Koenma's office hadn't changed much, if at all since the first time they had all stood around the toddler's enormous desk. They hadn't been any happier about it then than they were now. With the possible exception of Kuwabara, whose first visit this actually was, and even he had gotten tired of waiting almost right away. With no clock visible it was pretty much impossible to tell just how long they had been standing around. And sadly it didn't look like they would be finding out any time soon either. Even Botan, who'd been sent to gather the somewhat scattered group, had no definite idea why. All she had been able to tell then was that Koenma had been upset about something when he'd sent for them, so it had to be important.

That explained the tension that was hanging in the air when Spirit world's prince finally joined them some time later. After all it had to be world ending if he was gathering them in one place about it. It was a testament to Yusuke's increased patience that he waited for Koenma to be seated before saying anything. ''Alright Koenma… What was so urgent huh? Why did we all have to come all the way here?" He'd meant for if to sound at least a bit menacing, but any actual anger he might have been holding onto had vanished once he found himself faced with Koenma in his actual toddler form rather than the teenaged one he normally adopted around them.

''I realize none of you must be very happy about being here, but... I wasn't sure who else I could trust to handle this situation... ''

The group exchanged an almost worried look before Botan moved toward the desk. ''Sir has something that serious happened?" she asked almost fearfully.

''I'm not entirely sure...'' The tone those words were said with only served to earn him a mixture of worried and annoyed looks that forced him to continue before one of them cut him off. ''one of our investigators has been missing for several weeks now."

''That's what you brought us here for? You have got to be kidding me! I was in the middle of something when Botan dragged me up here for some emergency. And it's just because you can't keep track of the people working for you?" Any patience Yusuke may have gained over the last few years had finally reached its breaking point.

''It's a bit more complicated than that. If it were only a matter of her being late to report it would be unusual, but not something to panic over.'' Sighing a little, Koenma leaned back in his chair and pressed a button on his desk. ''Ask Ayame to join us." He ignored their curious looks for the several seconds that passed before the large office door opened and a dark haired woman strolled in. ''You wanted to see me sir?"

''Yes Ayame, it's about Hiroko.''

''She still hasn't been found then?" Her face may not have shown it but there was a hint of concern in her voice.

''I'm afraid not." Koenma admitted quietly. ''Would you fill us in on what's been happening so far…?"

''Yes Sir..." Ayame straightened a little more, ''The missing investigator is a demon named Hiroko. She has worked for our intelligence department for nearly six years now. In that time she has proven to be surprisingly reliable. The information she has provided for us has been accurate and at times invaluable. She has never failed to report at the appointed time at least until last month. A week prior to the missed appointment Hiroko was given a new assignment. Since that meeting no one seems to have seen her. I'm afraid that is all we know Sir."'

"I see... nothing new to report then." Koenma released a low moan of frustration and Uncertainty.

''That's all? She's probably just taking her time getting back." Having dismissed the entire thing Yusuke was on his way back to the door before he even started speaking and nearly to it by the time he finished.

''You mentioned a new assignment. Isn't it possible she's only been delayed somehow?"

''Kurama'' Yusuke groaned turning back to face him, "don't ask questions... That's what he wants. For us to get all interested and go waste a lot of time on this."

Ignoring the objection Kurama Continued, ''depending on the nature of the assignment a delay of a few weeks may not be anything to panic over."

''Compared to many she's been sent on this one was nothing difficult. With the barrier lowered and even higher level demons able to pass between the Worlds at will some monitoring has become necessary.'' Ayame answered.

''She was following someone?" He had known even before Kurama spoke that the question was coming and for the first time... ever... Yusuke found himself wondering why the rest of the team couldn't be more like Hiei and just stand in the corner at least pretending to be uninterested. He already knew they were going to be pulled into this, but that didn't mean they had to make it easy for the guy.

"A mid-level demon, which as far as we can tell had nothing to do with her disappearance… however…" Ayame hesitated long enough to receive permission from Koenma in the form of a nod before continuing, "We suspect that he was what you might call collateral damage. When we started looking into her disappearance we discovered that the demon had been killed."

"Killed?"

A scoff from the corner revealed that Hiei was indeed paying attention and brought theirs to him for the first time since he'd entered the room. "She probably killed him herself and evaded you. This is a waste of time."

''As much as I hope that isn't the case it is a possibility. However over the years Hiroko reported directly to me a great deal of the time. As a result she is almost intimately familiar with our security measures. It is possible that she has been abducted for that reason. If so we could be looking at a far more serious problem than just a missing employee. "

''Yeah…? And what do you want us to do about it? You don't ever know where this girl is or if she double crossed you or something."

''Listen to you guys! There's a girl out there who might be in serious trouble and I for one, am going to help her." Kuwabara's announcement cut across in the usual over dramatic fashion, revealing his excitement with the possibility of playing hero. It only earned him annoyed and indulgent looks from the rest of the room's inhabitants.

"And what use will you be if she is?"

Before Hiei's jibe could start the argument if had been destined to Kurama chose to draw attention away by asking more questions. Not that either Koenma or Ayame had many answers to supply. They knew surprisingly little about the demon who had been working for and with them. Despite claiming she was friendly they weren't aware of any friends she might have had, or even all of the places she stayed on a normal basis. Eventually Ayame offered to procure a copy of Hiroko's file for them, and Yusuke knew when Kurama accepted that all their weekend plans were a lost cause.