Title: More Than Words

Chapter: One.

Rating: PG-13 for language and violence.

Author's Notes: And I'm finally posting my first story here! This story will focus on a seemingly unassuming mission, rather typical of the YYH gang. The entire group comes along for the ride when Koenma sends them to investigate a demon-conscious village - a mission that will parallel a mysterious dream that Keiko's been having. As this is a new character, I will be introducing outside characters - and they will be major parts of the plots. But don't expect any happy little fairies or all powerful conquerors from me ... and most certainly no off-the-wall pairings. That said, enjoy the fic and please review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of its characters. Any new characters introduced in this story belong to me, and they will be few and far between.

She was alone.

Keiko felt the cold sweat began to form about her neck, felt her clothes grow tighter as they started to stick to her body. She wanted nothing more than to collapse upon the harsh earth, and yet her legs willed her on. She had no idea how long she'd been running, though as she thought back it became less and less clear when she had first been ignited. Her eyes had become useless - the dense fog and thick woodland that hung about her every turn proved the same to her untrained eyes, and her other senses lacked the ability to examine them in any other way. There was a burden weighing down on her - an added burden, more than just the sharp pains that wrecked her physical form. She felt a panic forming in her throat as she caught a rustle behind her, urging her to sprint faster despite the sloshing muck that lay about her heels. She gasped, spurring her pace just enough to restore security. A successful right turn, and she was on her way back home. But a threat in the brush nearby, and she was right back where her journey had begun.

She was going mad. What must've started out as an innocent daytime jog through the city had turned into a whirlwind chase for sanity - an escape from a monster that Keiko didn't even know existed. She tried desperately to imagine her foe, somehow prepare herself for the danger she was undoubtedly about to face - but she could not summon it. She wanted to cry out for someone, but both her voice and her memory had left her alone. Catching a root under her shoe she fell forward, collapsing into the mud's grasp as exhaustion took her over. She felt her chest catch and heave, taking advantage of her moment of helplessness to restore breath. She squeezed her eyes closed, attempting vainly to restore the day's light. But it never came. Temporary rest overtook her, and she fought to overcome to fear that had begun to nestle inside her. She counted slowly, breathlessly, and then opened her eyes.

And then, there it was - waiting for her as it always did. For Keiko could remember now - from what source she did not know, but somehow the being brought her comfort and clarity that no other part of her journey could grant. The figure stood beyond her, past the thick brush but still within her range of few. Not tall, but seemingly so against the otherwise vacant world, the creature appeared to Keiko a saint and devil in one. Even with her blurry, newly awoken vision, Keiko could make out a woman's body - cloaked entirely by loose fabric that obviously allowed for fluid movements. From the head spewed strands of pure white - the sort of pearl only something inhumane could possess. It spread thick about her back and reached to what must've been the creature's ankles; the tresses forced, gentle movements reminded Keiko of the steady breeze that was all about her. Keiko sat up slightly, wrapping her arms around her body in attempt to disclose her from the wind - but this too was in further vain. She returned to studying the curiosity before her, and though the darkness continued to hinder her view she could still make out a few other features. Light eyes, narrowed in what must of been a saddened, serious expression loomed out, their shine coupled with a thin silver band that stretched over the woman's forehead and beneath her hair. Keiko noted some sort of clear jewel in the middle of the band, but the distance and enclosing night prevented her from assuring herself of what.

Rising slowly so as not to frighten the creature, Keiko contemplated if this would be the night. How long had she waited to meet this creature, to question the purpose of this place and to ask her who and why she was here? Keiko banished a set of shivers and began to take careful steps forward, moving as though she were approaching an easily frightened doe. She thought subconsciously about how many times it had taken her to get this close, and her mind began to race with the anxiety. The figure remained unmoved by her enclosing presence, and if Keiko hadn't known better she would have thought the woman held a distant, unarmed look in her eyes. Soon, only ten or so steps set the two apart - and Keiko was sure this would be it. Up close, Keiko felt her breath catch as the race of the one before her became clear - she was a demoness, and powerful enough for Keiko to recognize her aura. Keiko found herself growing unnerved; the creature remained unmoved despite how close she came, forcing her blank expression to prove even more intriguing than before. Soon, the gap was closed almost completely as Keiko finally brought herself face to face with the wonder that haunted her dreams.

And then, with the faintest ghost of triumph, the demoness' arms shot out to her sides - then down with a force that sparked a gust sharp enough to knock Keiko backwards. The demoness launched herself straight up into the air, orbs still full of an unseen misery that seemed to latch her serious expression indefinitely. Keiko could only stare in shock as, once again, she had been unable to capture the demon of her nightmares.

"Keiko!"

The voice was harsh on her ears, and, though slightly muted, not welcome to her hardly awake senses. She let out a groan and rolled away from the offender, swatting mindlessly with her hand.

"Keiko!" came the quiet whine again, and this time she felt hands shaking her shoulders. Keiko shook her head, mumbling what must have been an assurance that she was awake to cut it out. Idly brushing a bothersome strand from her eyes, she blinked her eyes into focus to find the one who had forced her back into the world.

