Chapter two is here! :)
Let me tell you, this chapter almost didn't get written this week... After nagging from Madarao, I started it this past weekend, but little work got done on it because I got sick earlier this week. But I woke up this morning and didn't want to disappoint anyone, so I wrote this chapter.
Speaking of Madarao, she is such a wonderful beta and cousin. :) So I put her in this story (mostly because she demanded it, but whatever). So Kaitlyn, I love you bunches for being amazing! 3
Unfortunately, I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, even though I'd love to. But I do own Ashton and Madarao.
"What do you mean; we don't have any files on that girl?" Koenma cried out, nearly spitting out his pacifier. Hands clenched by his side, the toddler-sized ruler glared up at George. The ogre fidgeted nervously, looking anywhere but into the chocolate-colored eyes of his furious boss. It had been nearly a week since Ashton had come to meet the detective group. Upon receiving news from Botan of the girl's appearance, he'd assigned George the task of scouring the castle's library for anything about her. A recent computer search had turned up no results, so it only served to further piss the ruler off when he was told that there was nothing about her in the written records.
"Get back in there, ogre!" Koenma commanded. "You're not to rest for even a moment until you find something about her! I don't trust her around my detective team unless I know everything there is to know about her." Eager to please his ruler, the ogre bowed and rushed off to do as he'd been told. Koenma had turned to go back to his office, but stopped when a voice from the hallway's shadows reached his ears.
"That buffoon will never find what you're looking for. You should send me to befriend her and bring her secrets to the light."
The voice belonged to none other than Madarao Yamaguchi, a neko that Koenma had recently assigned the Spirit World community service for petty crimes. She'd met Yusuke and his friends several times, and they always got along well enough. She was tall, with long black hair framing her pale face. Behind her, a slim tail lazily flicked at the air. It matched the set of ears that sat atop her head. Moving with the grace of a dancer, she stepped into the flickering torch light that dimly lit up the hallway. Her golden orbs sparkled in the light as she studied Koenma's face. The prince seemed to be weighing his options.
"Fine," he finally sighed. "You're probably our best hope right now... But if you screw this up for us…" He threateningly trailed off, and Madarao grinned in response. The shadows cast upon her face and the glint of the firelight upon her pointed, pearly-white teeth gave her a look that sent chills up Koenma's spine.
"I'll be staying with Master Genkai. Honestly, how much trouble can anyone get into at her place?" Madarao called over her shoulder as she walked away. Koenma watched her until she was out of sight, and then he sighed heavily. Had he made the right choice in allowing her to go?
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It had been an odd week for Ashton. She'd fallen into the flow of life at Genkai's temple easily enough, and she had made friends with everyone, but she'd been preoccupied the whole time. In her dreams, she was plagued by what she assumed to be flashes of events from her past, so she'd spent nearly every waking moment trying to piece them together to figure out what they meant. So far, she hadn't had very much luck.
She was sitting outside with Keiko, Yukina, and Botan. Nearby, Kuwabara and Yusuke were engaged in a fist fight. Kurama had disappeared earlier that morning, and none of them had seen Hiei for days.
"Every time I see you guys, you're fighting!"
Yusuke and Kuwabara's fight ended with those words. Their attention was drawn to a tree at the edge of Genkai's forest. The girls followed their gazes. The slim form of a dark-haired neko met them.
"Madarao!" Keiko exclaimed, jumping to her feet. She ran over to the girl and hugged her tightly. Madarao laughed cheerfully as everyone crowded around her.
"It's nice to see all of you again," she told them. She studied all of her friends for a moment before looking over at the group's newest addition.
"You must be Ashton," she said. The kitsune momentarily looked surprised, as if she hadn't been paying attention and hadn't expected to be addressed. As she slowly nodded, Madarao grinned before continuing on. "I'm Madarao. We're gonna be great friends, I promise." Having nothing to say, Ashton nodded again. Madarao grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her away from the group.
"I'm gonna show you around. None of them know this temple and its grounds like I do," she proudly announced. Then the two were gone.
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Botan worriedly glanced out of the kitchen window. The girls had cooked dinner and washed all the dishes, and it was well after dark, but Madarao and Ashton had yet to return to the temple.
"Botan, I'm sure they're fine." The grim reaper looked over at Keiko and nodded. She looked out of the window once more before she walked over to the table and sat down with her friend.
"I'm sure you're right. Madarao knows where it's safe to go on these grounds and where it's best to stay away from," she replied after a long moment, trying hard to sound like she believed her words. Knowing that Botan didn't, though, Keiko rolled her eyes and stood.
"Come on, then. We'll go find them." Botan blinked a couple of times as she stared at Keiko, surprised by her words. She didn't protest the idea, though. She was too worried about her friends to sit around any longer.
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Keiko and Botan had been searching for Ashton and Madarao for nearly an hour. They'd walked the grounds closest to the temple first, but, having no luck, they'd entered the forest, hoping to find the two girls quickly so they could return inside.
"Even with this flashlight, I can barely see anything!" Botan said in a loud whisper. The one the two had grabbed before leaving the temple didn't give good light; it was dim and flickering, as if it was about to go out at any given moment. It was the only light they had, though, since very little moonlight reached them through the thick treetops.
A rustling in the brush behind the girls made them jump and turn around. Botan shone the light on it. A pair of yellow eyes watched the two from low to the ground. Botan and Keiko screamed as the eyes disappeared. The flashlight fell from the reaper's hand, the light going out as soon as it hit the ground. The two were left alone and in the dark.
Trembling where they stood, they did not make a sound, afraid of attracting whatever they'd seen – or something worse– to them. After what seemed like ages, the silence was finally broken, and the two were illuminated by a light that nearly blinded them.
"Thank goodness! We finally found you two!" The voice belonged to Ashton. Handing the flashlight to Madarao, she rushed forward and tightly hugged the two. "We were so worried… We heard you scream, and we thought something horrible had happened to you. What're you doing out here in the forest anyway?"
"We were trying to find you two, but it looks like you found us instead," Keiko replied, laughing shakily.
"Well let's get back to the temple. This forest isn't really the place for you two to be." Madarao turned and began to walk away. Eager to not be left behind, Ashton, Botan, and Keiko followed after her. As they exited the forest, Ashton was sure she felt someone watching them and heard their sinister laugh. Looking at the forest over her shoulder, she searched the trees.
"Ashton, come on!" Botan called to her.
"It must have just been my imagination," Ashton told herself. Shrugging, she caught up with her friends, and they all hurried inside. But as the wind blew through the trees, the laugh sounded again, deep, cold, and malicious. A set of eyes watched the temple from the top of one of the trees.
"I'll see you soon, my dear Ashton," the owner of the eyes whispered, his laugh continuing to be carried on the wind even as he disappeared.
And that's that! Thank you for reading, and reviews are loved!
But before you review, I'd like to say a little something. Reviews are loved, yes, but not if you're going to flame. I'm not the best writer, I know, but I write for my enjoyment, and that's all that matters right? So please, review only if you're going to be constructive and nice.
Much love,
Pandah