An excerpt from the last letter of the Exile Amaya to the High Prince Koenma of the Reikai:
'As you know, when I first fled the Makai, I had renounced the mutinous demons and left them for a fate worse than dead. After the eventual fall of my court, I hesitated in the face of such uncertainty and wished to erase the pain inflicted on me. I hated the decision that had to be made and I am truly sorry that because of my selfishness our relationship suffered even more greatly than before… Brother Koenma, forgive me for my choices. One day, I will return and I will bring the full force of the Meikai with me. I will rebuild my empire, retake the lands stolen from my bloodline, and restore the throne to its former glory… Until then, my life will be simple. I have created for myself and my loyal sylphs a sanctuary… a temporary home that will become a new mecca, a hidden forbidden holy ground for the few who remember the benevolence of both me and my ancestral matrons before me… I will bring honor to us once again.
With all the hope in demon- kind I still possess,
H.R.H. Amaya Tsuki Ran Hotaru Nami, Empress of the Meikai.'
Koenma sighed as he stared out at the chaos of oni and ferry girls scurrying about to accommodate the newest flood of souls inbound from Earth. Environmental disasters always caused a hectic rush to ferry souls into the afterlife, a process which seemed to require more and more paperwork from year to year. It was this hurried paper pushing that reminded him of his sister, preoccupying him during a time where the Reikai really needed his full attention.
There were only two times that Koenma ever truly thought about Nami. The first was when the Reikai was operating at full capacity. Nami had always thrived on the energy that radiated from the souls that passed into the afterlife, and it had been said that she lived for the death of the people she had sworn her life to protect. Koenma often chuckled at that common misconception.
The second was much less amusing, and Koenma preferred to think about it as little as possible.
Luckily, today he wouldn't have to.
Botan waved from across the room to catch Koenma's attention. Koenma could do nothing to stop the small smile that crept up on him, and honestly, he did not want to. It was a well known fact that Koenma favored the bubbly ferry girl—her blue hair, ivory skin, and shapely body was enough to drive even the most picky oni crazy—and the unspoken question of when would Koenma finally take Botan as his own hung almost uncomfortably in the air after every encounter. Although Botan herself was completely oblivious to the obvious attraction Koenma had for her, all of the spirit detectives had picked up on his longing months ago.
"Koenma-sama," Botan greeted him as she approached, bending slightly at the waist to bow out of respect for his position.
"Hello Botan," Koenma smiled warmly. "How are things among the ferry girls?"
"Oh you know. More or less a hectic dash to get all the souls to the spirit world." Botan laughed and smoothed out her kimono. She was bubbly, like always, but the signs of lack of sleep were beginning to show on her face. Dark circles had begun to line her pink eyes, and the movements were not as full of energy as the usually were.
Koenma couldn't help but to pick up on her work weary state. "Botan, when was the last time you slept?"
She blinked. "Yesterday, I think. There's just been so much going on that I haven't had a second to myself and I—"
Koenma cut her off. "Then you should sleep. I want you to go to your quarters and take some time to relax."
"But Koenma-sama, I have work to do."
Koenma shook his head and chuckled. "It's nothing the other girls can't handle Botan. We have a busy week ahead of us and I want you to be at the top of your game."
"Koenma!" Botan begged as a last resort, but he wouldn't hear it.
Defeated, Botan bowed, blue hair cascading lazily over her shoulder as she retreated to her rooms in the ferry girl wings. Koenma watched her form sway as she walked away from him, and he couldn't help the small wisp of tender affection that flickered across his face. When she finally disappeared through the double doors on the other side of the room, Koenma returned to watching the scurrying of the ferry girls and the crazed paper pushing of the oni, struggling to keep from thinking of his sister once again.
He smiled softly, as images of her beautiful face flickered before his eyes. From before the coup, when she had been happy. Her brown eyes had been so full of… of… Koenma had never been sure what his sister's eyes had held, some sort of mixture of benevolence, compassion, and love. Above all, her eyes held what she called 'the Calm'. Although this never made much sense to him, Koenma could see what she meant and always felt at peace in her presence.