"Good, you're up," smirked the voice, and she could hear the triumph oozing over the slightly lowered tone. "It's about time you got your lazy ass out of bed."

It was too early for this. Far too early.

"Not - now - Yusuke," she forced the words out, eyes glaring as she fell back on her pillow. She let out a whimper of discomfort as she felt something sharp poke her stomach, sending her jolting up into a sitting position. The sharp stick protruding from her bed was her flashing reminder of just how far away from home she was, and how the next several mornings would most probably repeat this new pain.

"And why not? You decide it's early enough to thrash around and wake me up, but I can't do the same to you?" Yusuke continued to sneer at her, but some almost untraceable emotion lay politely scattered about his voice - worry. Why had he been worried about her? And since when had she been thrashing?

The dream. She'd had the dream again.

Shaking her head and moving her fingers to her temples, Keiko let out a mixture of a moan and a sigh. She wasn't in the mood to deal with her dream right now. She didn't have the energy, and she hoped Yusuke didn't either.

"Keiko," he urged again, putting his hands back on her shoulders and shaking her again - but both his tone and his actions were gentler this time. She looked up, meeting his eyes with her own. One look in those eyes told her that she wasn't getting back to bed, and she most certainly wasn't getting out of telling him about the dream. Sighing again, she threw up her hands and began to walk outside the little shack they'd managed to secure for the night. She kept her steps quiet so as not to awaken the others, but she had a feeling that most of them were just pretending to be asleep so as not to embarrass her further. She was even more sure of this as, when she exited, she heard a light, "Hn," echo from a corner of the room.

"So," Yusuke asked as the door clicked closed behind him. "You wanna tell me what happened?"

She shrugged. "The same thing that always happens. I'm running - I still don't know from what - and then that thing appears."

"Did you see it this time?"

"No," she lied. "It was too dark."

He sighed, shaking his head as he began to kick at the dirt ground. "Wonder what it is."

Keiko nodded, biting back her guilt. "Me too ... though I don't think you should worry so much. It's just a dream."

"Still sounds weird to me," he replied, turning to look at the sky. "Doesn't make sense for you to keep having it, and didn't you say it started up when we got this mission?"

Keiko nodded again, vainly wishing she'd never told Yusuke in the first place. "Just a coincidence."

Yusuke rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever. Dreams like that don't just pop up so conveniently." He paused, and then turned to look at her - causing her to blush for reasons she couldn't begin to decipher. "And you're sure you have no idea what it is?"

She opened her mouth, ready and willing to go back on her original plan and tell him every precise detail she'd encountered. But then she stopped herself, closing her eyes and shaking her head back and forth. "Nothing. All I remember is ... how shocked I always am. When I see it, I'm shocked. I don't know why, I just am. It's something ... beautiful. But I can't describe how."

"Well," Yusuke mused, "that's helpful."

Keiko glared at him. "I never asked you to help."

He smirked. "You wouldn't have told me if you didn't want me to."

She threw back her head and continued to narrow her eyes. "Like I said, it's only a dream. I didn't think you'd make it into such a big deal."

"Whatever," he shrugged, grinning slightly at her. "Just tell me when you catch it."

Her eyebrows rose curiously at him. "What makes you think I'll catch it?"

He smiled, closing his eyes and tilting his head back as he thrust his hands into his pockets. "You always catch what you chase."

Yusuke wasn't sure how much longer he could take. This mission had, thus far, proved itself all together tedious and beyond all boundaries of boring. In fact, it was so uninteresting that he was forgetting the entire purpose of the mission. Letting out a groan as he stretched his back, he turned to Kurama and whined.

"We're here to inspect the security of this village," Kurama replied unnecessarily, absently staring off into the distance. Already the village was coming into view, and from what Yusuke saw it was not even the slightest bit entertaining. Desolate and apparently inhabited by nothing by simpletons, Yusuke began to wonder if the people had called a false alarm to bring about something to amuse themselves. After all, building tiny shacks and chasing ducks in the streets had to get boring after awhile.

In fact, the only possible threat to the village seemed to be the forest it sat beside - broad and lush in composure, it contrasted the village to an almost horrifying extent. Yusuke decided he wouldn't prefer to be caught alone in that forest, and that if anything was disturbing the village it was breeding in that brush. He nudged Kurama gently and pointed at the forest, which Kurama turned to and eyed.

"Let's talk to the villagers first," he said, logical as always. Yusuke grunted - he would much have preferred leaving that order of business until later. Hiei smirked at him, giving him one of those obnoxious all-knowing looks.

"If you'd prefer to get yourself killed first," the fire demon sneered menacingly, "then by all means - be our sacrifice into the woods."

"Thanks, but I think I'll waste some time first. Don't want to end the visit so quickly, anyway," Yusuke snapped back. He was growing more impatient by the minute, and the endless chatter Keiko was keeping up with Botan and Yukina was hardly helping.

"Could you cut that out, Keiko?" he grumbled. "It's enough of a headache just being out in this damn heat."

