Introduction/Plot:

After defeating all who opposed them in the Dark Tournament, Yusuke and company returned to the Human World for some much needed R&R. To make this down time possible, Koenma temporarily placed a new detective team in charge of Yusuke's territory and protecting the Human World against demons. However, while on a mission to investigate a potential lead, the team was slaughtered with the exception of one surviving member who retained substantial injuries in the conflict. Now Koenma has to cut Team Urameshi's vacation short and ask for their help in tracking down this new threat, which they know nothing about. On top of this, there's been some talk around Demon World about some kind of tunnel. What's going on and can these threats be stopped in time?

Post 1: Introduction & Plot
Post 2: Table of Contents
Post 3: Rules of the RP & How to Apply for Characters
Post 4: Active Canon Character List
Post 5: Made-ups Character List and Profiles
Post 6: Absent List//Banners

The Rules

[imgleft]http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/4393/yusukej.jpg[/imgleft]
1.) Faiyth is the moderator of this roleplay. Her word is law. Approach her first with any questions, comments, or concerns.
2.) No Godmodding.
3.) No Powerplaying
4.) No Mary/Gary Sues
5.) Do not post in this thread with profiles or character requests. Send those to me via PM.
6.) Do not post here with questions. Send them to me.
7.) There isn’t a set post length limit. I’d prefer at least 2-3 sentences per post though.
8.) Follow Menewsha's Rules and keep it PG-13.
9.) OOC talk should, for the most part, be restricted only to the OOC thread: OOC Thread
However, quick notices about going offline are allowed and encouraged on this thread. Don't leave us hanging!
10.) DO NOT apply if you aren't in for the long term. Period.
11.) There is no limit to the amount of canon characters you can play, but there is a one made-up limit per person. You must apply and be accepted for each character. Don't bite off more than you can chew.

To Apply:

1.) To apply for a canon character from the series, such as Yusuke or Hiei, you must send me a pm with a roleplay sample of adequate (3-4 sentence minimum. Treat this sample like an opening post.) length. I will review your sample and either accept or decline. Whether or not I accept is a matter of how in character you are and how well your grammar/spelling is. If I decline, i’ll provide you with reasons why. You can reapply or try for another character, if you wish.

No more made-ups will likely be accepted into this roleplay. You may still apply and if I feel like your character may add something to the roleplay, I may still accept them.

2.) This roleplay will only accept FOUR made-ups, other than my own. This is a first come, first serve basis. However, you still must meet the requirements and be accepted. The following roleplay skeleton will need to be filled out, along with a roleplay sample of appropriate length. Complete these two requirements and send them to me via pm. NOTE: Do not include a random anime picture in your character skeleton. Only use art that you have drawn yourself. A physical description is required regardless.

Made-Up Skeleton:

Username:
Name:
Age:
Gender:
Race:
Class:
Occupation:
Abilities/Weapons:
Personality:
Physical Description:
Biography/Past:
Other:
Posting Color:

Canon Character List

[imgleft]http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/671/hiei.jpg[/imgleft]
Urameshi, Yusuke: KageShio

Kuwabara, Kazuma:Daemora

Hiei: Saravi Boo

Minamino, Shuichi/Yoko Kurama: zigbigadorlube

Genkai: AkiraTepes

Keiko: AkiraTepes

Shizuru: KarinKusari **Member is currently inactive. If you would like to take over Shizuru, let me know.**

Botan: Faiyth

Yukina: Saravi Boo

Koenma: Faiyth

Sniper: Daemora

Sensui: OPEN


**If you do not see a canon here that you would like to play, notify me and I will add them to the list for you. Also, the colors here are not the colors you have to post under. I only did this to make it visually easier on myself to navigate this post.**

