Here's the second chapter. Thanks to everyone who is reading and reviewing. I'm finding that chapters seem to spill forth a lot faster when I know someone's reading them. I'm not sure how often I'll be able to write this coming week, though. School was cancelled all last week because of the winter storm so I had free time but now...Chemistry kicks my butt. I'll do my best though. Anyway, enough of my rambling. Enjoy! And Review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.

Remember tonight…for it is the beginning of always.

-Anonymous

"Are we supposed to ring the doorbell?" Kuwabara asked. He prodded the front door of the small, clean-cut house with his foot. He peeked in the window, cupping his hands around his eyes to block the light. Yusuke banged his fist against the door once, twice, thrice.

"It looks likes it should be on the front cover of a home and garden magazine," Botan mused. She stood at the back of the group, pulling at her thin jacket to ward off the chill. "Certainly not the kind of place you would expect to find a girl being held captive."

Kurama, too, eyed the place with narrowed, wary eyes. His jade eyes darted at every noise. "Appearances are deceiving. We should be cautious."

Hiei said nothing. Silent and tense, he stepped between Yusuke and Kuwabara and grasped at the door handle. With a flick of his wrist, the door swung open. The sunlight invaded the entry space, swimming in to dominate the darkness. Their silhouettes were cast onto splintered hardwood flooring. Kurama took a hesitant step forward also; his suspicions were confirmed.

"Not home and garden worthy anymore, eh Botan?" Yusuke asked in a terse tone. She inched near to him, ready for anything.

"Like I said," Kurama whispered. "Things typically aren't what they first seem to be."

Hiei disappeared into the darkness of the house. Dust and mold suffused the air with a feeling of dread. There was something wrong with this place. He swept his crimson eyes around the kitchen, the first room they encountered. Rotting chairs were overturned and bloodied handprints spattered the daisy-printed wallpaper with a deep, desolate layer of blackening red. His hand twitched as he fought against the urge to draw his sword.

Kuwabara stumbled back when he entered the kitchen. "Gah! What happened in here?"

Botan lifted a hand to her lips as her stomach twisted into knots. Something terrible happened here, she thought. Kurama placed a hand on her shoulder and led her back into the foyer, where the sunlight offered a modicum of relief. He motioned for the others to follow.

"I think we should find the girl quickly and then leave," he said. "This is not the sort of place we want to spend any length of time in."

"Koenma wanted us to look for clues, remember?" Yusuke grumbled. He glanced back over his shoulder; the pointer finger of his hand was already poised for a quick strike, should the need arise.

The redhead nodded. "Hiei, Botan, and I will search for the girl. Yusuke, you and Kuwabara should see what you can find for Koenma. We will meet back at the door in ten minutes. Agreed?"

The detective nodded his head. "Yeah."

Kuwabara hesitated. His senses were prickling, warning him that something sinister lurked in the shadows. "And what if there's trouble?"

Hiei walked into the shadows without a backwards glance but his flat, sarcastic tenor replied, "It's a small house and your irritating voice is hard to misplace. I'm sure we'll hear you."

With a small smile, Kurama directed Botan after him.

The remainder of the house was in no better condition than the kitchen. In the bathrooms, the sinks and bathtubs were backlogged with murky grey water and the furniture in the rooms crumbled, rotted to the point it would not stay together. Yusuke and Kuwabara clattered in the dining room at the end of the hall. Kurama threw open a door, leading into a cramped study of sorts. The frayed carpet was littered with books; their pages were torn and yellow. Botan backed away and turned to the last remaining door. She reached out for the handle and was surprised at how warm it felt to her fingers. It opened outwards.

She staggered back a few feet from the swirling pool of dark that was a staircase leading down. A basement.

"Kurama, Hiei," she murmured. "There's a basement."

She felt them behind her. "Do you think she's down there?"

"It couldn't hurt to check," Kurama nodded and went first into the blackness. Botan crept down behind him, leaving Hiei to take up the rear. She lost her footing a few yards down and nearly fell. A powerful grip on her shoulder kept her from tumbling down the mushy steps. The fire demon hissed in the still air behind her.

