Plot

This story's setting takes place right after the last arc of Yu Yu Hakusho: Saga of the Three Kings. (Please note that you do not have to have watched that arc to participate in this RP, though it may be preferred.) A time of peace has come upon the three worlds, and the Spirit Detectives find themselves at ease with their day-to-day lives. However, this time does not last very long, for soon after the time of peace started, a new band of thieves known as 'the new threat' has been wreaking havoc in Spirit World. Not only Spirit World, but also the human race is being threatened by this band of torturous-by-nature demons. This band of demons is holding a tournament, much like the dark tournament, and many, demons and gifted humans alike, are racing to join in to this event. The prize is not only fame, glory, and a shot at winning all of the band's riches... but for the Spirit Detectives and their new members, winning is victory. For Koenma has disturbed their resting time and enrolled them all in this tournament, along with some new additions to the team.

What will come of this? Well, its time for us to find out.

Rules

1. Follow Menewsha's TOs

2. Please try to write at least 3 sentences in your posts, and no one likes
constant grammatical errors, so please try to avoid them.

3. You may have up to 3 characters, but please try to keep up with them all.

4. If you are choosing a pre-existing character, you do have to fill out a character skeleton! However, you may add or take away any information that you think is necessary to explain their character.

5. If you wish to speak in OOc (out of character), then please use ( ) or [ ]'s please.

6. I would prefer that everyone posts in a different, readable, color. Thus the color slot in the character skeleton.

7. PM me your profiles with the subject "A New Threat", so I know that you have read the rules.


Profile Skeleton

Username:
Name: (Character's first and last name)
Gender:
Species:
Age:
Appearance: (Detailed description or picture)
Bio: (Just a short history)
Other info.: (Anything else we need to know, i.e. personality.)
Weapons/Powers:
Posting color:(pick one that has not been chosen)

Characters


Pre-Existing Characters

(You can choose others, I'll just have to add them on.)

Yusuke:

Username: KageShio
Name: Yuusuke Urameshi
Gender: Male
Species: Mazaku/human
Age: 18
Appearance: Human Mazoku
Bio: When Yuusuke was 14 he died, but was given a second chance at life as a spirit detective. He became widely known and even feared in his short years as a detective and rose to the top, beating all expectations. But when coming to face Sensui, a former spirit detective, Yuusuke died a second time and what brought him back was not the prince of the spirit world, it was the demonic energy that had been laying dormant within him all his life. Yuusuke defeated Sensui and learned of the great kingdom he inherited in the demon world. A tournament was held at Yuusuke's request, the winner would rule all of demon world. Yuusuke lost, however, but remained in the demon world for three years before returning home to the human world.

Other info.: Yuusuke is a free spirit that is seen as childish and carefree, but he harbors a deeper, more mature side. He lives for the thrill of a fight and loves a good time. he may seem like an idiot and a clutz sometimes, but he has a lot more to him than most can see.
Weapons/Powers: Spirit gun, Spirit gun double, shotgun, Spirit wave, sacred energy, Mazoku form, Demon gun
Posting color: Sienna

Kurama:

Username: Yuutousei
Name: Minamino Shuichi "Kurama" (a.k.a. "Yoko Kurama")
Gender: Male
Species: Human (Kitsune)
Age: 17-ish years; at least 1300 or so years in Yoko form
Appearance: Kurama and Yoko
Bio: Yoko Kurama was once the feared Thief King of the Makai until 17 years ago when he was fatally wounded by a hunter. Instead of laying down and dieing as most demons are wont to do, Yoko fled to the Human Realm, fusing with the unborn child of Minamino Shiori. Thus, the end result was Shuichi, also known as Kurama. Kurama grew up and eventually ended up stealing a priceless artifact right under Koenma's nose. His punishment for his misdeeds was to assist Yuusuke with his mission to protect the three realms, although why he still goes along with it...
Other info: Shuichi (Kurama) has a bit of an identity crisis, doing his best to curb his Yoko side while still being an effective member of the team.
To most humans, he appears to be the studious pretty-boy who always smiles and is polite. This belies the vicious tendencies he seems to have (whether they are due to the Yoko or not is up to debate).
Weapons/Powers: Manipulation of Plants, Skills at Theft, Rose Whip, Ability to turn into Yoko Kurama (and thus, lots of wonderful abilities as a kitsune)
Posting color: Crimson and Forest Green

Hiei:

Username: Daemora
Name: Hiei
Gender: Male
Species: Demon. Fire/Ice Apparition
Age: Appears to be about 17 years old. It is unknown how old he really is.
Appearance: Here
Bio: Hiei is a fire and ice demon, born of a rare union between a fire demon and an ice maiden. Due to the fact that he is a male and that the ice maidens are only allowed to have female children, not born from a sexual interaction with others, he was given up at birth. Cast out into the world, Hiei was found and raised by a group of thieves. Therefore he learned to kill at a young age. The only thing he had to keep him going was a necklace baring his mother's ice tear stone on it.
After losing the necklace in the heat of battle, Hiei went and sought to get a Jagan implanted in his forehead. Considering how dangerous the proceedure was, it would seem a miracle that he survived. Shortly after recovering from the operation he sought out his birthplace only to discover that his mother commited suicide out of grief. He also learned that he had a twin sister, giving him yet another reason to possess the Jagan eye.
He later came to the human world to take over through the use of a stolen artifact from the King's Vault. He was defeated by Yusuke and was later forced to work alongsode the Spirit Detective in order to redeem himself if he was to be allowed to live in the human world. Over time he came to respect Yusuke. It is known to everyone but Yukina and Kuwabara that Hiei is Yukina's brother. Hiei has gone to extreme measures by threatening others to ensure that Yukina never learns the truth. It is unknown whether or not she has figured it out for herself.
Other info.: Hiei is a fire apparition whose true origins are unknown. He is a master swordsman, and his strength and speed are incredible. However, these are hardly his most fearsome abilities. Typically kept concealed behind a bandanna on his forehead is the Jagan, a mysterious third eye that possesses magical properties. With it he can control weak-minded humans, send telepathic messages, and move objects telekinetically. Hiei is fiercely independent, and his raw ambition drives him to pursue his own agenda at all times. Although he generally cares little for human life, and views others as mere obstacles in the pursuit of his own goals, Hiei strictly adheres to his own unique code of honor. As such, he helps those who help him, and is fiercely loyal to those who have managed to earn his respect.
Weapons/Powers: He prefers fighting with a katana, and katana based swordfighting. He also possesses unique control over the element of fire, or even of Black Fire, which can rarely be controlled by anyone. Also in possession of a Jagan eye, also known as a Third / Evil eye, it grants him unique psyonic abilities, mostly revolving around telepathy and telekinesis.
Posting color: DarkSlateBlue

Kuwabara:
Botan:
Koenma:




The Band of 'New Threats'

Username: xxxarcxangelxxx
Name: Rei Okada
Gender: Male
Species: Demon
Age: appears to be 18, but is really around 350
Appearance:Here.
Bio: He lost most of his memory of his past, and what he remembers isn't the best. He was abused as a child, thus creating pent up anger and a constant urge for strength and control. He exercises these needs by stealing, mostly from Koenma and his father. The idea of forming a band of thieves only occurred to him recently, and as their leader he has to admit he enjoys their self-created missions and the thrill he again achieves while stealing such priceless valuables. He isn't much of the leader type, but such a title is given to him by forming the band, not that he minds much.
Weapons/Powers: Rei uses a multitude of weapons, all with blades, but his main weapons are swords. He uses the element of darkness, something very few demons posses, which has gotten him a bit of a name for himself.
Other info.: Rei is the loner type, though when with his band of thieves, he can be rather adventurous and extremely reckless.
Posting Color: Slate gray

