"It’s you again. Don’t you ever get tired of this Edward Elric?" The white figure, as godly as he tried to appear, did not hide his amusement or exasperation that well. True, he is amused and surprised. Not many attempted opening the gate for the second time, especially when something precious is lost every time. The figure liked to reason it with the ‘equivalent exchange’ nonsense. It made life a lot easier when he got to play around with mortal’s lives without suffering the wrath of the his boss. Of course, there were loopholes that he created but it’s been a while since some mortal discovered it. And it’s also been a while since some mortal managed to drop by his home. "What do you want this time? Speak quickly. I tire your presence."

Edward gulped noisily, nervous, but outwardly appearing calm, except for the tell-tale twitch of his left hand. "I…I want Al’s body back." The young teenager blurted out. Determined golden eyes stared then blinked at the shining white figure that is the cause of his temporary blindness.

"Al? You mean your brother?" The figure sighed. "I should have known. Well, I’ll make you the deal of your life, as a reunion present I suppose." He smirked to himself. Feeling generous at the moment, not that he wasn’t generous at all, but he felt like being more generous that day. And face it, he couldn’t manipulate everything to go the cute blonde’s way, but he can change the circumstances a little…to his favor. "I can give back Al’s body but…you’ll have to repay it with…"

Edward grumbled to himself. After being with Mustang and company for so long, he still have a little trouble accepting the fact that equivalent exchange may sound simple and logical, simply does not work. When dealing with god-like figures, such as the one causing his eyes much grief at the moment, equivalent exchange meant that Edward gets only two bites out of a whole cookie. Not necessary fair, only getting a taste of what he wanted, but enough to be able to say he had a cookie. "Take what you want. As long as Al’s body is whole, I don’t care."

"I’ll take your word for that Edward Elric."

The gate opened for the second time in Edward’s life. Brilliant colors flashed past him, pouring out of the gate, seemingly to rejoice in their new-found freedom. Around and around they twisted, one color blending into the other, in a chaotic dance spinning quicker and quicker around the teenager until a dark shape swooped down and he was temporarily swallowed up inside a myriad of colors.

---G-O-L-D-E-N --- K-I-T-S-U-N-E---

"Okay, the indicator says the demon should be around here." Yusuke scratched his head with puzzlement staring at the compass-like needle. "Damn it. Where’s Kuwabara when you needed him?"

The red head beside him chuckled lightly, tossing his hair behind him to keep it out of his leaf-green eyes. "He’s taking his university entrance exam right now. He’s been lamenting it for over a week. Hope he does well."

The leader of the group of duo snorted distastefully. " After all that tutoring you’ve been giving him. It’s hard not to." Not a lot of many things frightened Yusuke, commonly lovingly known as the demonic gangster behind his back by his human enemies. In his short life, he had only been known to be scared of three things, Keiko when pissed, Genkai during training, and Kurama in tutoring mode. The last one was only recently added since he usually studied with Keiko holding frying pan threateningly above his head. After getting hit too many times on the head, Yusuke appealed to the gentle, intelligent red-head, hoping that at least he wouldn’t get hit as hard and that Keiko would stop nagging. After two days, Yusuke turned back to Keiko for help. Kurama was smart, patient, with the occasional threat of feeding him to his pet death tree if Yusuke doesn’t wake up from his many naps. He didn’t mind it that much. However, Yusuke did mind how the news somehow leaked to the fire demon and Hiei constantly stuck his nose in, threatening to burn or slice him for taking up too much of the kitsune’s time. Well, it was the threatening and the snide remarks that maybe Yusuke shouldn’t be the leader since he doesn’t have enough brain cells to rub together. That pissed him off, which in turn pissed Kurama off, which meant Yusuke was soon sitting beside a miniaturized version of the death tree, gaping his horrendous mouth at him, while trying to learn logarithms.

Yusuke hoped that Kuwabara didn’t receive the same treatment he did.

"Where’s Hiei? Isn’t he with you?" Yusuke hadn’t seen the fire demon for a week, partially because he had been stuck with Keiko nagging him and refusing to let him out without studying first, which took all day.

"He’s in Makai. Mukuro needed him to run some rogue youkai out from their borders. From what I heard, there were bandits that were stealing from…did you hear that?" Kurama stopped abruptly, cocking his head to one side, a fall of red hair covering the left side of his pale face. His friend nodded, sprinting to the general direction of the scream, unheeding Koenma’s advice to take this mission cautiously. Yusuke doesn’t really listen to the toddler and tends to tune out until the meeting was over. Then, he’d ask Hiei or Kurama, who’d give him the general idea. Plus, he just wanted to get this over and done with. Now that high school is finally over, Yusuke wanted to spend his time in Ningenkai having fun, preferably in the arcade, not running around killing demons.