Made-Up Character List & Profiles

Username: Faiyth
Name: Nakamura, Katsumi
Age: Unknown. Looks to be 17.
Gender: Female
Race: Fire Demon
Class: B+
Occupation: A temporary Spirit Detective, originally border patrol stationed within the Demon World.
Abilities/Weapons:
Katsumi is best suited for hand-to-hand fighting, having been put through rigorous training for several years in the field of mixed martial arts. She channels her spirit energy into her fists and legs during confrontations. Her physical strength grows tremendously when backed by spirit energy and packs one mean punch. In addition to being a master at energy fists, she is also capable of consciously adjusting the amount of spirit energy channeled to each of her limbs and adjust that level as needed to conserve her own energy. Although she would prefer to beat her opponents into a bloody pulp, when the situation becomes dire or she loses her ring, Katsumi is known to completely go out of her mind and use a variety of fire techniques. Though in this situation, she may not be able to differentiate friend from foe.
Personality:
Katsumi isn't someone to place immediately her trust in others, especially after the loss of her teammates. She doesn't have a mean demeanor, but she is quiet when exposed to unfamiliar circumstances. She constantly blames herself for the deaths of her friends and lets her anger out through rough training. She often trains to the point of injuring herself. However, beneath the scars her friends left behind, she is a loyal person and extraordinarily persistent.
Physical Description:
Katsumi has short, barely shoulder length, auburn brown hair that's heavily layered. Her bangs and the layers nearest her face act as a frame, while the rest flips out in a perfectly, imperfect way. She has pale skin and clear, strikingly blue eyes. She stands at 5'6" and has a slender, misleading build. Outside of the Human World, Katsumi is known to wear a short, trademark yukata. The yukata is plain, jet black. The obi that accompanies it is gold with multicolored, embroidered patterns of various dragons that circle her waist. Within the Human World, Katsumi is a fan of dark-wash denim jeans, layering tank tops, and converse.
Biography/Past:
Katsumi was orphaned at a young age. She doesn't retain any memories of her parents or any other family members for that matter. She grew up in the rural outskirts of a boisterous city in the Demon Realm. Here she learned to fend for herself and street smarts that kept her alive. By the time Katsumi reached her younger teens, she became fascinated with a dojo in the countryside that was run by a vicious sensei who nearly crippled his students with his outrageous work load. At first, she was instantly turned away. Over time, however, Katsumi found ways to sneak into the outdoor training sessions and proved her worth. She was accepted into the dojo and served as its only female graduate. Her sensei taught her to control her spirit energy and concentrate them into deadly martial arts maneuvers. After an incident that almost sent the school into a fiery inferno, she was given a ring to wear to subdue her inner thirst for flames and destruction. Some years after leaving the dojo to pursue her own interests, she was employed by Koenma to join a patrol team to enforce Spirit World's borders and prevent any harmful demons from entering. After Team Urameshi's victory at the Dark Tournament, she and her team were temporarily stationed within the Human World to take over as a detective team in order to give Yusuke and company a little down time. While investigating a potential threat to the Human Realm, Katsumi's team was ambushed by an unknown enemy. Her teammates were slaughtered, and she was originally presumed dead as well. During the attack, Katsumi and her team were all wearing communication devices. Koenma tracked the signal and hastily recovered the fallen team. Katsumi narrowly survived after spending weeks in the Spirit World's hospital. The only clue they have to the perpetrators are Katsumi's own vivid memories and the tapes recovered from the teams' communication devices that seemed to have captured the full event on audio.
Other:
Katsumi wears a power-subduing ring on her left index finger. This ring helps her tame the fire demon side to her that she has never been able to fully control on her own.
Posting Color: Dark Orchid

Username: Hana_Ryuzkai
Name: Hana Ryuzkai
Age: 17
Gender: Female
Race: Fox Demon
Class: B
Occupation: Princess Of the Emmental fox tribe
Abilities/Weapons: Can manipulate Water. This means She can create a wepon from the many moster molicules that reside in the air on a VERY Humide day. She can also creat a title wave from a River but this leaves her a little out of it in th end. She can create deadly wepons as well as conforting healing solutions. She is beginning to dable in freezeing water but is beginning to find it rather time consuming and draning.
Personality:Mello and level headed, She can be extreamly bubbly and happy, when in human form, And can be the complete opposite when in fox form. When in battle she tends to be quick to act but very calculating. She also likes to provoke and lead the other to tire out before she does.
Physical Description: Human form: A small blond (about 5"11') With bright blond hair and vibrant Green eyes. She is normally seen in bright colors and tends to be very bubbly. She wears a school uniform from Kuramas School, to complete the human apperence and fit in.
Fox form: A slightly tallar girl (about 5"11') with dark black hair and bright blue eyes. She is now adorned with a pair of Black and whit tipped Fox ears and Tail. Her hands have sharp claws and her mouth bears sharp fangs used for tearing into flesh. in this form she is in a traditional Spring kimono that is blue, red and gold. Base=blue Trim=red Embrodery=gold.
Biography/Past: She grew up on the bordar of the demon plain and human plains. her clan and Tribe are very loyal to koenma for he has kept the peace with them and vice versa. She was trained to protect non other than herself but to also protect adny human who strayed into the human world as well as escorting them back. She learned water manipulation as a must because of the many rivers that her clan passed by on anual migrations. freazing the water has been cause for more stress and she doesnt do it offten.
Other:She is a fun loving girl and will keep people as happy as they want to be. their no such thing as personal space around her Shes more appt to invading your space when ever possible!
Posting Color: Dark blue

