Taking a deep breath to calm their nerves, Yusuke and Kurama turned from Genkai to return to their friends. Mary Sue was still insulting Kuwabara, but the boy was no longer offended. He just stared as she threw a practically incoherent mix of preadolescent, colloquial English and poor Japanese at him. Keiko stood to the side trying not to laugh at the poor girl's misuse of both languages. Unbeknownst to most of the group below, a shadow drew closer, concealed within the treetops, watching with disdain.

Kurama felt the approach of his mate, and knew there was trouble in store. Carefully, he avoided looking at the trees so he would not give away the location of the concealed demon.

When Mary finally ran out of insults, the group made its way into the temple. Genkai allowed Mary to enter because she knew what fun it would be to watch the gang try to get out of this one. Kurama hung back as the rest of his companions entered and awaited the arrival of the shadowy figure. He did not have to wait for long.

In a blur of swirling darkness, Hiei appeared at his taller companion's side. The apparition had watched the exchange between the newcomer and his teammates. While he was at first tempted to sneer as the strange creature insulted Kuwabara, the demon found he could not muster so much as a smirk. The girl's (?) taunts were so flat and unimaginative he could not enjoy them. Turning to Kurama, Hiei took in the appearance of the fox.

Wordlessly the hiyoukai reached out and gently lifted the torn fabric of the kitsune's sleeve and glanced at the shallow wound beneath. With narrowed eyes he raised his gaze to meet that of the red head.

"I tried to chew it off; she would not let go." Kurama said softly. Hiei's eyes narrowed to mere slits and Kurama felt his energy rise as he turned to stalk down the one who dared cause harm to his mate. In a quick motion Kurama stepped behind the smaller demon, encircling his arms around the black-clad waist and halting the lethal advance.

"Hiei, she's a Mary Sue. It's what she does. She may be annoying and frustrating, but she is still human. At least, she's human until we can prove otherwise. If you kill her Enma will send you to Reikai prison and I will never see you again."

Hiei turned to face his mate. "What is a Mary Sue?" the hiyoukai asked softly.

"It's difficult to describe; you'll have to see it to believe it. Just remember, don't kill her. Enma will use any excuse to imprison a demon, even if killing a Mary Sue seems more like a public service than a crime." Kurama murmured. Hiei huffed dejectedly, but allowed the fox to continue holding him.

When the two demons finally made their way into the temple, they were not surprised to see Mary Sue launching a fresh round of stale insults at Kuwabara. Keiko was in the corner fuming and practically being restrained by Yusuke. The human was glaring at the annoying little girl with as much hatred as even Hiei could muster. Genkai sat on a cushion sipping her tea and watching with amused eyes. Only the appearance of the demon couple interrupted the otherwise picturesque scene.

"My beloved-firebaby-dragonfly!" Mary gushed, abandoning her torrent of torment and launching herself at Hiei. Reflexively, Hiei drew his katana, but a taller form stepped between him and his target.

If Kurama thought Mary's grip on his hand had been crushing, he was startled to discover that it paled in comparison to her bone-shattering hug. Instinctively he had stepped between the oncoming human and his mate, knowing that Hiei would kill her if she touched him. In doing so he intercepted the hug and promptly had all of the air squeezed from his body. For her part, Mary was oblivious to whom she was hugging. As long as she was somehow physically attached to a bishonen she was happy. Her keening squeals heralded her joy as they caused severe headaches for all present.

It was not until Kurama's face had transcended the color of his hair and progressed to purple that Mary finally relinquished her hold on him. The fox fell backwards into the arms of his mate, gasping. When he could muster enough air for words he softly sputtered, "You owe me, Hiei." For once, Hiei did not disagree.

It took a few seconds for everyone to realize why Mary had so suddenly released her prey. When her incessant babble finally began to resolve into recognizable words, the team looked over to determine at whom she was babbling.

Botan stood in the corner clutching her oar. The strange girl(?) had approached and immediately violated the ferry girl's personal space. While she was usually bubbly and chipper, Botan usually preferred a healthy distance between herself and strangers. And humans did not get much stranger than this creature before her. A quick glance around the room revealed the entire detective team staring at the girl with wide eyes and open mouths. It wasn't until Botan actually began listening to the words issuing from Mary's ever-flapping lips that she began to understand the predicament that they were in.

"...mission from Koenma. I told Enma that my powers would b needed 2 defeet the demons that r threatening all the worlds. Yama always listens to me bcuz I m 1 of his most trusted advizers. And Emma prefers my advice over any1 else so i told him that hte tentee would need me to help them with my super powers and since they r the loves of my life (except Kuwabaka) i must save them so we can all live happily evar aftar..."

Botan just stared. Never, in all her centuries as a ferry girl, had she encountered someone who could butcher a language so effectively. Part of her felt that after this conversation she should ferry the entire English language to Spirit World, because this girl had quite thoroughly killed it.

Suddenly Botan recalled why she had come to the temple in the first place. Cutting off Mary's continuing stream of words, she turned tot he team leader. "Yusuke! There is an emergency in Spirit World! You need to come with me immediately!"

Almost instantly Mary stopped rambling and latched onto Yusuke's hand. "I'm ready, my love." she announced.

Silence resounded through the room.

"Um, okay," Botan sputtered. "We, uh, can't take guests to Spirit World. I'm afraid you'll have to stay here, Miss, uh, Miss?"

"Mary. Mary Sue Wannabe. See? It's like 'wasabi' but not like it. I'm half American. And half Japanese. And half demon. And I'm ready to go see Koenma." Mary said proudly.

"But, that's three halv...oh, nevermind. I'm sorry, But I cannot take you along. Let's go guys." Botan said, opening her portal and mounting her oar.

"Botan, wait! I can't get her off me!" Yusuke complained as he yanked his arm in a futile attempt to escape. Genkai snickered behind them.

Botan stopped for a moment, staring at the toushin trying in vain to escape the grip of a mere human girl(?). Suddenly the ferry girl snapped her fingers as a look of enlightenment descended upon her features. "Of course, now I recall that name!" she said as she pulled a dusty tome from her obi. This book matched the one Hinageshi carried, except that it was far older. Botan had not had to use if for centuries. As the Chief Pilot of the River Styx, she knew pretty much everything that was covered by the ancient text, but in times like these, she preferred to double check the facts.

"Bingo! Mary Sue! I see, Yusuke, it says here that Mary Sue has a grip of iron and will not let go once she has captured a canon character. Oh dear. Koenma specifically told me to hurry, but it doesn't seem that we'll be able to pry her off of you."

Before Botan could finish her thought, Mary swept past her and into the already open portal, dragging a still struggling Yusuke behind her. With exasperated glances at each other, the rest of the tantei followed.

"Oh dear. Lord Koenma is going to kill me." Botan mumbled, following them.

Once the portal closed, Genkai laughed out loud. It seemed that not only her dimwit apprentice was in for a tough time.