Yu Yu Hakusho is property of Shounen Jump. I own everything else. Fearia Cahadras belongs to Miranda (Ignacia Dolores, or whatever she calls herself nowadays), but she's not in this story anymore, so I don't actually have to say that.
Three years ago, I knew more about Yu Yu Hakusho than most people did; I had the Sensui and Chapter Black episodes down before Funimation did. However, I stopped watching after the Sensui arc was done, so I honestly don't know the specifics of the Makai Tournament and the encounter with Raizen. Sure I can look it up on wikipedia (and I have, actually) or Google it, but I still don't have enough information, and I do not want to shell out a couple hundred dollars to get the series on DVD. So, I will be making up the history of what follows the Sensui arc as I go. I will be changing things intentionally, so if you read this and think, Wait… there's only one Spirit Detective at a time, not an organization devoted to them!, you are right. I thought it looked cooler that way, and it is more believable than Hiei and Kurama sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G. There; I said it. Nyah. You hear me, yaoi fangirls? Begone!
A note on profanity; you are going to see a relatively large amount of it in the chapters ahead, but the story is going to remain T for Teen. This is because I have watched both versions of YYH, both the English and Japanese versions, and there is a TON of swearing in the Japanese version that was cut out of the English version. However, they both have the same rating, so I feel that it is acceptable to keep the profanity in with the T for Teen rating.
:: Wanega, Hokkaido ::
:: Japan ::
:: Tuesday, September 5th, 2006 ::
:: 3:00 AM ::
Urameshi Yusuke climbed up the fire-escape ladder as fast as he could. A demon that looked like a cross between a skeleton and a wolf in tattered robes was ahead of him on the ladder and pulling further away from him. The Spirit Detective shot a quick ki-blast at his quarry but the demon dodged it by a fraction of an inch. It reached the roof and bolted. Yusuke followed three seconds later, but when he got there, the demon was nowhere to be seen. The full moon illuminated the dark city, but he couldn't see any trace of the demon.
"Damn it all to Hell…" he growled before pulling out and speaking into a device like a cell-phone, "Botan, I lost visual. Give me an update."
Botan sat on her oar a thousand feet in the air. She was invisible to the humans below, but the Spirit Detective and his allies could see her. Botan looked through a pair of binoculars and replied into an earphone, "He's two blocks over to the north. Hiei's closest, Kuwabara is on the building to your right. Kurama is still dealing with the other one."
"It's late at night, we don't want to wake up too many people, and we want the punk alive. First three plans are dead in the water… let's go for the Nintendo option. Hiei; it's Yusuke. Get him over to Kuwabara. Kuwabara; when Hiei gets him to your position, do what you can to send him flying." Yusuke commanded, "I'm gonna Duck Hunt the little bastard."
Hiei grunted and Kuwabara gave an okay. Yusuke saw a flash of light reflected off some steel two blocks to the north, and that cued him in to begin focusing the energy into his gun-hand.
Hiei had drawn his sword and rushed the demon, forcing him backwards. The demon's arms glowed red and energy bucklers appeared on his wrist, blocking every swing of the fire apparition's sword. Even though it held its own, his onslaught was unrelenting and the demon backed away. When it came to the ledge it flitted over the narrow street between buildings and landed on the building to Yusuke's right.
Kuwabara ignited a Spirit Sword in each hand and caught the demon's attention as Hiei sheathed his sword and dropped to the street. While lacking Hiei's finesse and speed, the human drew on brute strength and began overwhelming the demon. Each slash came down and showered the roof with sparks, pushing it back towards Yusuke's building. It snarled and tried to take the offensive once, but Kuwabara went for an opening and smashed its jaw with a kick. He dissolved one of the swords, put both hands on the other, and then swung it at the demon from below as he yelled, "PULL!"
It blocked with the bucklers, but it went flying into the air. Yusuke yelled "Spirit Gun!" and launched it, striking the demon from below and behind and knocking it unconscious.
Kuwabara flipped open a communication device like Hiei's and asked, "You got that, shrimp?"
Hiei spoke into a device of his own, "Yes, Fat Albert. I have it." He pocketed the device and stepped into the demon's shadow. The Jagan on his forehead glowed a blue-violet and he held his hands over his head. The demon slowed as it fell and Hiei caught it before it hit the ground.
