat with a supremely angry tone:
"Please, Mai, buckle up! I know you love messing around, but this is not the time!"
Rai Seiko, sporting reddish-blondish-brownish locks to the small of her back, yelled into the hot, dry air as she drove furiously. Her hair was flying free, whipping against the passenger sitting directly behind the secondary leader of the squad. The usual leader was... absent, sick with a bad flu, or at least that's what Koenma thought.
The receiver of her yell, Mai Miakana, a girl of medium build with dark blue irises shining in her tan face and shoulder-length dirty blonde locks, jumped with a start, forcing her to stop her current activity with a pout.
"Fine. Destroy my fun, why don't you!" She jokingly replied, then leaned against her door, sighing as she stared into the vast sandy landscape.
Rai shot the girl a remorseful glance, refusing to let herself smile at Mai's antics, then turned her golden-brown eyes back toward the desert. She had an unmistakable air of one in mourning of a close relation.
The third passenger, Kei Gaisu, was scrawny and blonde with eyes as blue as the sky above. She seemed to sense her friend's sadness and, after pushing Rai's wild hair out of her eyes, put her pale hand on the girl's black clad shoulder. Rai gave signs of acknowledgement, but kept her eyes on the imaginary path.
"Don't worry about it, Rai. Kai isn't helpless; she can defend herself just fine." Kei smiled, and the dark-haired girl returned the gesture. Low enough so that neither of her companions could hear, the sky-eyed girl added, "At least, I think so."
Suddenly, Rai pulled the specialized Reikai jeep into park, roughly jostling both Mai and Kei; she had never impressed anyone with her driving skills.
"We've got intruders," Rai said to the inquiring stares of her companions. Approaching them was a similar vehicle, black and considerably more adorned than theirs. The three rose from their seats, Mai struggling with her buckle for a moment, and jumped out of the car, ready for the challenge. Their clothing (casual jeans and t-shirts, each to their own preference of color) whipped in the desert wind as they waited eagerly for the approaching enemies.
Observing the vehicle, Kei noticed its decal: it was a large "Jr." stamp as the foreground, with a rose, dragon, and sword as the background. Surrounding the emblem was a large blue-white flame and underneath were placed the stylized initials of "R. T." Kei chuckled. It's so like Koenma to give himself the attention... However, she had not encountered the tentai in years; with Sensui gone, who was the new tentai? And what exactly did the emblem represent? Looking to her comrades, Kei realized that she was about to find out.
The black car drove closer and closer, dust coating its wheels, until it was a scant meter away. The thinnest of the three gasped upon looking into the wind shield, dropping her guard as Mai and Rai dropped their jaws in amazement of her carelessness; more often than they would like to admit it seemed that their light-haired friend was the most responsible and guarded of the three.
"Kurama!" The sky-eyed girl yelled excitedly, further starling her friends; besides being the most responsible, she was also known for being the calmest. She ran toward a lanky figure as it exited the black vehicle.
His red hair floated lazily in the wind, his purple uniform mimicking the motion. He smiled, highlighting his shockingly emerald eyes, and gave the girl a one-armed hug as she approached. Her friends gasped, shocked even more than last time; the girl was also notorious for loathing physical intimacy, even the friendly kind with her squad. She and Kai often joked about it. However, that joking had ceased last week.
"Kei Gaisu!" Mai yelled angrily, eyes ablaze as she held her fighting stance. "What are you doing!" Kei chuckled as Kurama released her from the hug, instead grabbing her by the shoulder in an affectionate motion.
"I thought you knew, Mai..." She said, more to herself than anything. "This is, as I yelled, Kurama. He's my correspondent in Ningenkai. I didn't know that he was in the Reikai Tentai, but I guess one learns something new everyday!" Both Rai and Mai dropped their guard.
"But... But..." Rai stuttered, disbelief a lengthy letter, her rather tan face its paper. "You said he was handsome!" She finally blurted out and, to her surprise, was met with loud laughter from within the car facing her. Slowly, too busy doubling over in laughter to exit faster, two boys joined Kurama and Kei.
"You... She... Dissed!" One was able to mutter, barely coherent, in between his raucous chuckles. Rai looked taken aback; Mai raised her eyebrows skeptically; and Kei laughed a little, just to humor the boy.
The boy had slicked back his hair, locks a brown so deep as to almost be black. His eyes, although partially closed in laughter, were also brown, although lighter than his greased hair. As his laughter subsided, the second boy's laughter also began to die down.
If the first boy was handsome, than this one was anything but; his hair, also greased, was a vivid shade of orange. His face was long, with jutting high cheek bones and small blackish-brown eyes positioned under thin orange eyebrows. Both were clad in school uniforms, the first boy's green; the second, blue. Finished enjoying the moment of hilarity, the orange-haired boy put his lanky frame beside his companions'.
Kurama smiled indulgently at the two boys as Kei, still leaning up to Kurama, introduced them. "This" -- she indicated the lanky boy -- "is Kuwabara. And this" -- this time she pointed to the dark-haired boy -- "is Yusuke."
Mai was not satisfied. Hands on her hips, she asked, "And you know them how?" Suddenly, she caught her breath. A sword was pressed to her throat, held by a small cloaked figure with impossibly spiked hair.
"That is not for you to know, foolish half-breed." Mai nodded slowly. The figure backed off, scowling darkly. His red eyes glowed a warning: do not question, lest you pay the price. Both girls gulped. Mai discreetly moved closer to Rai, as though to comfort both the tall girl and herself. Kei shook her head, tutting.
"Cool it, Hiei. Don't scare them, they're my friends." Hiei made a faint "Hn" but did not promise anything. Kei continued, "Actually I hadn't the slightest clue that they were the Tentai. Kurama and I know each other from way back, and I met Yusuke, Kuwabara and Hiei a few years ago. The Tentai, you'll recall, is Koenma's primary source of human-demon relations. They're fluent in more than one hundred demonic dialects!" Kei had always had an odd fascination with the different languages of the Makai.
Rai nodded comprehendingly, but Mai responded with a cynical, "You sound like C3PO." Kei laughed, but waved away the comment.
"They can help us. After all, they're pros."
"And we aren't?"
"Well, that's not the point but..."
"We don't need the help. We're fine doing this on our own."
"But we haven't even got a clue yet as to--"
"That doesn't matter! Do you know what she'll say if we show up with these guys?"
"She'll say, 'You picked up hot guys without me?'" This was Rai, interrupting the girls' argument. Both looked at their usually quiet friend, awaiting her comment in the matter. (The Reikai Tentai, meanwhile, stood, Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Hiei talking amongst themselves, Kurama still supporting Kei.) The dark-haired girl looked to Mai, hazel meeting dark blue, communicating an invisible message. Mai, with a sigh, nodded. Kei smiled.
"Excellent." She released herself from Kurama's grasp and turned to face the boy. Pleading with her blue eyes, she then queried, "Can you help us?"
A/N: Confused? Good. This is to replace the All-American Rebel while I work on fixing it, so you'd better enjoy it. Suggestions and constructive criticism is welcome, as is praise. (Personally, I like the latter.)
Disclaimer: I do not own YYH, or Star Wars, or anything else that is not mine in this chapter.