She threw him a glare, but lowered her voice anyway. Botan stuck out her tongue at him, throwing her cyan strands back over her shoulder as she did; Yukina only blinked and tilted her head slightly in curiosity.

Kuwabara was beyond complaint. He just sort of trudged along, sometimes randomly mumbling certain ice demon's names - or just groaning out of exhaustion. Both got him snaps from Shizuru and Hiei, after which he resigned himself to a miserable shuffle.

After some time, they finally arrived at the village - at which they were met by one of the village elders, a rather plump woman by the name of Utaga Toshoka. She greeted them with a warm smile and even warmer eyes, welcoming them eagerly into their temporary home. At the sight of it, however, Yusuke couldn't help but cringe - it was hardly any different from the one they had just come from, what with its crumbling interior being covered by solely the minimal essentials needed by the group.

"I is very sorry it is not looking much better," the woman offered apologetically, noting the looks of disgust that several members were bearing. "It is all we has right now, though I is hearing you is not needing better place as you will be out catching our demons most of the time. Is I right?"

"Yeah, about those demons," Yusuke spat, "Where are they, anyway?"

The woman blinked, cocking her head slightly. "You is not seeing them yet? But they is everywhere! We cannot go anywhere without them! They follow us, they follow our shadows! They is growing restless because she is restless, and they wants to leave. They is knowing she is not happy, and they is growing greedy. They thinks she is growing weak, but she is never weak ..."

"She?" Shizuru interjected, eyes narrowing. "Who is 'she'?"

The woman blinked again, some sort of fright seeming to overtake her. "If you is not knowing who she is yet ... you is finding out soon, I is sure ..."

Her footsteps were light - silent, even, upon the hard brush that lay scattered about the forest. She felt the needles and sharp leaves attempt to gouge the bottoms of her heels, but the hardened skin retorted the efforts. The evening was darkening, but there was a sort of unusual expectance about the woods. Something about the village, something about new arrivals - she couldn't really be expected to really pay it much attention. This sort of occasion happened every now and again, usually when demon catchers paid their unwelcome visits. She had grown tired of worrying over their comings - each one seemed to prove weaker than the former.

A rustle behind her caused her to halt, her left ear twitching in the direction of the noise. She allowed the wind to sink around her, waited for it to carry a clue to her. But the wind did not seem to be in her favor tonight, and she could hear it sniggering carelessly at her as it passed by her and head it the unhelpful direction. She sighed gently, turning around to meet her follower. When she caught sight of the being that had just emerged from the brush, the faintest ghost of relief swept over her body.

"Yukio," she bowed her head gently, her voice as monotone and serious as always. "I see you've managed to find me again."

He smirked easily at her, leaning lazily against one of the many trees that framed the pair. Long, ebony strands sprouted from the top of his head and rained down about his face and neck, stopped short slightly above his shoulders. His eyes were dark as well, and to her it seemed night itself had become lost in him. A knowing smile played about his face, a hint at information hidden.

"Don't I always?" he said, tone light and easy as he spoke.

"I suppose," she replied, watching him shift his weight to one foot as he crossed his legs over one another. "But then, am I really so difficult to find?"

He grinned. "When you want to be."

Her lips twitched in a possible smile, though there were no words for how true he was. After a moment of silence to honor a long forgotten past, she spoke.

"Yukio," she said, parting from the former emotion. "Have you heard of what's disturbing the village?"

He nodded. "Who hasn't? The others can't stop talking about it. Damn bastards."

"Who is it that's come?" she questioned, though her curiosity sounded quite forced. "More demon catchers?"

"Eh, maybe - but maybe not." There was a mischievous glint in his eye, even more mischievous than normal. "They say it might be spirit detectives, come to settle the demons down."

"Spirit detectives?" she said, voice lowering as she mused.

"Yeah, spirit detectives - though not the ones you or I remember. It's some new guy and his buddies - Yusuke Urameshi or something. I heard some of the lower demons talking about him, and from the sounds of it he's pretty young."

"Whom is he journeying with?" she pressed him, somewhat entertained by the information.

"Weird group," he said, flicking a leaf off his pants. "Though they do sound like fun ... some powerful demons mixed in, I hear."

She rolled her eyes slightly. "You know what I think of your type of fun ... on all levels."

He sniggered, tossing back his hair as he looked off at the village that lay beyond the boundaries of the forest.

"We'll see, won't we?" he murmured, a secretive flash igniting in his dark eyes. He gave her a wink and leapt towards the sky, dancing among the tops of the trees as he carved a path for the visitors. She watched him, sole movement that of her clothes as the loose fabric whipped across her skin. With Yukio's departure, she felt that cold emotion draw over her once again. She continued to stare at the place he had stood before for some time, eyes slipping closed as she played the future over in her mind. Something she'd believed long ago to have deceased stirred inside her, a sort of warmth she'd lost in fires long past.

And she was no longer alone.

Well, I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter! I'm sure things are pretty confusing right now ... as they should be! Well, if I get at least some reviews then I'll put up the next chapter - which, if things go as planned, should have a fair share of fighting. So please review - and any questions you have, I'll answer if I can.