Hearts of Glass Chapter 1: Enter the Present, a yu yu hakusho fanfic

Disclaimer: Sorry I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho

Author's Note: Hey all. This is an idea that started floating in my head pretty recently. I'm taking a little break from my Pokemon work for a second (don't worry to those readers, I promise to get back to it) to work on this project. For all my new readers, I hope you enjoy!

Please review. I want to be told if this is getting OOC at any time, okay?

Hearts of Glass

Chapter 1

Enter the Present

It's amazing how 150 years can pass so quickly. It still seems like yesterday that Yusuke had just come back to Ningenkai and we were all splashing around on the beach when, if fact, that was two whole lifetimes ago. A lot has happened since then. Seriously.

I could be biased, but I think the deaths were the hardest for me. After all, I'm a deity of death and it was my job to escort every last one of them to Reikai. Some of the Tantei were ready for death and others weren't. Take Yusuke for example: he had died twice before and knew exactly what to expect when his time came. He was old, smiling, and happy to see me. But then again he was also the last one to die.

But now I'm getting ahead of myself.

Shizuru was the first to go. She was a good friend of mine when she lived, and it was hard for me to grasp the fact that she was being taken at such a young age. Lung cancer. She made it to 45 before her stupid smoking finally caught up with her. But if Shizuru was one thing it was strong. She didn't cry or express any remorse at her death; she said that she had no reason to, that she had lived her life exactly how she wanted and died on her own terms. She had no regrets. I called in a favor from Koenma and got her to the top of the reincarnation list anyway.

Genkai was next. Not too surprising because of her age. To this day I still don't know how old Genkai really is. I use present tense because she's still in my life. You see, because of all of the things she accomplished throughout her lifetime King Enma decided that Genkai's experiences were too valuable to let go of. She was appointed as Koenma's official advisor. And let me tell you, she had whipped that operation into shape. I've never seen Koenma's office as clean as it is now.

A few years after Genkai's death Shiori Minomoto died. With her death came the death of Shuichi Minomoto. Suicide. It was strange, though. When I came to take his soul to Reikai I quickly realized that this was not the Kurama I knew. For starters he didn't recognize me, nor did he posses that calm, cool demeanor that was a Kurama standard. That soul was the original Shuichi Minomoto. My guess is that with Shiori gone there was nothing keeping Youko Kurama in Ningenkai and death was the only way to free himself. But I'll never really know: Kurama never contacted anyone so I can only assume he's living in Makai happily.

He's probably with Hiei. The grumpy fire demon moved back to Makai a LOOOOOOOOONG time ago and never looked back. Well...he probably checked in with Yukina without telling anyone but yeah! That's it.

The next death came about 65 years after that day on the beach. Keiko was around 80 years old. Her dying request was to return there. So with Yusuke holding on to one of her arms and my aged human form holding her other arm we walked up and down the beach. Her and Yusuke's children and grandchildren were there too. We spent the entire day on the beach...then the sun started to set. I remember Keiko looking at Yusuke with tears in her eyes. I left then, knowing that they wanted their last moment, and transformed back into my normal form. By the time I returned with my oar the whole family was surrounding Keiko's dead body.

But there's a happy ending! Keiko had lived such an unselfish life that she was eligible to become a ferry girl! I trained her personally and now she works for Koenma. She's really good too, I haven't caught her slacking off once! Personally, I have no idea how she does it.

But anyways, where was I?

After Keiko's death I thought that I had made it through the worst of it. I figured that the separation of Yusuke and Keiko would be the most heartbreaking event I'd have to deal with. I was dead wrong.

Kuwabara lived to be 90 years old. After years of trying he eventually got Yukina to formally date him. They had a human relationship and got married back when everyone was still alive to celebrate it. It was great until reality set in. Kuwabara got old and Yukina barely aged a day. They took it in stride, though, and lived life to the fullest every day they had together. They never had children--which is something I never asked about--so it made Kuwabara's passing that much more intimate. I spent most of the time consoling Yusuke, who barely managed to get out his final goodbyes without breaking down. I didn't enter the temple until Yukina came out and gave me the go ahead.

