Welcome to Gaia! ::

(I wasn't sure where to put it to is this ok?)

Nestled in the heart of a small bustling city was a local cafe, it served as a great meeting place for friends and the menu was chock full of delicious drinks. However, the girl who sat at a table sipping a black coffee and staring at a map was not at all interested in meeting others or sampling the many flavors the cafe had to offer. No, she was much more interested in something far more valuable that was located in the museum right across the street.

A painting, an expensive one at that, had just been moved to the museum and Yua planned on stealing and selling it to a man who desperately wanted to add it to his collection. It was just another job for Yua and the cafe was an excellent place to scope out the security.

The strawberry blonde yawned and stretched in the iron chair, getting rather rude glances from people at nearby tables. She ignored them and went back to sipping at the coffee that had long grown cold. The bitter taste hung in her mouth as she watched the guards patrol the perimeter around the building.

"Well, this shouldn't be too hard...just a bunch of ordinary people with ordinary security systems. How boring." she thought.

The bells on the door jingled as a pair of people entered. The man looked surprisingly short, especially compared to the girl he had walked in with. The size difference made Yua snort, failing at hiding her amusement behind her cup. She suddenly felt aware of the crimson stare that was directed at her and quickly glanced away. His stare was almost unnerving, almost.

Not long after the girl had purchased two iced coffees the bells clanged indignantly as the door swung open once more. This time revealing a red headed boy with a pleasant expression.

"Sorry I took a little longer than I should have, I stopped to pick up a map." the boy then flashed a folded up map of the local area. "I figured it would be beneficial for our mission."

Now this boy wasn't speaking extremely loud, but Yua was close enough to hear his words. And the particular word "mission" made her ears perk. She quickly went back to studying her own map to make herself appear as if she wasn't listening. She only hoped that they'd sit close to her table so she could continue to eavesdrop.

"I suppose you caught me," Kurama grinned, "Koenma had asked me to see him before we left. He had a task for us to complete."

Kurama declined the offer for a drink as he pulled out a chair at a table that was directly behind Yua's. The thief smirked to herself as he pulled out a chair for his girlfriend, the iron grating on the tile slightly. Yua leaned back in her chair to listen to the group next to her.

"Well I suppose I should explain myself." Kurama said as he took a seat. "Koenma would like us to pick up an artifact that is being hidden in this city and bring it back to him. Its a very dangerous artifact so that's why he's having us do it for him. It shouldn't be too hard, especially with all of us working together."

All this talk of artifacts had peaked Yua's intrest, perhaps the painting could wait. Anything that was described as "dangerous" was definately worth her trouble.

"I can grab the painting later, it's not going anywhere. " she thought. "This should be a challenge..."

"Well, Koenma told me that there are...twin artifacts. He sent Yusuke and Kuwabara after the other." Kurama explained.

Yua went to lean in slightly but noticed the shorter man eyeing her. She went stock still and bent her head lower to fake studying the map somemore. What was better cover than a curious tourist?

"It appears the artifact is hidden somewhere in the old catacombs beneath the city. The artifact is a weapon and, if in the wrong hands, could be very dangerous to the human world." he said.

"Hmmm dangerous to the human world? I'm sure someone would pay a hefty price for that." Yua thought, her lips twisting in to a smirk as she thought of all the money she could roll in.

"Koenma wants it obtained by tonight. But he warned me that we'll probably be watched by demons that will want the power. They should prove us no problem though" Kurama said, dropping his voice to almost unhearable tones.

Kurama caught all of their glances focusing on one person in particular. A girl who sat, back facing their table, and reading, or rather pretend reading, a map. It appeared that they weren't the only ones interested in the artifact. Odd though, the girl didn't exude any demonic aura though. However, there was something strange about her.

The next sentence he spoke was telepathic, "Lets leave and see if she follows."

Yua was suddenly very concious of all the eyes boring holes in to her back. "s**t, s**t s**t," she thought, "Please let them leave, please, please, please let them leave."

Kurama then stood up wordlessly and pushed in his chair, motioning to the others to follow him out the door. Yua sat very stiffly until she was sure the last of them were out the door, not so much as breathing.

Kurama shrugged as Momo asked her question, "Honestly I don't know...she's not a demon. Perhaps a treasure hunter, or a thief. I suspect she might be after something in the museum, but I'm afraid we may have attracted her interest."

Kurama walked quietly, lost in his thoughts. "I'm sre we wouldn't have trouble with her...but I don't want to hurt her."

Yua let go of the breath she had been holding since the trio had been staring at her. "Pull yourself together Yua! They shouldn't intimidate you so!" she told herself. "Still there was something very...off about them."

"I guess it's show time," she muttered. The girl walked in to the bathroom, checking the stalls to make sure no one was there, and focused on her power. The sensation was akin to pouring ice water over yourself, but without the feeling of soaked clothes. In moments she was invisible, and ready to trail the three from earlier.

"Hiei she's only a human and your power is dangerously high for her. And if you killed her Koenma wouldn't care if you were protecting the artifact you'd be sent straight to jail." Kurama scolded.

Kurama could also sense what Momo sensed, a feeling of being followed, the presence of another, yet there was no one to be seen.

Telepathically he said, "I think this thief knows more than just pickpocketing. Remain on guard, and Hiei aim to incapacitate, not harm." Kurama instructed.

Yua had been following as quietly as she could, but every once in a while a person would get too close and she'd have to duck or dodge to avoid being bumped in to. Sometimes this would result in her tripping over a crack in the sidewalk or brushing against some bushes. This was the exact opposite of 'stealth' in every form.

Wincing each time she accidently made a noise Yua tried to stay as far away from the group to avoid being discovered. Atleast she didn't have to continually duck behind things when they turned around.

Kurama listened to Momo's proposition, nodding. "I do think you have an excellent idea."

To make sure the girl would have no chance of hearing the plan he only spoke telepathically to Momo and Hiei. "First we'll go down this alleyway as Momo has pointed out and Hiei you shall use your speed to disarm and apprehend her. Then we'll question her and contact Koenma to see what he thinks we should do with her."

From what Yua could tell they weren't speaking, but also appeared to be agreeing on something by using their body language or something. Perhaps she'd been spotted? No, that would be rediculous of course they couldn't. Maybe they just wanted to keep the artifacts whereabouts safe so they decided not to speak about it anymore. Yes, that must me it. Happy with the reason she had come up with she continued to follow them in to an alley.