Next chapter finally here. ;P I'm not lagging behind with this story, it's just that the chapters take me a while to write. They're so long, and I'm used to writing short little one-shots. But I'm having fun with this at least, things are starting to go at a faster pace now.

I always have trouble writing action, but I'm pleased with how this came out. Let me know if there's something I can obviously improve on, though. And I promise this isn't just about Keiko and Botan, other characters will come in later, it just takes a while for me to introduce them. XD

Thanks to my reviewers and watchers too. I really appreciate any kind of feedback. :3 Hope you enjoy.


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Chapter Two- Run to The Hills

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"Listen up Botan, I've got an important mission for you to carry out."

She straighted up at Koenma's serious tone. "Sir?"

The Reikai prince let out a heavy sigh. "We've got an issue. I need to ask one more favor of you."

Botan nodded, anxiety swelling in her stomach. She loved her job as a Spirit World spy, though her duty did give her one heck of an adrenaline rush.

Koenma propped his head up against his hand, as if it were tiresome to sit up straight. He talked to her in the illusion of his older form to fit the grim mood of the situation. "There's been an increase in death in the human race, and we've been trying to figure out why. I've recently gotten information from reliable sources that it's the work of a murderer, not a disease or something natural."

Botan's eyes widened. "But Koenma sir, how can-"

"Please-" he held up a hand, "let me finish. Ironic as it sounds, we don't know who the threat is, but it has something to do with a girl."

"A girl?"

"You know how these things work. We have no control over Makai, and getting any information is a blessing, so we can't be picky about it. Even though it's a real pain." he let out another sigh. "Man I've got such a headache."

He looked awful with his tousled hair hanging in his face. When was the last time he had a good nights sleep?

"To top it off, there are rumors circulating that it's going to be the end of the humans if we don't do something. The murderer is wiping out whole villages and not showing any sign of stopping."

Botan's heart dropped in her chest.

She spat out a barrage of questions. "How's Spirit World going to handle this? What's going to happen to the humans? Sir, how're we gonna stop it?"

Koenma ignored her and went on talking as if she wasn't even there. "We don't know who the girl is either, but my sources-"

"Who's your source anyway, sir?"

He paused, sending her an aggravated look. He wasn't upset with her, his patience was just running out. "One of our undercover fighters who got picked up by this culprit. He wasn't hired by the murderer himself, but by one of the members of his party, so he doesn't know who the guy is either."

He dropped his head onto the desk.

Botan clutched her oar in frustration. She wasn't technically human, but she wasn't a demon either, and she hated the thought of those monsters killing everyone she cared about.

"How can I help?"

Koenma lifted his head and peered at her, the dread returning to his face. "The unknown girl is the center of it all. Our sources know that much, and if we don't obtain her then it'll be a disaster. I think she's the mastermind."

Botan waited, not wanting to interrupt him again.

"You're one of my best agents in the west, so I'm relying on you to take the first step. If you hear or see something out of the ordinary let me know. That girl is said to be in your region. If she turns up I need you to do anything you can to get her in your possession, thus in the hands of Spirit World."

"But why don't you send some of our warriors?" Really, what on earth could she do about such a thing? She wasn't a fighter!

"They're busy tracking the murderer. We're close to hitting the heart of this so I can't afford to pull them out now."

So he didn't have any other choice. Botan studied him silently for a moment then nodded. "I understand." she said in all seriousness. There was no way she could refuse with so much at risk.

"Just tell the villagers that she's a hostage of demons, or something," he whined, "I mean I know I'm asking too much, but-"

"I understand."

"You do?" He stared at her.

"Yes Koenma sir."

A smile finally came back to his face, returning him to his usual lighthearted self; centuries year old with the mind of a kid. "Sorry, you usually argue with me."

Botan stood up straight, holding her oar out like a weapon, as if she were a soldier. "I joke around y'know, but there's so much at risk now. I'll try my best to follow out your orders."

"Thank you Botan, I won't forget this. I'll promote you at once."

She bowed and strolled out of the room, pushing past the heavy doors and flying out into the wispy sky of Spirit World. Tangled worries lay heavy in her heart while the clouds drifted past her without a care.

She was sworn to an oath of silence; a Spirit World spy here, and a common village girl in Makai. No one could know her past the ordinary facade, not even her friends.