Kuwabara's spirit was crying, his eyes never leaving Yukina or the pile of gems that had been falling from her eyes. We waited until she fell asleep before I took him to Reikai. There Koenma offered Kuwabara a way to live a few extra years, it was some sort of loophole that came with being with a demon, but he refused. I'll never forget the look of anguish on his face. He said that it had killed Yukina to face his death and that he'd give up a few extra years to make sure that she wouldn't have to go through it a second time.

It took a few years and many nights of crying to finally accept that he was gone for good.

Soon after his death Enki was murdered in Makai. No one really knows what happened, but it thrust the Demon World into a state of chaos. But more on that later!

As I mentioned before, Yusuke was the last to go. Thanks to his demon blood Yusuke lived to be about 113 years old. By then he had great great grandchildren, and he was surrounded by all of them on his final day in Ningenkai. His family all came out to Genkai's temple--where Yusuke had been living after Kuwabara died--and had a Urameshi fighting tournament. Yusuke was too frail to fight, but got to be the judge as he watched his whole family display their skills. And take it from me, watching the Urameshis fight is like nothing else you'll ever see. I could tell it made Yusuke happy.

That night after everyone had gone to bed Yusuke wandered to the Buddha and mumbled a prayer; then he laid down on the floor and called out to me, telling me that he was ready.

He didn't know the Keiko had become a ferry girl. By that time he was already an old man and had long since retired as the Spirit Detective, so his contact with Reikai was minimal. So imagine his shock when we reached Koenma's palace and he saw Keiko there sitting on an oar with her arms crossed. It was hilarious! He was speechless and all she could do was ask what took him so long. What happened next is one of those things that doesn't really get talked about, unless one wants to face severe punishment.

I knew it was against the rules, but I didn't care. I casually turned my back to the couple and loudly called Yusuke, asking where he was. They caught on to my plot and by the time I turned back around they were gone. It was my job to distract Koenma, but I didn't expect him to be waiting for me. Who knew he actually paid attention to the names of who died that day? When he saw me return without Yusuke his talkative mood was gone. He waltzed right to Keiko's room and...didn't knock.

I'll never forget the look on his face! Hahahaha. It was pretty obvious that Yusuke and Keiko hadn't wasted a second when it came to making up for lost time. Then there's the fact that they were back into their youthful forms and with it came the endurance that had faded over the years. Hahaha, Koenma fainted and all I could do was wink at the shocked couple and drag him out of the room. Honestly. Koenma asked for it, though. The noises that could be heard through the door should have been some kind of indication as to what was going on inside.

The next day Koenma summoned the three of us to his office. We didn't know what to expect. I definitely didn't expect that we would be charged though! Well, more like Yusuke and Keiko were charged. Koenma pardoned me because Yusuke "tricked" me so that he could run off with Keiko. Yusuke was charged with fraud, indecency, and "plain disrespect for the great ruler of Reikai." He was sentenced to spend eternity in Reikai's prison; but, due to his "very violent" past he would have to be confined to an isolated location.

I've never seen such a nice "jail cell" in all of my years of living. Mansion is a much better word for it, complete with personal training grounds.

And Keiko? Since she was Yusuke's "accomplice" in all of this she was sentenced to have Yusuke as her charge for eternity. In simpler terms, Keiko has to check in with Yusuke at least once every day. Needless to say, they were both plenty happy with the verdict.

But anyways, I was given a mission a couple of years after Yusuke's death.

With Enki being dead Makai was going through its own feudal era. The more powerful demons were setting up their own territories and it was only a matter of time until the fireworks were bound to fly. But with no clues as to who killed Enki, and caused all the madness, Reikai was in a little rut. They needed answers and no one was providing them. That's when King Enma had the idea of sending a woman to Makai. It had to be a woman because we can get information much easier than men; and there is no woman more dedicated to Reikai than me.

I know Koenma was against it, but there was nothing he could do about it.

So another body was created for me. People always said that I looked like Yukina's older sister, and Yukina herself has mentioned that I could pass as a koorime with my hair. I guess I got lucky: I've seen people who ended up with demon bodies that completely change their whole appearance. My koorime body looks so much like me, it's just awesome! The only tweaks were that my hair is longer, my skin a little paler, and my eyes became red.