The smile fell from his face slowly. After the demon uprising, Nami had all but faded from Koenma's life, and it was something that bothered him greatly. If it had been up to him, he would have welcomed her into the Reikai with open arms, giving her a place to live out her remaining years. But, unfortunately, it was not up to him, and she lived on in memory only anymore.
Koenma felt a pang of sadness. Nami had used to send him all sorts of letters, brought to him on the wings of the Sylph daemon's she loved so much. Nearly a century ago, the letters had stopped. Koenma hated to ponder the reason why she had stopped writing, and it worried him greatly that he didn't know her fate.
He knew at least she had not died. He would have felt her soul pass into the spirit world. But she was all but gone from his life, and knowing that his only sibling could not live as she once did depressed him.
Suddenly tired, Koenma retreated himself to his office to return to the mind numbing paperwork building up there. Soon the Spirit Detectives would return from their latest mission to the Makai, and Koenma would have to receive them and discuss their break from Spirit Detective work. And with Yusuke's constant back sass, Koenma admitted the need to rest was creeping up steadily on him.
Hours passed silently as he initialed, signed, and stamped his authorization on thousands of souls' paperwork. Now and then an oni would knock and enter to drop off a new stack of files and pick up the approved bunch for filing. Koenma took it all in stride, unwittingly zoning out to a state of mindlessness.
That was the only reason that when the young ferry girl and knocked on the door, Koenma didn't look up. He made a small gesture to the pile of papers, and continued to stamp and stamp and stamp. She made a small noise to get his attention.
"Koenma-sama?" She said meekly.
Koenma looked up and recognized her as one of his new ferry girl recruits. His face immediately softened. He remembered telling her that she should feel free to talk to him if she had problems or questions about how Spirit World life was lived.
"Hello Ayaka, how is your adjustment to life in the palace going? Not too painful I hope."
She blinked and bowed clumsily. "It's going well, but Koenma-sama…"
"Is anyone bothering you?" Koenma asked, setting down his stamp and smiling warmly at her.
"No, it's just that… You have a visitor."
Koenma blinked. 'What?' He thought. The detectives weren't due back till later and Botan knew better than to disobey him when he knew best. It was then that he noticed the silhouette form slightly behind Ayaka.
His face must have shown the shock that he felt inside because Ayaka seemed to become upset with the situation.
"Ayaka, thank you for escorting our guest through the busy halls. If you need anything, feel free to come back and see me." Koenma stood up behind his desk, shifting into his teenage form.
Ayaka didn't protest and bowed again before exiting the office.
Koenma stared deeply at the woman left in his office. Her form seemed to solidify as she approached him and bowed slightly.
"What do I owe this visit to?" He whispered, still slightly stunned at her very much unannounced presence in his palace.
"I come on behalf of another." She said, her airy voice seeming to come from all directions as she spoke, a verbal illusion that Koenma had never quite gotten used to in all the years of his life.
"Oh?" Koenma said, a sense of excitement sparking underneath his utter shock.
Smiling, she nodded and reached into flowing dress, pulling out a small, waxed sealed parchment envelope. "She is still a firm believer in the traditions of her people."
Koenma's smile seemed to take over his face. "And what thanks should I give to you, Mistress Sylph. I know the journey is not an easy one."
She handed him the letter and smiled back at Koenma, "No, it never has been... But a good meal and a place to stay for the night should suffice, I believe. I am expected back in three days, and you know how belligerent she can get when she is unsure of me and my sisters safety. "
Koenma nodded thankfully. "It is done. I'll have someone take you to a place for you to sleep, and I'll have the kitchens make something suitable to your Sylphean tastes."
She laughed, the air in the room flowing interestingly around her form. She evanesced back into her demi form, her outline becoming hazy and transparent once again. "My sisters and I appreciate your open hospitality towards our kind. There are not many left who treat my race with the dignity we should receive. I will stop by tomorrow morning if you wish to dispatch a return correspondence…"
Koenma nodded as she left the room with the young Ayaka to retire for the evening and rest as best as she could outside the Sylphean citadel. The letter intrigued him from its place on his desk. The ruby wax seal taunted him and he gave into it, tearing the letter from its parchment envelope.
It was the first time in nearly five hundred years that he had heard from her, and by the thickness of the stack of papers and the slender but hurried elegance of the text, Nami was finally reaching out to him for the help that she had always denied… but always needed…