Username: Daemora
Name: Sai Miyasaki
Gender: Female
Species: Blood Demon
Age: appears to be 16 but is really 245 years old.
Appearance: General Appearance among other demons of her species
Appearance among the Band of New Threats
Bio: Sai was born into the legacy of the Blood Demons. Very much like vampires, they survive off of blood, whether it be from other demons, or from humans, which they have a bigger appetite for. The Blood Demons are the only form of vampires known. They are not weak to the light, but their eyes are more accostomed to seeing in the dark than they are to being in bright light. She was born into a prestigious family of Blood Demons who brought her up to be a perfect hunter. She doesn't necessarily think herself perfect, and eventually she left her family behind to be a loner. She was found by Rei as she was struggling to survive, and she was brought into the band of thieves that he had brought together.
Sai is really very grateful to Rei for accepting her in the band, and she would do anything for him. She often tells others that it is not out of love that she helps him, but out of gratitude for saving her from death. She is proud of her heritage and knows that even though she ran away from home, it can only be right for her to mate with another Blood Demon and with no one else. So she is saving her love for the Blood Demon that wants to be her mate. Other demons don't believe her when they see the way she is around Rei.
Other info.: Her eyes change color dependant upon her diet. (Demons=Yellow, Humans=Red, Spirits=Blue)
She tends to act like she really likes Rei, but she is really just devoted to helping him. She has a darkened personality after being abused by all other demons. She is still a virgin, but she has been beaten by others during the times when she was weak from having a poor diet. She hates most other demons aside from Rei, and she has an appetite for humans, so she can't say that she likes humans.
Sai is cold and distant from others. She hates being spoken down to, seeing as she is a noble Blood Demon she was brought up proud and arrogant, but she lost her arrogance when she left home. She is still proud though.
Weapons/Powers: She carries around a pure silver charm, a pentagram, otherwise known as the five-point star. It is said to be powered by dark magic, but it serves a unique purpose. It reveals the true inner self of her opponents. Being a blood demon, she has a unique control over her own blood flow. If she is hurt, she can make her blood flow slower so that she does not bleed as much. She can also use her blood as a projectile when it is outside of her body. She does this by forcing her blood to crystalize and then throwing the shards at her opponents. She can also crystalize the blood of her enemies, though the effect is dependent upon the proximity of her target and the other factor is how fast their heart is beating. If the beat is slow the blood crystalizes faster, paralyzing the target until either she defeats them, she runs away, or she is defeated somehow. She uses it on enemies less often because it often takes longer to crystalize the blood of others than it is to do it to her own.
Posting color: RoyalBlue

Username: Yuutousei
Name: D'Olivier, Alain (Doh-lihv-ee-ay, Ah-lehne)
Gender: Male
Species: Human (well, formerly human)
Age: Appears to be in his mid to late teens, but he's about... Eh... 270 years old, give or take.
Appearance: Alain has olive tanned skin and honey blond hair that often obscures his clear, piercing sky blue eyes. A flirtatious smile is always on his lips as he talks his way out of just about anything. He wears childish clothing that looks good oh him, but he always has a cross around his neck and gloves on.
Bio: The year is 1760 and the Seven-Years War is ending. In France, a young couple was blessed with a baby boy who they named Alain. He grew up in a time of strife and problems in his homeland and, before too long, he was soon swept up in the romantic movement and the belief of citizens instead of royalty (thank you, America). Even at this time of his life, he was different, being able to read items and people with a mere touch. When he was young, Alain was often times

Even at the height of the Revolution, Alain always seemed smaller than the other men who took up arms against the tyranny that was the French government. For years, he helped incite rebellion against the crown and, when the guillotine decaptiated Louis XVI, he thought his war was over. Oh, how wrong he was....

Drawn up as a traitor against the new National Assembly, Alain was one of many victims of those blasted Jacobins. In the beginning of the Reign of Terror, Alain and many of his friends were taken away to a secret facility where the NA kept the demons they summoned to help them win against the "rebels" (i.e. royalists, Catholics), in order to feed them souls for their continued assistance.

They didn't count on the demons absolutely loving the small young man and keeping him alive (so they could abuse him more, poor boy) by feeding him the flesh and blood of fellow humans. In the dark depths of his prison, Alain quickly began to lose what little bit of his sanity left. Sometime in the summer of 1794, Alain snapped and massacred the demons in the lair (as well as the few humans they were feasting on). There's a saying that, if a human bathes in the blood of a thousand demons, he becomes one himself. There's a good chance that that's what happened that night, but no one's really sure. His actions inadvertently helped begin the Thermidor Reaction that eventually ended the reign of Robbespierre. Alain soon left his homeland, more so to protect them from his fraying sanity than a need to get away (although, it probably was a good thing he did, seeing that Napoleon....)

It took several years for Alain to realize what exactly happened to him, and several decades more to realize the full extent of his new abilities. He ended up joining these rogue thieves because, well, he's a romantic at heart and he needed something to do.
Other info.: Although it doesn't look it, there are a few things that could effectively "kill" Alain - namely rainbow moonstones and true love. True love is unlikely, seeing how cracked he is, but moonstones are certainly doable. Alain doesn't know about the "true love" (and whether that will kill him or 'purify his soul' a la BSSM is up in the air), but he's had a few run ins with rainbow moonstones to know that they're his kryptonite.
His regenerative abilities takes a while and also requires him to be 'near' where his body parts have been blown to. And for them not to be smithereens either - he can resew an arm on, but he doesn't want to gather all these little toe pieces to put him back together again.

Alain looks secretive and seductive, with a french accent to die for (and that has happened quite a few times). He smiles and manipulates people to get them to do his bidding.
Weapons/Powers: Chakram, Clairsentience (the ability to learn the past "surrounding" an object through touch), Shadow Manipulation (normally seen in the form of a large, scary looking dog), Inability to feel pain (or, at least the ability to ignore it), Inability to Age or "Die" (see bio & other information)
Posting color: Dark Goldenrod <3

New Spirt Detectives

Username: xxxarcxangelxxx
Name: Kaya Chikako
Gender: Female
Species: Demon
Alliance: Spirit World
Age: appears to be 17, but is really around 400
Appearance: Demon Form (Her human form is only slight different, her eyes are the purple of her hair, and her hair s a deep black.)
Bio: Kaya just recently made the switch from demon world to the human world, where she has been living quite happily. She was raised in a small village, which is a big difference in comparison to the new city she's surrounded in. Her parents were brutally murdered by one of the members in the gang of demons that the Spirit and demon world alike are calling the 'New Threat', and she vowed to get revenge upon them. Kaya has participated in Demon Tournaments before, but had no plans to participate in the upcoming one until just recently when she had been contacted by Koenma. After being told that her parents' murder would be there, she willingly accepted the offer. Kaya has yet to meet the spirit detectives.
Weapons/Powers: She usually uses two katanas in a fighting style much like Hieis, on the contrary, her powers are that of wind. She has the ability to manipulate wind in whichever way her heart desires, whether it be flying or adding on extra little punch to her sword technique.
Other info.: Kaya is a somewhat quiet person, though she can be rather talkative towards people she knows well. (This can also depend on her mood.) She has great tolerance, but once something sets her off, she isn't known to be very merciful.
Posting Color: Dark Red

