Disclaimer: i do NOT own Yu Yu Hakusho!

Author's Note - This fan fic started off with a question: "Why does Suichi Minamino look so much like a girl?" My answer: "Because he was SUPPOSED to be one!" xD yes, it was just a funny thought i had and then it escalated into... well, this. LOL well, just a heads up, i will be throwing a bit of Greek Mythology in because 1) i love greek myth; 2) i'm currently taking a greek myth class [WHOOT:D] and 3) YYH mentions the river Styx so i just rolled with it. Anyhoo, for those of you who don't know, the Acheron is one of five rivers that flow into the Underworld in Greek Myth and is often call the River of Pain - perfect for Demon World in my opinion. So in my fic, the Acheron is the river that demon souls from Demon World are ferried on to Spirit World while the Styx is the same but for human souls from the Human World. Well, enough of my ramblings, i hope you enjoy my newest fan fiction! Let me know what you think! :D

Pilot of the River Acheron

Prologue

Botan cheerfully entered the Ferry Lounge humming a catchy tune she'd heard today while ferrying a soul from the Human World. It was a cheery little song about friends and new beginnings, and though she couldn't remember all the words, Botan would still sing the parts she did know while humming the rest.

"Good day ladies!" she chirped to her fellow reapers. Ayame and Hikari waved in greeting as Botan took her seat at the head of the little wooden table the girls were gathered around. Botan tucked her pink kimono neatly under her as she sat down on the plush cushion and pulled out her pink notebook.

"How are you Botan?" asked Ayame, smiling. She was a very quiet girl with straight black hair pulled back in a low bun and wore a formal, black kimono. She also had the kindest, dark blue eyes that always shimmered with warmth; and she always spoke in a soft voice that made everything she said seem heartfelt, like she truly cared about what others had to say.

"Just lovely, Ayame. Thank you for asking. Now let's get this meeting started. I'll take roll." Botan cleared her voice. "Okay, Chief of the Intelligence Department, Ayame?"

Ayame raised her hand. "Present."

Botan put a check next to Ayame's name. "Next, Vice-Chief Pilot of the River Styx, Hikari?"

"Here!" chimed Hikari. She was a flirtatious reaper with short, purple hair and wore a red bandana on her forehead; and, instead of the traditional kimono that all grim reapers wore, Hikari had recently taken up wearing a yellow scarf on top of a black robe. She said it fit her image better when she took the souls from the European continents to Spirit World.

"Right." Botan put another check in her notebook. "Chief Pilot of the River Styx, Botan. Yes, I'm here. Now all that leaves is the Chief and Vice-Chief Pilots of the River Acheron…" Botan looked right and left. "Um, do either of you girls know where they are?"

Hikari shrugged and sipped of her green tea. "They're probably busy ferrying souls from Demon World. The Acheron isn't as smooth as the Styx, you know, and it's a long way to Demon World. Maybe they hit some rough currents or something…"

"But still, they should be here. We always have meetings on the first of every month, they know that," said Botan, chewing her lips with worry.

Ayame and Botan glanced anxiously at the door, half-hoping the two missing reapers would suddenly step in and apologize for being late. But after twenty minutes of waiting, fear began to fill the room.

What was keeping those girls?

"Maybe we should ask Koenma-sama," suggested Ayame.

"Oh, but I would hate to trouble him when he's in the middle of paperwork," muttered Botan. "Maybe we should wait a little longer – "

"Botan, Ayame, and Hikari, please report to Koenma-sama's office immediately," said an ogre suddenly on the intercom.

The three reapers glanced at each other worriedly. Botan was starting to get a very bad feeling about all of this…

"M-maybe the meeting was moved to Koenma-sama's office?" suggested Hikari with a weak smile. "I bet those girls were with him the whole time and we were worrying for nothing."

Botan hesitated but eventually got to her feet. "Okay girls, you heard the man. Let's go see what this is all about!" she said bravely, even though inside she was afraid of what they were going to find.

They marched in a single file line and entered Koenma's office with Botan in the lead. Botan stood in the middle while Ayame filed in on her left and Hikari on her right.

The three of them bowed respectfully and Botan asked, "What can we do for you, Koenma-sama?"

"Thank you, ladies, for coming so swiftly," said the son of the ruler of Spirit World. The toddler sat in a large, red armchair behind a grand desk that normally was piled high with paperwork, but today it was surprisingly devoid of papers. They could easily see the child's big brown eyes and chubby round face – though most of it was taken up by the blue pacifier, which was ever present in his mouth. Botan couldn't ever recall seeing the demigod going anywhere without it.

