Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Dreamcatchers ❯ Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any part of Yu Yu Hakusho or anything related to that show. I also do not own the legend concerning dream catchers. So please don't hurt me.

"Mommy, I'm thirsty," a young boy called down the stairs. He clutched at a teddy bear as the thunderstorm raged on outside.

"All right honey. I'll be right there," his mother called back. She sighed, telling her husband she would be right back. Her graceful steps clicked slightly on the tile as she entered the kitchen, reaching up for a plastic cup with a spill proof cap. She filled it with water and went upstairs to her son's bedroom, knocking on the closed door.

"Billy?" She reached for the doorknob, turning it to gain entrance. Lightning flashed outside, making it appear as bright as day. She moved for the light switch. The cup dropped from her hand, eyes wide with horror. She screamed, breaking down into heart wrenching sobs as she knelt next to her son's head. Her husband came running up the stairs, skidding to a halt at the doorway. He backed out of the room, dashing for the bathroom to empty the contents of his stomach. Body parts were strewn all over the room, appearing as though someone had tried to paint the walls with his blood. The mother sobbed as the storm continued while her husband raced for the phone. Somewhere in his room, a dream catcher twirled gently from a breeze entering through the broken window.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

" . . . and that's the full report. He's the sixth child to die under mysterious circumstances this month. And each one has had a high energy reading at the time of the attack," Botan continued to Koenma. The blue haired pilot of the river Styx shook her head sadly at such dire news. Her pink kimono was still drenched from the rainstorm she had flown through and was dripping onto the tile floor.

The childlike ruler of the spirit world scowled at the report, crossing his arms over his chest. "This is strange indeed. Does anyone else know of this?"

"Not yet sir. You're the first I've told so far. Once I finished here, I was going to find Yusuke and the others to put them on alert," she replied, wringing out her sopping wet hair.

"Very well then. Alert them at once. Perhaps they can unravel this mystery." Without delay, Botan left the spirit world at once, hopping onto her oar to fly across dimensions once more.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Yusuke! Yusuke, where are you?" Keiko shouted just outside of the school door. "Idiot. He must be sleeping on the roof again." She sighed and turned to go back to class, brown hair bouncing as she walked.

"Keiko!" The high school student turned at the voice, face breaking into a smile as she realized whom it was.

"Botan. What are you doing here?" she asked, one hand still on the door handle.

"I'm so glad I found you. We need to gather the whole team. We've got a new assignment," she replied, breathless from running over the school courtyard. She no longer wore her kimono, but a uniform like Keiko's with a long skirt and knee high socks to match.

"Okay then. I'll look for Yusuke and you look for Kuwabara." With a target in mind, both girls ran off in different directions to find their assigned quarry. Keiko ran up the stairs three at a time to reach the roof, bursting out into the bright sunlight. She whipped around, looking for Yusuke. He was right where she thought he would be, sleeping soundly in a corner, his green uniform a startling contrast to the pale roof below him. She fumed as her steps took her closer and closer, before bending over to punch him in the face.

"Yusuke you idiot! What do you think you're doing up here? You're supposed to be in class right now!" she shouted, glaring at him with her hands on her hips.

The target of her anger groaned, rubbing at his face where she had hit him. His brown eyes returned her glare as he ran a hand through his black hair.

"Jeez Keiko, did you really have to hit me that hard?" He sat up, a surly expression on his face.

"Well, since Botan sent me to get you, I think it was fair." His expression went to one of curiosity as he jumped to his feet.

"Botan's here?" Keiko only nodded and led the way to Genkai's temple.

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"Well, now that you've wasted enough time getting here, lets get down to business shall we?" The old woman let her scathing reply echo in the main chamber of the temple as three humans, two demons, and one pilot of the river Styx all settled down around her in a semicircle. "Now Botan. Will you please tell all of them what you have told me?" The blue haired young woman nodded and cleared her throat, pulling out a file folder and opening it to the first page.

"Now then. What we have is a serious demon problem far different from anything we've faced before. Currently we have six victims, all children that have been killed in the dead of night by unseen forces. Each child was ripped limb from limb in a matter of a few moments before the attacker escaped through an open window." She closed the folder and set it down on the floor in front of her. "The only links we've found is that all the victims are between the ages of 7 and 12, and that each child's parents were home and still awake when the attack occurred, which means that what we're up against is incredibly fast and powerful on top of that." As a group, each member paled at that grim bit of news, Keiko even becoming a bit green.

"Well," Yusuke began. "as much as I would love to go and kick some demon ass, I can't. Me, Kuwabara and Keiko all have finals this week. As much as I hate studying, even I have to. I think this one will be up to Kurama and Hiei."

Genkai shook her head. "They can't handle this alone. We'll have to get help from somewhere else then." Kurama sat quietly, thinking of where help could be found when he was hit with an idea.

"Don't worry about that Genkai. I think I know where Hiei and I can enlist some aid in this endeavor," he replied smoothly, rising to his feet. "We have some old friends that own us a bit of a favor. I think it would be best if we went to them now before they too get entangled in this mess."

"See to it then." She gave a brisk nod and the pair of demons vanished into the night.