So maybe the red eyes took a little getting used to. But come on! It could have been red SKIN!

That was about 100 years after the beach day. The next 50 years were spent in intensive training. First off, I had to adapt to my new form. I was a human in my first life so I was able to function immediately when I was given my human body. A demon body was completely different. I had to get used to my heightened senses, not to mention the nifty add ons. I swear I've cut endless amounts of onions just to cry and see the jewels drop. But it really wasn't as simple as that. I'm supposed to be going into Makai alone. No back up. No turning back.

I've never been a fighter but that's changed now. I've been living in my koorime body 24/7 at Genkai's temple. Somehow Koenma managed to track down Touya and he's been my mentor for the last 50 years. I remember Hiei once mentioning that Touya was the Ice Master; and I agree with him. I've learned so much from Touya that I've grown to believe that anything is possible. I never thought that I'd be able to fight and now I can. And pretty damn well if I do say so myself! But if I had to get super technical about it...Touya says that my skills are about A to A+ level.

It seems ridiculous! I mean me, Botan, an A class demon? No way. But then I think about the nonstop training and it all falls into place. Touya was a ruthless trainer. I was up at daybreak with no breaks except to eat and use the bathroom. He didn't pull his punches or his speed--my healing powers have gotten a lot better because of it, though--and I had to learn to adapt. For a while I really hated it; I wanted to give up and run back to Reikai where I could sleep until late afternoon. But I'm happy I didn't. These last years have been the happiest I've been in a long time, primarily because I made great friends and no one died.

But then again, all three of us were ice demons and 50 years passes in the blink of an eye.

Yukina was the one who kept me grounded when I wanted to give up. Like me, the deaths of the Tantei took its toll on her and she grew up mentally because of it. She taught me how to have the grace of a koorime and utilize our sensual nature. Yeah, koorimes are enchantresses but having Yukina be the one to explain everything out to me really cemented her maturity in my head. But I'll tell the truth, a lot of the time we ended our "lessons" early to gossip only to have Touya stick his head into the door and glare at the both of us.

But he knows that he loves us!

In particular, Yukina. While both of them were busy training me to actually be a demon I was busy observing the behavior of my friends. Touya definitely fancies Yukina, and it's really cute! He's a complete gentleman to her and doesn't try to push anything...but blushes don't lie! I also happen to know that Yukina has a thing for him, too. She told me as much; but she also said that she doesn't want to disrespect Kuwabara's memory by letting herself be happy with another man. And with Touya probably knowing this--he has a way of just knowing things--he's too polite to make a move.

But there was a lot more to the last 50 years besides training and icy love lives. Many nights were spent just hanging out and getting to know each other. Haha, a lot of drunk nights too. Believe me, three drunk ice demons is a load of trouble. We joked around, talked about our lives, and our dreams for the future. I guess it was naive of me to forget that there was a mission at hand. But even with the daily training sessions I managed to forget that there was a war brewing in Makai and that there was a real reason I was being trained to begin with. Like I said, 50 years went by amazingly fast and Koenma eventually contacted me.

Which brings me to now. It seems that I can't seem to stay away from this beach. It's been awhile, but this beach still looks the same 150 years later; like a moment forever trapped in time. I sighed. I said my goodbyes to Yukina and Touya back at the temple and am now waiting for a sign of some sort. As if Reikai had read my thoughts I saw a portal appear and Koenma step out. I smiled and ran to hug my best friend.

"KOENMA!" He smiled.

"Botan. Reikai hasn't been the same without you. I wish I had more time to catch up..."

"It's ok, we'll talk for years when I get back."

We looked at each other and sighed, knowing what was coming.

"Are you ready for this?" He asked me.

"I think so. Ready as I'll ever be."

He nodded and another portal appeared. I gulped, finally realizing that this was it. The Tantei was gone and it was up to me. All my years of training, and the bruises, has led up to this. Me, Botan the cheery-but-weak ferry girl turned Botan the killer koorime is about to go into Makai and try to track down information on a super powered assassin--they must be to be able to take out Enki for goodness sake! But no pressure! I turned to Koenma and gave him one more hug before taking a deep breath. It was time.

I jumped into the portal and found myself staring into the forests of Makai.