Username: Ayamiko13
Name: Amatsu Enma
Gender: Female
Species: Spirit World Dweller (whatever Koenma is considered. I don't think he's human or demon actually. >_>")
Age: Some 700 years old.
Appearance:
(She got her blue eyes from her mom.)
Bio: Amatsu was born before Koenma and, to the great displeasure of King Enma, she was female. Being a very traditional man, the ruler of the Spirit World couldn't stand the idea of a girl being the heir to his throne. He loved the girl, but he just didn't see her fit to be the next ruler of the Spirit World because she was a girl.
Thus, Koenma was born. Amatsu grew up loving her brother and father. Though one day, her dad informed Amatsu and her brother that Koenma would be the next ruler of Spirit World. Amatsu had to ask why him. He was younger than her, after all. King Enma was honest with his daughter. Amatsu didn't know how to feel. She was angry and she was hurt.
Amatsu went to Koenma one day and asked him to talk to their father about changing his mind since King Enma was sure to listen to his son's opinion before her's. Koenma argued that their father was too stubborn to even listen to him and that it would make no difference. Amatsu was enfuriated and crushed so she fled the palace.
Amatsu ran away to the demon world and hid herself there for a couple centuries. She trained hard and learned control over her powers. Amatsu also learned that she couldn't really blame her brother and that there was nothing that could be done to change her father's mind about her. Or was there...?
After those couple hundered years, Amatsu returned to Spirit World and asked for her family's forgiveness. She promised to work very hard to repay them for the trouble she has caused them due to her childishness. Koenma decides that with her newly developed power, she would be a good edition to the Spirit Detective team and could help him keep tabs on them. Amatsu joins to re-earn her brother and father's respect and to perhaps prove herself as a worthy hier to his throne.
Amatsu was in hiding when the Spirit Detectives where created so she has never met them before though she had heard rumours about them during her stay in the Demon World. Koenma never spoke of having a sister to the Spirit Detectives so they know nothing of her. Amatsu is very nervous about meeting them.
Other info.: She's very understanding and accepting. Though Amatsu isn't used to socializing with people that she doesn't know so she can be rather shy when first meeting people and she may become socially awkward at times. But she is very loyal and willing to do anything in her power to help someone in need. She also hasn't met a human for centuries so they make her rather curious. Amatsu is always pleasent and calm. She's not easy to anger and is very mild-mannered, hardly ever raising her voice. Though, Amatsu is pretty easilly embarassed and tends to blush easilly. She has never been much of a fighter at heart but for the sake of a friend or ralative, she would do anything.
Posting color: Teal
Weapons/Powers: (it wasn't in the profile skelaton but I saw it in your posted profiles. That's why it's last. You can move it to where it needs to be if you want.) Amatsu is a very gifted healer. As good as, if not better than Yukina. She also has a talent with force field barriers that she can use to trap people in, hide herself and others and block attacks, among other things. She used them almost constantly while she was in Demon World to prevent being detected while people were searching for her. So Amatsu is very helpful as far as defense goes. She's not as gifted with offense but she's better than most. Her powers are of the light element which, alike to darkness, is very rare and very powerful. It can still be difficult for her to control sometimes so she usually tries not to resort to her power that often. Amatsu is rather skilled with the sword but she prefers a naginata ( think of Seong Mi-Na's weapon and fighting style if you've played Soul Calibur) as her weapon since she would rather be a good distance from her opponent.

Username: Daemora
Name: Artemis Silvaen / 'Yaxas'
Gender: Female
Species: Human / Demon Reborn
Age: She is about 18 in human years. Over 500 in demon years.
Appearance: Human Form
(Except that she does have boobs xP, Also minus the hat)
Demon Form
Bio: Artemis doesn't remember anything about her former life. Unlike Kurama, she didn't die and get reborn the same way. As a deamon, Yaxas had quite a rep. One so reknowned, most other demons had feared her. At least, only the demons weaker than her. Others around her rank weren't as afraid of her, especially not those who knew her. It happened that one day Yaxas got herself into a fairly messed up situation. She got herself killed, and she was brought to Spirit World to be put on trial. When it was over they decided that her punishment would be to live in banishment in the human world. Without memories or the full use of her powers. Fortunately, Artemis Silvaen was unique in every way. As Yaxas was cast into the unborn child's body, her powers could not be contained. They remained unsealed, and the human was granted some very special gifts.
Artemis grew up in a mediocre, middle-class family. She had an older brother and a little sister who was born twelve years after herself. Her father was always at work, usually never coming home until extremely late at night, and much too exhausted to pay any attention to his family. Her mother was a little bit of a neat freak, and usually obssessing over how filthy her children were. Thankfully Artemis learned to live with it, and she managed to grow up into a decent young woman. Strangely, upon her fifteenth birthday she discovered her powers. Without knowing how, or where she may have gotten them, she tried to keep them a secret. This didn't last long and her family discovered it. She was soon kicked out of the house, but her brother took her in at his apartment. She works part-time as a waitress in order to pay rent to her brother for his kindness.
As a somewhat last resort, King Enma ordered Spirit World to locate the demon within her so that they could invite the human to fight in the tournament. Artemis was considerably shocked when they contacted her and asked for her help.
Other info.: Artemis is generally a warm, kind person, and she dislikes violence. That doesn't mean she won't fight for what she believes in. She is greatly attatched to her little sister, and to her brother, both of whom have never shown any dislike for her. She can seem kind of cold and distant at first glance, but never let that fool you. She is only afraid of being hurt by others. She was cast aside by her first boyfriend, and so she now tries to hide her pain by seeming hard-core and hard to approach.
Weapons/Powers: Artemis has unique control over the elements of Lightning and Shadow. Yes Shadow. Unlike using the element of Darkness, Shadow is more limited. She has no weapons to use, only her powers.
Posting color: DarkOrchid

Username: KageShio
Name: Ti Mizume
Gender: Male
Species: Gifted human
Age: 28

Appearance: Very tall (6'5") and lean, but muscular. He has quite pale, rough skin that it literally covered in scars, most noticeably is one that falls down from his left eyebrow to his cheek, just below his right eye; a large, jagged scar covering the left side of his neck from the collarbone to the jaw, and the many gash-like scars on his arms. His jaw is strong but not square and his midnight-blue eyes are almond-shaped and almost feminine. His raven-black hair is dead-straight and comes down to about mid-back. He wears clothing from the Gothic scene, Bondage pants, heavy boots, fishnet, black T's with sayings and fingerless gloves. He often wears a trench coat and fedora when the weather gets colder. He always has about 6 knives on him.

Bio: Ti grew up in an abusive home he fled from when he was 10. He has always had a natural talent for fighting and this helped him get into a small Yakuza by the time he was 12. He learned many styles of fighting and brought them all together to make his personal style. When he was 15, the Yakuza was killed by a larger one, leaving only Ti and another man as survivors. The Man took Ti with him to russia, where he was killed, by the mafia. Ti almost was too, but the leader was impressed with the way he fought for being to young and took him in, giving him more strict training to make him a living weapon, a hidden destructive force for the Mafia. During the exhausting training, Ti discovered he had a talent for fluids when he accidentally killed his trainer by drowning him where he stood. This only increased his value to the leader, who got the best spiritual gurus to train him. Ti broke loose of the Mafia when he was 22, after the leader was assassinated, and made his way back to Japan, and has lived there since, laying low, but keeping in contact with all the major Yakuza, offering his services for money.

Other info.: He wears a different mask for every situation, though usually cool and collected even mysterious in ways. He never trusts and speaks little unless he knows you well enough.

Weapons/Powers: Control of liquids, mainly uses water and blood, Highly skilled at fighting hand to hand, with knives/daggers and long swords.

Posting color: Red

Artemis was extremely bored as she got out of school early that day. The teacher had been dearly upset with her over something and had tried to punish her. She hadn't even fought back when he'd twisted her arm the wrong way. She knew that she'd felt something pop, and even the nurse had confirmed it. The teacher had litterally popped her arm, or her shoulder out of joint.

It had been excruciatingly painful as the nurse popped it back into place, and her arm was essentially sore. She could move it, but not without extreme pain, so the nurse told her to go home, put an ice pack on the shoulder and get some rest. It was good that the Principal had seen the bout and had immediately rebuked the teacher for doing what he'd done to her. She could only hope that she would find him with a revoked teaching license in the days to come, or she would only have more problems with him.

Artemis sighed as she pulled out her iPod and plugged her headphones into her ears. There was at least three miles to walk before she would make it to her brother's apartment building. Thankfully, he'd given her a key so she could get in any time. He was a full time college student who worked part-time for a video arcade, supervizing over the kids and teens who walked in the store. It was mostly a weekend job, but oftentimes his shift began right after his last college class. So he had gotten a key made so Artemis could get in the apartment if he wasn't already home.

