Ch.3 Trouble

Ch. 3

A 14 year old boy sat quietly next to a creek. He had spiky long black hair that reached his shoulder blades and beautiful green eyes. His body was incredibly fit despite his young age.

He hummed a tune from one of his favorite anime while waiting for a fish to bite. He could easily catch a fish with his speed and reflexes but his grandpa Yusuke taught him the value of patience. Ironically his grandmother Keiko told him his grandfather actually has very little of that.

The boy, Jei was a happy go lucky child that wasn't phased by most things. He trained hard and played hard and he had a penchant for the occasional mischief.

He wasnt allowed to leave the forest for reasons he was only told when he turned 10. The people who killed his parents are still out there and would try to get him if he left the forests' barrier.

Luckily he had some friends his age that came to the forest almost everyday for school. Jei's parents had opened the school for children of espers and demons that work for Spirit Agency, a safe place the children could come and learn and make other friends like them in a safe environment.

When Kisuke and Mei died, the school was taken over by Keiko and Yukina. Many of thier friends also teach lessons at the school from time to time.

Jei had grown up alongside the daughter of Yukina and Kazuma Kuwabara, Yuma Kuwabara.

However since she is always scolding him about how carefree he is and the pranks he pulls, Jei often avoids her by going to his spot to fish and read manga.

"Jei Urameshi?! Where are you?!" Somewhere in the forest was a girl with shoulder length turquoise color hair and red eyes, sporting a black martial arts body suit and red vest, was shouting for the delinquent boy.

"Jeez, can't a guy get some peace and quiet? Right, Snek?" Jei, looked over at his spirit beast companion, that was lazily munching on a fish.

The adolescent spirit beast lazily nodded in agreement while tilting his head pack to finish swallowing the fish.

When Snek hatched from his egg after weeks of Jei feeding it spiritual energy, the beast came out as a cute looking snake with blueish grey and white scales and two fins for ears. It's big beady eyes were almost cartoonish, which caused Yusuke to laugh hysterically at how puny and pathetic it was.

(A/N: It looks like a Dratini)

This in turn caused Keiko to jam her elbow into his ribs and then reminded him how cute and adorable Pu was when he hatched. Yusuke could only scratch his cheek remembering the embarrassing past.

A few years after that, Jei hit a new peak with his strength and that caused Snek to evolve. He grew to be 3 meters long, and his ear fins became feathery. His scales also increased in hardness and resisted most energy attacks.

(A/N: similar to dragonair but without horn and beads and with protruding fangs.)

"Well, if we keep her waiting, she'll start destroying the forest..." Jei stood up and placed his fishing gear in a nearby tree hollow and then motioned to Snek.

The intelligent spirit beast slithered to him and coiled itself around him while shrinking his size. Now no bigger than a necklace around Jei's neck, his head now bobbing with each of Jei's steps.

"Where have you been?" Yuma eyed Jei suspiciously, he was always pulling pranks or ditching classes. This caused her trouble as she as a good friend would have to try and cover for him.

"I was just studying, ya know? Nothing is more important to me than learning stuff." Jei gave her a cheeky smile.

"As if!" Yuma puffed her cheeks and then said, "We need to go back. Everyone showed up and are having some important meeting without us!"

"Everyone? Meeting? Yuma, its probly just boring adult stuff. There's no reason for us to get involved, right?" Jei was nonchalant about it.

"By everyone, I mean everyone. Even Uncle Hiei and Lord Enma are here, and they all look serious about something."

Its very rare for Hiei, who has a high position in Spirit Agency to visit. And Enma is the ruler of Spirit World. But Hiei AND Enma being here at the same time, meant something big was happening.

Jei's eyes widened at the mention of those two names, a flicker of concern passing over his previously indifferent expression. "That is... unusual," he admitted, his casual demeanor crumbling just a little.

"Well, I'll go on ahead." Jei said as he turned and darted back to his house, leaving Yuma exasperated with him, before chasing after him.

"Tch! Wait for me, you idiot!"

At the house, there was a strange atmosphere. Uncle Kazuma and Auntie Yukina were there, as well as Grandpa Kurama and Uncle Hiei, along with a tall guy with a pacifier in his mouth, Emna, accompanied by a beautiful young looking girl with blue hair, Boton.

"What the heck is going on? Why does everyone look like somebody peed in thier ramen?" Jei asked breaking the tense atmosphere. Yusuke was the first to speak.

"Brat. Mind your manners." He cracked his knuckles before continuing, "We're expecting an attack. Hiei you understand better than me, explain it."

