Operation Code 12-1200

At first Spirit was ecstatic. The mission they had wanted since they had learned of its existence was theirs! Finally they could track down Keiko! They could learn who had kidnapped her and left her family wondering why their little girl! They could learn what had happened to Yukina and Sumire and avenge them! They had the freaking mission!

"But wait," a voice in his head said. "Didn't Team Youki get the mission? Why would they give it up? What's the catch?"

Shinigami nodded as if she had heard his thoughts. "Team Youki refused the mission and since everyone else is busy you get it by default. It looks like you guys have a rep for being a group not to cross."

45 fist-pumped the air. "Yes! I knew beating that drunk up would pay off eventually!"

"Wait," Dragon commanded as his shocked look turned to one of wariness. "What's the catch?"

Shinigami smiled nervously. "Why would there be a catch?"

"There is no such thing as a free lunch."

Spirit nodded in agreement and Shinigami crumbled. "Alright. I wasn't supposed to tell you this by Team Youki never actually was offered the mission. Kokami just wanted you to rest for a little while before giving you the mission."

"So sending us to destroy a bar is his idea of resting?" Spirit asked with a frown.

"Destroying things always seemed to help your stress level," she replied before handing the small envelope to 45. "I have to go now but don't open it until you see Fox and 45." She turned to glare at the boy. "Don't think I don't know when you open it before I say you can." She smiled suddenly. "Good luck boys!" The next second she was gone.

The first thing any of the boys did was for Spirit take the envelope from 45. Why she gave it to him was beyond Spirit. Anyone with half a brain knew he wouldn't listen even if you were his own mother. Then they were left with two options. Wait for Fox's date to be over or call him right away and get him to dump his date. Spirit reached for his cell but halted when he saw that 45 had his out already. Within seconds the call had been completed and the three boys headed back to 45's office/apartment to wait.

In terms of actual minutes, it only took Fox a reasonable amount of time to reach the office. In terms of the fictional minutes that existed only in the boys' minds, Fox took his bloody time just to annoy them. The moment he stepped through the doorway, 45 tore the envelope from Spirit's hand and ripped it open. Everyone crowded around and read over the boy's shoulders.

"Nicely done on mission 544. However next time try something other than a fire. The local authorities are starting to suspect that an arsonist is on the loose. Now your next mission is #345 and I don't think I need to tell you what it entails but I will anyways.

"Three girls have been missing for many years and Underworld has reason to suspect that the Demon World and the Black Book Club are involved. It is only now that the government has allowed us to act, and they will not hesitate to close the case. Your mission, should you chose to accept it (AND YOU'D BETTER!), is to find the girls and remove them from their capturers if possible as soon as possible. Their names are Sumire Akiyama, Yukina Fuyu, and Keiko Yukimura. See file #345 for more information.

"Good luck, Team Reiki."

It was one thing to hear they had gotten the mission. It was another thing entirely to read that they had gotten it. This was proof that couldn't be faked or disproved. They had the mission! But the comment about the government worried him. They all knew that the Black Book Club had the government in their hands so why had they been pushing to hide this mission for so long? And why were they allowing the mission to be opened now?

Fox was the first to return to his normal spot against the wall. "Well it appears that Underworld has some form of trust in us."

Spirit frowned. "Why would you say that?"

"Rather than give this case to a professional team, they gave it to us, even when the government is hoping for an excuse to reclose the case. Either Underworld truly believes in us enough to think that we can completely this mission before the government changes their mind or…"

"Or the government requested that we get the mission so that it could be closed," Dragon finished.

45 nodded as he placed the letter down and pulled out a few more papers from the envelope. "We'll just need to work a little faster than usual." He flipped through the three pages before tossing them to Fox. "Looks like all the information they have is the police reports from the disappearances."

Fox nodded as he passed them over to Spirit. The boy's eyes were calm and sympathetic as Spirit took the papers. Reluctantly, he looked over the coffee and water stained pages whose ink printed words described how the police had tried to find his friend, cousin, and a girl he never knew. A picture of Keiko from when she was little was included, as was one of Sumire. They were both smiling and waving at the camera as two boys were fighting in the background. Spirit couldn't help but smile as he noticed himself to be one of the boys fighting. How long had it been since they had gone missing? Longer than three years. Five? Maybe it was ten? He didn't know anymore. The Keiko's report included the movements of her parents as well as her family's friends. Sumire's was similar and both had the last entry as on January 31st three years after they vanished. Keiko's birthday.

He passed that information on to Dragon who handed it back to 45 without even looking at it. Probably snuck in and read it all already, Spirit thought as he turned his attention to the report for the girl known as Yukina. Her report had even less information than Keiko or Sumire because she didn't have any people to give a statement. One day she was walking down the street with an older man and a woman working for social services noticed her. "It was the eyes of the little girl that caused me to take notice," said the report. "I work with abused children all the time and that little girl was terrified of the man she was with. Unfortunately, I couldn't do anything and when I tried to follow I lost them." On the back of the report was a picture of the girl. Only four years old. Spirit felt his heart stop as he stared at the picture. The colour was faded and it was slightly wrinkled but the eyes that stared into his from the paper. The smile that was on her face. He had seen those before. He knew that girl! And he knew where he had seen her.