YYH RP [vampirecat92 & lunar]

Japan was definitely something Alexander was not used to; the buildings were as tall as the eye could see, and the streets were swarming with people. He had just arrived in the foreign city and his dual colored eyes scanned everything that surrounded the area. Looking up at the gray sky, the ex-soldier could smell the rain in the air, indicating that a thunderstorm would be coming their way. He had so much pent up energy, he was actually looking forward to releasing it. As the tall man wandered the streets to find a place to release his power, Alex began to recall the words Takeo told him before he came here.

~

"Japan will be your destination, Alex. There, you will seek shelter and find a group of people you will eventually come to trust." said the older woman, staring out at the sea with the ex-soldier standing beside her.

"You speak as if you know them." He observed, causing the woman to chuckle lightly.

"Let's just say I have a score to settle with them." She explained simply.

Takeo was a tall woman with a slender figure and a busty chest to match, her crimson eyes holding a sense of blood lust. Her plump lips were painted red, and her long pink hair touched her hips, giving her a surprisingly graceful appearance. However, there was nothing graceful about her. She believed in brute force, and showed no mercy to her victims.

Alex quirked up an eyebrow at the statement, but remained silent for a while before speaking again. "I understand. Give me names and I will find them." He said, earning a broad grin from the pink haired female before she gave him a piece of paper with a list of names written on it.

"Find the Reikai Tantei. Infiltrate their ranks. Make them like you. Make them trust you. Then...kill them and bring me Yusuke's body."

~

He stared at the list of names for a time before folding it delicately and carefully stuffing it into his coat pocket, a sigh leaving his lips as he moved his feet ever forward. The storm was approaching rather quickly, and the soft rumble of thunder filled Alex's ears.

~*~

"Damn it, how did I get stuck out in this mess?" Shizuru grumbled to herself as she hid under the canopy of a shop. She watched as the rain poured down, the sky darkening by the second but not black yet, so it was only nine. Standing there, she pondered how bad she would get soaked on the way home. It was at least another fifteen minutes away by walking, and all she'd done was come out for a stupid pack of cigarettes.

Everything suddenly went quiet. Like a calm before the storm...and then it happened.

There was such a burst of energy, she hadn't felt anything like it since the Dark Tournament ten years ago and it made her nearly faint. Stumbling back, she put her hand on her head and leaned against the brick wall. She felt...almost ill. Then her head snapped up as she felt something else. It was a cry, but not a physical one she heard with her own ears. She heard it with her soul and her Spirit Awareness.

"I heard you..." Shizuru frowned as she turned one way and then the next. "Where..." her question was answered when there was a large KATHRACK and she had to cover her ears, blinded by the flash that followed. There was a sort of crackling feeling and she looked to where the lightning was coming from the ground towards the sky, instead of the other way around. She dashed from the canopy and ran towards it, finding herself in a network of alleyways. The rain didn't get to her as bad in here, but she was also running, so she clutched her jacket close and paused, panting as she looked around.

The energy...it must have been very powerful if she felt it from so far away and had yet to find the being it belonged to. It was almost as if it and disappeared after that, as well. "Where are you? Give me something..." she murmured.

It took...several minutes before another round of thunder and lightning blew over and Shizuru swear she blacked out this time. When she got her bearings she realized she was running again, her legs guiding her where she needed to go. When she stopped again, she was breathing hard and saw a human figure clutching their body as a long flash of lightning flew straight up, the physical cry matching the inner turmoil. Buzzing. His whole body thrummed with the energy, crackles of power sparking around him. Without thinking, she rushed over and caught her body under...his. It was a man making all of this power. He was a demon, she could tell just by the tangibility of his powers, but he was like Yusuke's friends. A demon with a human body. He looked at her with a bit of shock and exhaustion in eyes that were a strange mixture of olive green and almost golden brown.

Shizuru gritted her teeth against her spinning head, biting her lip to focus on the pain before speaking, "I know a better place to let your power go," she promised, "It's not safe staying in the same place, anyway. They'll find you and you'll be taken away." That thought made her upset, a bit more than it should, but she helped him limp towards the park that took about five minutes to walk to. She didn't even care how she was shivering to the bone, hair plastered to her face and clothes so wet it felt like she wasn't wearing any.

As soon as they go to to park, she winced as his power surged again, but she made sure he was on the concrete sidewalk away from the trees so a fire wouldn't start, and let him go, retreating to a tree to watch him as his body nearly glowed before he let it go. She could tell it was...much more freeing than back in the alley, with much more room.

Luckily for him, Takeo was generous enough to teach him Japanese, in which became a second language to him; he was very precise and fluent with it as well. It also made it a lot easier to understand what everyone in Japan was saying. Alex was in a state of shock once this woman spoke to him, unable to protest once she helped him get on his feet in order to find a much more suitable place to release his energy. Why was she helping him...? If she knew what he was, she should be afraid, just like everyone else. Yet, she showed no signs of fear or hesitation, and it bothered him greatly. Once they reached the park, the ex-soldier watched her flee before a surge of energy flowed through his body, causing him to cry out as his hands clenched into fists while he crouched down onto the concrete. His dual toned eyes were shut tight as he allowed himself to let go, releasing every ounce of electrical energy he had stored into his very being.

