|| A Bouquet of Red and White Roses || [Yu Yu Hakusho Fan-fic] {Edits}

Dancing Shadows

"..From there, we'll watch over the fountain and see if anything new comes up. If that happens, Azalin will come and find you. Just don't get yourself killed."

Operation infiltration hm ? It doesn't sound as fun as messing around with Sara. It's been three days since then. I've been stalling to get their attention. So far, lingering around the fountain has worked. I've had some of them chasing after me from time to time. But I've noticed that they're holding back.

Standing on there very top of the utility pole, all I could see were figures. They were all scattered about, probably waiting for me. Behind me, the full moon. I glanced around, trying to see a suitable place to start trouble. My eyes landed on a spot with some Rank B hunters. From there I would move along and sweep by some of the Rank A hunters that were nearby to get their attention. I actually don't intend to fight, rather, it was just to move along and observe their movements. Something about their placement around the fountain didn't seem right though. And on top of that, I had yet to see someone that I actually knew. The only person I've seen lingering around from time to time is Marion. Other than that, most of the hunters that have been after me have only been Rank B.

Jumping down from the utility pole, I unconcealed my presence and watched as they glanced in my direction. I was amazed at how quickly those Rank B hunters caught on. The only problem was that they couldn't locate me as well as the other Rank A hunters could. Right before I touched the ground, I disappeared and moved along, watching as the uneasy expressions appeared on their faces. At one point, I even considered to stop and play, but I reminded myself that I was supposed to be observing. All I had to do was cause a small amount of disruption. So I continued to move around until I reached the fountain, where some of the other Rank A hunters lingered. When I arrived, I ended up on a tree branch, hiding in the shadows as a few familiar faces appeared. There were five of them there. One of which seemed to be getting reports from some of the Rank A and B hunters. There was a look of surprise on her face when that person went back to the others with some papers in her hands.

"She's been here", was what she said to them. I'm sure that she was referring to me.

My eyes landed on him. Before he had reached into his pocket and pulled something out, he was already looking my way. A gust of wind blew by as I tilted my head to the right. There was a faint 'thunk' as something had driven into the trunk of the tree behind me. I turned to see a small hole, one that wasn't there before. Ah, so he knew. When I glanced back at them, they were already facing me. But they stood in that one spot, not bothering to move. I smirked and slowly stepped out into the part of the branch that wasn't covered by the shadows. I only allowed half of my face to show and smiled in amusement as I saw them all frowning at me. Nothing has changed. I could tell that they were prepared to fight me just by seeing how they stood, but that was something I wanted to avoid. So I stepped out into the dim lighting and nonchalantly smiled at them as if I were happy. 

"Have I kept you waiting ?", I asked them. Seeing them like this made me wonder if they were placed into groups. Then again... "Not necessarily", Sotaru replied desolately, "In fact, you've arrived at the very right moment." "Oh I hope not", I said, feigning my worry. "I wouldn't want anything bad to happen or anything.." Sotaru smirked and put his hand in the pockets of his jacket. "Yes well", he mumbled, his eyes locking onto mine, "It's a shame that we can't avoid that." I jumped off of the tree branch and landed not that far away from them. "Well you see", I replied, slightly shrugging, "I don't plan to fight any of you today. I've just come to say hello." "You're bluffing", Rhia snapped. I slowly turned to her and sighed at her accusation. "Then come and catch me", was my response to her. "If I really were trying to fight you today, then don't you think that I would've done something first ?" Rhia didn't respond. "You know Rhia", Senri said with a faint chuckle, "I wouldn't underestimate her if I were you." "I suggest you listen too", I added in. Rhia turned away and huffed. I turned away and looked up at the moon. "Jah", I said, raising a hand, "I will take my leave." "Wait." I peered over my shoulder to see Mitsuru, who for some reason, took a step towards me. "Nani ?", I asked.

"The reason to why you're here is because you need something from this fountain, don't you ?" A smile slowly began to appear on my face as I turned away. "If that's what you want to believe", I replied, slightly chuckling. "Then I'll just leave it as that." "You can't hide forever Shiori." I looked up at the full moon and sighed in dismay. "You'll catch me eventually.. I'll give you that", I muttered, a soft breeze blowing by, "But can you really say that I'm still running away.. Sotaru ?" I glanced at my hands. For a second, I thought that they were covered in red. But they weren't. 

"In a few days or so, the "fighting" that you sought out for today will occur. During that time, I hope that you've all gotten stronger. It won't matter how many people you bring. All I ask of you is.." I took a step foreword and disappeared into the night, reappearing on one of the lamp posts as I loomed over them. "...To figure out whether I'm being serious or is just playing around to waste my time ?" Sotaru sighed and turned around, leaving first. I grinned. How like him. The only one who remained once the other four were gone was Senri. If I recall, he was around the same age as Oka.

"Jah", Senri called out with a sympathetic smile, "Until then." I nodded my head in response. Afterwords, I watched as his figure disappeared into the night. 

Good luck, I thought. Because you'll need it.

While moving about, I thought about Mizuki. I wondered about how he was doing. It's been a while since I've last seen his cheeky face. Ever since I left him with Genkai, no one has been home. "Home" has officially become empty once again. I longed to go back.

But this fountain. This problem...

I needed to find a solution. "But how ?", her voice asks me. "Why not give up ?"

"...." When I arrived to the hotel where I was staying, I was greeted by the receptionist. She smiled at me, and I had smiled in return. I was surprised that she didn't question me. It was already 2 o'clock in the morning. Anyhow, since I wanted to, lets say, "avoid any unnecessary involvement", I decided to stay in a hotel room not that far away from the fountain. I was 100% sure they were monitoring my house too. At least at this point, things were running smoothly.

I just needed to.. find a way to get caught without killing anyone.