Disclaimer: Duh, of course I don't own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakuso, or else I would be counting money at the moment

Thank you very much for your wonderful reviews. And sorry for the lateness. There were some readers even pointed out my mistake. Therefore, I dedicate this chapter for all my wonderful reviewers, especially Kittenn1011, who gave me many useful tips. Now, enjoy the new chapter and tell me what you think.

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'Youko's thought'

'Kurama's thought'

'Hiei's thought'

Chapter 3: First insight and understanding

A week had passed since the meeting of two equally strange parties, one consisted of a toushin, a kitsune avatar, apparitions, humans (highly spiritual aware and not), grim reaper and a junior ruler. The other had powerful demon lords, a hanyou, mikos and over 500 year-old human (or so it seemed). It was hard to say which group was weirder. After all, it was not an every day occurrence to see a forbidden child associated with others (however strange they were) nor did one often see those of such high caliber as demon lords protected a human as fiercely as their own blood and kin, let alone a miko.

After a patience testing time when they had to try their hardest to follow an allusive conversation, filled with riddles, unanswered questions and double meaning words between Kagome and Kurama (courtesy of Youko), the Yu Yu gang finally got their new friends' names, as well as their briefings.

As they had already known from the rumors, the inu taiyoukai with a velvet crescent moon on his forehead was Lord Sesshoumaru of the mystic Western land. Anyone who had known him for more than 500 years would say that he had changed a lot. Although the stoic lord still kept his silver hair long and wore the pristine white kimono which accentuated his godlike elegance greatly, his amber eyes were more expressive (not that anyone could tell) and he was much less arrogant, overbearing and ruthless (quote from Kagome).

The hanyou, unsurprisingly, was none other than Lord Sesshoumaru's younger half brother, Inu Yasha. Although he had human blood flowed inside, no one could deny the power he held. The old folks in Makai still remembered vividly the legend of the Great Battle between a heroic hanyou (who always dressed in a red haori made from fire rat fur and carried around an oversized sword which could kill a thousand demons in one strike and his blood rage could make an A class demon choose to flight instead of fight) and his friends against the most terrifying, manipulative, evil hanyou had ever walked Japan. In some area in the West territory, there were still places barren of trees that were said to have been the battle field of the final showdown between the courageous heroes and the worst terrorist of all time.

Along side InuYasha stood a miko named Kikyou. The strange thing was, according to Youko's memory, that was the name of the first Guardian of the Shikon no tama, a troublesome jewel used to bring mayhem all over Japan. Could it be that they were the same miko? But if it was true, how come she lived till this day? There has never been any method known to be able to prolong human life up to half a millennium, even if he or she mated or made a blood bond with a taiyoukai. Then there were the wind witch Kagura, Lord Sesshoumaru's mate, a renowned kaze youkai of unknown origin who even had a better control of the wind than Jin - the wind master. There was nothing could remain hidden from her, for the wind was her ears, it just seemed to whisper to her the latest news, rumors or not.

However, other than these B class information, which were not a piece of cake but neither were they hard to find., the Reikai Tantei, minute one, still had one too many unanswered questions. Under which circumstance did the miko meet the youkai lords? How did she meet a demon in the first place and have her power trained for that matter? How did Kagome come to adopt Shippo and Hiei? It must have been a long time ago for Hiei was at least five centuries old, minus one or two decades. And that led to the golden question: How old was Kagome? That was only the first part of the SDs' to ask list. Theories after theories, hypotheses after hypotheses, there was still no logic answer. To make things more complex, Kagome's peculiar easy acceptance and her unprejudiced attitude to every and all kinds of creature she came across was thrown into the mess, further more confused the gang, especially Kurama. Should she be anyone else but Hiei's surrogated mother, Kurama would have questioned her easy going nature and the naivety which seemed to be radiated from her very person. There was no way she could have seen as much bloodshed as one should have to be worthy of standing on even ground with Lord Sesshoumaru and still maintained that innocence. Again, those led to the questions "how" and "why" and there were still no satisfied answer.

Contrary to Kurama's belief, Youko went for the theory that Kagome was much more to the Lords than a ward. She seemed to be the heart of the party, the keeper of their bonds. There was something, other than the protective instincts towards pack members that every youkai possessed, compelled her powerful escorts to be all the more aggressively possessive of her and extreme wary of strangers than normal. The infamous team Urameshi would vividly remember the particular following events occurred after their first introduction to the conspicuous woman.