After several minutes had passed, the lightning flashes faded and the thunder was nothing more that a low rumble. Alex was panting heavily against the pouring rain, allowing his body to collapse onto the concrete ground due to exhaustion. He noticed the woman rushing over to him, eyes halfway open before he lost consciousness.

Shizuru came out of her bathroom with her towel wrapped around her. She had forgotten clothes when she went to take a hot shower to get warm. Hopefully...he wasn't awake. As she walked by the couch, she glanced over to see he was sitting up, his hand on his head, and she stared at his bare back. As he had been just as soaked as she was, she had undressed him for the most part, leaving on his boxer-briefs, and thrown a thick blanket over him. She wasn't sure how often demons got sick or if her efforts were pointless, but she hoped he was okay.

Shaking her head she attempted to continue to sneak by when she heard his voice, causing her to freeze.

"Where do you think you're going?" His deep voice rumbled, a hand running through his dark locks as he looked to her with narrowed eyes. He couldn't stop the amused smirk from forming against his lips once he noticed that she was in nothing but a towel, then he turned his gaze to the side once he realized that he was staring. "I never had a chance to thank you for helping me out there. So... thanks."

"I'm going to get some clothes on," Shizuru told him bluntly as she turned around to look at him, "Good to see you're awake. It's about ten at night. It took me a while to drag you here. Your clothes should be done, I put them in the dryer. It's still raining, but the storm should be over until at least tomorrow."

Alex blinked a few times at her statement before nodding once and standing on his feet, stretching his arms up in the air with a small grunt. His hair was still slightly wet from the rain, and he looked around the room to see that she was out of sight. He smirked a bit before it faded, a sigh leaving his lips. "Why did you help me...? Why weren't you afraid?" He blurted out, immediately regretting letting it slip.

"I heard you cry for help." Shizuru called back. It took a few minutes before she came back dressed in a pink sweatshirt and black sweats, carrying his clothes and she brought them to him, "The bathroom's around the corner right there." she pointed. "I know you're a demon, but I have a lot of friends who are demons."

He accepted the pile of clothes with a tilt of his head. "What do you mean, you heard me?" He asked, then swallowed hard when she mentioned that she knew what he was. He was utterly speechless at this point, unable to find the words to speak. He was silent for a moment, trying to think of what to do.

Shizuru put her hands on her hips, "Go put on your clothes," she pointed to the bathroom, "Or did you not notice you were only in your underwear?"

"Yes, ma'am." He snickered before walking to the restroom, only to stop by the door way and turned his head to glance at her from over his shoulder. "Nice ass, by the way." He said, only to laugh and shut the door quickly as she blushed heavily as she was about to charge after him.

"I should've said the same to you," Shizuru muttered and shook her head before going over to the window and opened it enough so the smoke from the cigarette she lit would go outside. He was a demon, but he was just as human as Kurama and less demon than Hiei. It was weird, and she hadn't used that word lightly since getting involved in the bullshit her baby brother and his best friend caused. Something was really wrong with this guy. She should just kick him out, wash her hands of him. Something deep in her intuition said she was in grave danger if she kept him around...

"Since when has it been any different?" She hummed to herself just as the door opened. Turning around she noticed he had also brushed his hair and she saw residue on his lips from brushing his teeth. "You could've asked before using my stuff. Were you raised in a barn?"

Alex gave her a sheepish grin before wiping the residue off his lips, deciding to play the lost and innocent demon. If he was going to fool this girl into thinking he was harmless, he might as well put on a decent act. "Heh, sorry about that. I wasn't really thinking..." He laughed nervously.

"At least your breath will smell nice when you try to eat me, right?" she shrugged and finished her cigarette before putting it out on the ashtray and closed the window, "You're welcome to sleep here for the night. I won't be surprised if you're gone in the morning, though."

"Now why would I do that?" He laughed, watching her with careful eyes before listening to what she had to say. Before she could walk off, something suddenly clicked in his mind. "Wait a minute," he called out after her, making her stop in her tracks. "I was...wondering if you could help me out with something."

"What might that be?" Shizuru turned to face him, arms crossed over her chest. she brushed her wet hair from her face and kept an eye on him. What was it about him that bothered her so much?

Alex sighed softly and lowered his gaze to the floor for a brief moment. "The truth is that I hardly remember anything from my past... All I know is my name, nothing about my family or anything else." He started to explain, watching her. "All I do remember is...pain. Excruciating pain, and the feeling that I was going to die." He ran a hand through his hair, his brows creased as if trying to remember anything else. "But when I think too hard, my head starts to hurt, and it becomes hard to think clearly. It's frustrating."

He lowered his hand from his head and looked into her eyes again. "I was told that someone by the name of Yusuke could probably help me... I heard that he was a half demon, so I thought that maybe he could figure something out. Do you know anyone with that name?"