Yusuke climbed down to the street, Botan descended, and Kuwabara jumped into an alleyway. They converged on Hiei's position. Yusuke looked at the unconscious demon as it moaned and he lit a cigarette. He said, "Take it from me; that is why you should stay in school."
"Kurama?" Hiei asked.
"Hang on…" Botan said as she touched the earphone. "Kurama? Status report."
The sound of glass shattering came over the receiver. Kurama responded shortly thereafter, "Hinageshi has a slight concussion. I've got a couple leach seeds on it, and it should be down in the next few seconds. The subway is headed towards you and if your signal's right, the exit is about five blocks east of you. I'll be there in five minutes."
"Gotcha," Botan said and clicked another button on the earphone. "He's on his way." She clicked another button on the phone and reported, "Koenma; we have them both in custody. Hinageshi got a little banged up but she'll be alright. They'll be here in five minutes. Open the portal on our current location?"
"Everything go right where you are?" Koenma asked.
"Bingo."
"Alright then. The portal will open in three minutes. Be ready to get on the move again when you finish writing out your reports; I'm looking over your next assignment."
Botan closed the communication device and leaned against the alley wall. The portal opened three minutes later and Kuwabara, Yusuke, and Hiei walked through with the demon in tow. Botan waited a few more minutes before hearing footsteps. Kurama walked around the corner, leading a distraught Hinageshi by the hand and carrying the second demon over his shoulder.
Botan knelt down next to Hinageshi and asked, "Are you alright?"
"Just a bump, it'll be better soon."
"The demon tried to grab her, but the train went around a curve and she didn't go immaterial soon enough. She was slammed into the window. It was just a minor concussion; I drained its spirit energy and knocked it out on one of the hand-rails."
"Alright," Botan began, "Be sure to include that in your Type-A's. Koenma says he has another mission waiting for us when we file them."
"Hello to you too," Hinageshi remarked sarcastically.
Botan rolled her eyes and replied, "Yeah, I love you too, little sister. Let's get going."
They entered the portal, and it closed behind them.
The Reikai had been given a major shakedown in the last two years. Emperor Enma was found out on corruption and treason charges and placed in jail to await trial. Koenma was placed as the acting Emperor until Enma was either executed or acquitted, where a new branch of government would ratify his place as the new Emperor, select a new one, or reinstate Enma. The armed forces of the Reikai were given a much-needed reorganization. The Spirit Detective branch had been returned to normal detective work. An army was established to take care of situations needing military action as opposed to sending in the Persons of Mass Destruction that had been the Spirit Detectives. This was needed now more than ever; the Makai had become increasingly unified under its new ruler.
The Spirit Detective Branch once had over twenty Spirit Detectives, but in the recent century only one was appointed at a time. With the rise in demon activity in the last two years, Koenma began filling up the ranks again. Following an expulsion from school, Yusuke was made into a full-time Spirit Detective. Hiei and Kurama were considered off probation and were drafted, also becoming Spirit Detectives. Kuwabara worked part-time as a Spirit Detective, as he still had a family life on Earth and was continuing his schooling. Much to Yusuke's loathing, Kuwabara was doing pretty damned good at it. Botan and Hinageshi were transferred from reaper duties to reconnaissance/field agents. Many other divisions to the Spirit Detective Branch were established; one for each country on Earth, and the six-man Urameshi team was the Japanese division.
Until a permanent solution to the Enma situation had been settled upon, Koenma doubled as the active ruler of the Reikai and personally oversaw the Spirit Detective branch. If Enma were executed or removed from office, Koenma would permanently become the leader of the Reikai and a new leader for the Spirit Detectives would have to be found. If Enma were reinstated or the new branch of government elected a new leader to the rank of Emperor, then Koenma would return as the active leader of the Spirit Detectives full-time. The Reikai was in a pinch for management, so in addition to heading the Spirit Detectives, he also directly oversaw the Japanese division. For the time being, there was an increase in demonic activity across the Makai and Earth, and he was spreading his sources thin. The detectives were going from one case to the other without more than a few hours of rest.
Now that he was the acting ruler of the Reikai, Koenma had taken on his adult form for the foreseeable future. After George's insistence, he stopped using a pacifier to recharge the Mafukaan spell and instead wore a ring to fulfill the same function.