After everyone had decided to come back to the hotel they were staying at, suddenly, Hiei's Jagan opened and started to scan the crowd. As if on cue, Sesshoumaru deliberately came forwards with Kagura hang loosely on his arm, Inuyasha and Shippo stepped backwards while the other woman, presumably the hanyou's mate, stood by Kagome's side, continue to chat away with each other like nothing unusual happened. There was no need for Kurama's discerning mind to see that they had formed a circle around the miko, with Hiei acted as their eagle's eyes. Whereas the change was subtle enough to slip through their human companions, it didn't escape the group's fighters and Koenma's notice, although the Reikai ruler and his assistant, though becoming tense, didn't act all that surprised. Not wanting to admit that he was just as confused and clueless as Yusuke, Kurama opted to engage himself in a conversation with his other half.

'Such a strong shield. I wonder what Hiei saw that makes they act like that.'

'Nah, he is just being paranoid, that's all.'

And as if to prove Youko was wrong, out of nowhere, a sickle came flying at them, or at Kagome to be precise. Having been prepared, InuYasha unsheathed the rusty sword on his side, and before their new friends' astonished eyes, it transformed into an oversized sword. He then used it to swatted the sickle away effortlessly. Luckily, they had moved into the forest so no innocent demon (if there is one) or human would get involved. Then they heard him shouted: "Whatever you want, just came out, Kohaku!"

A boy wearing a black tight-fitted armor stepped out from behind the trees. He was about twelve years old, judging by his appearance. However, he had eyes filled with centuries worth of pain and suffering, vengeance and lost, anger and hatred, even malice and madness. The emotions in his eyes greatly affected Kuwabara, making the later take two steps back. Especially when his voice gave the girls shivers for it was emotionlessly monotonous:

"It has been a long time. My master wishes to send the miko, as well as my beloved sister and dear brother in law and all of you his regard. Know that this is only the first of our many encounters in the near future and this time, he will come out the victor."

As soon as he finished speaking, Shippo calmly flicked his wrist: "Fox fire", a bluish flame came from his palm and burned the boy alive, if one could call burning a puppet as such. It seemed the fact that the boy was actually a wooden puppet came as no surprise to the strange group, as they merely walked away, albeit more guarded than before, without looking back. It was only when Hiei and InuYasha reappeared with blood covered clothes, did Kurama and the other realize they had left. Apparently the vivid display of Shippo's flame had stunned everyone, even the infamous Youko Kurama, into oblivion.

"We've got rid of the obstacles. Obviously, they're not meant to do us any harm, only a warm welcome," InuYasha had said while Hiei only made a sound of approval. Later that day, when escorting the girls on a walk in a clearing at the edge of the woods, the Reikai tantei came to an understanding of what InuYasha had dubbed 'warm welcome' and 'meant to not do any harm'. The whole clearing was immersed in blood. Demon corpses were everywhere and there were many cracks on the ground, as if someone had tried to cut it in half. Looking for an explanation from Hiei, all they received was an arrogant smirk: "We're, after all, the living legend." No wonder he had insisted on Yukina not coming with them. Conniving bastard!

After that walk, everyone had come back to the hotel and since then, nothing interesting about the mysterious group had been discovered, not until the day before the second round.

That was the day Urameshi team gathered in Shippo and Hiei's room (somehow it was the largest, almost as twice as Yusuke and Kuwabara's room) to discuss their next opponents. Kagome was also there, along with Lord Sesshoumaru and his party. It seemed the others were her shadows, they never left her alone for only a moment. When Keiko asked Botan about it, she simply said that Kagome was prone to accident and she was too precious to them to let her out of their sight, even if she was fully capable of defending herself should the need arise. Just when the fighters were about to call it a day and retired to their rooms, there was a knock on the door, in came a man and two women, all clad in unusual clothes. The very handsome man with wise violet eyes was wearing some kind of purple robes, which was recognized as a monk clothing, from 500 years ago. The beautiful woman, who had a high pony tail, was wearing tight-fitted clothing, much like that Kohaku boy, only with different colours. She seemed to have come out of the book about the demon slayer in a time when demons still roamed freely among humans. The last woman, on the other hand, had a lopsided pony tail and was wearing a checked orange kimono. Curious enough, she had a crescent moon on her forehead, much like Lord Sesshoumaru's. The three of them walked bristly towards the taiyoukai, bowed and said: "Sesshoumaru sama, we had come to your summon. The castle is left in Jaken's charge, as your command."

Lord Sesshoumaru only sent them a nod of acknowledge, then, without any warning, the taijiya squealed and gave Kagome a bone breaking hug. "Kagome chan, we missed you so much. The castle is no fun without you." Meanwhile, her companion, faster than anyone expected from a human, had come to Botan's side "Lady Death, it's my honor to meet you again. Will you reconsider bearing my child?" And just as fast, an oar materialized in Botan's hand and hit him hard, rendered him unconscious. Then as though nothing had happened, Botan cheerfully said to the woman: "I'm so glad to see you again, Sango."

