Eyes scanned over report after report after report; each one causing greater concern for the small toddler who pawed over them. The truth was that he had been noticing these slight differences, dissapearances and occurrences these were speaking of for quite some time, but something about seeing it on paper, absolute fact, bothered him more than any other case he's looked over before, yes...even the tunnel incident.
One in particular caught his attentions though, and after reading it for what seemed like the hundredth time, and it still didn't make sense, the baby pressed the small red button next to him.
"Yes sir, what is it?" A voice, which sounded as if it was the incarnation of fright and depression, called through the little speaker above said red button.
When nothing but silence answered him, the voice switched from depression to anxiety, "I'll go send her in then..."
Not even one minute went by before a blur of blue flew by the toddler only to knock over the stack of files, spilling many of them onto the floor. The blue blur couldn't help but take a quick glance down, only to be horrified by a gruesome picture of a decapitated Paris Hilton with the name Leshii next to it.
"Botan..." The blue blur jumped at the toddler's tone, it was the same one he got whenever he was actually worried, and not just scared of getting in trouble, (not that it was really an issue anymore), but just plain worried.
"Go get them...I don't care what you have to do to bring them, tell them they're temporarily rehired...or tell them I'll give them something...just get them here...and now."
Without another word, Botan ran out of the room to begin her journey of finding everyone.
"Yuusuke, that move is called cheating..."
A glance at the red head showed his tone was more cautionary than annoyed as green eyes watched the dark haired male yet still seemed to take in the whole table. The game was Gin Rummy and other than the two of them, Kuwabara and a newer acquaintance named Sakura were also playing. They filled the seats around the circular table and the all sorts of bags of chips and other junk food covered the surface until you could barely make out there even was a tablecloth.
Standing close behind Kurama, another female studied the game to learn how to play. Kiera was a friend from many years before and newly back after a prolonged absence. It was a good thing Kurama had caught that move. Kiera wouldn't have known otherwise it was illegal to the game. Of course...Kurama usually caught everything that was going on, and sometimes figured out a little of what may happen next, whatever the situation. She grinned after piecing together what made that particular action cheating, glad to be back with her friends.
The fox girl had grown a small bit since she had last seen everyone, and what was a bit more noticeable now was that her ears and tail had begun to lighten from a coppery red to a lighter orange. It was not significant, but it could be seen best at the base of her ears and tail. Her hair was still long, but she kept it together in a loose ponytail to avoid having the most of it over her shoulders or in her face. Her tail occasionally moved while she observed the game, but otherwise was fairly still.
Kiera had taken a time away from everyone to search for her foster families from her childhood, hoping to find information on her true mother and father, and where they might have come from before their untimely deaths. So far though, she had found little that was helpful. It was a given that being demons, they would have come from the Makai, but now that she had time to really ponder it in depth, she was finding no answer for the reason behind coming to the human world at all. It was a mystery she hoped to solve sooner rather than later.
Her skill in combat though had improved quite a bit. The wisdom to use the skill though was still developing, and needed heavy practice. That, she had been told, would come in time as she fought and was defeated, and learned from mistakes.
Following the wall behind the other red head, there was a steel door painted dark brown that led out into the hall and then the kitchen. There was no door, just an opening where one could fit, and through the tiny space was a single window on the far wall with another table beneath it. This one held only two chairs, both also occupied. Both were female, one in her mid 20s and the other much younger at about 12. Both were brunette's but the younger's hair was much darker and shorter and she had bright blur-green eyes compared to the older's brown. The older one, Sora, was holding up flash cards with months written in kanji as the smaller girl recited them.
["You're doing great Tanya,"] the elder female said as she laid down the card she held in the mistake pile. It was much smaller now than it had been when they'd started this morning. ["New languages aren't easy, but you'll get it."] A smile accompanied the statements spoken in English.
A loud sound made them both turn to look out of the kitchen but someone had just popped a bag of chips, and caused half the bag to end up on the floor. Sora stood and reached into the pantry fror the broom and long-handled dustpan before heading out to the players. Her eyes gazed over the whole setting as she crossed the couple feet from the kitchen doorway to the table.
The kitchen wall jut out into the space a couple feet so the area opened up as you headed away from the main door. Along the same wall as the kitchen, after a larger television pushed into the awkward corner, there were three more doors; the first and last each leading to a bedroom while the middle was a bathroom. The apartment complex was built in an Americanized fashion, and more costly for it but she liked certain comforts. The next wall held a sliding glass door out onto a small concrete balcony (and it was a corner unit so there was another balcony off the master bedroom) then another door to the third and final bedroom. The space between that door and the remaining wall held a couch, positioned to face the tv as best it could in the space. There was another couch against the final wall with a corner table at either end and a low coffee table before it. The walls were still the factory standard with no pictures hanging or out at all but the place had a lived in feel to it.
Tossing the broom towards Yuusuke, then the dustpan, Sora spoke in Japanese now. "You know better than to make a mess so you'd better clean it up before someone steps on those and they get near impossible to get out of the carpet."
All it took was a chuckle, and the second red head was greeted with a dustpan to his face. "What the hell Urameshi!"
The only female playing sighed as the two began what seemed to her to be a "who can be louder" contest, completely ignoring the mess and crushing the chips further into the carpet. Without a word she snatched the broom and dustpan from them to clean up before the small piles annoyed her further.
It took her a minute or two, but it was enough time for her hands to be imprinted by the rug, causing that annoying, relentless itch. "Aw man..." If it weren't for the fact that the majority of the people in the room, her little protest would have gone unnoticed. As it were though, it was enough to cause the two "boys" to pause long enough to look around just in time to see the blue blur crash into the woman who just cleaned up their mess, then the table, flipping it over and pinning the woman below her on top of it.
"Uh...hi Botan?" Yuusuke was the first one who managed to speak, though what else he should say...that was lost on him.
"Yuusuke! It's urgent, where is everyone!" Rather than standing up or moving so she could actually look around and see that almost everyone she was looking for was there, Botan decided on staying where she was. Apparently her mission was enough to make her loose common sense and oblivious to the mess she made, nor the woman trying to wiggle loose from underneath her.
The woman did eventually give up trying to free herself and just let her body relax with a small huff, "At least buy me a drink first..."
Hello everyone!
Well here's the beginning of another story that Sora-San, Kiera-San and I are working on together. Hopefully y'all enjoyed the first chapter, please do give reviews, always love to hear one's thoughts.
Also, this story has yet to get to the main point...or really setting and all the characters...but this is really just an introduction. If any of you can recognize the picture and name that Botan saw, please do tell us and there will be a congratulations and a thank you written to you in the a/c section next chapter...no cheating ^^
Random author's musings:
Sakura's:
Today, while re-reading this all and editing and piecing things together I came across a realization that gave me endless enjoyment and that I can not believe I did not realize it sooner: sake (as in "for the sake of") and Sake (as in the drink) are spelled the same way! Call me five if you like...but this actually caused me to freak out a little...yeah I know T-T