:: Koenma's Office::
:: The Reikai ::
:: September 5th, 2006 ::
:: 2:30 PM ::
Koenma's office was different from two years ago. Whereas it was once neon yellow and purple, it was now beige with various objects hanging from the walls. His favorite was a photograph of himself posing with Elvis Presley and Bill Clinton. Rather than having a computer screen in front of the wall, a television screen was inserted into the wall itself, controlled by a panel on his desk. The desk was a dark mahogany. Koenma was where he was expected to be; behind his desk. He had just finished stamping his seal on several documents regarding policies on the Makai and was reviewing the ghost files for Team Urameshi's next assignment. He had been reviewing the files for fifteen minutes when a buzzer rang on his desk. He pressed a button on the intercom and asked, "Yes, Mrs. Peterson?"
"Botan and Hinageshi are here with the Spirit Detectives."
"Good. Send them in." He ordered.
The door creaked open and the six walked in. Koenma rearranged the documents on his desk as they sat down. He spoke, "I hope you have had a chance to get some sleep; we're going right into the next assignment. You have been debriefed on last night's assignment and everything has been written down on paper. Instead of asking you how everything went, I'll just read the report when my secretary cleans it all up and types it out legibly."
"Super." Yusuke said.
"Indeed it is. I get to drink hot cocoa and sit on my sofa in my underwear while I read them. Sometimes I have the radio on. It is, indeed, quite super."
Botan blinked, "That was more information than we needed, Lord Koenma."
"Ewwwwwwww…" Kuwabara said.
"Now, sit down and shut up while I talk. The less you talk, the quicker you can get out of here…" Koenma began, "This mission, should you choose to accept it, will be potentially dangerous and definitely time-consuming. We are experiencing a global phenomenon, and as of right now, all the other Spirit Detective Branches are dealing with similar scenarios. Every now and then, an anomaly will appear somewhere in the world. Some low-level spirit enters the Human World, assumes a human shape, takes on false memories, and walks around convinced that it is really a person. It's normal, and we fix the problem. It is rare, but it happens nonetheless.
"Right now, however, these anomalies – we call them Shinentai for lack of a better word – are appearing all over the world. Unlike the normal Shinentai, we have no record of their spirits. It is as if they appeared out of nowhere. Oddly enough, history seems to have revised itself to accommodate them. We noticed the anomalies in the first place because the ghosts archiving the files noticed some files were appearing that didn't exist before; they were legitimate, but they shouldn't have belonged. We are counting upwards of a million at this moment, and the number is going up every second.
"Many of them are like the normal Shinentai – weak, low-powered, and harmless with no past, and most of them have taken on the form of natural or inanimate features. One Shinentai became a river in Kazakhstan and another one thought it was a baseball diamond in a corn field somewhere in Iowa. We caught that one early on. Some of the humanoid Shinentai are as powerful as a normal soldier of the Spirit World. However, some of them are as strong as you. One of them is a many times more powerful than you. Two of these powerful Shinentai have appeared in Japan, and I am assigning you to hunt them down; I want them captured, if at all possible. Turn around; I am putting their information up on the television screen.
They turned around and watched as the screen flickered to life. A picture of a girl appeared on the screen, and some statistics appeared next to her. She had the ears and tail of a fox, both of them red with white tips. Her hair was also red, coming down to the middle of her back. Her eyes were a bright green, and she wore a olive-green coat, brown breeches, and white Nike sneakers. Lastly, she had a third eye on her forehead.
"First one; Noreen Firestarter. She is a mix between a bunch of different demon species, including fire, ice, angel, elf, thunder, fox, wolf, and a bunch of others I won't go into. However, she only displays the fire and fox parts, which gives her something comparable to Hiei's speed, most of Kurama's fox abilities, and strength and height just under Hiei's. Her history is not important; it's false anyway. All you need to know is that she thinks she's about 140 years old, and she can be a real bitch when provoked. The fake record says that she has a Jagan, and that we have picked her up five times in that many years for stealing from the Reikai. Personality-wise, she's Hiei with estrogen."
"You and the foxgirl would fit together well, squirt. Just like you and Shaan'dras!" Kuwabara mocked.
"I am eighteen. I only date younger women." Hiei replied, "And leave Shaan'dras out of this."
"Guys!" Hinageshi interrupted.
"Second target," Koenma began, "Venia Gelugladius…"
Yusuke snorted, and when Koenma glared at him, Yusuke laughed, "Nice name."
"It should be. It's Latin; Gelugladius means Sword of Winter. Remember the Shinentai who I said was many times more powerful than you?"
"Yeah?"
"This is him."
Yusuke was silent for several seconds before saying, "… ah."
