Part 1: A New Adventure
Egypt, 1921
Tokyo, present
Jewelle let go of his hand once he had stood up, then made sure her clumsy friend was okay. Jewelle nearly groaned when she saw the expression on Lyn's face. Lyn was definitely up to something and Jewelle knew she didn't want to be a part of it. Geez, Lyn, you and your schemes . . .
Kurama continued to watch until the two girls were out of sight. What a strange duo.Surprisingly enough, he almost wished he had taken Lyn up on her offer. If it weren't for these wet clothes I might have taken you up on your offer. But then again… maybe not. He shook his head in amusement. Those two were strange. Yes, he was definitely bored.
Elsewhere in another dimension...
The red lips smiled cruelly. "My puppet, my dear little puppet." She whispered softly.
The Time and Space Council
New York, 1921
Tokyo, present
The man's brown eyes glittered in the torchlight, his face a mask of calmness. The excavation party he had paid to unearth this temple, had done an excellent job. The archaeologists wouldn't arrive until tomorrow. Soon he would know what power was hidden inside the secret compartment in the wall. "Open it!" he commanded.
The two young men exchanged glances and shrugged. Maxwell Durmont paid Tom and me well, Charles thought as he helped Tom move the heavy lid. Might as well, and besides only the natives believe in the curse.
It's awfully heavy for something so small. Tom thought.
The guide stood in the shadows, shivering. This is wrong. I shouldn't be doing this.
Maxwell Durmont stepped forward and peered inside the open compartment. He lifted out a small, bejeweled box covered in centuries of dust. This is It; I've finally found it. Only his glittering eyes showed his excitement.
The guide shook his head in disbelief and sighed. I'll tell the guardians what has happened here. They will know what to do. "We should go; it is not safe here." Being only a watcher, he could not interfere, but he could inform those who could interfere.
". . . A strange rash of burglaries in which the stolen items were mysteriously returned has businesses and residents wondering why and who. The police have not reported suspects at this time. In other news . . ." Kurama sighed and flipped the TV off. The last few weeks had been quiet, but he felt restless. Something about those burglaries bothered him.
Frowning, Kurama poked his head in the kitchen. His mother stood at the counter chopping up vegetables for dinner. His stepbrother was in his room studying and his stepfather was in his study. "Mom?"
Shiori looked up. "Hmmm?"
"Do you need any help?" he asked.
She shook her head. "No, but thanks for asking."
Kurama smiled. "I'm going out for a while."
Shiori frowned. "Be careful, those thieves are still lose."
"I'll be careful." Once outside he shook his head in amusement. I can take care of myself, mom. He headed to the park, thinking about those strange robberies. Nothing in the house had been touched only the decorative pieces that had been stolen and later returned. What were they looking for? he wondered.
He stopped at the pond in the center of the park and stared at the water. It was a beautiful evening, the weather was just right, neither too hot nor too cold. This morning's rain cooled it down to a nice temperature.
Ever since Koenma had relieved him and the others of being the Reikai tantei, life had been pretty quiet, kind of dull really. So, these burglaries interested him. Face it, he told himself. You're just bored. Was that it? Or was he restless for some other reason? He listened to the sounds of the park and smiled. It was nice here in Ningenkai.
A boy ran by with a big shaggy dog. An old couple stopped by the pond and tossed breadcrumbs to the ducks. A young woman in roller blades stopped in front of a cherry tree a few feet from Kurama with a bag of groceries balanced on one hip. He watched her curiously; he could sense an odd mixture of you ki and something similar to rei ki coming from her.
"Lyn, come on," the girl cried in a soft southern accent. "The ahce cream's meltin' " Pale silvery-blue hair, fell just above her shoulders in back and tapered to her collarbone, framing her face. Feeling herself watched, she looked at him.
He smiled. She smiled in return, a little uncertainly.
"Coming!!" a faintly musical voice shouted back in the same accent, followed by a girl with long, wavy wine hair pulled back with a little half-tie bandanna thing. Or attempting to, since it was more in her face as than anything else. Like just now. Kurama looked toward the voice just in time to see the startled aquamarine eyes before she crashed into him knocking him into the pond.
"LYN!" He heard the other girl as he hit the water.
He opened his eyes to see who had crashed into him. The wine-haired girl gave him a sheepish look before apologizing in accented Japanese and crawling off of him.
"Daijobu?" The other girl asked coming towards them. "I'm so sorry, are you okay?" she asked in English. She held out her hand. He glanced at it then at her.
"I think so," he said taking her hand and standing up.
"Um . . . I'm sorry 'bout knockin' ya into the pond and all that, er... my hair kinda got in my eyes and ah really couldn't see well there for a momen'." Lyn said apologetically, befor she got a good look at the stranger she knocked over. Dear God, he's gorgeous, she decided when she got a good look at him, which made her face healthy shade of embarrassed red.
Kurama sighed. He got that look a lot from girls. He smiled and said in an amused voice, "It's okay."
"I'm really sorry about that," the blue-haired girl muttered apologetically. Then sighed and shook her head at her friend.
Kurama merely smiled and wrung out his long, bright-red hair. "Don't worry about it. No harm done."