The detective stopped abruptly. The compass showed clearly that the demon was currently…trapped in Genkai’s gardening shed. Must be a very weak demon if the thing couldn’t even break the rusted lock off the door. Glancing at his taller friend next to him, Yusuke nodded at Kurama. One spirit gun blast should work.

Yusuke clasped his hand together, gathering his ki inside him before…

"Wait." The reincarnated fox demon pushed his friend’s clasped hands away, green eyes betraying a glimmer of…something.

"What?" Yusuke rubbed his hand behind his head in confusion. "I want to get this done and over with Kurama. What’s the hold up?"

"Let me go in first. I don’t think it’s vicious." Calmly, Kurama walked towards the wooden shed door, ignoring the other’s protest. It was odd. He could feel something that was in there that stirred his restless yoko soul. An inner tug that told him to be curious and investigate. Kurama stepped closer to the door. He couldn’t feel any malignant ki from behind the door.

Yususke sighed and followed the red head. Kurama is getting too soft-hearted, not that he’ll say that out loud if he wanted to live. Living with a ningen mother certainly taught Kurama about humanity and kindness, and unfortunately, also naiveté and second chances, that may prove to be fatal. Watching as the red head easily broke the lock with a flick of his wrist, he decided that if anyone should go in first, it should be him. He was the leader afterall. And if there is going to be a fight, he wanted to be a participant, not a spectator.

The shed was a mess. It was expected. Ever since Kurama joined their team, Genkai’s garden had been flourishing without the help of modern tools. The air was thick with dust and floating insects. Gardening tools, long rusted and blunted, had fallen onto the floor. Boxes that were once stacked up neatly in the back of the shed had fallen over, contents spilling all over the ground where bugs scurried past in frenzy.

Yusuke, being a half demon with Genkai's training, spotted the slight movement underneath the boxes almost immediately. Reaching down, the detective grabbed a fistful of shirt and tugged.

He was instantly confronted with a pair of bright golden eyes, wide with apprehension and slight fear, not that the small youkai would admit it. "It’s just a baby Kurama. What should we do with it?"

The young youkai puffed his cheeks out immediately, small fists attempted to hit the detective who stood far enough to be out of reach, but close enough so the golden-haired youkai was dangling in the air by Yusuke holding the back of his shirt. "WHO ARE YOU CALLING A BABY YOU GREASED HAIRBALL!"

Kurama’s eyes softened at the sight of the little golden kit. Fox demons are very protective of their young. This little one must have wandered too far and fell into a portal. It wasn’t uncommon but that means there’s an unclosed portal somewhere in Makai, which they will have to find. Holding his arms out, Kurama wrapped his arms around the small kitsune, sniffing him slightly, taking in the scent of blood and gun powder that obscured the kitsune’s own scent. How odd.

The smaller kitsune calmed down almost immediately as Kurama soothed the kit by stroking him softly behind his golden ears and bushy tail. "Are your parents around here, kit?"

Blinking sleepiness from his amber eyes, the kit replied in a slurred fashion. Obviously, past his bedtime hour, Kurama noted absentmindedly. It was still a baby kit, afterall. Youkai that are less than a decade old needed to take afternoon naps since they tire so easily. Being unable to control their youki, they sometimes expend too much energy leaving them drained, since they didn’t have a lot to begin with. "I…They’re dead…I think…where am…I? Who are you?"

"This is Urameshi Yusuke. I’m Minamino Shuichi. You’re in ningenkai right now."

"Ningenkai?" Blurry eyes blinked into leaf-green ones with obvious confusion, then peeked at the black-haired boy sneezing loudly.

"Don’t worry kit. We’ll take care of you." Kurama hugged the small golden fox kit closer ignoring Yusuke spluttering of ‘we? We? I never said anything!’

Edward Elric nodded slightly, eyes sliding slowly to a close, unconsciously snuggling to the person holding him in his arms. Usually, Ed would howl, bite, and curse if anyone ever tried to carry him like a baby in public. But right now…he was too tired to care. Plus, the revelation of having flesh arms, legs, and an added bushy golden tail, the thing that freaked him out since he thought it had been a particularly hairy spider on his leg at first. Ed welcomed the enveloping darkness, hoping that after a good nap everything would be much clearer.

---G-O-L-D-E-N --- K-I-T-S-U-N-E---

Approximately 300 years later… (A/N: I know it’s quite a jump in time but youkai can practically live forever…and Edo-kun does have a lot of growing to do. sniggers at glowering Edo-chibi )

Edward Elric, otherwise known as Edo-kun to his closest friends, also known as the infamous Yoko Kurama’s prodigy, could hardly believe his ears or his eyes. Having frantically searched for a way to reunite with Alphonse the moment he stepped on foreign soil and not finding a single grain of information for 50 years is very frustrating. In fact, after that first 50 years, Ed had given up on all hope. Instead he threw himself into learning as much as he could from Kurama. He didn’t really want to look at a 60-year-old Alphonse and be reminded of Al’s mortality and his seeming, immortality.

