Chapter Seven: Face of the Enemy

Needle in a haystack. Those words kept passing through Yusuke's mind as they walked to Kurama's school the next morning. They were searching for this one guy, Yoshi Tsarakino, who could be just about anywhere. The only lead they had to go on was that the name sounded vaguely familiar to Kimiko, so perhaps someone else at her and Kurama's school knew more. But even then, how were they going to find whoever did know, and how would they get the information? This wasn't Yusuke's specialty, not in the least. Investigating, following leads, what kind of detective did all that? He just wanted to find this guy and pound him in the face for messing with him and Kurama.

"I don't get it," Yusuke sighed. "I mean, what is this guy? What does he want from us?"

"I don't know," Kurama coalesced. "It would seem that the Tomorrow needs our assistance for something, but I can't imagine what. I think the more pressing matter, however, is what is he? That's what we need to focus on right now."

"Yeah," Kuwabara agreed, "We need to find him and pound him!"

"Agreed," was the last word out of Kurama's mouth, before they reached the school. "Hopefully we can find something here."

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"Urgh!" the creature grunted as Hiei forced him back against the wall. It had red, scaly flesh rippling over its humanoid body, with two thick horns coming out the sides of its head. Hiei wrapped his right hand around its left horn, then looked into the beast's blood red eyes. "You're an Agent of Tomorrow, aren't you? Talk, or I will take this precious extremity, and then you will talk."

The creature shoved at Hiei, but his grip was tight. "You think you can scare me? I am nothing, an arm of the great Lord Fjerin, and nothing you can do will ARGH!" Hiei yanked on the horn at that moment, with the sound of tendons tearing within the demon's head.

"Talk," he repeated.

"You fool. Do you really think Lord Fjerin would entrust me with his–GACK!" Another yank, and more ripping sounds.

"Talk," Hiei repeated once again.

"You know," Botan smiled from behind Hiei, "you really should talk. Hiei gets very mean when he doesn't get his way." Her clothes were completely brown from the sludge of the swamp they had traveled through to get to this place, and there were still bits of mud and grime stuck to her face and hair. There was also an unmistakable odor from the drying muck, one that Hiei had done a good job ignoring since they left the place.

"You know," the demon said dryly, with his eyes on Botan. "For a girl, you smell distinctly like crap."

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"Dammit," Yusuke cursed, "this is getting us NOWHERE." He and Kuwabara were seated just outside the building, while Kurama pursued another student. "Nobody knows ANYTHING about this guy!" He laid his head down to rest on the table and let out a sigh of frustration.

"Hey," Kuwabara attempted, "we will find him. We always do."

There was an interruption to Yusuke's left, which caught his attention and caused him to lift his head up from the table. "Excuse me," a brown-haired man imposed. "I heard you're looking for someone? I think I might be able to help you."

Suspicious, Yusuke first turned his attention to Kuwabara. "This guy for real?"

Kuwabara's sixth sense would have warned him if this had been Tsarakino. He'd sensed him before, he'd sense him now. This guy seemed to be a legitimate lead, which he was more than happy to express. "He's clean."

Part of Yusuke marveled at what Tsarakino had driven them to. Every new face that walked up to him now, he wondered, "Is it Tsarakino? Is he messing with us again?" This guy was making him paranoid, and he didn't like that. He'd just have to pound him extra hard for that. "Alright," he addressed the man, "what do you know about a man named Yoshi Tsarakino?"

"Tsarakino..." the man muttered to himself, and he raised a hand to rub his chin. He seemed actually surprised by this, and he wasn't certain if he did know. "I'm not sure. I know everyone at this school, but that name...it sounds familiar, but I can't quite recall where from. However, if anyone would know, it would be Maya. I suggest you talk to her." The man unzipped his backpack, setting it down on the table, then removed a folder. He opened the folder, and Yusuke was astonished to see hundreds of pictures of different kids laid out on the pages within. He even recognized one of Kurama, though it was labeled "Shuichi Minamino". Of course the guy had Kurama's human name on it.

