Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Fire Dancer ❯ Spirit Guardian ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything!!! ::runs off and sobs in a corner:: lol, but I do own Mai and all my other original characters!!

Okay and I've decided that this fic takes place right before YYH and co. meet Older and Younger Toguro and Sakyo, but it will continue through that part and hopefully through the Dark Tournament Saga…

/Yoko Kurama/

Thoughts

Fire Dancer

:: A Mystery Unfolds::

“Hey Grandma, we're home!” Yusuke yelled through the house. But no one answered and he sighed irritably, “Yo Genkai!”

“Shut up dimwit; I'm in here…” came the aged voice as she appeared through one of the doorways. Her paled pink hair curled around her shoulders and her gray eyes reflected back her annoyance, “What did you do this time?” She asked when she noticed Mai.

An artery pulsed in the Spirit Detective's temple, “I didn't do anything! And why did you accuse me of this first?!” he demanded.

Genkai snorted; “Because it's usually always your fault…” she turned her back towards them and headed back through the doorway, “Bring her in here.”

Yusuke followed after her without question as Botan and Kuwabara appeared at the front door holding their umbrellas. The blue-haired girl chook hers off and set it along the wall. Kazuma—who wasn't paying attention—struck his head on the low doorframe before he finally entered.

She led them into a small living room with only a single chair and couch as well as a short coffee table in the center. A teapot and cups had been laid around the table as if she had already been expecting them.

Urameshi set the girl along the couch and Genkai observed her quietly. Kuwabara took of cup of tea and settled in the arm chair as Botan stood behind him. The Spirit Detective rested his arms on the back of the couch and waited.

After a moment, Genkai turned to him, “So what happened?” she asked.

He shrugged, “Not much; she accidentally knocked me over and helped me pick up my things. Then she ran off, but fainted before she got too far.”

Kuwabara nodded in agreement, “Yeah, and before she did, there was just a small amount of Spirit Energy around her…”

“So who is she, Yusuke?” Botan asked.

“How the hell should I know?!” he snapped, “I don't even recognize her!”

“…Mai Okinawa (A/N: once again, I don't know very many Japanese names)…Age 14…height 5'6…” Kuwabara answered as he read off a small piece of laminated paper. A small backpack-purse sat in his lap.

Yusuke quickly strode over towards him and ripped the card from his hands and stared down at the purse, “Where did you get that?!”

“She dropped it when she passed out,” he replied innocently, “I thought she might want it back when she woke up…” he fumbled through the bag and pulled out a tube of lip-gloss, “Oo! Mint flavored!”

Botan quickly snatched it away along with the purse, “Give me those!”

The Spirit Detective stared down at the ID Kuwabara had discovered. The blue-haired girl peered over his shoulder. She glanced down at the purse and cautiously looked inside.

She pulled out a CD, “Oh! Classy!” she commented and rummaged through the bag, pulling out a small—but thick—book, “Bio-Chem 101?”

“Great,” Yusuke muttered, “Another bookworm like Kurama…”

Genkai sighed irritably, “Well, if you three are done looking through her private life, maybe you would like to help…”

The trio froze guiltily and set Mai's purse on the table.

“Sorry, Grandma,” Urameshi muttered.

She folded her arms, “Was there anything in there that would have told us where she lives?” she asked Botan directly.

Yusuke smirked, “I thought you didn't want us looking through her `private life'.”

“Shut up, dimwit,” she muttered dangerously, “I'm trying to help her…”

Botan picked up the purse once more and peered inside, “Er…I don't think—oh, wait!” she pulled out a cell-phone and started to press the `Scroll' button through the memory bank. She frowned after a moment, “It doesn't appear as though she has a number for home…”

Genkai glanced back at the girl quietly as she thought over the circumstances.

Urameshi tapped his foot gently, “Can't we just wait for her to wake up? Then she can head on home; I mean, maybe her Reiki was just acting up or something…”

The old woman stepped on his foot and the boy fought back his angry outburst, “Yusuke, you idiot,” she shook her head, “Even if it was a fluke, what do you think will happen if you energy suddenly gets out of hand? She has to learn how to control it.”