As she walked down the street, listening to her favorite band, a band called Nightwish, whose origins were unknown to her, she didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. In fact, she never saw anything strange, and whenever she did, she dismissed it immediately. There were those few years back when she'd seen those strange insects that were crowding around everyone and turning them into what seemed like mindless zombies, but she had ignored it at the time and stayed indoors, away from the madness.

She took note of the fact that her favorite song had just come on and she began singing it out loud despite the fact that people were around giving her odd looks. She ignored them and continued to belt out the tune. She could manage to make her voice sound close to that of the original singer, but not exactly the same. The song was at least ten minutes long give or take a few seconds. She stopped for a moment as she began walking into a park. It was the same park she walked through everyday to get to and from school, but something seemed strangely eerie about it today, even in the bright noon sun. So Artemis took a good moment to pause.

***

Once again, Hiei found himself sitting high up in a tree somewhere in the human world. It was probably in a place that he went to often, but he hardly ever noticed how often it was that he came to the area. He'd been on the move constantly as of late, wanting to avoid any contact and confrontation with members of Spirit World. All he wanted was to be alone and to have some time to gather his thoughts for once. And having Spirit World constantly trying to track him down was a nuisance.

He sat up straighter as his Jagan picked out a strange energy. It was large and uncontrolled, perhaps a gifted human with a power they didn't know about, or that they had not yet gained control of. Surely, whatever it was, it was none of his business, but should it turn out to be a demon, he might have to do something, and that would only prove to be annoying. And it might even get Spirit World to lock in on his location should he reveal himself. He began to think that it had to only be a human, or else it wouldn't even be around the area.

If it were truly a demon, it was probably nothing more than a demon who had already been allowed to live in the human world. And if that were the case, it would be none of his business, and nothing that he would need to bother with. But the sensation of that powerfully uncontrolled aura was too much for him to ignore completely. Despite how hard he was trying to reason out to do nothing, he still wanted to see what the cause of this power might be.

So he got up and dashed from tree to tree, coming to one entrance of the park. He took a good look at the girl standing at the entrance. She seemed to be hesitating about something, as if she could feel his presence, just as he had felt hers. She was rather short for most of the human girls he'd ever met.

She had to be at least around seventeen or eighteen years of age. And her clothing was that of a high school uniform. In fact, it looked like the same uniform Yusuke's girlfriend Keiko used to wear. Her hair was short and deep red, almost magenta in color. A bit strange for a human in these parts, though not entirely out of place when comparing her hair color to that of Kurama's.

Her eyes were a brilliant shade of blue. A tad bit pale, in a dimly lit sort of way, as if she had suffered something dreadful. But with a fire behind the eyes so fierce that any normal human would be thrown off by her eyes alone. Her arm looked to be in one of those things that Kurama had tried to explain to him. He believed he remembered the name of it to be a 'Sling' if he was even right about that much.

He didn't want to approach her, so instead he leapt back through the trees, back to the one he often found himself perched on the most. Again, this girl was none of his business, and he didn't want to make it his business. Not unless something, or someone forced it to happen. Like Spirit World forcing him to do something nice for a single human being, and randomly choosing that one girl. But that was highly impossible, and so he wanted nothing more than to relax in his tree.

***

After a good moment's hesitation, Artemis continued to walk on through the park. She thought she'd seen something move in the tree nearby. As though seomthing, probably just a bird perhaps, had taken to flight upon realizing her pressence there. She shrugged off the thought that she might have been watched by whatever was in the tree a moment ago. She really wanted nothing more than to go home and get some rest. Hopefully take some pain meds and ignore the dull throb pulsating through her shoulder, marking the own beating of her heart. So she went back to listening to her music and simply walking on.

(( Holy Crap That Is LONG!! But I felt a good introduction was necessary for the two of them. At least for now... xP ))

(Holy crappers o.o... nice intro. Since other necessary characters have yet to be taken, I'll fill in for them for the time being.)

Rei impatiently strummed his fingers along the dim colored desk at which he sat at. He had had this meeting with Koenma set up perfectly, even the ogre of a secretary Koenma had working for him downstairs had double checked the times. Then again, that had been under the threat of a knife. Sighing for what hadn't been the first time that night, he grabbed a slip of paper, found a pen from Koenma's rather cluttered desk, and took to writing his rather formal and polite invitation to the price of spirit world.

Rei knew spirit world's team, whoever they would choose to put in it, would be participating anyways... but he felt that a proper invitation would ease their entry. Besides, he wouldn't want them to show up at the tournament gates dead, no, he would much rather see their fighting capabilities. With a quick signature at the bottom, he enclosed the short invite in a letter, stamped it with a rather intricate insignia, then simply walked out of Koenma's office door.

An hour or so later, Koenma found the note. All hell rose.

***

Kaya let out a soft sigh, head lifting to look up at the stars, finally letting her mind go for the first time today. School had been a drag, more so than usual, especially with human teachers' humiliating way of introducing new students to their classmates, who of course, didn't care for such questions as where she had come from, why her eyes were colored so oddly, or even what her surname was. Standing in front of that class had been ten times worse than most things she had encountered during her whole life in demon world, and that was really saying something.

Of course, much to her liking, that teacher had been fired earlier, due to some 'cruel and unusual punishment' she had given to a student. Kaya hadn't found it cruel or unusual... the girl merely had her arms popped out of place. Then again, humans did have odd ways of punishment. Such things as detention and suspension, were new to her, and she found their definitions to be quite puzzling. What was so bad about sitting in a room for two hours? Dealing pain upon another would seem proper punishment in her mind.

As she released these thoughts, her gaze focused upon the stars, admiring their state of being. There, but not close... yet, they all seemed to be so clear to her. This was her second time seeing the stars this clearly, being her second night in the human world, but it seemed as though every night the sight of the stars got better. Every night, they relaxed her further and unlocked those bottled up thoughts from earlier in the day.

Kaya relaxed in the seat of her swing, which she had taken but moments ago. Her mind was at ease, her thoughts all let go, but this state of bliss only lasted momentarily. Two presences were near, and she had only become aware of this. One, which was clearly demon, seemed to be back in the trees. The other seemed to be nearer, but if anything, she figured it to be a gifted human. Again, she relaxed, letting her eyes close as she swung.

Artemis hardly noticed as she wandered aimlessly about the park, she had her eyes closed as she listened to her music. Eventually she decided to open her eyes, only t find that the day had passed by. How had it happened? The last thing she saw was the sun high above as she walked into the park. Artemis found herself sighing deeply, she looked around, as if looking for something, but what she was looking for was entirely unknown even to herself.

Instead, she walked over to a bench and sat down. There was a dim street lamp, though it was smaller than a regular street lamp. It was the kind of lighting you would find in a large park so that you would never quite be in total darkness. As she looked up at the sky, she could see the stars. They were so different than they had been back home. She could still remember when she had lived in Riverside, Rhode Island. How it had been so peaceful there. Remembering how the sun set down by the beach.

But then her mom remarried, and her new stepfather had been born and raised in Japan. He had, in fact, been on a business trip to America at the time, and in marrying her mother, had asked her to move to Japan. And so they had packed up their things and left their old home behind. Her mother sold the house, and Artemis wondered if she would ever see any of her old friends again. So far, she had heard nothing from any of them, and it had been seven years since they'd moved away. That was never a good sign.

Then her mom had gotten pregnant and given birth to a little girl. Artemis was expected to be the responsible one and look after the baby while her mother went out at night, or on weekends. Her brother had graduated from high school in those years, and began college. Artemis never had any time with anyone in her family, except for when she watched over her little sister. So she looked at the stars again, staring up at them in wonder. They were just so different from the ones back home.

