What do you mean? he wanted to ask. What are you talking about?

Instead, he forced himself to speak simple words. "What are you saying? Keiko's just gone missing. She can't be dead. She's just been gone a few days." Even as he said those words, he knew them to be false.

It seemed the others knew so as well. Koenma only looked at him gravely, his pacifier and form making the expression on his face look strange. From Boton, he heard only the sharp intake of breathe that often came to those that had nasty surprises.

"Really, Koenma, that's not something you should joke about." he said, feeling and hearing his voice get higher.

Then, almost desperate, "This is a joke, right?" He looked at Koenma, but the demi-god could only look away.

Yusuke whipped around to look at Boton, looking for an answer- any answer. She couldn't look him in the face either.

He turned back to Koenma, but still had no response. He could feel his hands beginning to tremble. "This isn't funny."

Koenma only let out a sad sigh. It was typical Yusuke. Anger or sadness often came after he was told something he didn't want. It had been the same at the Dark Tournament. Kuwabara had played a false death, and Yusuke's sadness and self-hatred had changed things drastically.

"I'm sorry, Yusuke." he said.

Then, the boy got a rather wild look in his eye. "Bring her back."

Koenma could've sworn he'd heard wrong, but he knew better. He'd expected this, even. After all, how many people could be friends with a death demi-god and not expect them to be able to bring people back?

"I can't."

Those two words sent a chain of thoughts to Yusuke's mind.

"What do you mean, you can't?!" he demanded, angry tears sliding down his cheeks. "You brought me back, didn't you?"

"Yusuke-" Koenma started, disheartened by this new expression. His detective was hurting, and he, as an employer, couldn't even do anything.

"No!" the boy cried out. "Bring her back! She's got enough virtue to save a town!"

"Yusuke!" Boton exclaimed, appalled at his behavior.

"Bring her back, Koenma, I'm begging you!" the distraught teen threw himself to the floor just in front of the pacifier-sucking demi-god's desk. "Please!"

"Yusuke, I wish I could, but when I brought you back, your body was in one piece."

Silence. Slowly, slowly, the information sank into his mind. Yusuke stood, and dusted himself off. Then, he lifted his chin and looked the child-god in the eye.

Koenma approved. An signs of tears had been erased, and now the boy's eyes were clear. Painfully clear, even, but still clear.

"You knew about this." he said, accusing the demi-god. "You knew and you didn't tell us."

Shamed, Koenma looked down, to the side- anywhere but at Yusuke, the justifiably angry teen in front of him.

"I… I did know. I've known since the beginning." he admitted slowly. He didn't want to admit it. He didn't want to say it. He didn't want to tell them that he'd been deceiving them all along.

"Since the beginning of what? Since you've known me? Since you found out about her? Since the beginning of what?!" Yusuke demanded. There was venom in his voice, and Koenma found it only normal.

"Since she was born."

Yusuke was shocked into silence, and Boton, who had opened her mouth to say something, quickly lost her words. Still, Koenma knew whatever she could find to say could easily turn his workers against him.

"Boton, retrieve her, please." It wasn't a request, and all three of them knew it.

Without a word, the young woman left to do his bidding. Yusuke, shocked as he was, could only remain silent.

So the two waited in an uncomfortable silence, one barely standing, filled with despair, and the other sitting, trying to figure out how to fix the mess.

Only moments later, a soft knock and the call, "I've brought her, sir."

The doors opened, but Yusuke didn't turn around- couldn't turn around. He didn't want to see her here. If she was here, then she wouldn't be in the human world. He didn't want to see her here, not in the world of the dead.

Then she spoke, and shattered all his hopes and dreams with her words.

"Yusuke? It's me. Keiko. Please look at me."

Slowly, terribly slowly, he turned. When he finally saw her, he wanted to cry again.

She stood there, hands behind her back with her head bowed. She was clean of any blood and whatever blemish her death could've brought to her. She was beautiful, innocent, dead Keiko.

Yusuke dropped to his knees.

Instantly, she was at his side, kneeling next to him.

"Yusuke? Are you alright?" she asked him, genuine worry obvious on her face.

"Keiko… It's really you… You're… dead….?" his voice came out broken, and it was obvious that he hadn't meant it to come out in such a way.

