Chapter One – Koenma

"Hello, Yusuke!"

Yusuke jumped, spinning on his heel to glare at the happy, smiling reaper that floated near his head. Keiko grabbed his hand, curious as to why the reaper was there, but Yusuke was not interested in that at the moment. Instead, he opened his mouth, and shouted, "What the hell, Botan! Are you trying to make me lose my hearing, or are you just trying to scare me and Keiko to death?!"

Botan blinked from her perch on her oar, giggling slightly when she noticed the stares the boy was beginning to get. However, she only smiled a bit more, saying, "You know, Yusuke, I can't be seen at the moment by the people around you—well, except Keiko. So, I suggest you calm down and stop shouting, unless you want someone to lock you up for being mentally insane."

Yusuke scowled, growling at the giggles that erupted from the reaper's mouth. He glanced around, before grabbing onto Keiko's hand and pulling her into an alleyway away from prying eyes. People still gave him awkward stares, some of them probably even concerned about his girlfriend, but he did not spare them a glance as he went further into the alley. He was ready to shout at the giggling reaper when he stopped, but Keiko's hand halted his words.

"Is there something that you needed, Botan?" Keiko asked. She had forced down her giggles at Botan's words, but her question had not been forgotten. She truly wanted to know what Botan wanted, or needed, and she had a suspicion that Yusuke would have to leave. Again.

"Oh!" Botan said cheerfully. "I need to borrow Yusuke for a little while, Keiko. Koenma has demanded his presence."

"Yeah," Yusuke snorted. "Well, you can tell Koenma to shove his demand up his—"

"Yusuke!" Keiko yelled. She shoved him a little, wishing that he would not cuss in front of her. Yes, it gave him appeal, but every other word that escaped his mouth did not have to be crude and vulgar.

Botan blinked, before shaking her head a bit. She said, "Yusuke, this is very important. Koenma has sent me only because he needs you immediately, and he knew that you didn't want to be disturbed. He thought that having me here in person might show you the importance of this case, and it is very important."

"I know, you said it once," Yusuke huffed. "But what the hell is so important about a stupid mission that the damn toddler's got to drag me away from my date! I promised Keiko I'd spend time with her, and I'm not able to do that when the brat keeps breathing down my neck."

"Yusuke," Botan said, her voice commanding his attention with the serious tone. "A family was killed almost ten minutes ago. Koenma recognized them almost the moment he saw them, though he would have with all the complaining they were doing even if he hadn't, and there is something very bad that has happened."

"How bad?" Keiko asked.

"A lot more people could be killed—both human and demon," Botan frowned. "A lot more. Dozens, hundreds, maybe thousands—we're not sure at this moment. But this mission is very important. It demands immediate attention."

Keiko brought her hand up to cover her mouth, afraid of gasping at the look in the reaper's eyes. She turned to Yusuke, noticing that he had a torn expression on his face. He wanted to protect her and the people that could get killed, but he also wanted to remain and keep his word. So, Keiko bit her lip, before saying, "Yusuke, I think you should go."

"Keiko," Yusuke whispered.

"Yusuke, you can't let that many people die," Keiko said, determined. "If you can stop it, you have to! We can go on a date anytime—if you remember—but those people can't wait. And there's a good chance that this thing that is killing those people could come after us, so it's best to stop it before it can do that."

Yusuke's decision was made the moment he thought Keiko might get involved. He turned his head to Botan, and said, "Open a portal."

Botan smiled sadly at Keiko, before swinging her arm to do so. The portal opened before both of them, and the spirit detective stepped in without hesitation. Watching him go through, Botan turned her sight to the young woman who had closed her eyes, not wanting to watch him walk away. Botan waited for only a moment, before saying, "I'll make sure to tell you how he's holding up everyday, Keiko. I promise."

Keiko nodded rather quickly, replying, "Thanks, Botan, but Yusuke will be fine. He'll come back. He just needs to finish his work first, is all."

Though she saw through the smile, Botan waved at her friend. "Well, I'll make sure to do so anyway. I'll see you later, Keiko," she said, before flying into the portal. It closed almost instantly behind her.

Keiko sighed, turned on her heel, and decided to go home and take a nice, long bath. She needed it; especially knowing that Yusuke was probably going to go off on another mission of 'save the world'. She knew he had to, she did, but just once she wished she could be completely sure he would not come back broken and bruised.