"Thank you, Hiei," she breathed.

"Hn."

The stairs came out where a hallway opened up into a large, open area. The majority of what she saw was unfinished and the part that was finished was in the same condition as the first floor. She bounded over several collecting pools of sloshing brown. Hiei held his hands behind his back, an expression of disgust on his face. "Cheerful place."

"Let's search quickly," Kurama said, overstepping a molded piece of fallen dry wall. There was an open doorway across the room. "Hiei would you check the hallway?"

Botan folded her arms across her chest. She shivered. A glint in the dim light caught her eye and she went to it. A damp countertop ran along the far wall and laying on top was a plastic bin, about five inches deep and a foot wide. It was filled with crinkled newspapers. The missing phoenix's picture decorated the front page of the top paper. In an open jewelry box, she saw the necklace that had resided around her neck.

"Did you find something, Botan?" he asked. She reached for it and held it up so he could see. His eyes did not register much surprise. He moved to her side. "So she was here."

"Kurama!" Hiei's voice rang out, clear and loud. He knelt in the room at the farthest corner of the basement. A broken down mattress had been tossed onto the floor and a slight, feminine frame was curled in the middle of it. She had swathed herself in the shredded remains of a woolen blanket but lines of dried blood marked the visible skin. Her hair was matted around her face and her features were tensed.

The spirit guide crossed to her side in a few swift steps. She shrugged out of her jacket and tugged it around the trembling shoulders. "Goodness, she's freezing."

Hiei turned his eyes to Kurama, frozen in the doorway. "Kurama – "

"Do you hear that?"

The room silenced at the urgency in his voice. All three sets of ears strained to listen. A tremor rattled through the unstable frame of the building. Hiei rose to his feet and Botan pulled the woman to her.

Yusuke's yell split the air, "Hey! Kurama, Hiei, this whole place is rigged to blow!"

The two demons threw themselves at the girls. Kurama hoisted the motionless phoenix into his arms and Hiei half-lifted, half-dragged Botan out of the room as another, violent rumble shook the house. A ceiling tile fell and cut her arm. He tugged at her, hurtling up the stairs in his friend's wake. Kuwabara was heaving debris out of their path; the very walls were coming down around them. Yusuke raised his index finger and blasted a four-by-six away before it struck the redhead.

"Come on! There's a bomb rigged in the laundry room!"

The line of trees to the side of the house offered some protection when the flames shot up and the explosion bellowed fiery curses at the five rescuers. Kurama lifted himself away from the woman and Botan stooped next to them. In the light of day, her bruises and cuts were more apparent. Her left wrist was twisted in an unnatural position.

"How's she doing?" Yusuke asked.

"She's injured, that's for sure," Kurama replied. "But her breathing isn't labored and her pulse is strong. I'd say she'll be fine with rest and proper nutrition."

Botan lifted herself onto shaky legs and turned to face the dark-clad demon. He stood farthest away, his unreadable eyes staring at the flaming remains of the house. "Hiei?"

He didn't turn but she knew he was listening. "Thank you for getting me out."

"Hn. You shouldn't have come. You'll only hurt yourself." His head swiveled around at the sound of Kuwabara's frenzied voice. His sleeve had caught fire and he stood there, waving his arms in the air. "Then again, you're better than he is."

She was about to reply but someone else spoke before she could. A trembling, rough voice whispered, "Who are you? What do you want?"

The cavernous sapphire eyes were guarded. Botan dropped to the girl's side again. "I'm Botan and this is Yusuke, Hiei, Kurama, and Kuwabara. You're a phoenix, right?"

She nodded, "My name is Faye."

"You're fine now, Faye, I promise. Koenma sent us to bring you back under Spirit World protection. You're fine."

She swallowed and lowered her eyes to the ground. "Then he knows."

Yusuke raised a brow. "Knows what?"

But she didn't answer. She just closed her eyes and shivered.

So now we've met the phoenix. I have a quick question. In the past couple of chapters, do you think I've been making Yusuke too angry? I want to keep to character as much as possible. Maybe it's just me but I'd love to hear your opinions. Thanks for reading.