"Yusuke?" Why would Yusuke be able to help him? Shizuru wondered about that. She would have to contact Botan. "Perhaps someone he knows might be able to, but he wouldn't be able to do anything himself. We have a healer in our group. Maybe she could do something. I could take you to see her tomorrow. Her name is Yukina." That made her realize something, "You know, we never exchanged names. My name is Shizuru. Kuwabara Shizuru."

"That would be great..." He smiled, then blinked a few times before he rubbed the back of his head again. "Alexander Calibur, but feel free to call me Alex."

"American?" Shizuru asked, taken aback, "You speak Japanese really well." She shook her head, "We should both get some rest. Alex. You've had a rough night. Maybe things will get sorted out tomorrow, maybe they won't. We'll see."

"Good idea," he nodded, watching her walk off before smiling a little. "Good night...Shizuru." He called out to her, giving her a small wave before proceeding to head towards the couch.

~*~

"It has come to my attention a few things, actually," Koenma said as he sat in his adult form, looking at paperwork beneath him. Yusuke stood with his arms crossed about five feet from his desk, and Kurama would appear later, "The more recent report was about a power surge. Demonic power surge," he clarified, considering it had just stormed, "It came and went in two different locations but we were unable to find the source. It was close to where you used to live. Botan's doing sweeps right now, so we'll notify you if we find anything else."

"A demonic power surge in two different places, huh...?" Yusuke mused to himself, his gaze downward as he pondered the possibilities of how a demon could harness such power to create a storm. What worried the half-demon the most was that it was close to his old home... If his mother and friends were targets to this demon, he would have no choice but to intervene. He wanted to know more, but Yusuke knew that if he pestered Koenma further, he wouldn't hear the end of it. "Gotcha." He nodded once in understanding, his gaze meeting with the ruler of the Spirit World's. "Is there anything else I should know?"

"Yeah, that you haven't been yourself and you need to get your head in gear," Koenma stared right back at him, "I know Keiko left you but that was almost a year ago after you became King and you've /reformed/ Makai, but you're a mess, Yusuke. Where's that sassy kid I met that would question everything I said? C'mon, get angry at me, question me to death, something. Don't be this shell of your former self."

In truth, Yusuke was not expecting Koenma to be concerned about him, let alone telling him to go back to his normal self. An eyebrow quirked upward before he blinked a few times with a blank expression on his face. It was true that he wasn't the smart ass he used to be when Keiko broke up with him this past year, and he had become absorbed in his work. Maybe he was right... Maybe it was time to move on.

After a short moment of silence, Yusuke suddenly cracked a toothy grin, a fit of laughter leaving the man before he spoke up. "Aww! The toddler really does care! I'm so touched, I might shed a tear!" He faked a pout while mocking a small sniffle before his shoulders shook with laughter again.

It was an attempt, at least. Koenma smiled just a little in response, looking up when the door opened just then, "Kurama, good, you're here. I was just about to tell Yusuke about the other thing. I just finished informing him of the power surge last night."

"That's good. So, Yusuke," Kurama addressed him, getting his attention, "While there is that issue in Nigenkai, there is an even bigger one in Makai. A smuggling ring has been uncovered and while not generally /unusual/ it is this time. They've captured humans as well as other demons to sell off for food or...entertainment," he made a disapproving face, hoping he would catch his meaning, "As eating humans is forbidden now unless they are older or about to die anyway, this is extremely important. On top of it all...a rare breed of demon was discovered there. A vampire."

"Wait, what?" His voice rose at the news. "You're telling me that vampires exist now? Well, that's just great! What's next? Werewolves?" His voice was filled with sarcasm, but the surprise was very clear on Yusuke's face. If they were finding out about this now, then this vampire must have been running loose for a while now. It bothered the half-demon greatly, yet he hid his irritation by slamming a fist into his palm with determination. "Alright then, where can I find them? I'm hoping this vampire isn't like Dracula."

"Yusuke, the vampire is a captive. Actually, she's the main attraction, the whole reason why we even found out. We're going there to free her, along with the rest of the people," Kurama held his hand up, "She can be sold for quite a high price. A notch on someone's bedpost. Food since this is a human auction by demons. There are some theories about how vampire flesh or blood would affect one's powers, make you stronger or give you special abilities for example. Not to mention Vampire Venom would also fetch a fair price. It paralyzes a victim. While useless on Demons, our blood burns it out before the adrenaline can get it through our system, it will make human pray docile."

Kurama sighed, "If you're going to fight anybody, it's more than likely going to be the ring-leader and some of the demons who are bidding for prizes. Werewolves do exist, but they're more shifters than they are creatures that change at the moon's bidding, by the way," he added, just to see Yusuke's reaction.

He was silent as Kurama explained the situation, suddenly feeling rather sheepish for thinking that the vampire wasn't a victim. However, it was definitely news to the ruler of Makai. "That's something you don't hear everyday." He muttered, letting out an irritated groan before running a hand through his jet black locks of hair. "Well, at least I get to fight something! It's been a while since I've thrown a punch at a demon that deserves it." He smirked, only to nearly fall to the floor at the mention of werewolves. "Seriously...? Oh, come ON!"