***

Hiei kept his eyes closed, but he was beginning to notice the presence of yet another aura. That of a demon, but again, he didn't want to make any of it his business. He shook his head and let out a sigh, keeping his eyes closed so he could get some rest. He knew that it would only be a matter of time until Spirit World found him again. And he wanted to be well aware of it before they could catch up to him. They always found some way to locate him. Whether it be through Kurama, or through their own rediculous Spirit Detective items.

Like that annoying whistle that idiot Botan had used only a couple of years back. The sound of it had been so loud and annoying, he could have sworn he'd felt his ears bleed. He had completely lost his equilibrium and fallen out of the tree. Though he had tried to cover that fact up by telling them that he'd been looking for the sound in order to kill it. The truth was too obvious, and he was sure that his ruse hadn't worked in the slightest.

Either way, Hiei was prepared this time. He didn't want to be caught unawares ever again. Especially not by anyone related to, or connected to Spirit World. That would just be annoying, and even if they found him, he would refuse to help them this time. He'd been through too much to allow them to get to him this time. He simply wasn't going to do it, even if they did find him.

The stars again claimed Kaya's glaze as she swung, but there was another odd, darker shape in the sky approaching. At first, just a barely visible dot, but as it became closer, it slowly grew until it was apparent that it was in the shape of a person. She squinted, looking up at the figure, her swing slowing to a stop. Once the figure was close enough, the nearby streetlights and surrounding lights in the park illuminated the figure of a woman with a particularly wild blue color of hair, riding on a broomstick. Kaya's eyes widened momentarily as the woman on the broomstick approached, the robe she was wearing tattered beyond recognition of color.

The woman, who may look as if she would be the happy go lucky type, looked rather alarmed. Kaya stood as the woman hurriedly walked over to her. "No time to explain... Koenma requests your presence." At that, Kaya merely nodded in surprise, watching as the woman looked around the area quickly before deciding upon walking in another direction. Kaya hesitated for a moment before following after the lady. "What would Spirit World want from me?" She had been a good girl, that she knew, but she was rather curious as to why she was being called at a time like this. In a rather annoyed tone, the woman, Botan, cast her a glance. "As I said, no time to explain.. we need to find the others..." Her voice trailed off, eyes focusing on a girl sitting on a nearby park bench. Hurriedly, she made her way over, Kaya again following after her.

"Koenma is requesting your presence.." Then, in a louder voice. "Hiei, you too!"

Kaya's eyes widened the slightest bit. She had watched the spirit detectives fight before at the dark tournament... they were very impressive. However, she hadn't had the honor of meeting them in the ring due to early elimination of her team. Her eyes traveled back to the line of trees lining the park, looking to no area in particular. So that was the demon presence from earlier? Then, who was this girl? Kaya's gaze returned to the girl on the park bench, studying her for a moment before looking off again. Human, she concluded easily. A human with gifts.

Hiei jumped up on the branch, looking down through the leaves to see none other than Botan looking rather haughty. She looked like hell, or at least like there was something seriously wrong. And despite his earlier thoughts of rebelling against doing anything for Spirit World, he jumped down from the tree branch and stared intently at Botan with his red eyes.

Of course he had to look up at her, not too much, thankfully, but he still had to. But he immediately lost notice of Botan as he saw the human girl from before. She was looking rather alarmed herself having been yelled at by the Grim Reaper. Then again, the girl probably didn't know anything about Spirit World.

Artemis nearly jumped out of her skin as a blue haired girl came striding up to her spot and yelled at her. For a moment she thought she must have missed a shift at work or something and that they must have sent someone to look for her. But upon really looking at this strange newcomer, she began to realize that this was someone she didn't even know at all. Artemis looked at her IPod and saw that it had turned itself off, probably several minutes ago.

"Umm, I'm sorry but I don't know what you're talking about. Who are you?" Artemis asked, a look of firm determination in her eyes as she looked at the blue haired girl.

Botan frowned at the girl, quite unhappy with her boss at the moment. "My, my... Koenma chose a human without knowledge of the Spirit World..." she looked at her for a moment, before grinning. "None the less, my name is Botan, but we really must be off now... Koenma set up a portal for us, since transportation is so catastrophic right now. If only.." Now paying to notice to the girl, she walked to a brick wall directly behind the bench, hands set on it, feeling around on the surface. A moment or so later, her hand grasped something, and she smiled triumphantly, making a pulling motion as a door opened. The door looked to be entirely made up of the brick surrounding it, but the other side wasn't visible.

"Come along, now. We're in a bit of a rush." Without waiting, she stepped right into the door, disappearing from sight. Kaya simply looked at the other two, unsure of what they were planning on doing, but flashed a quick smile a the girl, who she knew would probably be clueless.

"You'd best follow along." She flashed her a quick grin before stepping into the doorway and into the seemingly empty space. However, from this side, there was no empty space, but an entirely different environment. They were in a very long, high-ceilinged hallway, one that Kaya had to stop to admire a bit as she and Botan waited for the other two.

Hiei couldn't even surpress the smirk on his face as the human girl asked who Botan was. She looked like she was about to make a further inquiry when Botan dashed through the portal. He noted that the girl seemed to lose all thought of even asking another question. Hiei sighed deeply and grabbed the girl's hand. "Just close your eyes and don't complain." He said in an annoyed tone as he merely dragged her to the portal and stepped through.

Artemis was about to struggle from the boy's grasp when she noticed the scenery change around her. She jumped slightly at this and looked around. It was a beautiful high-ceiling hall. It was hard to imagine how she had gotten here. She was completely unaccostomed to these strange occurances. Sure she had seen those weird insects years back, but she'd never seen anything similar to this. She was about to think that it was all just a dream when what looked like a blue ogre came running out of nowhere.

He seemed to be conversing with the blue haired girl, then noticed the company surrounding her. He sighed and then went back into a frenzy telling them to "Hurry on to Koenma's office." Apparently they were all expected somewhere, but Artemis, being only human, wanted nothing more than to get away. As if reading her thoughts, the short dark haired boy pulled her along, ignoring her and the fact that their hands were still intertwined. So she tried to quicken her pace simply so that she could walk alongside him without feeling like she was being dragged along.

(( I think I can handle taking on Kurama's role... at least until someone else takes him... ))

( Alright, thank you. I will try and manage all the others until other people join. )

Kaya couldn't help but smirk a bit seeing that Hiei had had to drag the human girl here. It was amusing to her, but she felt a bit of sympathy for her all the same. The smirk disappeared as the ogre came into view, her eyes focusing on him and the Botan, as she had introduced herself, as they talked. She took a look around, straining her hearing as there were very faint screams coming from what seemed to be behind them. Kaya turned to glance back at the door that was behind them, but what surprised her was that it was virtually motionless. With all of the commotion from behind those doors, you would think that someone was trying to break in... Kaya's tohughts were interrupted as the ogre told them to hurry along.

Botan hurried along the hallways at almost a jog, Kaya close behind her as they went to to the end of the long hallway, opening the door at the end, where conversation had already begun. "Calm down?! How on earth can I calm down when this was in my office! In my office!" Koenma was in his desk chair, leaning over the desk, shaking what looked like a hand written note in his open hand. In the other, he was holding his pacifier, shaking it rather wildly as he spoke. The other spirit detectives were all present: Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Kurama, Yusuke standin in front of the other two, talking directly to Koenma. "You wake us up, and tell us to wait while you yell like this! Just tell us what the damned thing says already!"

Botan had to clear her throat to cut off the yelling coming from the two. The spirit detectives turned to greet the other three, Koenma pushing aside Yusuke to talk to Botan. "S'about time, Botan! Now... let's begin." he relaxed quite suddenly, standing up on his desk to better see eye to eye with the others in the room. Without much warning, the lights went off and a screen appeared next to Koenma's desk.

Upon the screen, seven figures were shown, one of which was highlighted. "Rei Okada. He is the leader of a new band of thieves that has wreaked havoc all over in spirit world, especially my palace! Earlier, this note..." Koenma held up the piece of scrap paper for emphasis, "was left in my office while I was taking care of some urgent business." At this, the blue ogre next to him mumbled something along the lines of 'getting lunch', upon which he received a warning glare. "Anyways, the note contains an invitation to a tournament the band is holding, which.."