Username: Vaneria
Name: Kate Lillian S.
Age: 19
Gender: Female
Race: Human/Demon (mother-human & father demon)
Class: B
Occupation: Modeling & Traveling
Abilities/Weapons: A staff that she pushes her spirit energy through and aatack others with. She can also heal but only others not herself. (The staff turns into a bracelet)
She can quickly attack someone by focusing and could probally kill them-not like she cares.
Personality: Kate is a nice girl at heart and will help others even if they are evil but she can also be a b*tch and stand up for others and herself. She is a great actress and that makes it hard for others to completly trust her. She has few friends but knows a lot of people.
Physical Description: Kate has long, soft, black hair to midback in a high ponytail and her bangs are as long as her hair so it is pulled back with the hair. Her eyes are a nice bright blue with a tad of silver she had gotten from her mother. She is skinny and strong though she looks to be a little more average. She wears a black shirt that ties around her neck & black tripp capri's with the chains. Black ankle boots with silver lining and fingerless black gloves with the words "Hate" in blood red on each of them. She has a black butterfly on her right shoulder as her birthmark and her skin is very light but not pale. Her complexion is clean and she still looks like she is 16. (doesn't always wear gothic clothes)
Biography/Past: She grew up with her father which was a demon and her mother on earth she would visit often since her parents split up. Since then she just goes where she pleases and models whenever she feels like it.
Other: She doesn't always care to sleep since she doesn't need it but she does need to always drink something to keep her going.
Posting Color: Royal Blue

Username: Daemora
Name: Taykayo Alexander St. Valentine/Patronis
Age: 17
Gender: Male
Race: Human/Demon
Class: A-
Occupation: High School Student/Roaming Prophet-Healer
Abilities/Weapons:
Taykayo has very strong psychic abilities that far outrank the abilities of normal humans. He can sense when danger is approaching. His powers thus far have only been his unnatural clairvoyance and ability to sense danger. He also can use his power in an offensive manner. Such as concentrating his power to condense into a solid orb of power. When he loses concentration the orb pulses and sends out a blast that spreads out in a two-mile radius, destroying anything within range that isn't inanimate. Mostly this power eradicates any demons within the area, but if all control is lost, it could destroy an entire city block, buildings and all.
Patronis is a demon that can control the element of light. A strange power for a demon, but true enough. He mostly uses his powers to heal others, never thinking about himself or the fact that he could use his power in a destructive manner. He is stronger, both physically and spiritually than his human half. He can even materialize a gold and silver staff that he uses as a weapon for close-range combat.
Personality:
Taykayo is unusually sweet and kind by nature, and almost too trusting. One would call him naive, perhaps even foolish, but he doesn't seem capable of evil thoughts. Never one to think badly of others, he often beleives anything anyone tells him, even if it is a lie. He also likes to try and see the best in all people. Honest to a fault, he will tell you anything, and then apologize later if he said anything offensive. He also tends to be very clumsy and is always apologizing for everything, even if it isn't his fault. Always the optimist, he looks at everything in a positive light, a trait that often gets other people annoyed at him.
Patronis is different fom his human side. True he is kind and compassionate, but he is also more serious and looks at things a bit more critically than his human half. He often is quick to judge others, and that often causes him to seem very withdrawn and distant. He can sometimes be overly critical and will often carefully assess the situation before jumping into action. He is not quick to trust others as Taykayo, but with time he can grow to trust others.
Physical Description:
Taykayo is very short for a boy, standing at only 5'4". His short hair is a shade of golden blonde, and it is often very messy no matter what he does to style it. His eyes are a shade of light blue that matches the sky. His skin is very fair and pale. He mostly wears simple clothing. A simple pair of light-wash jeans, and a white button-up shirt with long sleeves. He is often considered very attractive, especially by girls in school, and he is often mistaken as a girl by some of the boys in his class.
Patronis looks very different in comparison. He stands at 5'11", his long platinum blonde hair hangs loosely around his shoulders. His eyes are a unique shade of blue and violet. His skin is lightly tanned, making his platinum blonde hair more noticable. Patronis dresses in a unique style. A simple tunic to start, something one would normally see in medieval times. Long, baggy pants that extend just to the ankle. Light weight, leather boots tucked under the pants. Finished with a simple petticoat over the tunic, no buttons to close the coat, just a simple design. In comparison to his human half, Patronis looks considerably more masculine.
Biography/Past:
In Makai, he had been a wanderer, a healer and a prophet. Patronis had an uncanny ability to sense the future, something that could never be fully predicted, but he was good at it. It happened one day that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. A fight broke out in one of the demon cities where he was travelling and he somehow got messed up in the fight. As the fight unravelled, Patronis was attacked with a powerful blast of energy and the next thing he knew, he was staring at the scene from above, free-floating without a body. There wasn't much else he could do, and he wasn't ready to cross over yet, or give up on being alive, so with the power he had left as a spirit, he crossed over to the human world and entered an unborn child.
As Taykayo grew up, he had Patronis to guide him. At the age of seven, there was an incident in which a group of demons came after Taykayo. Without any real control over his powers, there was an explosion that resulted in the deaths of many people, including his own human father. Patronis's power was all that kept Taykayo from being obliterated by his own power, and even then, left the boy with a few scars and burns. The explosion was written off as a secret experiment gone awry, as the cause was unknown even to the british government. Since then, Taykayo has forgotten that day, the memory surpressed in his mind. All he knows of his biological father is that he was killed in a freak accident. His mother remarried a few years later, and moved to Japan to live with her new husband.
Other: Taykayo wears a crystal cross that dangles from a silver chain around his neck. It's only purpose is to hide his spirit power.
Posting Color: Teal