"Sigh... Jei, the cult that killed your parents and have targeted you have returned." Hiei closed his eyes with silent anger evident on his face. "They have attacked this forest's barrier several times now, trying to weaken it. No matter how much we have tried to stop them they manage to slip away after hitting it hard once then fleeing. Over time the barrier will be destroyed and have to be remade. But before it can be remade, the enemy will likely attack this place. We are here because the barrier won't last much longer so us and the agents from the Spirit Agency are waiting for them to attack to finally take them down for good."

Jei was shocked. The threat they have been preparing him for is finally at their doorstep. He was having having mixed feelings such as anger, sadness, nervousness, and a little fear. To him this is the boogeyman he has always been warned of.

Kurama's soft voice broke the silence and began to soothe them. "Don't worry, your family is here, and we are among the strongest. No harm will come to you."

Another voice cut in after Kurama.

"Yeah! That's right! There were tons of baddies that tried to kill us back in the day and we always kicked their asses! These punks are nothing!" Uncle Kuwabara chimed trying to further lighten the mood.

"But didn't you say there was something strange about these people, Hiei?" Keiko asked, she had been keeping up with the information Hiei had been bringing back and there were some irregularities with their abilities.

"Yeah. The powers some of those freaks wield is based on darkness and they summon strange shadow like creatures. They are not demons or apparitions but some kind of shadow entity that take different forms. They are not all that strong, but they can get numerous."

"Let's keep that talk for later so the kids don't worry so much. How about the two of you go have fun while the adults talk." Yusuke shooed them away so as not to involve them in further in this. It's the adults job to keep the kids safe after all. Jei and Yuma left and went to the training hall feeling excluded.

Jei really wanted to stay and be a part of the battle plans, but it seems they think he is still too young and weak. He felt a little depressed that he couldn't help them.

Rei and Yuma were holding a conversation on their own while lightly sparring in the training hall.

"Why don't they let us help? We aren't kids anymore, and we can fight!" He said frustrated while sending a punch to Yuma's face. She deflected and threw a kick to his chin, causing him to dodge.

"They are just worried about you, moron. Without someone to watch you, you would always be in trouble, like that time with the bear."

"That's not true..." he said sulkily. In fact that was one of his most embarrassing moments. He decided to poke a hibernating bear for fun but it woke up and started chasing him all over the forest. Yusuke had to come and teach the bear a lesson, while Jei cried his eyes out.

While Jei was in thought, the ground began shaking after a loud boom.

"What's going on?!" Yuma yelled. A strong spiritual pressure had dropped onto the home. Jei shrugged it off and was about to walk out of the room and investigate but the shaking stopped, and the sounds of battle were heard.

He was about to run to help when he felt a presence enter the room they were in. A dark torrent of energy rose from the ground and a figure wearing a black robe walked out and tried to grab Yuma from behind.

"Yuma! Behind you!" Jei shouted, and he began to move toward the assailant. Yuma was pushed away by the person, and they then moved quickly and grabbed Jei.

"Fuck off!" Jei screamed and threw his head back into the attacker's face causing them to lose their grip for a moment.

That moment was all Jei needed. He turned his body and threw a punch with Spirit Wave straight to the hooded person's face, hoping to end the enemy with an all out attack, but miscalculated his opponents speed.

The person flickered and reappeared on the other side of the room. The attack didn't connect and left Jei in an awkward position next to Yuma.

The figure lifted their hand and sent out a dark pulse that threw the two back and sent them straight into the dark torrent. Before flying into it Yuma who had recovered in the air used ice magic to attack the foe and entrap him, right when the door busted open revealing Yusuke and Hiei.

The attacker who was frozen from the waist down had no place to go. Yusuke looked around the room and began to panic. The dark torrent had closed and Jei and Yuma were gone. "Where are they?!" He approached the hooded figure and grabbed him by the collar. "Where the fuck are my grandchildren?!"

The hooded man began giggling and happily obliged to answer. "Even I don't know! I was going to send them back to HQ but the Dark Corridor closed before I could take them. They're lost in the realm of darkness now. Who knows where they will end up. Bahahahahaha!"

A cold glint passed through Yusuke's eyes, and it took all his restraint not to crush the man's skull. "Hiei, can you get some real answers from this guy?"

Hiei smiled ominously. "It would be my pleasure." The hooded man knew he was fucked, but he still cackled as he was taken away. He really didn't know anything!

Yusuke stood there for a moment, hoping the two would reappear but then gave up and went to inform the others.