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Botan reminded herself of why she was doing this. She had an obligation to fulfill, no backing out now, she gave Koenma her word. She gritted her teeth in determination and tried to quell her trembling knees, for fear her legs would give out underneath her.

She could see the outline of Keiko's small form beside her, their arms locked to keep them from getting separated. The sky overhead whirled around, adding to their nervousness as they ran. Botan fought back the urge to be sick.

Her eyes darted from the ground to the foliage around her, expecting danger to pop out at them at any moment; like a fawn intruding into the lion's den.

Suddenly she knocked into Keiko from the side, sending them both sprawling into a bush and onto the ground. Keiko got a mouthful of grass and tried to cough, but Botan stopped her by clamping a hand over her mouth.

Botan could only hear the sound of her own pulse. Nothing else. For a moment Keiko laid so still that she forgot she was there.

Something let out a hiss above them.

Keiko let out a squeak of horror, but it didn't get any further then Botan's fingers.

A shadow of a large creature crept closer to the bushes. They could hear it sniffing the air.

The girls froze, silently praying for help. Keiko itched with the instinct to run, and Botan resisted the urge to fight. Neither one dared to move their weapons.

A scaly snout shoved its way through the bushes, smacking Botan on the head, and they did the unthinkable.

They screamed.

The youkai roared in response, it's muzzle opening and shutting like a trap, jerking Botan back by the ponytail before she could get away.

Her heart lept up in her throat as the yelling reached a crescendo. She swung her sword at the youkai's head, but the demon saw it coming and evaded the attack.

"Let her go!" Keiko pulled Botan by the arm, trying to free her from it's grasp. It turned it's shiny eyes on her and snarled, it's pupils mere slits of black on yellow.

But Keiko wasn't affected by it's stare. She blindly stabbed again and again at the angry demon until it dropped Botan. The youkai let out a pain yell as a dark liquid splashed on their faces and clothes.

The girls took off at a frantic pace. "Oh my God," Keiko breathed, "are you alright?! What was that thing?"

"Way to go Keiko, I owe you one!" she cheered, flashing a peace sign. "Some kinda giant lizard, but I'd rather not think about what almost had me for lunch."

They sprinted uphill, their footfalls echoing in the darkness. They didn't dare glance behind in case it would hinder their vision.

The forest ended and a clearing opened up before them, like a sudden breath of air. The weeds were tall and wild all around, and in the dark they couldn't see the path in front of them.

Keiko slipped up as rock got caught under her foot. She made a sharp dive forward, dragging a surprised Botan with her downhill. She tried to regain her balance but the steep slope and Botan's weight added to the momentum.

They hit the ground hard, the prickly grass doing nothing to cushion the fall. "Owww..." Keiko moaned, as she helped a shaky Botan stand. "Sorry! I can't believe how-"

The groan of a demon interrupted her. It sounded close, and they took that as their cue to be on the move again. "Looks like that monster's mad you rearranged it's face." Botan commented. "It'd better leave us alone too, if it values it's life."

"I think it's the other way around." Keiko remarked, hoping the youkai couldn't overhear. One never knew with those things.

They reached the stone fortress. It's impending walls held no more comfort than the vicious woods that surrounded it. There were youkai everywhere; the castle kept out the blundering enemies but possibly held the worst ones within.

"How're we gonna get inside?" Keiko asked as she watched Botan feel the walls for any sign of a hidden entrance. "Well, you know the front's guarded, but these things usually- aha!"

Botan's fingers traced a crack on one of the bricks. She pushed on it and it slid, making an opening. She pulled on another brick beside it and it too, came lose without much effort. "Well, that was easy."

But only a small child could pass through that small a space. Her and Keiko were little, but not that little. "Help me," she gestured to the brunette, "move this one, it shouldn't be too heavy."

Five minutes passed, each second ticking away on their chance for survival. But they finally got a decent opening in the wall that maybe one of them could go through at a time.

As if on cue, the lizard demon emerged at the top of the hill. It's face was bleeding heavily and it instantly spotted the girls with a look of vehemence. It let out an ungodly roar and charged.

It would probably take less than a minute for it to reach them. Keiko's body began shaking miserably.

"Keiko, you go in first-" Botan urged.