Username: AkiraTepes
Name: Shadow
Age: Unknown
Gender: Male
Race: Demon
Class: B+
Occupation: Roamer/Criminal (On Spirit World's Most Wanted List)
Abilities/Weapons:
With a unique humanoid body type, Shadow has claws that look like nothing more than sharpened nails. Laced in deadly poison that is secreted out of his fingertips, these claws are his deadliest weapon. He is exceptionally fast, even for a demon, and he can see things that most people don't. Not one to mess with techniques and spirit power, he has very little control over his energy. Though he does use a special power that can drain the energy of others. He often uses this power to strengthen his own physical abilities, making him faster and stronger. His canines are longer and sharper than a normal human, like vampire fangs.
Personality:
Very hard to describe, Shadow's personality is mostly unknown to others, as very few humans or demons have lived long enough to describe what he was like. He is, however, a very strange being. With absolutely no regard for personal space, he will get right up in a person's face for no reason other than to make them uncomfortable. He is highly crazy, and would be considred clinically insane, yet he seems to retain some form of sanity regardless. Though he is also a bit paranoid. Always talking to himself, he can never seem to blend in among others, not even those of his own kind, among demons. He is also very particular, he loves blood and gore.
Physical Description:
Shadow is a decent height, standing at about 5'9". His skin is very pale, almost sheet white, but he has blood red markings all over his arms, neck, and face. Almost like the stripes a tiger has on it's body, though Shadow only has these markings on his arms and chest, as well as a single marking that stretches the width of his neck. Four markings on his face, pointing inwards towards his nose. He dresses in a very simple style. He wears a long white tunic on his torso, with a dip in the middle to show off a portion of his chest. His legs are bare, him wearing nothing but a cloth that looks like a long white, skirt that covers front and back, and on one side, letting his other bare leg show. He goes around barefoot. His nails are about an inch long and sharpened to a point. His hair is long, sleek and silver. His eyes are always narrow, like snake-eyes and they are a deep blood red color most of the time, but his eyes change to a pale green when he has not drained energy from other people and demons in a while.
Biography/Past:
Shadow grew up in a comunity of demons similar to himself. All of them were bloodthirsty beasts, and almost none of them had any intelligence. Many of his kind did not possess a humanoid form, but he was born differently than the rest. He was smarter than they were, which often led to him being the winner of all the sparring matches with his siblings. Over time, he grew bored with his simple life and left the demon village. Eventually, the rest of the demons of his kind killed each other until there were none left. He was alone, and without any real sense of good or bad, and nothing but bloodlusting instincts to guide him, he became a criminal in Makai. No victim survived his wrath, but he was seen comitting a crime by one of Spirit World's Investigators. It became the only way to discover his crimes, for the investigators to watch him from a distance, as his style to killing was completely spontaneous. One investigator died from getting too close and being discovered by the supposedly psychotic demon.
Other:
He is fascinated by and becomes very complacent when there is an extremely bright light, or when he sees a person with a bright aura.
Posting Color: Indigo

Username: KageShio
Name: Hiro Shiomataru-Slomanov
Age: 28
Gender: Male
Race: "Gifted" human (Has watered-down Demon blood from two generations ago) Power level of about B- (if he knew what that was exactly)
Occupation: Professional martial artist/ Freestyle martial arts instructor
Abilities/Weapons: Skilled in the use of almost all types of blades and the knowledge of a range of Martial arts as well as having use of "energy work". He can control his aura and spirit energy to protect as well as attack. His energy is of water alignment so it always seems to be shifting and moving, flowing with hard pressure of the sea or swirling like a mist. He still prefers to use his blades or body do the fighting, but he realizes that he was given the gift and needs to know how to use it.
Specific attacks:
Umi no Hayai Gekido (swift fury of the sea): Energy bursts combined with a rapid secession of palm thrusts. powerful as a whole but relatively weak if just one hit were to land, this move chips away at the opponent.

Tora wa Hikisaku (Tiger's tears): A small spray of energy needles. Not enough to do real damage, but a good distraction for a follow-up attack.

Suusan-O no fukushuu (Revenge of Suusan-O): He unleashes a wave of pure spirit energy, crashing down on himself and the opponent. He has forced himself to be able to come out of this attack standing, but at a price.

Kagami no Kai (Mirror shell): A deflective barrier that stops weaker Reiki and Youki attacks, and can be strengthened to block stronger ones, though it depletes his energy reserves.