"What is all this?" Yusuke asked, his own warning senses starting to go off. This was more than just a little bit creepy. "Why do you have all these pictures?"

The brown-haired man smiled and didn't even hesitate to respond to Yusuke's question. "I'm preparing an amateur yearbook for our school. I believe that if the high schools can have one, why can't we? We don't have a class or anything for it, but my family's willing to fund the money to start off, and other kids are paying for their own."

Yusuke raised an eyebrow to that response, but shrugged. Geeks will be geeks. The man stopped flipping the pages, finally settling on one. He removed a picture from the folder and handed it to Yusuke. "Take this. That girl is Maya. You should find her by the tree out back during lunchtime. She likes to go there to think."

Yusuke smiled inwardly. It was about time they hit a stroke of luck.

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CRACK

The demon writhed, trying to get away from the psychotic blue-haired girl. "Ow! Let me...ow!"

CRACK

"Gah, you hit my–"

CRACK

"Botan!" Hiei pulled Botan away from the demon. She struggled in his arms, a look of pure anger on her face as she tried to reach the beast.

"I DO NOT SMELL!" she screeched at it, "This is YOUR stupid SWAMP! I trudged through your CRAP and for what! You are going to talk, because I did not get slime in my mouth for NOTHING!"

The creature was cowering against the wall, with its arms held up over its head. "Get that crazy bitch away from me!" he yelled at Hiei. "Get her away...I'll talk, I'll talk, just...keep her away from me!"

Hiei refused to let go of Botan until she had calmed down. Once she was calm, he released his grip from around her. "Botan, why are you..." he turned his attention back at the broken demon, then looked back at Botan. "...well...that wasn't bad." Botan smiled at Hiei's almost-compliment. It made her feel proud.

Hiei returned to the demon, crouching down on one knee. "Now, what is Fjerin planning? What is the Tomorrow doing?"

The demon spat up a bit of blood, then laughed. His was a laugh of victory, one that unnerved Botan and frustrated Hiei. "Do you really think any of this matters? I'll talk, just so I can see the look on your face when you understand that you are powerless. The wheels are already turning, Lord Fjerin will crush Reikai's palace to dust and instill a new order over all worlds."

Botan scoffed. "Yusuke will–"

"Yusuke? Yusuke Urameshi, the Spirit Detective?" the demon asked, his voice incredulous. "Do you really believe the Spirit Detective can make any difference? Lord Fjerin has already made plans to deal with him. He will fall just as easily as the palace does."

Hiei forced the demon's head back against the wall. "What is he plotting now? What is his next move? How is he going to topple Reikai or the detective?"

The demon laughed once more and closed his eyes. "The first assault will be on the palace itself. The weapon my master needs is hidden there. It will ensure the destruction of the Spirit Detective. Reikai will fall in the wake of his death. The first phase is already underway. The attack will begin soon."

Botan laughed at this, feeling the relief wash over her. "The palace is not without guards. You guys actually think you can survive a direct attack? I mean, we have the entire royal guard at our fingertips. What can you do?"

The demon looked straight at Botan, and a disturbing smile washed over his face. "We have something far more powerful than any guard, and far more dangerous than any weapon. We have a force that cannot be stopped, a power that nothing can even touch."

"And what's that?" Botan asked skeptically.

"We have Lord Tsarakino."

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"Hello, Maya." The girl was seated against a tree, reading a book, when she heard the familiar voice. Her short, black hair was curled around her head, tucking down under her ears. She had brown eyes that seemed to glimmer, which she turned up from her book to see the familiar red-haired boy she had found so attractive.

"Hi, Shuichi!" she was excited to see him. It wasn't often that she got to speak to him, especially not often that he actually sought her out. She didn't know who his two friends were, but they didn't matter. The cute boy was talking to her.

"How are you today?" Kurama's pleasantries were his greatest asset.

She smiled. "I'm okay. Had a rough day in class, but it's always nice to see you." She blushed as she spoke, embarrassing herself.

"Listen," Kurama smiled, "I was wondering if you could help us. We're looking for someone named Yoshi Tsarakino. Do you know anything?"