"I can't do that, you-"

"Oh we don't have time to argue about this!" Botan shoved herself head first through the entrance, but the surrounding bricks held onto her side. She yanked herself back out, clawing at the wall and starting to panic. "Dang it, come on-"

Keiko swung her head around to see the youkai less then ten feet away. The creature's jaw opened in a sneer, knowing that it would soon be feeding on human meat. "Botan, Botan we've got to do something now!"

They both tugged at the bricks with all their strength, despite their trembling fingers. A piece of the wall came lose and Botan dived through the hole, Keiko pushing in right behind her.

The youkai slammed into the wall not a second after the girls made it through. It's head would not fit through the opening, but it's nose was narrow enough that it could.

Keiko all but shoved Botan the rest of the way when she saw the gaping mouth at the beginning of the tunnel. "It can't fit! I know it can't..." she told herself.

"But it's sure trying." Botan grumbled. "It can't get through though with that fat head, just ignore it."

Keiko swallowed her fear and concentrated on the path ahead. Even if the youkai was snarling and slamming its enormous tail into the outside wall, she would not freak out. It was trying to intimidate them, that's all.

The surrounding bricks shook as the creature fought against them to get to it's human prey. "Hope this doesn't cave in." Botan said, her voice calm. She was terrified, but she hid her panic to keep from adding to Keiko's fear. "But this is pretty sturdy so I don't think it will. This must be some hidden tunnel in and out.."

The claustrophobic air of the passage ended when a room opened up before them. It's spacious, high ceilings gave it the feeling of an ancient, forgotten temple. Dusty tapestries hung from the ceilings, seeming to add to it's decrepitude. And it was empty.

Botan crawled out slowly. "Some place..it looks like no one's here at all..." she whispered, standing up, keeping her back against the wall. "It's safe right now though, better then outside."

Keiko eased herself up from the floor. "I think I can breath now." she sighed, "I thought I was gonna die back there."

"But we didn't!" The bluette sent her a tired smile. "Are we warriors or what?"

"Yeah, we're some fighters!" Keiko said half sarcastically and highfived her. "I don't know how much more of this I can take, though."

"Me neither."

Keiko studied the room, her eyes trailing to the door on the opposite wall. "Should we try it?"

"Might as well. Maybe this place is completely empty though, I mean, there couldn't possibly be youkai in here. They would've smelled us already..."

Botan marched across the room. Keiko stood to the side, back flat against the wall; her dagger posed to swing in case a threat jumped Botan when she opened the door.

The bluette wrapped her fingers around the doorknob. It was cold against her skin, as if no one had used it in years. Her heart began pounding again. She felt like she was living a horror novel.

She glanced sideways at Keiko, who gave her a nod in reassurance. The sword in her hands glinted in the dull light.

But before Botan could do anything, the door swung violently, as if someone had kicked it open.

She like out a yelp, and Keiko responded by reeling around to face the threat, posed for combat. But instead of a youkai, they found themselves staring into the face of a gigantic, dull eyed man. A bush of a beard grew on his face, a deep scar across the bridge of his nose. He inspected the girls with an air of bordum. "My shift's..over..I'm sick of babysitting this bitch, so here."

He dragged a woman out from behind him and threw her at Botan. The girl uttered a sound of surprise, then went lax in her arms. "She froze the whole goddamn room." the man spat, "thought I was gonna die from frostbite. She was giving me some weird illusions too, you'd better watch her real close. The one with the aardvark was twisted."

Riiight. Keiko watched him warily. The smell of alcohol came off of him in waves. She wrinkled her nose in disgust.

Botan raised an eyebrow. He was an oaf of a guy, but human nonetheless. Question was, who did he think they were?

Then it dawned on her. She truly looked at herself for the first time since they left the village. Her and Keiko were posed in a fighting stance, holding up sharp weapons with blood splatted all over everything. Not to mention her own strange blue hair, which strikes others as more demonic than human. A grin eased across her face. "Yeah, well.." she said, "you don't have to deal with it, we'll handle her."

Keiko sent her a baffled look.

"It's our turn, isn't it, demon slayer Keiko?" she coughed.

She got the hint. "Oh! Um, yeah, you don't have to bother. We'll take care of her."

The man grunted. "Good. Make sure 'nothin happens. If she escapes the boss'll kill us all. That wench is a goldmine."

And with that, he whirled around and left, slamming the door behind him.