Yusuke stepped from the portal, and quickly cast his eyes around Koenma's office. The toddler, he noticed, was talking with a young boy that was seated before his desk, a grim expression on his face. However, he looked over to see that Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei had been summoned before him. He moved toward them, and merely looked at Kurama for an explanation to what was going on.

"The family that has been killed is known as the Higurashi family," Kurama said softly. "They lived on a shrine in Tokyo and all three were murdered within five minutes. It appears they were slaughtered by a demon, but I am not entirely certain since I have not heard the entire story."

Yusuke nodded, barely noticing that Botan had arrived. "Do you know anything else about this family?" he asked.

"The only other thing we know is that there was a daughter that belonged to the family." Kurama fell silent after that, trying to listen to the distraught spirit that sat before Koenma. The boy's tale was broken and distant, but Kurama understood that there was a dark being in the world that had killed them. Where it was now, he did not know.

"No one knows where she is?" Yusuke asked.

Kurama shook his head, saying, "Our only guess is that she did not die with them."

Yusuke made a sound in the back of his throat. He was not the genius that Kurama was, but he decided that the girl either was not home at the time, or was kidnapped by the thing that killed these people. Most likely a demon, which meant a lot of tracking and possibly a trip into the Makai, neither of which Yusuke was looking forward to.

"I see," Koenma's voice broke through the silence. "This is terrible news."

Becoming annoyed with the fact that Koenma was basically ignoring him, Yusuke scowled. Then, he shouted, "Hey, toddler! Want to explain what the hell is goin' on here?"

The spirit turned to him, glaring, but did not speak.

Koenma glanced up, glaring. He yelled, "Yusuke, for the last time, I AM NOT A TODDLER!"

The fury in Koenma's voice stunned Yusuke for only a moment, because he had never heard that amount of rage from the demi-god. He narrowed his eyes, recognizing the seriousness of the situation. "Keh," he said. "Like I'm going to listen to crap that comes out of your mouth half the time."

Kurama laid his hand on Yusuke's shoulder, saying, "I do not think now is the time."

"Why? I want answers—hell, you want answers!" Yusuke snapped.

"Yusuke," Kuwabara growled. "These people don't need this right now."

Yusuke glanced over, noticing for the first time that a middle aged woman and an old man also stood in the room. They were both spirits, as well. And he could feel the sadness that radiated from them both. He cringed for a moment, shut his mouth, and decided to let Koenma speak.

"Thank you," Koenma said to Kuwabara and Kurama. "Now, let me explain the reason that you're here."

Yusuke blinked, knowing from Koenma's tone that this was not going to be anything good. In fact, from the way he sounded, the entire world had just crumbled to a million little pieces.

Koenma closed his eyes, and began to speak. He said, "These people are apart of the Higurashi family. The Higurashi family is a long one, but all you need to be aware of is that they have protected a holy shrine for many centuries. On this shrine stands a tree known as the Goshinboku, which protects the shrine and normally does not allow bloodshed to occur."

"But it has—" Kuwabara frowned.

"Yes." Koenma nodded. "The Goshinboku's purpose has one flaw, and that is the fact that if someone appears magically on the shrine grounds, it cannot act fast enough to stop the battle that might occur. It works the same way with objects, since there have been occurrences where demon fueled items have come to life on the shrine after laying dormant for many years. The Goshinboku cannot stop anything that appears within the perimeter it has created, though it can try to soothe the malevolent nature that person or object might contain."

Koenma halted for a small moment, before continuing, "Now, the current line of the Higurashi family consisted of four people, the father having died eleven years ago. Three of them stand in this room at the moment, but the one not present is the one that we must discuss. She is currently a seventeen year old with the abilities of the women she was reincarnated from."

"And what abilities would those be, Koenma?" Kurama asked.

"You see," Koenma basically ignored him, "five hundred years ago there was a flaw in time because of the object known as the Shikon no Tama. A girl who traveled back in time from the present era straightened out this flaw, and very important steps were taken in order to make sure the flaw was corrected. Firstly, she had to be a reincarnation of a soul that had been killed fifty years prier to her arrival—the soul of a powerful miko named Kikyo. Secondly, the soul had to retain the powers of the miko. And thirdly, she had to carry the jewel that had been burned with the miko within her body."

"A miko?" Yusuke asked. "Never heard of them."

"Yusuke," Kurama said. "A miko was once a woman who possessed holy energy and was able to kill a demon with a single touch. The line has dwindled greatly because the Makai was created, but there are still a few that do not know they possess such a power."

