Atsuko Urameshi was considered by many to be little more that irresponsible lush, a little too old to be the party girl she still tried to come off as. But despite that, Atsuko did truly love her son, and wanted nothing more than the best for him.
That was why she put up with some of the strange things he did. Like leaving for months on end to, she presumed, study under that old woman Genkai. That was really okay with her - if Yusuke had decided to be a professional martial artist... well, it was better than being a professional punk.
But all she could do right now was drink. Drinking her worries away in a bottle.
About a month ago, Keiko Yukimura had just vanished, somewhere between the school and her family's bakery. For the week following that, Yusuke had become a one-man wreaking crew, tearing through the district looking for her. And his friend, Kuwabara, was right there helping him.
Then, they suddenly stopped. And left for Genkai's place. And they hadn't returned since.
Somehow, the thought of what he could be doing there, worried Atsuko far more than when he'd been fighting all the time. What kinds of things could he be learning from that old woman? And what kind of opponent could he be facing that he'd need to train like that?
Of course, Atsuko had no clue the kinds of things Yusuke really dealt with, or that he was one of the most powerful mortals on the planet. Which was for the best, really, as she probably couldn't handle that particular truth.
So she sat around her apartment, worried and drunk... and wondering what that pounding was... it was too early for the hangover, wasn't it?
Befuddled as she was, it took her a moment to realize that someone had been knocking on the door.
With a good deal of effort, Atsuko worked her way to the entrance, trying to come up with who it could be. Yusuke would have his own key, and she could think of no one else who would just show up unannounced...
Finally getting to the door and opening it, she was greeted by a site that almost knocked her out of her drunken stupor.
Keiko Yukimura, dressed in what looked like a gray and tan aviator's outfit, down to the goggles on her head, was standing in front of her, smiling brightly. "Hello, Ms. Urameshi! Is Yusuke in?"
Atsuko blinked at the sight before her a few times, and came to the conclusion that this meant she'd either had too much to drink, or not nearly enough. "He's gone to that old woman's place again." She mumbled to the 'hallucination' before her.
"Genkai's place? Thanks!" With that, Keiko ran to the railing, and jumped down to the ground... and in the process, thoroughly convinced Atsuko that this was just some kind of vision... after all, they were four stories up!
Shaking her head to try and clear it, Atsuko closed and locked her door, and then went to the bedroom. She obviously needed sleep right now.
_-=^=-_
Genkai's temple was her personal refuge from a world that the old woman, quite frankly, didn't want to deal with on a regular basis. It was usually quite and serene.
"HIYA!"
Wham!
Thud!
"Okay, that's IT Urameshi! No more playing around! GHAAA!"
Today, was obviously not a 'usual' day.
Genkai frowned as the entire temple seemed to rock from the two boys' fighting. She should stop it...
...
No. She'd let them pound on each other a few more minutes. And then make them fix whatever they broke. Better to let them work out their anxieties on each other. Then leave them to just focus on the waiting.
Genkai shook her head and took a sip from her tea. And hoped that the universe could see fit to just give one miracle, this time. She honestly didn't want to think what would happen if Yusuke lost hope, in this case.
It had begun four weeks ago. Koenma had given Yusuke a new assignment... one that was supposed to be easy. A pair of Void Apparitions, masters of manipulating Space/Time, had slipped into the human world, and Yusuke was supposed to find them and bring them back to Spirit World.
Simple. Easy. Except Koenma hadn't realized that these two had found something that augmented their powers a thousand fold. A week after arriving, they demonstrated their new powers by opening a rift, just to show off.
They had been planning on blackmailing Koenma for something... but they made a mistake. Their 'demonstration' sucked up some people. Including Keiko Yukimura.
The void demons couldn't run fast enough. Yusuke eventually cornered them both, and killed them.
Since then, he'd been here, waiting for word from Koenma. The toddler-like ruler of Spirit World had promised to do everything he could to find out where Keiko - and the others - had gone.
And that hope... was all that was keeping Yusuke Urameshi sane, at the moment.
Just then, a cheery voiced called out from the entrance. "Hello, everybody," the voice of Botan, guide of the dead, assistant to the Spirit Detective, and eternal optimist, rang.
The boys immediately stopped fighting, and scrambled over each other in an effort to meet Botan. Sighing, Genkai also decided to go see what the girl wanted, but did so at a more sedate pace.
When she arrived, she found Yusuke screaming at Koenma's image on Botan's communicator. "Whaddya mean you haven't found her yet?!"
"Yusuke, please, let me explain!" Koenma sounded particularly frazzled at the Spirit Detective's outburst. "We've managed to determine that she isn't anywhere in the human world, the spirit world, or in the demon worlds."
Kuwabara blinked, "Hey... if she's not in any of those worlds, there where did she go?!"
Koenma sighed. "I'm afraid that means that she, and the others caught up in that event, have been sent... beyond."
"Beyond?!" Yusuke exploded. "Beyond what?! Koenma, I swear you better start explaining, or so help me..."
"Calm down, Yusuke, and I will explain." After a few more sputters and snarls, Yusuke managed to visible reign in his temper. Nodding at the sight, Koenma continued. "All the worlds you know of, are connected at an intrinsic level. Or, to put it more simply, these may be different dimensions, but they have all been part of a single reality. What those two show-offs did, sent their victims right out of this reality. And beyond our reality, is a very, very large place, Yusuke."
Yusuke was still for several moments, before slamming his fist into the ground, causing a slight tremor. "Damnit! Why'd you bother telling me anything, if it's just going to make things worse!"
"Because, Yusuke," Koenma replied, unconcerned, "I might have some good news, despite that."
Yusuke's attention was once again riveted on the image on the screen. "What is it?"
Koenma cleared his voice. "Slightly less than half an hour ago... something punched a hole into the human world. Something... from outside our reality." Kuwabara and Botan gasped at that information, but Yusuke's attention never wavered. "Chances are likely that whatever that was, is related to the previous rift the Void Apparitions made. Yusuke, once we find the exact location of the entry point, I want you to find out what came through. Hopefully, it will be friendly, and may even be able to help us find Keiko. Even if it isn't, discovering how it traveled here is sure to help our search efforts..."
Yusuke nodded. "Gotcha. I'm heading into town." And with that, he sprinted down out the gateway.
"Hey, wait for me, Urameshi!" Kuwabara called, moments behind him.
Koenma and Genkai shared a simultaneous sigh. "You'd better go with them, Botan," Genkai said. "So you can give him directions once they find the location."
Botan nodded. "I just hope that whatever came through, it's able to help us find Keiko," she said, before summoning her oar and flying after the boys.
Genkai nodded. "So do I," she said to herself.
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(Posted Tue, 05 Oct 2004 02:04)
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