Now, he blinked, almost uncomprehending in his disbelief that he had been temporary discharged from the Rekai Tentai. The prince of the spirit world, Koenma, had delivered his monologue with his usual flair and pompousness. Since Edo, they somehow renamed him Edo instead of Ed and completely missed his surname out, which Ed was grateful for, had been injured from the last assignment. The prince is going to let him travel to another world, via a portal, where it would be safer for him to recuperate. Also, while he was there, would Edo mind if he killed off the three youkai that escaped to that world?

"I thought you wanted me to recuperate." Ed growled, golden eyes flashed dangerously. "Isn’t this going back on your word?"

Koenma coughed into his pacifier. "Well, you can catch them after you’ve finished recuperating. I’m going to give you half a year for you to recuperate and catch those youkai. The portal will appear exactly where you appear, make sure you are there when the moon is directly above you or someone else might get sent over here instead. I’m trusting you in this Edo-kun. You’re the best I have currently in the field. Plus you’ve already been there before…I think. At least my uncle says so."

Ed nodded with a scowl. Reading between the lines, Koenma said that only because he was currently the only one in the bloody field. The rest of the Reikai Tentai was off busy doing other assignments that had nothing to do with the Reikai. Yusuke was busy dealing with his inherited kingdom, trying to run it with Kurama beside him as his main counselor. Kurama ran interchangeably, back and forth between Yomi and Yusuke, acting as a visiting counselor as well as friend, trying to build a better relationship between the two kingdoms. Hiei, the fire demon, though still on probation for another hundred years or so, had been practically seen to be on constant off-duty to the Reikai business, ever since Mukuro took her complaint up a notch. She demanded Koenma to stop sending her heir into useless killings where he wouldn’t learn a thing about fighting and would rather him spend the time learning to be tactful. If Koenma didn’t comply, he’d be swamped with paperwork with all the future killings Hiei will undertake because Koenma is stupid enough not to teach his subordinate tact. Kuwabara, whose cat-loving behavior reminded Ed so much of Alphonse, had died 150 years ago, reincarnated several times before ended up as a permanent spiritual fixture as a teacher of ki manipulation.

This made Ed the only Tentai member still in the field.

Of course the fact that he’s been there before meant only one thing. He’s going back. The bastard toddler knew the way the entire time and didn’t tell him, until now…when it’s too late. Ed bowed his head, wondering if he’d be able to find Al’s grave 200 years after his death. That is, if Al did live to a ripe old age.

Ed pushed his depressing thoughts away, regaining his professional calmness in a matter of seconds.

"Cut the chase already. What are the three demons I have to capture?"

Koenma muttered something under his breath. "I…don’t really know. There’s no information about any missing S-class demon so it shouldn’t be too difficult for you. But youki is sensed to have passed through the portal. I don’t even know how they got into that room in the first place!" The toddler’s eyebrows creased with frustration. Only a handful of people knew about the gate to all worlds. And only his father and his uncle held the keys to the gate. How in the world did those rogue youkai find the hidden gate when even he, the great prince of Reikai, don’t even have the keys to it. Koenma pouted childishly.

"Maybe because your security sucks Koenma-sama." The golden kitsune drawled out the words mockingly, pink lips curved in a small smirk. "Face it, my liege, if it was so secretive, it’s a definite that when it’s leaked out, it leaks everywhere."

Koenma huffed and turned down to stamp another document. Another death, another file, another boring day in the office with never-ending stream of paperwork. Why the hell do ningens insist on having so many children anyway? "Matters not now. The important thing is for you to bring back those three youkai, either in spirit or in person. The portal will be activated here for you tomorrow during my lunch break. Make sure you’re ready to go by then."

Ed turned to go before the toddler could give him more orders than he could handle. This was the cause of his current injured state. The youkai had cursed him to heal at a ningen’s rate. Fortunately, Ed had managed to kill him off so the curse should be wearing off soon. Although, some curses were known to linger long after the death of its invoker. Ed hoped this wouldn’t be the case.

"Oh…one more thing Edo-kun. Make sure you remain blended into the environment. We don’t want to cause mass panic if the inhabitants realize that youkai exists. Or the Reikai for that matter. Bad enough they all think they’re going to heaven."

Ed snorted with derision and disappeared back to Makai. Only fools believe in heaven. Unfortunately there were a lot of them. Al certainly wasn’t one of them.

TBC