Shock danced through her eyes before diminishing. "I'm dead, Yusuke. Just… Just tell everyone that it's alright. But Yusuke, you need to be careful. It was a demon. Half demon, I'm sure. Dog…."

"Keiko…dead…" Yusuke whispered to himself, almost as if he couldn't hear her. He wished he couldn't hear her, anyways.

Suddenly, he turned to her and grabbed her by the shoulders and gave her a quick, rough shake. "How did he kill you?! How much pain was there?!" he demanded, eyes afire.

"Ow, Yusuke, that hurts!" she cried out, surprised. His fingers had dug into her skin and they really did hurt. If she hadn't been dead, she didn't doubt that they'd have bruised.

Surprised at himself, he released her.

"I… I'm sorry, Keiko, but I need to know. How did you…" he gestured at her with his hands.

"I...He cut me up with his claws. The pain…" Her eyes gained a faraway look for a moment, before she continued. "There was no pain." It was true that she was lying, but there was no need for anyone else to know that. In death, she had understood far more than she had when she'd lived. Now, she felt only pity for the body of the demon that felt no emotion or thought. So, she repeated her earlier statement.

"There was no pain." Yusuke was too lost in his emotional turmoil to pick up on the lie, and Koenma and Boton would say nothing. She was sure that he'd undoubtedly be dispatched to destroy the demon, but from the slight vision that she'd gotten in her death, she knew things would change. Quickly, too.

"Yusuke, I can't let you go after the demon."

That one sentence shocked them.

"What do you mean, you won't let me go after the demon?! You just going to let it be, killing innocent people and shit?!" Yusuke was angry, and more obviously so now.

Boton, though shocked, immediately figured out why Koenma had forbidden Yusuke from the case, as did Keiko.

"Yusuke, you're linked to this demon, and your emotional state will endanger both the case and your life, as well as any others involved in it." the demi-god explained. "I can't let that happen."

Unknown to the others, Koenma already knew his order would be disobeyed. However, he intended to guide the boy to the safest path if Yusuke was so determined as to do such.

"Who else are you going to get to be your goddamned killer then?!" he demanded, shouting.

"Yusuke, calm yourself immediately!" Koenma barked out. "Let me finish speaking!"

A little surprised at the reprimand, Yusuke did as he was bid.

"I will not allow you to take this case until you calm yourself. Meditate and organize your emotions and thoughts. You'll definitely need to."

"The hell?! You want me to sit with my hands on my knees and make noises?!!! I don't have time for this!"

"Yusuke Urameshi! Listen to me! There's a shrine- the Higurashi shrine- with a priestess, Kagome. She'll help you meditate, and she'll also give you a lead." he glared at his detective, the warning in them obviously written.

"If I find out that you've taken on any action without first passing her three tests, I'll bind your power." the demi-god said. The threat was more to let the boy know the gravity of the situation rather than to warn him away from the mission. "The priestess also has some… special… abilities that she doesn't know about yet. You'd do well to help her and get help."

Yusuke remained silent for a moment, working out what Koenma had said, storing it and making sure he had the facts. "Higurashi Shrine?" he asked for confirmation.

"That's right. It's a couple miles away from your school." Koenma nodded, approval at his detective shining through.

"Kagome!" her mother called, "Go to bed, already!"

"I will, Mom! Don't stay up too late!" she called back, glancing at her clock. Upon seeing it, she winced- it was almost eleven.

Dear Diary,

It's way past time for me to be in bed, but I did promise some details, right? There was some scary news on the television today. Supposedly some gang or serial killer's come to the city. Sarayashiki region got hit the worst though. On the other hand, the killer's moving now. Getting away from Sarayashiki. I have to admit that I'm scared, but there's not much I can do. I hope they catch this guy soon...

I'm worried about Mom and Souta. Grandpa usually stays home, so there's not much to worry about there. I doubt anyone's insane enough to want to climb all those steps just to kill some old man. I guess things will eventually get better. Probably, security and stuff will be way better than normal for a bit, but soon enough, I bet things'll fall out again, and then he'll hit. I hope no one gets hurt... I wish he'd get caught soon.