Hearing Botan's voice seemed to remind Sango that there were others inside the room, so she released Kagome (and gave the later much needed air in the process) and turned to them, then calmly introduced herself and her (now conscious) companion:

"I'm Sango, former taijiya. Now I'm the second in command of Sesshoumaru sama's army. That girl over there is Rin, Heiress of the Western Land and Shippo's mate-to-be. This lecherous monk is Miroku, who is supposed to be the commander of said army. If you decide to introduce any girl to him, I suggest that you keep a close eye on his hands, because he most likely will..." she suddenly hit him with the giant boomerang she was carrying with her the whole time, effectively stopped his hand from wandering any further on her backside then continued nonchalantly "…grope any girls that come near him."

"But I only appreciate the beauty surrounding me. You must've known that my heart belongs only to you, my dear Sango. Beside, my hand is cursed."

"Don't Sango me. The only curse on your hands is the curse he had managed to place on your grand father. I swear, your blood is cursed too."

Their antics had the guys sweatdropped, Kuwabara protested loudly (something about gentleman code), while the girls simultaneously took a cautious step back. The youkai in the room just looked on, acting like this was a totally normal occurrence. The only comment they had was "that idiot will never learn".

'I like him. He certainly had many kitsune's nature. His technique needs working on, though.'

'It figures that you'd like some fellow pervert.'

'Hmm, and it seems like another puzzle had presented itself. They appeared human, a taijiya and a monk as that, but if it is the case then how are they Lord Sesshoumaru's commanders and heiress? The girl appeared to be no older than seventeen but how can her eyes held such wisdom?'

'They are wearing such ancient clothes that if I don't know any better, I would say they are more than 500 years old or they all come from an era, Sengoku Jidai, perhaps?'

'Yes, and Hiei seemed to know these three as well'

Just as Youko's words, there was an odd expression on Hiei's face, looking very much like an awkward mixture of horror, apprehension and resignation. Kurama couldn't help but ask:

'Is something wrong, Hiei?'

'Nothing is wrong, other than the hellcat and the fire player has come. Now I'm screwed.'

It was not exaggerated to say that both Kurama and Youko were taken back by the hybrid's tone. It still didn't stop Youko from pushing his button, though.

'What's that? Is it just me or did shorty sounds scared?'

'I don't have time to deal with your tasteless jokes. Wait until I return'

To say that Kurama and Youko were stunned into silence was an understatement. Hiei was willingly to back down from an argument, mentally or not. And then, the strangest thing happened. Just when Hiei looked as though he was ready to bolt, Sango spotted him. Everything happened at once: Hiei used his full speed in an attempt to out run a seemingly human woman, Sango quickly intercepted his path and hugged him, Shippo and InuYasha burst out laughing, Kagome, Kikyou, Rin and Kagura giggled while Lord Sesshoumaru's lips twitched upward.

"Ah, little Hihi, how are you? How could you just up and go without giving Auntie a goodbye? We've been very worried about you. What if you run into a car? Or meet a giant spider? Or abducted by some bad guy?"

"Woa, this …this is… hilarious…Lit…little Hihi…Woahahaha" Yusuke burst out laughing, so much that he couldn't stand on his old legs and so did Youko (in Kurama's mind).

"I suggest you stop laughing if you still value that tongue of yours, detective. And you, how many time did I tell you not to call me by that name? It is worse than calling Sesshoumaru Fluffy."

A growl was heard, coming from Lord Flu…Sesshoumaru had Kagome and the others shed tears of mirth. That last statement did the last straw, Youko couldn't even form his any comments. And if he was in his physical form, he would faint from lack of air at the moment. And the only thing that stopped the Reikai tantei's mirth was…

"Then would you mind telling me how the heck did you get caught while stealing a sword? A sword, in Reikai vault? The place famous for not even having a decent guard. Where did all of my teachings, all of your trainings go? And you couldn't even keep it, let alone bring it back? Not to mention you were defeated by a newly appointed detective, not an experienced one. Lucky shot or not, you underestimated your opponent. What did I tell you, Hiei? Never, never, never look down on your opponent, no matter how weak they appear or what race they are. You idiot," Sango's mood change from motherly to that of a banshee. It gave everyone shiver.

'Remind me never to get on her bad side. Women are scary. She wasn't even angry at him for stealing, just that he failed in doing so. No wonder Hiei called her a hellcat.'

'Indeed. And did she imply that she was the one who taught Hiei how to fight?'