Personality: Hiro is a generally calm person, having learned that even a warrior must not let aggression rule one's life. That doesn't mean he has no temper, however, for when a person reminds him a bit too much of his father his anger can quickly rise. He has a serious nature, but can joke about, usually with dryer humor and sarcasm that comes about subtly. In battle he is a precision fighter, utilizing an opponent's weaknesses and strengths to his advantage, saving energy and strength for one major blow to end the fight.
Physical Description: Tall due to his Russian father, he stands at 6'3" with broad shoulders and a lean body. His pale skin is littered with various scars and marks from a hard life and unforgiving passion of fighting. He has deep, midnight blue eyes and raven hair to the small of his back. He mainly wears black cotton slacks and a colored Uwagi(kimono-like tunic-top than martial artists wear), as he his almost always at the Dojou where he teaches. Other than that he can be seen in jeans and t-shirts with unbuttoned long-sleeved shirts over them.
Biography/Past: He started life in Japan but moved with his abusive father to Russia after his mother's death. Living near the Chinese border gave him ample opportunities to see live martial arts, and mimic the fighters. One day a kind teacher offered to give him classes for free, seeing that he had potential. Hiro was taught every day for three years before he accidentally found his spiritual powers. He finally had fought back against his father's abuse, breaking the man's nose and nealy filling his lungs with water-like energy. A neighbor had called the police, Hiro was removed from the house and put in a near-by orphanage.
The kind man who was teaching him adopted the ten year old Hiro and took him back to China, Schooling him in many forms of martial arts and weaponry, as well as the world of Tai Qi and Qi Gong: the art of energy and Chakra. When Hiro was 18, he was a well-known martial artist and had gained titles in the championships. He began to travel, going to Korea, Vietnam and other near-by countries to learn the traditional martial arts and weapon styles. He wound up back in Japan when he was 25 and started up his own small school in memory of his Sensei who died the same year.
Other: He has a large collection of weapons from all over Asia, but the blades he uses most are one-handed Sabers or twin short-swords, some times a Saber and a short sword.
Posting Color: Slate Blue

Absent List & Banners


.:.Absent List.:.

Absent for < a week:

• ---

Absent for > a week:

• KarinKusari - Kuwabara [taken over by Daemora], Shizuru

• Kageshio - Yusuke [Being covered by Faiyth], OC: Hiro

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.:.Banners.:.

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The was the sound of rushed footsteps.
"Hey, watch it!"
There goes a stack of papers.
"-Sorry!"

George the ogre weaved through the frantic employees of Koenma's front office, trying desperately to avoid knocking over more papers that still required his boss's seal of approval. "K-Koenma, sir!" He called as he knocked on the young prince's office door.

"Yes, yes, what is it, ogre?" The toddler questioned as the door was opened. Koenma, future king of spirit world, sat in his enormous chair behind his desk, all but the top of his hat was hidden behind stacks of endless paperwork. The metronome of the constant stamping of his seal provided the only noise besides their own voices.

"The girl, she said she's ready to talk now." George replied quickly.

"WHAAT?" The young lord bellowed, knocking hundreds of forms onto the floor as he cleared a way to get a look at his employee. "Well, it's about time! Summon Botan and have her retrieve Team Urameshi! I need them here in my office, ASAP!" Koenma added loudly.

"Y-Yes sir! Right away!"

"But ogre..."

"Yes sir?"

"Pick this mess up before you leave. I'm very busy." Koenma motioned to the papers that now littered half of the office's floor. Then, without waiting for an answer, went back to stamping the few forms that remained in order on his desk.

George hung his head and nodded. "Yes sir.."

Hiei blurred through the city along the telephone wires, avoiding the stupid humans' notice with sheer speed. A few thought they saw a shadow but decided it was only a cloud blocking the sun. Hiei suddenly swerved into a tree in a well kept yard and stopped. He draped himself in the tree's branches to wait. He wanted to speak to Kurama. The annoying humans in the televisions were calling for rain tonight and he wanted to know if the fox would let him sleep on his floor. Hiei hated being cold and wet, it weakened his elemental powers and according to Kurama it also made him surly. According to the idiot, Hiei was always surly. Hiei was surprised Kuwabara even knew what surly meant.

Yukina was doing the weeding in Genkai's vegetable garden. She practically danced from one plant to the next, with a small contented smile on her face. There was a delicious smell of moisture on the air, not cold enough to be snow, which meant it would be rain. Yukina was always pleased when it rained. She loved the sound of it in the trees and the way it felt on her skin. She never experienced anything quite like it before she left her home on the island of the Koorime. Snow was very silent and so light you hardly felt it at all. Ice sounded like drumbeats and it hit her cold skin like tiny pebbles. Rain was somewhere in the middle and it was very soothing to her.

