Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ The Game of Five ❯ The game begins ( Chapter 1 )

A/N: I had to write this down, it was disrupting me while trying to work on "Angel of Mercy." I admit to only reading 5 volumes of the manga and seeing two episodes of the anime, so if I get the characterization wrong, please be nice about correcting me, okay :D I don't know if I'll have to finish writing this, but if you think I should, feedback would be nice, otherwise, I may let it die…if my muse will allow it to…*sigh* The torment of being slave to an overactive imagination, especially when I should be studying for finals and all that at the end of this month. Anyway, enough of my babbling, on to the story. Enjoy :D

You're being followed, y'know?"

He looked toward the voice that had suddenly sprung up from his right shoulder. Red hair and grey eyes greeted him. He was surprised for several reasons. Red heads, like him, were rare. He should have sensed her coming up behind him and she should have known he was being followed. He allowed his glance to continue and he could see two men that seemed out of place, but they didn't give off any aura. His gaze returned to the girl who was now urging him to continue walking. She didn't give off any aura, either.

"Keep moving, Red. It's going to be hard enough to loose them as it is."

"Who are you?" he asked as she continued to push him.

"Bekka, witch, at your service, Kurama."

"Look, I'll explain later. Right now, we need to ditch those two. In there," she pushed him into a large department store. "Okay, this should work for a little while. As I said, my name is Bekka or Absinthe if you want to get knocked into next week." The girl glared at him fiercely. "I have the misfortune of being involved in some kind of game with some kind of idiot who thinks he's god. Unfortunately, he has the power to back up that claim, mostly. Those two," she glanced toward the door. "Damn it all to bloody hell and back again!" She pulled him into a rack of skirts and began muttering "you can't see me" while holding his hands. He could feel his aura dim. After a minute or two, he was feeling woozy and was going to ask her to stop when she let his hands go. "Sorry about that," she blushed.

"What were you going to say about those two? And what do you mean `game'?" Kurama's head was spinning with the return of his aura. He touched his forehead, "How did you do that?"

"Like I said, I'm a witch." His expression clearly stated he didn't understand what she meant. "I can do magic. Real magic, not stage stuff like David Copperfield." His expression continued to be blank. Sighing in frustration, she tried again, "Look, you're a demon, you use aura or spirit. I'm a witch, I use elemental energy, or the earth itself. And don't look so surprised. I'm an empath, too. I can read you even if you can't read me. You can't see my aura because it's tied to the elementals. When I use magic, you'll be able to see my aura.

"As for those two and the game, that's a long complicated story. A while ago, I made a foolish wish, thinking it'd come to naught. But, it was answered. At first, I thought it was great. But then, the games began. The rules change with each round, as do my abilities. This round, those two were to follow and catch four people before I could get to them. You're the first. I have to ask that you come with me and find the other three."

"What then?" Kurama asked, not liking where this was going.

"Then the five of us find the lion's den and beard him." Kurama's face began to harden, but before he could speak, Bekka hurried on, "That's all I was told. I don't know much more, only if those two get one of the four before I do, then I'll have to rescue them as well. Who's Yusuke?"

Kurama was surprised by this non sequitur. "Why do you ask?"

"That's who they're going after now. They don't know where he is and if you do, then maybe we can get there first." She paused, eyes unfocused, "And they're looking for Kuwabara, too. Do you know where they are?"

"I have an idea where they should be."

"Then let's go." She led him out from the rack, almost running into an unsuspecting customer. Apologizing quickly, Bekka led Kurama out of the store. "Where now?"

"This way," Kurama took off toward the left.

Bekka kept close to him, almost walking on his heels. "Can't you go any faster? They're ahead of us."

Kurama glanced at her and could see the anxiety on her face. He did not answer, only picked up his pace to almost a run. He was surprised to see her keep up with him easily. He could see the two men she pointed out earlier ahead of them. She put her hand on his shoulder, "Keep going, they're on the roof." She again began repeating "you can't see me" and dimmed his aura. Even though he was woozy, he kept going, picking up on her urgency. He circled wide around the men and entered the school yard. They headed toward the fire escape and she let him go, again making him dizzy. Directly in front of the top of the fire escape, five boys sat.

"Good, you're here." Bekka said. She turned around and pulled a piece of chalk from one of her pockets and began writing on the ledge she and Kurama had just climbed over. As she wrote, she chanted, "Let light be dark and sight be naught/Cloud their minds and hide our thoughts."

Kurama watched as the two men who had been walking purposefully across the yard stopped and looked around confused. They looked at each other, shrugged and left the gate, going in opposite directions as they reached the road. He looked at Bekka and could see a flicker of aura over her. She was frowning and looked troubled. "Something's wrong. They're not going after the fourth person."

A voice spoke behind them, "That's because I already have him."

Bekka whirled about to see the face of her nemesis. "Loki! How can you already have him?"

"Easily, Absinthe. I caught him before you started."

"You cheat! Who is it?" She could feel her temper starting to rise, trying to get the better of her. She could hear the boys asking questions and Kurama telling them to wait. She could feel his dread as if he already knew the answer.

"I set the game, Absinthe. I cannot cheat. I have the one called Hiei, your fire. I'm impressed that you managed to find the other three. You may be getting too strong. We'll have to do something about that, won't we?"

She felt the wave of shock and anger from the boys and could feel the undertone of pain from Kurama. It was almost overwhelming. She forced her mind to focus and growled, "What's the game?"

"You already know that, my dear. Beard the lion in his den." With that, Loki vanished.