"Is something wrong, Koenma-sama?" asked Botan.

"Today is the monthly Ferry Meeting, correct?" asked Koenma in a clear voice, despite the rubber sucker in his mouth.

Botan nodded.

"Did either Pilots of the River Acheron show up?"

"No, sir. We were wondering if you might know where they are. It's not like them to be late. Tsubaki normally loses track of time but her senpai, Suiren-senpai, would never let them be late for a meeting. She's too nit-picky to allow that."

Koenma nodded in agreement. "I know. Suiren is even older than you, Botan. The fact that she is missing too is most troubling."

"What is going on, Koenma-sama?"

"Yes, please tell us. What's happened to our friends?" asked Hikari.

Koenma sighed and hopped onto his desk to pace, which was a bad sign. He was also sucking on his pacifier as he collected his thoughts. His red sash trailed behind him as he walked back and forth across the desk. The three reapers watch him in worried silence. Finally, he stopped and turned to face them.

"Two days ago, Tsubaki vanished while ferrying souls from her assigned half of Demon World. I sent Suiren to find her but neither have returned. I've already asked my father to send the Special Defense Squad to Demon World to look for them, but they weren't in the area that Spirit World controls and I dare not send them too deep into Demon World for fear of igniting the wrath of the S-Class demons."

"So, there's no one going out to look for them?" asked Ayame, tears filled her black eyes as she covered her mouth. "No one's going to go and rescue them? What if they're hurt or captured or – ?"

Botan hugged her distressed friend while Hikari patted her back. "There there, Ayame. Koenma-sama won't give up on them just like that, right Koenma-sama?" asked Botan.

Koenma sighed. "You have to remember, Spirit World has no control over the S-Class demons. I can only stretch my resources so far into Demon World. If they've gone into the deeper pits of Demon World then there is nothing more I can do. There's no one Spirit World commands that can take on the S-Class demons."

Ayame burst into tears and started crying into Botan's sleeve. Botan was close to tears herself. Her good friends, Suiren and Tsubaki were gone – just like that?

Botan remembered just last week she was chatting amicably with Suiren and Tsubaki about some of the cute males they've taken to Spirit World. Tsubaki was blushing the entire time as the pink-haired reaper described some of the hottest demons she'd ever seen and was sad to see them go. Suiren, whose brown eyes were always serious, said little of the demons she brought to Spirit World, but Botan spotted the small blush on the girl's cheeks as she mentioned one particularly cute Wolf Demon she'd ferried. When Botan had called her out on it, Suiren had merely huffed, blew her teal blue bangs out of her face, and rolled her eyes.

"Stop reading into everything I say, Botan. You sound like a freak when you do that. Weirdo." But Botan knew Suiren didn't mean that, at least not a hundred percent.

Suiren had been Botan's role model and mentor. She'd taught Botan everything she knew and encouraged her when Botan had slowly rose up in the rankings among the Pilots of the River Styx. The day Botan had been promoted to Chief Pilot of the River Styx, Suiren had humbly bowed and congratulated her.

"Now you are my equal, Botan. Congratulations!" It was one of the rare times Botan had ever seen the serious reaper smile. Her brown eyes had lit up with pride, making Botan's heart swell.

How could Suiren be gone? And so suddenly?

"Koenma-sama… please – "

"There is nothing more I can do, Botan. Until Spirit World has the power to investigate the deepest pits of Demon World, I can't send anyone in to find them."

"Then I'll go!" said Botan, bravely. "I'll go and find them and bring them back."

"Absolutely not!" said Koenma, stamping his foot down on his desk. "I cannot lose both my Chief Pilots! You will return to your duties and ferry the souls from Human World, understood?"

"Y-Yes, sir," said Botan, dejected.

"Then I'll go!" said Hikari.

"Yes, and I will go too," said Ayame, wiping away the last of her tears. Determination replaced the grief in her blue eyes as she faced Koenma. "One of us should go and find our lost friends."