Kuwabara's eyes looked to be the size of dinner plates as the word 'tournament' came out of Koenma's mouth. "Oh, no! No, no no.. not this again! Do you remember the last time we went to a demon world tournament? Do you?!" Yusuke casually crossed his arms, looking over at him from his relaxed pose against the wall. "Well, I kicked the snot out of the older Taguro brother,, and the world was saved. You ended up in a hospital bed, but.."

Botan interjected. "That is besides the point! Spirit world is again in grave danger, and we need you all to form a team to hopefully win this. Are you in or not?" The two boys that had been yelling seemed to be surprised with her sudden sternness, but they brushed it off. "Fine."

All of the recent spirit detectives had similar responses, all agreeing, until Koenma's gaze went to Kaya. "Hell, why not." She seemed not to be that into the idea, but her eyes were plastered to the figure of Rei on the screen, a look of set determination on her face. I remember you...

The attention was then turned to Hiei and Artemis. "Well?"

( looong.. but I guess that's what i get for playing multiple characters. ^^; )

Kurama had taken notice of the others walking into the room, even as Yusuke and Koenma argued. He smiled slightly upon noticing how Hiei had dragged in the human girl. And he could very easily tell that she was only human. But her scent and her aura was very unique. As everyone began answering whether or not they would fight in the tournament, he had replied with a simple 'Yes', knowing that it would suffice for now. And now everyone was waiting for Hiei and this new girl.

Hiei let go of Artemis' hand as everyone turned to look at them, though he did note the look on Kurama's face. He would have scorned the fox demon for it, but now wasn't the time. Hiei took a deep breath. "I would say that I would rather die than fight in another stupid tournament, but I'm sure you have something up your sleeve that would force me to join in anyway, so I'm not going to argue over it. After all, the last tournament wasn't all that bad." He said with a smirk towards Kurama. "Besides, it may be worth it, if I can be left alone after this is all over." He said simply.

Artemis was surprised at how easily all of these people were willing to fight in a tournament. Of how easily, and casually they spoke of the matter. Of Spirit World and demons. She shook her head and took a step backwards away from everyone. "Whoa, hold on a minute. It's not like I signed up for this stuff. First of all, I don't know anything about demons or tournaments, let alone fighting in one. Secondly, I barely have any control over my own powers as it is. I'd probably hurt someone, and not anyone on an opposing team. Namely, I'd probably wind up hurting myself more often than anyone else." She looked at the room. "Where do you get off pulling me into this?"

Koenma wasn't surprised with Hiei's answer at all, and merely dismissed it as he waited for the girl's answer. he frowned as she spoke, then looking to Botan. "Good heavens! You've told her nothing, Botan!" "But, Koenma sir, you said to hurry!" "I said no such thing! but that's besides the point, she's completely clueless." The conversation between the two stopped for a moment, Koenma seeming to again relax, pacifier stuck back into his mouth as he again spoke. "We have to time for decent explanations with the chaos going on outside..." his tone was again gentle, and the look on his face was that of determination. "The human world is in trouble. If you.." he motioned to Artemis, "do not care for that, then leave. We need to hurry this along so we can prep you all for the tournament. I'm sure thing will become clearer in time.. and I'm sure someone within the group here can help with your powers." Koenma eyed the spirit detectives as well as the new additions carefully before turning his back to them to face his window.

Kuwabara took advantage of the silence to blurt out the question he'd been holding in. "Who are they, anyways? We don't need no girls slowing us down..." Botan responded to this with a simple slap to his head using the end of her broomstick. "Women are just as capable as men." Kaya nodded in agreement, looking over Kuwabara scrutinizingly for a moment before cringing a bit. "And far cleaner." she added, motioning to a mustard stain on his shirt.

"Nevertheless, introductions are needed!" Koenma suddenly spun back around to face the group, reassuming his spot standing on his desk top, the screen again coming down. A group picture of the spirit detectives appeared on the screen, and the short film went through each of their names, a summary of their backgrounds, their fighting styles, and their personalities. A slow, small grin rose to Kaya's face, wondering how on earth such an unfunctional group had managed to stick together for so long. She sighed as she saw herself appear on the screen, not very surprised at how much footage they had captured of her fighting. It was Spirit World, afterall.

Kaya's interest perked as Artemis' information rolled across the screen, but something in particular caught her eye. There was no fighting footage, only hints as to what her powers may be. She glanced at the girl before again turning her attention back to Koenma. Koenma looked rather relaxed again, as his eyes set upon Artemis. "Well? Saving the human race isn't enough of an incentive for you? This band of demons is highly dangerous.. we only want the best and most determined to enter this tournament."

Kaya interjected at this point, wanting to know her reason for being here at all. "What is in it for me? It is the spirit detectives' jobs... she may care about the human race, but what of me?" A grin crossed Koenma's face. "The winning team fights the band of thieves. I believe you would know what that would mean for you." She simply nodded and returned to being quiet, now waiting for Artemis to give her answer.

The human world in danger? What does that even mean? If something bad is going to happen to humans then.... then... Artemis had closed her eyes to think about the consequences of entering or not. If something bad was going to happen, then her sister could be in danger. And her brother. She was the only one in the family who had any powers. She had to do something to repay her brother, and she was obligated to protect her little sister, who was no more than six years old.

Her eyes snapped open and she stared at Koenma, and even though he looked like little more than a toddler, she could hardly be bothered to care about that. "You seem to be implying that the entire world is at stake here. I have a little sister who, should anything bad happen to her, she would never understand it. I can't allow that to happen." Artemis sighed and shook her head. "I could care less for the rest of humanity, but for my family, I will do... almost anything to keep them safe." She said simply, that same determined fire in her eyes.

Koenma nodded in satisfaction. "Well, then detectives, you have two days to prepare. Botan will come and fetch you on the dawn of the third morning.. Good luck." At that, just as quickly as the door has transported there, they would all be transported back, ending up standing in the middle of an empty road next to the park. If someone hadn't caught their balance, meaning Kuwabara and Yusuke, they would most likely fall. Which they did. Kaya couldn't help but grin at the two, who quickly stood, embarrassed that the others hadn't had such bad luck with finding balance.

Kuwabara let out a rather loud, long yawn before waving to the rest of the group and walking off. "I'm headin' in for the night." Kaya turned towards him, though he was already walking off, surprised. "Shouldn't he train..?" she questioned softly, then shook her head. "Ahh, he'll be fine." Yusuke answered her question that she had asked herself, which almost surprised her. "If nothing else, I'll end up saving the big idiot again." At this, there was only a faint: "I heard that, Urameshi!" Kaya nodded slowly, letting out a soft sigh before looking at the rest of the group, eyeing her new team mates as if to acquaint herself with them silently.

Yusuke then stretched his arms out, letting out a soft yawn. "Well, I'm gonna go see Genkai. Gotta train up if this tournament's anything like the last two... Anyone else up for it?" Kaya hesitantly replied in a 'yes', walking over to him while he waited to see if Artemis, Hiei, or Kurama wished to go along.

Kurama took a deep breath and nodded slightly. "I certainly don't see any harm in getting some training in. Most likely we will all need it by the time this tournament comes around." He turned to look at the human girl. "If you come with us to Genkai's, I'm sure that she will be able to help you with your powers." He said in a calm, soothing voice.

Hiei barely said anything and simply nodded towards Yusuke, silently agreeing to head to Genkai's for training. He would probably wind up training on his own again, while still having a few sparring matches with Yusuke. It was the human girl he was much more interested in. Even though she had been entirely new to the experience, she hadn't faltered upon reappearing in the human world. Not even a tad off balance. That was pretty exceptional for a human with no previous experience with demons and Spirit World.