Botan soared through the sky, making occasional flips as the wind shifted. Her violet eyes scanned the bustling world below. She was far too high to be seen with human eyes and several cumulous clouds helped to mask her presence from the mortal realm anyway. She was actually planning on alerting Yusuke first and assumed that the others would follow suit. It surprised her when it was Hiei that she spotted before the spirit detective. The blue haired grim reaper aimed her trusty oar toward the tree that the fire demon took refuge in and zoomed forward too quickly for any human onlookers to see. "Why, hello, Hiei." She spoke up cheerfully as she came to an abrupt stop next to him, still floating in mid-air.

Meanwhile, Urameshi wandered the streets with his hands folded behind his back. Keiko was still pissed at him for forgetting to meet her at the movies the night before, and he just needed time to clear his head of her lingering scolding. His eyes watched the horizon as he walked, oblivious to pretty much anything else. It was a sudden flash of familiar blue that caught his eye. "What the? Botan?" He mumbled, instantly chasing after the flash.

Hiei's only outward reaction to the ferry girl's arrival was to redirect his crimson eyes away from Kurama's window and towards her cheerful face. He didn't even twitch otherwise. Internally he groaned, the annoying reaper's presence could only mean trouble, and trouble meant having to put up with the idiot, Kuwabara, and his ridiculous crush on Yukina.

Yukina had finished the weeding and was feeding the birds. They hopped around her and she laughed delightedly at their antics as she tossed out handfuls of seed for them. One landed on her shoulder and she smiled brightly at it and held a palm full of food up for it to eat from.

Kurama left his school building and headed for home. As was his routine, he had to go the wrong direction for a block or two and then duck into an alley and take to the rooftops to double back. That allowed him to lose his more persistent fan club members or as Hiei liked to call them, stalkers. He felt a familiar presence as he neared his house, or make that several. 'What are Hiei and Botan doing at my house?' He wondered to himself as he picked up the pace a bit. He only had about a block to go before he could find out.

"Koenma sent me to fetch you and the others. Do you happen to know where they could be?" Botan asked, tilting her head to the side curiously. She glanced at the house behind him and had a sudden, but quite obvious realization. "Oh, Is this Kurama's home? Is he here? No.. he shouldn't be. It is a school day.."

"Kurama's huh? Wonder what's up." Yusuke muttered as he kept his eyes on the spot he'd seen Botan land at. As he approached the familiar residence, the spirit detective took a good, few glances around him. "I sure hope he doesn't have a neighborhood watch committee.." He sighed right before he hopped the fence that enclosed Kurama's backyard. It was just as he suspected. The first thing his eyes landed on was the bubbly River Styx guide herself. "B-Botan, it is you! What're you doing here?" He spoke up as he ran to the base of Hiei's perch, taking swift note of the fire demon's presence. "Hiei too? What's going on?"

"Oh Yusuke! I'm so happy you've shown up!" Botan exclaimed happily, floating over toward the normally rambunctious teen. "I was starting to worry that I'd have to prod Hiei for your where-a-bouts!"

"Hn." Hiei snorted, the ferry girl could've tried. He felt Kurama's spirit energy approaching the gate but didn't mention it. The two demons had worked together enough that Kurama's energy was almost as familiar to him as his own or Yukina's. It was no wonder the detective and the bubbly airhead hadn't noticed it yet. <And they wonder how you are always sneaking up on them.> he shot telepathically at the approaching fox. At such short range the jagan didn't even have to be uncovered for him to path the redhead and hear Kurama's answering mental chuckle.

Kurama stealthily hopped the fence into his yard, hiding his spirit energy. He smiled placidly as he popped up behind Yusuke. "Hello." He said smoothly, hoping to startle the young detective and maybe even Botan as well. "I wasn't expecting company. Perhaps we can move this into my room before my mother happens to look out the window?" He gestured to the right hand window on the second floor. "It isn't locked, but try to be quiet please." He said with a smile.

Yusuke stumbled forward in surprise, opening his mouth to shout a string of startled profanities when Botan reached out and covered his mouth as a reflex.

While Yusuke tried to pry the ferry girl's hand from his mouth, Botan actually listened to what Kurama was saying. She had completely forgotten about his human mother. It would be really messy if she witnessed her floating in their humble backyard like some kind of witch. "Gotcha, I'll take Mr. Spirit Detective on up." She whispered, releasing her grip on Yusuke's face but quickly grabbing his nearest wrist. She hovered farther off the ground and up toward Kurama's bedroom window where she carefully parted the window panes with her 'free' hand as Yusuke dangled from below.

"BO-"

"Shhh!" Botan scolded, frowning down at him. "If his human mother hears you, we're in big trouble. So save your complaining until we're inside, but remember to keep it down." She raised the oar a little higher, allowing Yusuke room to let his feet touch the window sill.

Without another word, Yusuke climbed into Kurama's room as quietly as the teen could manage with Botan soon following suit.

Hiei smirked at the green clad spirit detective's reaction to the fox's sudden appearance.

Kurama looked up at Hiei with a grin. "I have to let Mother know I'm home. Would you tell Yusuke and Botan I'll be up in just a minute?" He asked politely.