"Now, Sango, please calm down. I believe Hiei has learnt his lesson, haven't you?" Miroku was quick to jump in and save his nephew's life, lest his furious wife devour him in her rage.

"Of course, Uncle Miroku."

'Even Hiei knows to fear the fury of a woman and show gratitude to his rescuer. After all, hell's fire can not compare to women' wrath.'

'I wonder how Kagome would look when she is furious?'

'Not now, Youko.'

As Kurama was busy trying to stop Youko from further damaging their reputation (which was near to pristine white and on the verge of being irreparably destroyed), he almost missed the next surprise that their new friends continued to bring forth. The third new comer, who had yet made a scene, decided to draw some attention to herself by adding up Hiei's embarrassment.

"Hiei nii sama, where have you been all this time? Why didn't you send Rin any words? Rin was so worried. Are you mad at Rin? Did Rin do anything wrong? Did you decide to abandon Rin?" While saying this, Rin's lips trembled and tears welled up in her eyes. As an experienced womanizer, Youko had no trouble recognized the telltale signs of a drama queen, and obviously, so did almost everyone else, when those crystal tears didn't (supposedly) fall because any of them. Everyone excluding Hiei. The fire apparition was, after all, a male and males are always weak at their knees at the sight of a crying female, no matter what species she was. "This Hiei has no such intention"

That was the first time any of them had heard Hiei sounded remotely helpless like that. The lost expression was just another bonus that held back Kurama, the ever sympathetic guy, from rescuing his distraught friend. Luckily (for Hiei at least), Kagome finally took pity on her adopted son and calmly said: "Quit teasing your cousin, Rin chan! Sango has already given him enough trouble to last a life time."

Then Shippo just had to put in his two cent:" Yeah, he's already on the point of breaking down. You know he only talks like Sesshoumaru sama when he's nervous."

"You don't know what you're talking about, fox," a glare was sent," And Rin, I've only been gone for little more than two years. It was nothing to us. You should know better than worry about something so trivial," he said to the girl, in a much softer and gentler voice.

"But Hiei nii sama, everyone knows that whenever you and uncle Inuyasha takes on a challenge, nothing good ever comes out of if. Promise me you wouldn't listen to his idiotic dare again," with puppy eyes she said.

Hiei seemed to signed in relief before he smirked:" Fine, I promise I won't," surprised gasps were heard here and there, "in a decade or two"

Rin only huffed when everyone just laughed. No one noticed Yukina's eyes dimmed slightly in sadness but Kagome. "What's wrong, Yukina?" she gently asked.

"No, nothing wrong, I only wondered, well, where my brother is," was her answer.

That got the new comers and the others flinched and Kagome was the one replied, in an imperceptibly strained voice: "Don't worry, he might be nearer than you think. Or better, he might've always watched over you." All eyes flicked towards Hiei, while he simple glared at his fellow detectives.

"Maybe you are right, Miss Kagome"

"I'm positive. And please, no formality, that makes me feel old. Just Kagome."

"That's because you are old," Kurama could faintly catch InuYasha's mumble. Surprisingly, so did Kagome. "What did you say, InuYasha?" she smiled sweetly at him, too sweetly.

"Uh, oh, nothing, really, Kagome, nothing at all."

"Oh, I beg no difference. You are going down. Please, Kikyou!"

The other woman, Kikyou, too, started to smirk dangerously: "With pleasure. InuYasha, osuwari!"

Immediately, InuYasha went headfirst to the floor, created a hanyou shape crater. His curses could still be heard echoed from the bottom of the crater. The new group's women, just shook their head and exasperately said: "Men, they will never learn," ignoring the men' protests.

'See that, Red? One less opponents'

'What do you mean, Youko?'

'Rin is Sesshoumaru's heiress and she called Kagome's son cousin, therefore Kagome must sort of be Sesshoumaru's sister. Though he might prove to be an obstacle, at least we don't have to worry about competing with such a formidable demon, not that it will make any different. The same will be said for Kouga, since I heard he's already taken a mate'

'Yes. And Hiei's adopted family seems to know about Yukina, too. I wonder how much do they know about us. And there is still the question about Kagome role in this mess. And could what Hiei said earlier to Rin means that she has the lifespan of a youkai, or at least a hanyou?'

'Yeah, And I really want to know where these new discoveries might lead us to. We just have to wait for all the pieces of this puzzle to come to us.'

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ATTENTION, please! REVIEWS, people! And if you like to suggest anything, just tell me, I'll consider and dedicate that chapter to you if I use it. By the way, please don't tell me that Hiei's nickname sounds ridiculuos. I've already known

Next time:Good bye and see you soon.