"Neat," Yusuke replied, sarcastic.

Koenma sighed, before saying, "If we could get back to the facts."

"Of course, please continue," Kurama smiled a bit.

"The girl was chosen and is named Higurashi Kagome. She has been traveling back in time since she was fifteen years old, and today is the day her journey was completed. The well that has been sending her back and forth through time was scheduled to call her back today," Koenma sighed. "However—"

"Something you didn't plan happened, right?" Yusuke butted in.

"Yes," Koenma replied. "The flaw in time was fixed by the girl, but the jewel decided to interfere with our plan."

"The jewel?" Kuwabara asked, confused.

Koenma nodded, saying, "The Shikon no Tama is a jewel that was created from the soul of a powerful miko named Midoriko and the powerful demon that she fought. In a desperate attempt to win, after many days of battle, Midoriko used the last of her strength to destroy the demon. She was a miko who could purify not only a demon, but its soul as well. So, when she used the last of the strength her soul had to at least seal the demon away, she created the Shikon no Tama. Trapped inside of it was her soul and the soul of the demon she fought, which is the reason our plan did not work exactly as we thought it would."

"The demon's soul—" Kurama trailed off, knowing that Koenma had already understood his question.

"The demon's soul broke free during the last trip the girl would make by using the extra magic pumped into the well to make sure she would be called back. From what I was told, it absorbed the magic and overpowered Midoriko, managing to crack the seal she had created around it. We are not positive what has happened to Midoriko's soul, but we do know that the demon's has taken residence inside the girl. The girl is now essentially the demon that Midoriko fought, which would have been ranked as an S-class."

The boy spirit snapped his head up, snarling, "That monster was not my sister! That demon was not her!"

Koenma glanced at the boy for only a moment. Then, he stated, "We are not sure how strong a hold the demon has on the girl. However, we do know that after it killed the girl's family, it ripped open the barrier into the Makai. Where it is now is a mystery—"

Hiei snorted.

"—but we are certain it will kill until it has fed the urge it has been building up for eight hundred years. From our calculations, it will kill every demon in the Makai and then nearly every human in the Ningenkai before it has fed that urge. So, your mission is to find this girl and subdue her," Koenma finished.

Yusuke's mouth fell open, as he shouted, "SUBDUE HER?!"

"Yes," Koenma growled, his voice very commanding. "The demon must be contained, because there is no one powerful enough at the moment to destroy it. Therefore, you must subdue it and bring it here. We are already preparing to extract the demon's soul from the girl's body, before locking it away in an item that will keep it contained."

"What about the girl?" Kuwabara asked.

"The girl will not be harmed unless her soul has begun to merge with the demon's," Koenma replied. "If that is the case, the girl and the demon will be sealed inside of the container we have prepared. Without a physical form there will be nothing it can do."

"Koenma," Kurama called his attention, "what if the girl manages to gain control over the demon? There is a possibility that her miko abilities, dormant but building with each reincarnation, could subdue the demon while it is inside of her."

"I cannot take that chance," Koenma snapped. "The only possible way I would allow the demon to waltz out of this room is if, and only if, the girl had complete control over it. I doubt, though, that the girl will manage to take complete control over the demon—it is centuries old, powerful, and has been boiling with rage for as long as its been sealed."

"I don't like it," Kuwabara mumbled. He was against the idea of trapping the girl inside some container, especially when the Reikai had been the people who put her in the position in the first place. If she had known she was going to be possessed by a demon, she probably would have told them to go to hell.

"That is your mission," Koenma snarled. "Now go do it!"

It seemed, from their point of view, that Koenma was not only angry with the failure of his plan, but also highly paranoid.

"Koenma," Kurama coughed, "the mission would be much easier if we knew what this girl looked like, or knew the energy source that we're supposed to be tracking."

Koenma smirked, saying, "Look for the most malevolent and violent energy you can find, that will be her. She'll be full of rage and the need for bloodshed, and the demon's soul will probably make her energy black as night. That's all you need to know."

"But—" Kurama knew that they could easily go to the Higurashi shrine and find a picture of the girl. At least then they would know for sure they had the right person, but it seemed that Koenma had other plans.

"Botan! Open the portal to the Makai," Koenma commanded.

"Right away, sir!" Botan smiled nervously.

Before they knew what happened, a portal opened at their feet, and Botan was waving them goodbye.