Hiei said nothing, but darted in through the open window once the other two had cleared it. He claimed a spot on the window sill and halfheartedly glared at Yusuke. "Could you possibly make any more noise, Detective?" He hissed in his deep voice. "Kurama's mother has the washer running and can't quite hear you." It was true, he had checked her location in the house before he settled in the tree and she was loading clothes in the washing machine on the other side of the house. The washer was now running which had served to muffle Yusuke's less than graceful entry into the house.

Kurama entered through the front door and toed off his shoes before going to find his mother. "I'm home Mother." He said with a soft smile. "Oh, Shuuichi, I'm so sorry. I've been so busy today I forgot to prepare you a snack." Shiori frowned and started to head for the kitchen. "No need, Mother. I'm really not hungry and I have a lot of homework to do. If I get started right away I should be done by supper." He smiled again and kissed her cheek. "Relax for a little while, Mother. You shouldn't push yourself so hard."

Yusuke scowled and jabbed his fist in Hiei's direction. "You wanna repeat that, shrimp?" He hissed from where he was standing directly across the bedroom.

Botan, who was sitting on Kurama's bed, reached out and grabbed the spirit detective's closest elbow to hold him back. "Yusuke, now isn't the time to be childish. Calm yourself." She sighed.

"Hmph." Urameshi stuck his nose in the air and pulled his arm away, only to cross both of his arms across his chest defiantly just seconds later. "Yeah, yeah..you're right." He grumbled. He'd too had momentarily forgotten about his red-headed friend's mother. After seeing Yoko in the Dark Tournament, it was almost hard to believe that such a brutal fighter could care so tenderly for his human vessel's birth mother.

"Hn." Hiei turned to look out the window and smirked. It was simply too entertaining to rile up the human detective and his oafish friend. He had to put up with the humans until he finished serving his sentence for stealing the Reikai treasures, at least he could have a little fun at their expense. He absolutely was not going to let the stupid humans get close to him, no matter how many times Kurama told him that Yusuke was his friend....Kurama didn't even try to talk him out of disliking Kuwabara. The affection the oaf had developed for Yukina had destroyed any chance of Hiei and Kuwabara being more than moderately civil to each other, and that was rare.

Kurama hurried up the stairs and entered his nearly spotless room. He took in the tableau laid out before him, Yusuke was glaring at Hiei and Botan was holding the young spirit detective back. Hiei was trying very hard not to let either of them see how amused he was but it clearly visible to Kurama because he was looking at the fire demon's profile rather than his back as Botan and Yusuke were. He decided that whatever was going on, a change of subject was in order. "Sorry for the delay. I had to let my mother know I was home. Botan, I assume this isn't a social visit..." He let the implied question trail off and waited for a response from the blue haired girl.

"If only it were." Botan frowned, the expression unusual for her usually happy face. "You see, after all of you competed in the Dark Tournament, Koenma took a patrol team that was stationed in Spirit World and placed them in the Human World to act in your place as a temporary investigation squad while you all recovered. But..there was a horrific accident and the squad was slaughtered. In fact, you may have felt the sudden influx in demon energy not too far from here about a month ago." The grim reaper glanced up to look at their faces as she spoke. "Anyway, Koenma has a new case for all of you, and I'm sure he'll know more details than I do."

"I don't recall feeling any energy." Yusuke replied. "What does the toddler want from me anyway? You replaced me already. Get another team and let me have a longer vacation." He added, not so much offended by the thought of being replaced so much as he was annoyed by getting another case so soon.

Hiei turned to look at the blue haired girl, raising an eyebrow. "Where exactly did this take place, and when?" He asked thoughtfully. He sifted through his memories for unusual surges in demonic energy but couldn't place any. Perhaps it had happened while he was away from the city.

Kurama nodded, "I think I felt something but it disappeared before I could track it down."

"It emanated from a warehouse in the Chiba district, near Tokyo Bay." Botan responded thoughtfully, folding her hands in her lap. "I think it happened about twenty seven days ago now..I do know for certain that the human papers are, thankfully, unaware of what occured. We covered the scene rather thoroughly."

"So, what, there's a crazed killer on the loose in the city now? Well what're we waiting for? Let's go see binky-face and get this show on the road!" Yusuke said with sudden enthusiasm, though still careful to keep the volume of his voice on the low side. Honestly, he just wanted to take his frustration from fighting with Keiko out on someone, and this new bad guy would be the perfect scapegoat.

Hiei processed that date and location, he had spent that day watching over Yukina and hadn't been close enough to pick up on the disturbance.

Kurama nodded, "Yes, let's go, or are we still waiting for Kuwabara-kun?"