"That was..painless.." Botan mumbled, amazed. She thought they were have to fight through an army of monsters and maybe lose a few limbs in the process. Not have the captive tossed right into their hands.

"That was weird.." Keiko said.

A meek cough drew their attention to the girl wrapped up against Botan. The stranger stepped back and watched them, her eyes glazed over, as if she was no where near reality. Despite the emptiness lurking beneath, her eyes were rich with a dark maroon color, like red wine. Her hair was pulled back in waves of sea green, framing a small face.

Botan and Keiko gaped at her, at a loss for what to do. Obviously she was not human. But she didn't seem threatening whatsoever, her frame seemed more fragile than even Keiko's, and she held no visible weapons. She couldn't possibly be a demon.

The girl said nothing about their scrutiny, only stood patiently like a wilted flower.

Keiko creeped over to her. "What's your name?" she asked in a gentle tone.

"...Yukina." the stranger responded quietly, directing her gaze to the floor.

"Well Yukina," Botan chirped, not phased by the girl's shyness, "we've come to get you out of here." She tugged on her blue kimono sleeve.

"What?" Yukina said, taken aback. Her apathetic facade shattered to pieces. "You can't!"

"That's why we're here! You've been held captive haven't you?" Botan frowned. "I know we just met, but lets be friends okay? Me and Keiko came to rescue you, we heard your screaming late at night, and it bothers us."

"Are you alright miss Yukina?" Keiko asked her in concern.

Yukina took a step back. "You can't take me from here. You don't know what you're getting yourselves into, they'd come after you if I left!"

"Who's they?"

Yukina whirled around and made a beeline for the door. "Wait!" Botan grabbed her by the shoulders. "Wait wait wait, don't run from us, we're here to help."

Yukina's crimson eyes were wide with confusion. "I-I..don't know either of you." she whispered. "I'm sorry, but-"

"Well we can't leave you here. And you're obviously not being held in good company." Keiko said flatly. She walked over and lightly placed a hand on her shoulder, for fear the girl would bolt. "We're not bad guys, promise."

She regarded them silently, searching their faces for any signs of malice. But she found none, only quiet empathy from Keiko and overzealous kindness from Botan. "There's sill no way." she told them.

Botan let out an exasperated sigh. "I'm sorry too, but you're getting out of here whether you like it or not."

Both girls looked at her with surprise. But before either could respond, Botan nearly jumped a stunned Yukina, wrapping her small arm in a deathlock, pulling the poor girl through the opening in the wall.

"Botan!" Keiko shrieked, horrified.

"C'mon! We have to hurry!"

"You can't do this! You're putting yourself in danger!" Yukina called in a squeaky voice, but was ignored.

"Ugh.." Keiko shook her head. Botan did not always respect personal space, even strangers got the full blast of her friendly nature. "I'm coming, hold on!"

Keiko caught up to them as she crawled through the tunnel. "Hey isn't that youkai still out there?" she reminded her hard-headed friend. Botan was in front, so she would see the demon first.

"Yeah, somewhere, but I think it left."

But it could still be there waiting for them. Not like they had a choice in the matter...A worried knot formed in her stomach. She gripped the trusty katana at her side.

They manged to er, rescue the girl at least. All this terror and running around hadn't been in vain; even though she'd be suffering from nightmares for weeks.

Unlike Keiko, the possibility of danger was not bothering Botan at the moment. She was too busy wondering about the strange Yukina, Koenma's warning echoing in her mind.

"If we don't gain possession of her then it'll be a disaster. I think she's the mastermind."

There was just no way. Sure, the meek girl seemed mysterious enough, but not malevolent in any way. One girl couldn't cause the destruction of humanity. She was not a monster, Botan knew that from looking at her.

Yet she had to be the one Spirit World wanted. Yukina said people would come after them if she was removed from the hiding place. Things didn't add up no matter how you thought about it.

Luckily the youkai was gone when they emerged from the wall. The three girls made their way back to the village at a frantic pace, Yukina getting pulled along behind them.

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Yukina's back! I love Yukina, can't leave her out of a multi-chapter fic, lol. :3

Anyway, I tried to make the running-from-youkai scene kind of a parallel to when the zombie teachers attack Botan and Keiko in the series. Dunno if that worked, but I tried. And I know the plot is pretty obvious right now, but hopefully I'll stump you later. Maybe, heh.

Thanks for reading!