"Ah guess." Jewelle glanced at her friend uncertainly. "Um…ah guess we should introduce ourselves," she began when her mind went blank. "I'm Jewelle Cunningham and this," she pointed to the wet and embarrassed girl, "is Lyndsay Dawson." She picked up the grocery bag she had set down after Lyn had barreled into the handsome redhead.
"My name's Minamino Shuichi," he said and bowed slightly.
Lyn brightened up rather quickly at that. "Nice ta meet 'cha Minamino. Just call me Lyn, all my friends do." Jewelle nearly face-faulted as she heard Lyn's abrupt about-face, then shook her head again. It was just typical of Lyn, cheerful no matter what.
Kurama blinked and smiled back at the bubbly, if beet red, girl. "It's nice to meet you both."
Jewelle just stared at Lyn. That girl is something else. As long as I've known her, one would think I would be used to her mood swings, but I'm not. "Well… um… we really need to be going, the ahce cream's melting. Maybe we'll run into each other again."
Kurama gave her a strange but amused look. "Not quite so literally perhaps."
Jewelle sweatdropped and blushed. "Heh. Gawd no."
Lyn just snickered then decided it would be a good time to speak up. "Minamino, why don't you come with us? We're just headin' back to where we're stayin' an' well, we haven't had a chance to meet anyone. And ah'm sure Gram won't mind if another person comes to dinner, that is . . . if you want to . . . " Lyn started to blush severely at the end of that and looked away some as Jewelle's jaw dropped wide open.
THE NERVE OF THAT GIRL AT TIMES!!! Jewelle groaned and felt like banging her head against a tree. Though banging Lyn's head against a tree might be more useful, she decided. ::LYN! We just barely met him, and you want to bring him home?::
Kurama blinked at the unexpected offer. "Gomen ne, but I really can't take you up on your offer." I'd really like to get out of these wet clothes right now. "Maybe another time." Besides, my mother will worry if I don't return home soon."
"That's okay, we really need to be getting' back anyway. Come on, Lyn, the ahce cream'll melt before we get it home." She smiled at Kurama and skated off. Lyn in tow. ::And don't you want to get out of those wet clothes?:: she asked telepathically.
Lyn just looked semi-thoughtful for a moment. :::True... but still... he's cute!! aww man...Ah guess it's kinda embarrassing to be knocked into a pond if you're a guy. just my luck.:: Then she winked a touch incorrigibly at Jewelle and giggled. "Soo... are we gonna get to eat that ahce cream tonight?"
"Sure, if we get back before it melts.." Jewelle replied in mock irritation. "Besides, we'll meet him again soon," she added offhandedly.
Ruby red lips pursed into a satisfied smile, silver eyes glittered in the mirror's reflection. "They've finally met." A silky feminine voice murmured. A pale, elegant hand waved over the mirror's surface. "Now, how about the child.
The surface of the mirror glittered then revealed a dark room. In the shadows a clear wall held back a room filled with a water like substance. In front of the wall stood a child with pale violet hair, a silver locket clutched in her hand. A women's silhouette could be seen in the shadowy water.
Bran Riordan rummaged through some files on his desk then called his secretary and told her he'd be gone for a few days. The Time and Space Council could get along without him for a few days. Soon, he thought. The council will wish they had listened to me. They'll come crawling to me for help.His eyes darkened. The fools, they have no idea how dangerous this threat is.
Maxwell Durmont carefully cleaned the bejeweled box. It was a slender black case adorned with emeralds. Some kind of iridescent crystal scrolls decorated the sides and top of the case in a Celtic design. He could almost feel the dormant power coming from the box. He set the box down then pulled an almost dusty tome from the bookshelf. According to the text there are ten more items, to locate. He frowned thoughtfully and wondered if his obsession with mystical items was healthy. "I'm not obsessed, just interested in the history." He murmured dismissively. The box isn't Egyptian, the scrolling on it is Gaelic or something similar, he frowned. "What was it doing in Egypt?" he muttered aloud.
A knock sounded on the library door and a tall, distinguished butler opened it. "A gentleman requests your attention."
"I thought I requested not to be bothered by anyone." Durmont said coolly.
"He says he has something that might interest you regarding your latest acquisition."
Durmont stared at the butler. "Really? Show him into the den please."
"Yes sir." The butler quietly left.
Durmont clapped his hands together at this unexpected turn. This might be worth my time after all.
Three dark shadows ran across rooftops. All three in black, the last ran on four legs, its tail long and straight. They stopped on the roof of an elegant mansion. The short one trotted over to the skylight. The second one, a little taller than the first one, kept watch. The third one sat on his haunches and watched them.
The small one pulled some tools from a pocket and opened the skylight, then tossed a rope through the hole. She snapped her fingers and the rope became rigid standing on end. She motioned to the other one and they slid down the rope. Two small pinpricks of green light peered through the opening as if watching the two dark figures.
Thirty minutes later the two figures shimmied back up the rope. The small one coiled the rope and closed the skylight. The cat gave them a curious look and the tall one shook her head. The other figure motioned and they all jumped off the roof onto another one only to disappear into the shadows.