Chapter Two: The Pre-emptive Calm

The days since the Dark Tournament had come and gone for Yusuke Urameshi, the Spirit Detective. He had returned, for now, to his normal life, in his normal town, with his normal girlfriend, Keiko Yukimura. Yusuke was approximately 5'8" in height. He wore his black hair straight back, slicked and greased and kept out of his dark, brown eyes. At the moment, he was dressed in his green mockery of the school uniform. Buttoned up shirt in the front, with casual pants completing the ensemble. Yusuke wore his green, even though the dress code stated blue.

It had been a calm, peaceful return to skipping school and brawling with punks, with Yusuke defending his title as the top dog of Sarayashiki Junior High. Some days, he felt bad about beating up these punks, because they had no chance in Makai of ever actually winning the fight. While they were strutting about eying his position in a school hierarchy, he'd been facing the ludicrous level of power of the younger Toguro brother in the Dark Tournament. However, this was not one of those days.

CRACK!

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, just don't hurt me!" whimpered a blonde-haired punk, as Yusuke shoved him back against the wall and raised his fist to strike. The punk wore the blue uniform, just like everyone who had already been put down. The defeated groaned on the ground, six of them, and this was the last. "I swear I didn't know she was your–" Another powerful impact to the right temple allowed this poor sap to join his friends on the ground.

With the fallen around him, lying prone in the vacant lot where Yusuke had cornered them, the Spirit Detective turned and walked right out. He stopped only briefly, casting a glance over his shoulder and speaking to any who may still be conscious. "Tell your friends. Spread the word. Yusuke Urameshi's back, and he's taking back his claim." With that, he left these idiots to their recovery, and rejoined Kuwabara, already waiting for him at the fence just outside.

To think that these two had once been such bitter rivals...so much had changed since Yusuke had become Spirit Detective. At 6'3", Kuwabara had once been a contender for Yusuke's title as the baddest punk in Sarayashiki Junior High. He wore the blue uniform of their high school, the same button-up shirt and pants as Yusuke. Kuwabara had powerful features that denoted a fighter, along with naturally curly red hair that hung down just in front of his face and dark brown eyes. He had fought beside Yusuke since near the beginning, after meeting up with him accidentally on his second mission as Spirit Detective. He possessed a very strong sixth sense, which had proven an asset a number of times on Yusuke's missions. They had once been bitter rivals, each enjoying nothing more than pummeling the crap out of the other. But now, the two were practically inseparable.

With Keiko away visiting her grandparents, Yusuke had been left bored out of his mind. Then he heard from one of Kuwabara's friends that one of the local gangs had made a move on his territory. Tried to take his claim, his territory, and even his Keiko, back when he was away training with his real teacher, and elderly yet extremely powerful psychic by the name of Genkai. And he couldn't just let that slip, especially not after the guy had gone for Keiko.

Dropping down in a chair at the local food court, Yusuke sighed. Now that the idiots were taken care of, he had nothing to do once more. He was not above venting his frustrations aloud, something that some of his friends had become bothered with. "I'm bored," he muttered, then turned his attention to Kuwabara. Immediately, he lifted an eyebrow, when he noticed his friend had refrained from taking a seat. Instead, the psychic was slowly scanning the food court with his eyes, and he looked somewhat bothered. "Hey, Kuwabara! Anyone in there?" Yusuke asked, which shook Kuwabara out of his trance.

"Huh? Nothing. It's...probably nothing." He took his seat, although the bothered expression didn't leave his face. Which, in turn, bothered Yusuke. Kuwabara may be a dim-witted brute, but he was a psychic dim-witted brute. When he felt something, it usually meant something. He took his own look around, but all he saw were a few kids from their school, talking in hushed whispers amongst themselves. They did that often these days, it seemed, whenever he or Kuwabara were around. Rumors were flying like wildfire about their mysterious absences.

"What happened to them?"

"It's like, they were bitter rivals one day, then best friends the next! What's going on?"

"I heard them talking about Urameshi's gun once."

"Urameshi has a gun!"

"That's what they were saying. Talking about him blasting some guy to pieces with his gun! His...um...speargun!"

"Urameshi has a gun...no wonder everyone's afraid of him!"