"His exact age is unknown, but the fake file says that he used to be a Shadow Detective for the Spirit World, and he wrote the book on god-moding. The Christian Bible mentions an angel descending from Heaven and wiping out somewhere around 165,000 Assyrian troops in one night. The notes here say, 'That was him.' That would attest to his skill."
"There is no picture of him?" Botan asked.
"He was black-ops for twelve-thousands years. Nobody takes pictures of a Shadow Detective. He killed anyone who did outright." Koenma explained, "The only information we actually have on him is that he never failed a mission – no record of what missions he performed – he doesn't need spirit energy to perform his duties, he was trained in swordsmanship, and that he is one of the Nephilim – half-angel, half demon. We can assume that the demon is ice apparition from his name. So, he most likely will have wings of some kind. Lastly, he was supposedly killed in action five thousand years ago, but when has being killed really stopped anyone?
"Because they don't belong in this or any other world, they stick out like sore thumbs. Noreen might be fast and skilled in combat, but she could not hide her spirit energy if her life depended on it. Gelugladius can control his spirit energy to a T, but as an anomaly, he has a different signature that not even he can hide. We are tracking them even as we speak, and when you teleport in, you will be right on top of them.
"Okay, the specifics…" Koenma pressed a button, and the screen turned off. They turned around and looked at him. "Last time I checked the satellite feed, Gelugladius was a few miles outside of Tokyo, lingering somewhere around Genkai's old dojo. Noreen was in the woods, near Osaka. I am breaking you up into teams to do this.
"Excuse me, Koenma?" Kurama asked, "You just said that Gelugladius is a hundred times more powerful than Yusuke. Don't you think it is a little foolhardy to only send two of us after him? At the very least, it may be more advisable for all four of us to capture Noreen Firestarter first, cut a deal with her, and use her with all four of us in cooperation with the army."
"… No, Kurama. NO. When has the army ever done anything except get in the way of the professionals when the job needs to be done? No army. Enlisting the aid of Noreen is out of the question – we are not even sure what she or any other one of these 'Shinentai' really are. This isn't like the old days, when I could just ask a prisoner like you or Hiei to do some community service to work off your sentences. I am not breaching protocol again." Koenma explained, "However, I do see the wisdom in your words. Au contraire, no one developed the ability to harness Spirit Energy as we have until three thousand years ago. That is two thousand years after Gelugladius' reported death. He has Spirit Energy and he can hide it, but he does not know how to use it. That is your advantage; get around his sword and martial arts abilities, and you have a good chance of defeating him utilizing Spirit Energy.
Koenma collected all the papers from around his desk and put them in a folder. He closed and sealed it, put it away in a drawer, and then addressed them again. "Yusuke and Kuwabara… you are the heavy-hitters here, and you use you spirit energy the most directly. You take the Gelugladius target. Hiei and Kurama; you take Noreen."
"Heh." Hiei chuckled, "Putting the dumb-ass children together without parental supervision? Shouldn't you let the adults take care of the adult business?"
Koenma blinked several times before he realized how much sarcasm was dripping from the fire apparition's mouth. He rolled his eyes, thought up the appropriate punishment, brought out the folder again, and then clicked his pen and wrote on a document. "Alright then, I see your point. We switch up the roster, and the kid gets parental supervision, Mister Urameshi, you take Mister Minamino with you to investigate Gelugladius. Mister Kuwabara, take Wise-Ass Jr. to investigate the fox girl. My secretary has your equipment and the other information you need waiting for you. You are dismissed."
Hiei sat in dead silence for several minutes. After Yusuke and Kurama left, Kuwabara asked, "Don't you love how I outrank you?"
To be continued…
This chapter came out a little bit clunky, I think. I will try to tighten it up later.
I hope to finish another chapter before the year ends, but life has a way of screwing me over, so I ask you to not hold me to my word, please.
Best/Dan
EDIT: December 27, 2007 – Originally, I had brought back Miranda's character Cahadras. However, in one scene in the next chapter, she demanded that I either change the name of one of her attacks, or I don't use her. I wouldn't have minded changing the name, but it was the way she asked it. I yanked her for that reason/ In any case, it's not really a problem at all – she doesn't play too big a role in the story, and I was including her only because she'd been part of the original story. But, yeah. If you see any instances where I accidentally left Cahadras' name in, let me know and I'll fix it.
By the way, Jessy – if you're reading this, I need you to reply to my email.
Best/Dan