“Well that's a great idea!” the Spirit Detective squealed with mock-enthusiasm, “But there's only one problem! She doesn't know anything about demons or the Spirit World! How do you think she'll react if and when she finds out?! She'll think we're all crazy!”

“I don't expect her to understand,” Genkai replied calmly, “Her powers are beginning to awaken and she'll come to realize that in time…it's our job just to make sure that we tell her as best as we can and hope that she comes to accept it.”

“So we come back to another question,” Botan spoke quietly, “Why did her powers decide to surface at that particular moment? She was under no pressure and wasn't being attacked or anything…”

Genkai turned to Yusuke, “You said she bumped into you, right?” he nodded, “When you two made contact, her Spirit Energy must have been drawn to yours…and in doing so, her powers were pulled to the surface…”

“So let me get this straight,” Botan said, “Yusuke's Spirit Energy acted sort of like a magnet and when they bumped into each other, her powers were trying to connect with his?”

The old woman nodded, “In a sense, yes…”

“But why?” Urameshi questioned.

Genkai didn't answer; she quietly made her way towards a book shelf sitting along the back wall. Her finger trailed along the spines of the tomes before withdrawing a simple leather-bound book. She returned back to the group and shoved it into Yusuke's gut. He winced but caught it before it was able to fall.

“What the hell is this?”

“A book,” the woman replied sarcastically, “Go to page fifty-seven, will you? And try learning something for once.”

Yusuke mumbled something incoherent, but did as he was told. He flipped through the pages as Botan and Kuwabara came and read over his shoulder.

Page fifty-seven held a single ink painting and a column of text. The picture was that of an indistinguishable form surrounded by rays of light. Flames seemed to devour the entire figure, but they did not look faze at the least. A staff wrought with gold was held by a hand and brandished before an imaginary foe.

At the top of the page were several scrolled words etched in gold:

SPIRIT GUARDIAN

“The Spirit Guardian…” Botan read, “A rare and mysterious form that few have ever seen. Their beauty is hardly ever matched, but it is nothing compared to the power they possess. A Spirit Guardian is usually found in the company of a Spirit Detective only because it is their nature to protect them—.”

“Protect?!” Yusuke nearly yelled, “I don't need any protection—!”

“Shut up, jackass,” Genkai muttered and took a sip of tea, “Finish reading the damn thing first before you start yapping away again…”

The Spirit Detective glowered and folded his arms, “She doesn't even look that pretty…” he mumbled.

Botan ignored him and took the book in her hands and observed the page carefully, “A Spirit Guardian's doesn't show signs of their powers until they have made contact with their charge; usually a Spirit Detective. And from that moment on, their energy begins to grow rapidly, and if the Guardian does not learn to control it, their powers will eventually consume them from the inside out…”

“Well that sounds pleasant,” Kuwabara mumbled, but the girl quickly hushed him.

“But once they have learned the ways in controlling their powers, the Guardian is likely to follow its charge until either they themselves or the Detective passes on permanently into the Spirit World…”

Botan paused briefly before she turned to Genkai, “Do you really think she's a Spirit Guardian?” she asked, “There have been so few of them; I mean, the last guardian was over—“

“Over fifty years ago…I know,” The woman set her teacup down on the coffee table, “But it hasn't been since those fifty years that symptoms like these have resurfaced,” she paused and stared down into the dark liquid in her cup, “I would hate to take the chance of letting her slip past us if she really is a guardian…”

A muscle in Yusuke's jaw jerked slightly as he stared down at the red-haired girl, “What's her to us anyway? She can't be that important.”

Genkai stared at the detective sternly, “To us?” she repeated slowly, “To you, Yusuke… she could be the difference between your life and death…”

-:-

A/N: yay!! Alrighty, I hope you all enjoyed!! I'm going to leave it at this for right now and hope that you guys like it.

Ciao!!