There was one man at the table, however, that didn't say a word. He had blonde hair that went straight down to his shoulders, and serene, blue eyes. He sat back in his chair, listening to the talk, listening to the rambling, and appeared lost in thought. His eyes, however, never left that table where Yusuke and Kuwabara were seated. He paid little attention to the idiot prattle of these children, he had deeper concerns on his mind. So, this was the great Yusuke Urameshi, that he had heard so much about. He couldn't help but wonder just what the champion was capable of, and he continued to watch him. Once evening finally began to fall, and the idiot children scattered, the man stood up slowly, his eyes still locked on their table. Yusuke and Kuwabara had resorted to reminiscing about some creatures called Saint Beasts, which the man paid little attention to. He approached their table carefully, cautiously, deciding it would be best to choose his words wisely.

Yusuke stopped talking abruptly when he saw the man approach. "Whaddya want?" he addressed the man bruskly, then stopped and noticed that Kuwabara's hair was slightly bristling.

The man smiled, dropping all pretense as he spoke, though his voice carried a snide tone of arrogance. "Detective Urameshi...it is such an honor to finally meet you. I must say, I am a big fan." That last part was said in a condescending tone, to match the smirk that had traced across his face.

The use of the word "Detective" set off warning alarms in Yusuke's head. And now Kuwabara was sweating, he was definitely feeling something. "Careful, Urameshi," the taller man warned. "There's something seriously not right about this guy."

Yusuke curled his lip up in a snarl of dominance. This strange man did not have him spooked. "Yeah, you know my name, and from the sound of it, you probably know what I can do." With these words, he curled back his last three fingers and lifted his thumb up like a trigger, pointing his gun-shaped hand towards the stranger. His left hand came up and wrapped around the wrist, to brace it. The perfect position for firing his Spirit Gun. "So why don't you tell me who you are, before I get angry."

The man's smirk never faded, as the gun hand lifted towards him. "I can assure you, that would do no good," but before he could finish, he was cut off.

"Then you won't mind if I test that, will you?" A blue light began to shine at the tip of Yusuke's finger, a spark of the energy he was building up.

The man stood silent for a moment, his eyes locked on Yusuke's finger as the weapon charged, then finally, he submitted. "My name is Yoshi Tsarakino. I have a...special interest...in your business. But I can see that you're busy, entertaining peasants." His eyes fell directly on Kuwabara with that line. "We can do this another time."

That arrogant smirk never leaving his face, Tsarakino turned to go. Yusuke's finger brimmed with energy, he was not about to let this snide bastard walk away. "Oh, no. My Spirit Gun is fully charged now, and I don't believe you can weather the blast as easily as you claim to. Now, why are you here, and what do you want from me?"

The man didn't even stop walking, sending back his response. "Maybe I can't, but I don't believe that you would discharge a weapon that powerful in the middle of a metropolis packed with innocent bystanders. Your move, Detective."

"I don't have to." Yusuke's response was short and to the point, as he released the energy back into his body, then leapt from his chair. He struck fast and hard, with all the tenacity that had made him the toughest punk in Sarayashiki, driving his fist down through Tsarakino. The man went down hard, and Yusuke didn't relent. "Now, tell me–"

Yusuke was cut off, however, by a blast of black smoke emanating from the man. This mysterious black smoke enveloped Tsarakino, and dissipated in a matter of seconds. But nothing remained where he had lain. Enraged, Yusuke drove his fist down into the cement beneath his feet, cracking it. "Dammit, he got away."

Kuwabara slowly rose to his feet, his expression impressively spooked. It wasn't often he felt something as strange and confusing as what he had felt today. Yusuke turned back his gaze to Kuwabara, deciding to hand this question over to the psychic. "What did you feel back there, anyway? What was he? A demon?"

Kuwabara shook his head slowly, still trying to analyze just what this strange feeling the man had given off was. "Not a demon, I can say that for certain. He felt human, he just...I don't know. They felt human, I guess."

That had piqued Yusuke's curiosity, and he couldn't help but ask now. "They?"

Kuwabara nodded, his face solemn, and slightly worried. "From what I got off that man...I don't know. If I didn't know better, I would swear he had two souls."