Artemis sighed. Reappearing on the street near the park had felt strange, but she'd certainly managed to keep her balance. She had always been a well balanced person, aside from her lack of control over her powers. She looked to the red haired boy as he spoke to her and she looked at the pavement. "I don't see that there's much of a choice for me. We only have two days... and I hardly think that's even enough time for me to learn how to control my powers." She said simply.

Yusuke let out a slight eye roll at Artemis' lack of optimism. "Have confidence in yourself.. I'm sure, if Koenma took the time to order someone to find you, that you'll be strong enough. I mean, at least act tough, try to intimidate the other teams." Kaya said nothing to this, but it did make her mind start to wonder. What kind of gifts does this girl have? And why is she so unsure about them? Wouldn't someone have trained her already by this age? Slowly but surely, Kaya spoke. "Perhaps we could help you more if we knew what powers you had?" she asked, glancing over at Artemis.

Yusuke said nothing in agreement, but this question also caught his attention, slowing his pace a bit so he would catch the girl's answer. He may not be al that interested in humans with gifts, seeing as he was just that, but knowing how strong his teammates were would definitely be a help. He hoped.

****

Rei smiled at the rest of the demons in his band that sat before him. "The spirit detectives have received our little invitation... They're in." Laughter erupted from the group, and a slow smirk spread onto their leader's face.

Artemis looked at the other girl. It was clear that she wasn't human, her eyes were too strange for that. Artemis was thankful that she still had her backpack with her, which possessed her regular outfit inside. She could change into later if she needed to. "I only know that I can gather electricity around my hands. It kinda feels like being charged with static, I guess, but I don't know what it can be used for. I only came across my powers three years ago." She looked at the ground as she walked along with the group. "I still have no idea where it came from." She said with a sigh. She was determined enough to fight in this tournament, if her family was at stake, but she wasn't much of a fighter. And despite what Yusuke had said to her, she had never had much confidence in herself.

"The Detective is right." Hiei said bluntly as he looked at Artemis. "You need to have confidence, or you will never get control of yourself or your powers." "Hiei." Kurama said in a hiss. It was bad enough that the girl looked so lost, but having Hiei attack her sense of confidence would only make matters worse. "No, Kurama. She needs to hear this." Hiei blurted out again. He stopped in front of her and stared into her eyes. "If you can't believe in yourself, then you'll be of no use to us. If you don't think you can handle this, you should go home now and forget about all of this. I'd hate to have someone on the team dragging us down simply because they don't believe in themself. So if you're too scared to handle this, go now. Because I won't hear any complaints." He said in an extremely blunt manner. He turned away and walked off, passing by Yusuke.

"I'm extremely sorry about him. He's like this with everyone, especially with humans he barely knows." Kurama was trying to apologize to her. "No, no it's ok. He's right." Artemis said simply and stepped forward. "I can't allow myself to back down. My family... no, my brother and my little sister mean more to me than anything else in this world. I can't let them down." She clenched her hands into fists, a slight electrical charge beginning to rise from the ground around her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Hey Hiei, you're not getting rid of me that easily!" She shouted at him as he continued to walk off.

Hiei merely smirked as he kept walking. He knew he'd seen it in her before. A certain fire that made her a good fighter. A human very similar to Yusuke in certain ways. It was only her strong sense of determination, but it was there. That burning fire that would make her willing to fight in this tournament, and to make her fight to win.

Kaya said nothing on this, but a smile did come to her face. What Hiei said was true, that she wouldn't deny. Was he harsh? Maybe a little. However, what he said really seemed to motivate her, and there was something there... maybe not much, but there was a fire in her eyes that she couldn't deny. She only hoped they wouldn't have to keep reminding her of her fragile human siblings for her to keep up her self confidence.

It was these thoughts that caused her to slow a bit, causing her to fail into step with Yusuke, who seemed far too relaxed, which was something she was grateful for: not everyone was worrying in this situation. The two walked quietly, and Yusuke waited until Hiei was out of earshot before speaking. "That means he likes her." he said simply, grinning rather goofily. Kaya, confused turned to look at him. "How do you know this?" Yusuke simply cast a glance back at Artemis, then smiled. "That was me once." In understanding, she nodded as they continued walking.

Kaya's thoughts went back to the last dark tournament she had competed in, refreshing every detail in her mind. Not those of her fights, though. She was trying to remember each of the detectives fighting styles.. their behaviors in battle. It may come in use if a group fight is ever asked of them. The fan girl inside of her came out for a moment and she smiled. "The spirit world team was pretty amazing in the fights with the Toguros' team..." Yusuke was a bit surprised by this, but he chuckled and remained calm all the same. "Well, just try and keep up." Kaya, being rather competitive as she was, smirked. "I was about to tell you the same thing."

As Genkai's house came into view, Yusuke took no time in walking right up to the door, and rapping on it with his fist. "Hey, old lady! Open up!" Kaya cringed, hoping he wouldn't be punished for such behavior.

Genkai was rudely awoken by a loud rapping noise on her front door. She grunted angrily as she got out of bed and walked to the door. She knew that it had to be none other than Yusuke Urameshi. Who else would be so loud at one o'clock in the morning. She pulled the door open and glared at him. "What is it you want, you dimwit?"

Artemis had been walking behind the rest of them, walking in close proximity with Kurama. She was calmer than before when she'd yelled at Hiei. She had been talking softly with Kurama until they'd come upon the shrine. At least, that's the kind of building it looked like. She was hardly surprised by Yusuke's loud knocking, but she was a little shocked when Genkai opened the door.

Genkai took a good look around the group and let out a sigh. "Nevermind, I think I know what you're here for." She said in the same annoyed tone. Kurama smiled apologetically. "Yes, Genkai, sorry for the intrusion, but it is rather urgent. We're to compete in yet another tournament, and there are some among us in need of your training expertise." He said it with such grace and dignity, it would be hard for anyone to not like him.

"Yeah, yeah, I can understand that much." She huffed. "Give me a moment. You have the use of my yard if you want to warm up first. I'll be back shortly." She turned to walk away when Artemis stepped forward rather hastily. "Do you uhh, have somewhere I can get changed? I don't want to run around in my school uniform." She said, looking particularly uncomfortable with the idea of training in the short skirt. Genkai took a good look at her. "Yeah, follow me. The rest of you can practice out here till we get back." She repeated and led Artemis inside.

Hiei huffed out a sigh, a slight smirk on his face again. He turned to look at Yusuke. He said nothing and walked off to the back yard to warm up a bit. He knew that if the others really wanted to, they would follow, and Yusuke might challenge him to a small duel. In which case, Hiei knew he would accept without any hesitation. It was always more interesting when sparring against him. For a human, he had become fairly fast, and even stronger than any normal human could ever possibly grow to be.

(( I figured you were working so hard already, so I took Genkai on for now as well... She probably won't be around for too long anyway... considering the limited time frame before the tournament ))

(Thank you... there's lots of characters to fill in for until others join.)

Kaya was a bit alarmed when Genkai opened the door, feeling a bit sorry that they had interrupted her sleep at such a time of night. She was glad, however, that she woman had taken it as well as she had. Quite obviously, she knew the detectives. Yusuke stretched his arms a bit as he walked around to the back, already knowing what he wanted as a warm up and taking no hesitation in making his offer. "Hey, shortie!" he called out to Hiei, "Care for a quick match?" He asked this before plopping down on the grass to stretch before warming up.

Kaya watched the two walk off, letting out a soft sigh before following after. She sat a good distance away from them, not wanting tog et in their way, but at the same time, wanting to watch. She took her time stretching, relaxing her muscles after such a busy day. Who knew how much stress school would be? Her muscles were so twisted up, it took her far longer than normal to loosen them.

Only after stretching did she look down at her clothes, glad that she had already changed out of her school uniform earlier, and into jeans and a plain tee shirt. Skirts annoyed her more than anything while fighting, and she would hate to wear them while training, whether or not it was extensive. This made her think about what exactly they would be doing, she guessed it would be more single training than anything, but for the time being she would watch Hiei and Yusuke's match to get a wind of their fighting abilities.