"I forbid any of you to enter Demon World! You do not realize how dangerous it is there. All the demons can see you – living and dead. Unlike the Human World, you can be attacked at any time. There is a reason Tsubaki and Suiren are the only reapers of Demon World – it's because they're the only ones strong enough to fend off the majority of the demons there and still do their job. None of you can even come close to comparing with them. Hum"

Botan gasped, shocked. She couldn't believe what she was hearing! Tsubaki and Suiren never said anything about being attacked before! Sure sometimes they came back a little roughed up, but they always said it was from the Acheron currents being stubborn that day or something like that. Never had she ever heard of a reaper being attacked while ferrying a soul to Spirit World.

"So you see, I cannot allow any of you to go after them. It would be a death sentence for you all. I suggest the three of you return to your assigned duties and forget about Tsubaki and Suiren. There's nothing more you, me, or anyone in Spirit World can do for them," said Koenma.

Botan's heart sank. She couldn't believe there was nothing she could do; but at the same time, she understood Koenma's reasons. Demon World was said to be a terrifying place with untold dangers. If Spirit World lost more reapers, it could be disastrous for all three worlds.

"Yes, Koenma-sama." Botan bowed her head.

She was about to turn and leave when suddenly Ayame asked, "But who will pilot the Acheron now, Koenma-sama? With Suiren and Tsubaki gone… who can do it?"

Koenma actually managed a smirk. "We're in luck. I have the perfect candidate for the job." Koenma pressed the red button for the intercom. "Bring her in, Ogre."

"Yes, sir."

The double doors opened behind them and a blue ogre stepped in carrying a red pillow with a glowing white orb resting in the center.

Botan blinked. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Yes, Botan. It's a soul – but not just any soul."

The ogre placed the pillow gently on Koenma's desk and bowed before quickly exiting the room. Koenma picked up the soul and held it up to the three curious reapers who'd crowded around the desk.

"This soul, ladies, will be the new Pilot of the River Acheron."

"Eh?" they exclaimed.

Koenma chuckled. "It was quite a stroke of luck, actually. You see just a few hours ago, this soul was next in line to be reborn in the Human World but something peculiar happened today."

"What, Koenma-sama?" asked Botan.

"A Spirit Fox had escaped to the Human World and, just as this soul was about to merge with her destined body, the Spirit Fox stole the body and took root within the unborn child."

The three reapers gasped in shock.

"What?" exclaimed Botan.

"No way!" said Hikari.

"Yes, it was very troubling when one of the other reapers wandered upon the floating, lost soul. And, unfortunately, since Spirit World has no place for this soul to go to at the moment and she has no body to be revived in, I've decided to make her the new Chief Pilot of the River Acheron."

"Wait a minute, Koenma-sama!" exclaimed Botan. "But didn't you just say that demons attack the Pilots of the River Acheron? How do you expect an inexperienced reaper to fend them off?"

"Ah, you underestimate my genius, Botan." Koenma smirked, wiggling his index finger. "You know the old saying, 'hell has no wrath like a woman scorned'? Well, in this case, it's a woman who's been cheated out of life, and she is very angry. She will be able to channel that anger into spirit energy and fight off the demons. I trust all of you to help her as much as you can. You must train her and teach her the ways of the reaper. I expect her lessons to be done by the end of the day. She will begin work tomorrow morning."

"What? We only have till the end of today to teach her everything there is to know about ferrying souls? Are you insane, Koenma-sama?" exclaimed Botan, slamming her hands down on the table in outrage.

"There is no other option, Botan," said Koenma. "Ghosts of the dead demons have already gathered in the air above Demon World. They cannot be left there unattended for much longer or they will turn into dangerous, malevolent spirits. The SDF have been pulled from their regular patrols to take care of them for now, but they can't leave their posts for long or else Spirit World will lose what little foothold we have in Demon World. My father has already created a spirit form for this soul. I will send the new reaper to the Ferry Lounge in one hour. The three of you had better be ready for her, understood?"

Ayame, Hikari, and Botan looked at each other. Could they really do this? It had taken each of them nearly a century to reach the stations they currently held as reapers. How could they teach everything they've ever learned to a novice reaper in less than a day? But Botan saw the determination in her friends' eyes and it sparked the same feeling inside her heart.

"For Tsubaki and Suiren," whispered Ayame, eyes shining from tears unshed.

Botan and Hikari nodded. Yes, they will do whatever they could to make sure what their lost reapers had done was not in vain. The two missing reapers had kept the peace in Demon World and Botan, Hikari, and Ayame would make sure that they continued Tsubaki's and Suiren's legacy – no matter what it takes, they will do it.

Their hearts united and focused on the same goal, the three of them bowed in unison to Koenma and exited the room.