"I was hoping to retrieve all of you, but Koenma's made it very clear that this is an urgent matter. Perhaps we can fetch him later or fill him in afterward?" In actuality, Botan was envious of Kuwabara. She knew what was lying ahead and she wished that she could skip out on the meeting as well. When she opened her mouth to add something else, an obnoxious beeping erupted from underneath her obi. "Well, speak of the devil." She smiled as she slipped the communicator from her kimono and opened it.

"Botan! What's taking so long?" Koenma roared, banging his small fists onto his desk.

"Well sir, I have everyone here but Kuwabara. We were just discussing whether or not to leave without him." She replied calmly, holding the communication device out for everyone in the room to see.

"Urgh, just leave the oaf! We'll speak to him at a later date. I'm sending a portal for you now, so for the love of Spirit World, hurry up!" The image on the screen fizzled out with a click just as a large, spiralling hole was torn into the space of Kurama's bedroom. How the little lord knew where they were was a mystery. Botan hadn't mentioned their location.

"Uh, well, after you?" The blue-haired girl motioned toward the portal with a silly grin.

"This had better be good, Botan." Yusuke sighed as he stepped through the portal first.

[[OOC: Karin hasn't been on in days. DD: So Kuwa is MIA at the moment. D; ]]

Hiei blurred from his seat on the window sill and was through the portal before the average human would have noticed he had moved.

Kurama smiled at Hiei's exit, "Show off." He muttered under his breath before stepping into the portal himself, "I hope this doesn't take too long. I promised Mother I'd be down for supper." He said just before the swirling portal swallowed him up.

((OK, i skimmed through everything and am finding myself at a loss>> << Whats going on exactly!?))

[[OOC: Mmkay, pleeeease erase that post and send all questions to me in a pm. It disrupts the RP flow to post here. x__x Reading the rules wouldn't hurt either. There's an OC thread link on the first page. I'll be happy to answer your questions there as well. Anyway, since you're a made-up, we'll have to find an appropriate way to let your character enter so send me a pm or post in the OC forum so we can brainstorm.]]

The future lord of the spirit world looked up from his paperwork as Team Urameshi came filing in through the portal he'd sent just moments earlier. "Well, it's about time! I was beginning to think that I'd need to find a dictionary and make everyone in this office copy down the word 'urgent''s definition ten thousand times!" Koenma's blue pacifier bopped up and down as he spoke.

"Yeah, yeah, save it junior. Just tell us why we're here." Yusuke came to a stop in front of the large desk with his arms folded across his chest.

"I assume Botan has given you some basic infor-"

"Yeah, now just get to the point. Who's the bad guy and where is he?" The young spirit detective interjected, anxious to get started and out of this office.

"Well, actually, that's the problem. We don't know who or what it is and we have no idea where it could be hiding. The only thing that we do know is that it's a powerful demon, possible A class, who somehow managed to slip through the Kakai barrier unnoticed." Koenma hung his head and sighed, then suddenly looked up with a frantic expression on his face, arms flailing about. "If my father finds out about this I'm going to be in so much trouble! You all have to get to the bottom of this and soon!"

"Oh sure, just one small problem Koenma... HOW THE HELL ARE WE SUPPOSED TO FIND SOMETHING WHEN WE DON'T KNOW WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE?!"

"Thought you'd ask. You see, when my investigation squad was tracking a seemingly harmless lead for some sloppy D rank demon. But instead, they met someone or something that was way more than they bargained for. Let's just say that the scene was..well..messy. However, everyone in the group was wearing a communication device at the time so we managed to record the entire event on audio." He motioned to a black tape sitting on the corner of his desk. "Also, the sole survivor of this incident just started talking again in the infirmary. We may be able to get a physical description from her, if she feels like speaking about it."

"Poor dear..." Botan mumbled, shaking her head. "She was comatose for almost three weeks afterward."

"Yes, well, shall we? GEORGE!" Koenma screamed, holding the tape out for his ogre employee to grab. "I warn you, although it's audio, it still paints a rather disturbing picture."

Kurama felt a bit of sympathy for the survivor. It was always hard losing friends and teammates. Still, the best thing they could do for her would be to catch the demon that killed her team. That meant find as much information as possible as quickly as possible. He was about to say something to that effect when Hiei spoke up.

"Just play the darn tape so we can get out of here." Hiei said snappishly. He wasn't likely to be disturbed by sounds of battle. He'd seen battle before he could talk. It took a lot to disturb him. However, the thought of a powerful demon killing people in the human world angered him. It didn't matter that he didn't like humans. Until his sentence was over he was sworn to protect them and Hiei took his honor very seriously. Not to mention, Yukina was in the human world and he had to keep her safe.

Yukina sat on the temple's porch and sipped a cup of tea contentedly. She wondered if Kuwabara was going to come by today. He often stopped by after his school day was over. It was also strange that she hadn't felt Hiei's presence yet today. She had often noticed the fire demon watching her from the trees around the temple, but he never tried to talk to her so she left him alone. She didn't mind him watching her, for some reason it made her feel safe.