I own Takeshi, Akiko, Kasumi, and Kiyoshi, but none of the other characters mentioned. Thanks to the people who added this story to their favorites/story alert lists!
The year is 2163, 153 years after King Enma Jr. filed the death certificate of Kuwabara Kazuma and the missing person reports of Urameshi Yusuke, Yoko Kurama, and Jaganshi Hiei. Neither Yusuke nor Kurama nor Hiei has been seen since, although they are all presumed to still be alive.
"Botan!" Koenma called his now-senior ferry-girl to his desk. "Have you found information on the four teenagers yet?"
"Yes. Not much, but enough for you to determine whether or not they are really the four you want or not."
She then pulled four slips of paper out of the stack she was holding. He thanked her and began reading them.
The first was impressive. He read, Takeshi, male, 14 years old. Maintains fair grades, except in attendance. Astounding sixth sense proven to have been passed down through eight generations (human).
The next was slightly more interesting. Akiko, female, 19 years old. Already a skilled defensive Ice Master, in charge of a section of the northern Ice Maiden tribe's overall defense network (demon).
The third sparked his interest more than either of the first two. Kasumi, female, 16 years old. Extremely intelligent, but doesn't care for school; often suspended for attendance, breaking dress codes, and fighting on school property. Has already obtained a powerful aura, as training in that area has been important in the family for eight generations (human).
The last read, Kiyoshi, male, 15 years old. Maintains perfect grades and attendance. Slight sixth sense thought to originate from an eight-generations-back grandmother's continued exposure to a demonic aura (human).
Although all the profiles were exactly what Koenma wished to find for his new team—a mix of good fighters, intelligence, and reasoning—it still filled him with pain. One reason for this was the fact that he still hadn't truly recovered from the sudden loss of his previous team. Especially reading the third, which was forcefully reminiscent of Yusuke, his team leader and underworld detective one and a half centuries ago.
"Well, Master Koenma?" Botan asked, breaking through his reverie.
"These four are perfect for the job, thank you Botan. I wish to meet with them. Arrange meetings with them over four consecutive days. I wish to meet Takeshi first, then Kiyoshi, then Akiko, and finally Kasumi."
"Yes, sir." Botan replied, before running off to do as she had been asked. She just hoped that nothing would happen to these four kids. She had been upset when she was escorting Kuwabara to the underworld, where she had discovered that the other three had gone missing. But her grief had been nothing compared to Koenma's. He had blamed himself. In fact, he still blamed himself. For several weeks after the team's last mission he hadn't done anything. In the years since then, it had seemed as if he was running on autopilot, not really focusing on what he was doing. The selection of a new team was the first indication that he was finally beginning to recover.
She had soon worked out the meeting times and places. She had visited the human realm pretending to be a scout of whatever would draw them in. All four of them took the bait.
"You're not the king of the underworld, kid. Sorry to disappoint your crazy hallucination." That was Takeshi's first reaction.
Koenma just rolled his eyes and pulled out his communication device. "Botan, I need some proof for this kid. Come immediately and don't bother to hide your sudden appearance." A short second later, Botan appeared, riding her oar. Takeshi jumped out of his seat away from the ferry-girl.
"You lied to me." He accused her.
"Well if I had told you the truth about who I was, you wouldn't have wanted anything to do with me. I'm a ferry-girl; I transport the souls of the dead across the river Styx." She smiled sweetly at him.
"Fine. Fine. I accept that you're the king of the underworld. What do you want with me?"
"I want you to join a team commonly referred to as the Reikai Tentai. You fight people—mainly demons—who are endangering the safety of the human realm. You would be ideal. Your sixth sense would be incredibly useful. And your lineage in the area of spiritual and demonic confrontation is perfect."
"Fine. But only if I don't have to tell my mother."
"What you tell or don't tell your mother is entirely up to you." Koenma promised.
To say Kiyoshi was intelligent would have been a dramatic understatement. The boy missed nothing. Despite the fact that Takeshi's sixth sense was stronger, Kiyoshi was the one who noticed how strange Koenma's aura felt. "I believe you. You don't seem very old, however."
"I went over this with Yusu—one of the members of my last team." Speaking of them was still difficult for Koenma. "And, as I told him, I'm fifty times your age, if I'm a day. I was fifty or more times older than you a hundred and fifty years ago."
"Whatever." Kiyoshi shrugged. "Although I'm sure the only thing I can bring to this spirit fighting team of yours is a sixth sense. And not even a very strong one."
"I don't want you for your sixth sense. I already hired someone stronger in that area than you. Although you do seem to listen to it more than he does. But the reason I want you to join is your intelligence. Most of the time, fighters—even intelligent ones—have a tendency to act rashly. But you are logical, intelligent, and use reasoning before deciding on the best course of action. You might be required to fight some, however. You will be trained in areas including basic aura control and martial arts before you are sent on your first mission."
"I'll think about it. Do you have some way I can contact you tomorrow?"
Koenma handed him one of the communicators. The same device he had used with Yusuke so long ago. "Just open it and hit the button on the left side. It will put you in immediate contact with me."
"Thank you."
The next day, Koenma received a call saying that Kiyoshi had decided to work for him.
Koenma's meeting with Akiko was the easiest as far as convincing her who he was went. She sat down and immediately said, "You're not an Ice Master here to help me improve my skills. Why did you have the ferry-girl lie to me, Master Koenma?"
"I feared you wouldn't even talk with me if I didn't lie."
"You were correct."
"Have you heard of the Reikai Tentai?"
"Indeed. My ancestors include a person closely connect with one of the members of the original team. And I do not wish to risk my life."
"It will provide and opportunity for you to increase your abilities."
She glared at him for a moment. "Fine. But understand this—as soon as I feel the risks outweigh the benefits or that I can no longer improve by being in the group, I will be allowed to leave and never return."
He paused before deciding this was the best offer he would get from this headstrong Ice Maiden and Ice Master. "Deal."
He had had minor problems convincing the first three to work for him. The real problem, however, came with Kasumi.
She believed him immediately and quickly agreed to work for him, although she kept her motives hidden. It was unnerving how quickly she was convinced, especially after all the arguing involved with persuading the others.
Having created a team, Koenma leaned back in his chair and muttered, "Thank goodness. Three humans and a demon on the team. Last time, those numbers were reversed. And, because hindsight is always twenty-twenty, I know how well that went."
She looked at him a moment after he said this before asking, "What's with the pacifier?" When he didn't answer she said, "There is a reason that for seven generations the members of my family have all pushed and pushed they're aura levels."
Intrigued, he said, "What might that be?"
"You don't know?" she asked scornfully. His silence was enough of an answer and she continued, "My great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather was a demon. Since then we have pushed ourselves to see how far we must go before our demonic energy kicks in. So far no one has been successful."
Without thinking Koenma blurted out, "The person must die prematurely and already possess great power. They would then come back as a demon, only minutes later."
She looked interested. "So death is the key." She sounded amazed. "I can't believe no one thought of that. And your three to one ration could go to two to two pretty easily. You've probably already figured this one out, but, just for the record, I'm a throwback."