(( That is so true, and we also need someone to add another member to the new threat and everything... xP I may think about it... since I can handle another character of my own design... ))

Hiei smirked as he looked over at Yusuke. "I'd never pass up the chance to fight with you, Detective." He said as he drew out his katana, immediately getting into his usual fighting stance. It didn't really matter who made the first move, but Hiei liked it better when he was the first to strike. So why not switch things around for once? Make things a little more interesting. "You first, Detective." He said simply, as if he was getting bored by standing there waiting.

Kurama walked around the area where he knew Yusuke and Hiei were going to fight. He settled down in the grass for now, closing his eyes for just a moment. He knew well enough that even if the two should run around, they wouldn't even come close to him, or this other demon girl. So Kurama opened his eyes and looked at Kaya, wondering about her. Sure Koenma had shown them security footage of the way she fought and everything, but it said little about her.

***

Genkai saw to it that Artemis found a room to get changed in. And she left her to her own, for now. It was perfectly obvious to her that this girl was a gifted human. "What is your name, girl?" Genkai asked through the closed doors. "Uh, it's Artemis Silvaen, ma'am." Artemis called back as she was getting dressed. She greatly appreciated that Genkai had been kind enough to show her to a room in order to get changed.

"Did you say Silvaen?" Genkai asked, eyes a bit wider than before. She remembered someone by that name. An old friend who had fought alongside her and the Toguro brothers in the Dark Tournament. He had unfortunately been killed in the tournament, but apparently not without leaving behind an heir to his psychic prowess. "Yeah, why, does it sound familiar to you?" Artemis asked as she pulled on her shirt. Genkai sighed. "Yes, in fact, I believe I knew your grand-father." She said in almost a whisper.

Artemis had to peek her head out of the room at that. "What did you say?" She asked with an extremely curious yet bewildered look on her face. "I once knew a man by the name of Gabriel Silvaen. He was your father's father, correct?" Genkai asked, turning her head slightly to look at the girl. "Yeah, my father used to tell me stories about him. How he disappeared before his newly-wed wife gave birth to their son. How do you know him?"

Genkai smiled. "Your grand-father and I are old aquaintances. We fought together in the Dark Tournament that was held over fourty years ago. Your grand-father never returned to your family, because he was killed in the tournament. He fought to keep his family safe, as I'm sure you're doing now." Artemis stared at her for a moment. "He really... he really fought against Demons?" "Yes, of course. It was a long time ago, but it was essential to the survival of humanity and of his own family." Genkai said.

"It makes me wonder if you have the same powers as he did." She said simply as she looked at the girl. "Well, what kind of powers did he have?" Artemis asked, suddenly highly interested as she pulled out the last remaining peices of her outfit to put them on. "He was very unique. He could use his own telekinetic powers to turn an attack against his opponent. That and he had an apt for being rather clairvoyant. He always knew when something was going to happen next."

Artemis shook her head. "I don't have any powers like that." She said simply and walked out of the room. She was stuffing her school uniform into her bag at the same time. "All I can do is focus electric energy into my hands. At least, that's all I know I can do." Genkai looked her up and down. "That's too bad, your grand-father specifically hoped that the family would carry on with his telekinetic powers." She noted that the girl merely shrugged. "Well, let's find out what the others are getting themselves into, shall we, dear?" Artemis simply nodded and Genkai led the way back through the house.

(lol... maybe i should've came up with a more complex plot... ah well. ^^;; I might just take on a couple more characters)

Yusuke frowned a bit at this, searching Hiei for his virtually non-existent weak spot. "Don't get bored just yet, Hiei." He never liked having to go at him first, but.. ah, hell. He simply ran into it, aiming for a simple punch, but being careful to mind Hiei's katana. One slash form the fire youkai could mean serious injury, which was the last thing anyone here needed with the short time before the tournament.

Kaya continued to stretch from her spot on the grass, finally getting all of her muscles loose, which she felt would help with whatever training she decided upon doing. She felt eyes upon her, and looked up to find Kurama looking at her. Her gaze stayed on him for a moment, confused, before she continued what she had been doing. It was only then that she realized how little she new of the people she was supposed to be fighting as a team with, and she let her mind wander.

Kaya had made small talk with Yusuke earlier, and from that she could assume some about him. And the girl, Artemis, did reveal a bit about herself in the care for her human siblings and her earlier lack of confidence in herself and her powers. However, she had not made any direct conversation with Kurama nor Hiei, but she was a quiet person, so she didn't intend to unless it was called for or asked of her.

In the second before Yusuke's fist came anywhere near him, Hiei flipped his sword in his hand, switching the blade to the blunt side. He easily blocked Yusuke's punch with the blunt edge of the blade as he swerved around the side and tried to land a hit at Yusuke's stomach. The two of them were fast, even if Yusuke wasn't quite as fast as him, he was still fast enough, especially for a human.

(( I think that if we dont get anyone in here soon, it may turn into like a... a two person roleplay... xP ))

Kaya was almost bored, so she found herself look for a tree. A good, sturdy tree. There was quite the variety in the area, so it hadn't taken long. She put quite a bit of room between herself and the others, about 30 yards or so, just in case. Then, taking a deep breath, she focused. She would try something she hadn't quite perfected yet, but it was simple enough that she didn't need anyone to train it with. After a moment or so, she took in a small breath, and when she let it out, she aimed at the top of the tree, and as she slowly moved her jaw downwards, a thin, narrow line was cut down its center.

Kaya stood back, looking at the line for a moment before carefully setting the tip of one of her toes about a foot from the bottom of the tree. She then carefully lifted her other foot from the ground, placing it yet another foot higher than the first. At tis point, she would be completely sideways, and she had to concentrate rather hard to keep her balance as she continued to walk up along this line.

If anyone came close enough to the tree she was on, there would be a breeze, caused by her maneuvering the air beneath her in such a way that it held her up.

****

Yusuke took no time in twisting his body to the side in order to dodge Hiei's sword as he moved. He did find it somewhat hard to try and dodge Hiei, but he was quick enough for the time being. While dodging, his fingers went into position in that of his spirit gun, and at a rather lower power, he shot it at Hiei, hoping to hit his chest as Yusuke turned his body.

Hiei just managed to dodge the spirit gun blast, feeling a shimmer of power left behind by the blast. He smirked as he moved immediately to charge at Yusuke, holding his sword in one hand and preparing to attack with his other should his sword be parried once again. But either way he lunged at Yusuke, slashing at him with the blunt edge of the sword.

Kurama could just barely see them moving, so he turned his attention onto himself. He knew how to go into his demon form at will now, so there wasn't really all that much he needed to work on. A bit of practice maybe, but nothing that would require too much time to handle. Presently, Kurama detected the scent of Genkai and Artemis returning from inside the house so he turned to look in their direction.

Artemis was glad to be back in her regular outfit. One that was entirely mis-matched at best. She looked nothing like the school girl she had been only a few minutes ago, and again she was glad for that. Wearing uniforms was not her strong suit. She preferred dressing in her own style, a style she was uniquely comfortable with. She smiled slightly as she came around the corner. She noticed that Yusuke and Hiei were fighting. They seemed to be moving a bit fast, but nothing her eyes couldn't follow. She walked over to where Kurama was sitting and had a seat next to him. "Can you watch them?" She asked.

"Just barely." Kurama replied as he turned to look at her in the new outfit. He had to admit that she did look more comfortable that way. "Can you?" Artemis nodded. "Yeah. I'm not having any trouble with it." She said simply as if the two weren't moving at speeds no mere human eye could catch. "That's strange. You're sure you've never done any of this before?" He asked, beginning to notice a strange scent mingled in with her human scent. "I don't like fighting." She said simply. "Not unless there is something worth fighting for." Kurama gazed at her for a moment longer before shaking his head and turning back to watch the fight. Even Genkai was simply standing by, waiting for the two to finish.