"Yoshi..." Maya sat back against the tree, thinking. The name sounded familiar, but she couldn't...wait, Tsarakino? As in Toriya Tsarakino, the big business executive? "Tsarakino...my dad does business with a guy named Tsarakino all the time. He's had us over for christmas parties and stuff. I don't remember all the names, but there was a boy there until about three years ago, when he just up and vanished. Here, let me call my dad, and I can get you the address."

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The long, stone hallway echoed with the sound of footsteps. The demon, Fjerin, walked slowly down the hall, accompanied by his pet, Atsuko Urameshi. She walked without bonds, without chains, and with a proud gait that was not her own. She was not in power here, her body had once more been taken as the host to something bad.

"The first phase is almost ready," the demon grinned. "Soon we will have the first piece, and Detective Urameshi's death will be certain. Those poor fools have no idea what's to come."

Atsuko, Yoshi, walked beside him. Unlike the other followers, there was no sense of inferiority or superiority between these two. The rest of the Tomorrow had noticed this, and Tsarakino even held the title of Lord, just as Fjerin did. They were partners in this endeavor. "One thing I don't understand, Fjerin. Why do we keep this broken woman around?" Yoshi looked at her hands, studying the body.

"Two reasons," Fjerin responded, holding up two fingers to gesture. "First," he lowered his first finger, "there is strategic merit to having her around when we face the Spirit Detective. And second," he lowered his second, "you need a body, and I know your tastes. Admit it...you very much enjoy that one."

Yoshi shook Atsuko's butt, turning his head down to admire her slender figure. "Well, it is a snug fit," he grinned with a mouth not his own. "Maybe not a permanent residence, but this will do nicely. But aren't you worried about–"

"Yoshi," Fjerin smiled warmly towards his old friend, and laid his hand down on Atsuko's shoulder. "With the power of a god on my side, nothing worries me." Yoshi smiled at Fjerin's compliment. The power of a god...he had never thought of himself like that before.

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Finally, the team arrived at the doorstep of the Tsarakino family. The house was not as large as Yusuke had expected, a four-bedroom building out in the woods. He'd expected a mansion, but he supposed a man of luxury didn't always have to live like that.

"So, how we going to do this?" Kuwabara questioned. "Can't just walk up and ask to see Yoshi, can we?"

"Actually," Kurama pondered. "Maybe we can. The tactful approach is always the best. I have an idea. You two wait here, and I'll see what I can find." He left Yusuke and Kuwabara behind, walking calmly to the door. Raising his finger to the doorbell, he hesitated only a moment before pressing it. He couldn't help but wonder what he would find here, and it made him apprehensive. What would happen if Yoshi answered the door?

A moment passed, and another. There came no answer, and he began to suspect that there was nobody here. But then, just as he was about to turn away, he heard footsteps on the other side of the door. There was the clicking of locks being unlocked, and then the door eased open a crack, and he could see inside. A brown-haired woman, with her hair in curls, still a teenager probably in high school, answered the door. She had mysterious green eyes that captured the attention of any who looked at her, and Kurama noted that she was pretty. "Hello...what can I do for you?" she asked carefully. Her eyes seemed to study Kurama, as though she was uncertain of him.

"Hello," Kurama greeted her. "My name is Shuichi Minamino. I'm a friend of Yoshi's. We had plans today, to see a movie, and I was supposed to pick him up. Is he home?" A look of disgust washed over the girl's face, and she tried to slam the door in Kurama's face. Kurama stopped her with his hand, though, keeping the door open. "Did I say something wrong?"

"What is this, some kind of sick joke!" the girl exclaimed. She was angry now, and Kurama could easily make out the unmistakable sense of rage coming from her. "Get out of here before I call the police!"

"I'm sorry, I don't understand. What did I say?" Kurama was surprised, and trying to make sense of it.

The girl snarled, "What, like you don't know! If this is some stupid prank, I swear–"

"I meant no harm," Kurama assured her sincerely. "I just don't know what–"

"Well, here's a newsflash, idiot." The girl's anger was boiling now. "My brother Yoshi has been dead for three years."