Author's Note: Hello! Here's the third installment for WTSGD. I hope you guys like it. Thanks to those who have reviewed so far. I really appreciate it and I love hearing from you guys. (:
Please be kind and leave a review, even if you don't like it.
Disclaimer: If you recognize it, I don't own it.
When The Sun Goes Down
Chapter Three
Koenma, the man responsible for overseeing and judging the dead, thumbed through a large book with a heavy frown on his face. Despite all of the paperwork that was no doubt gathering up in his office, he insisted on heading into records instead. In the quiet of the massive room that wasn't much different than a library, the Lord of Death began to suck heavily on the blue pacifier in his mouth, unconsciously trying to quell the horrible feeling that had settled in the pit of his stomach. He heard the entrance door opening and closing, but didn't bother turning to face his visitors; he already knew who was there. Instead, his eyes were focusing intently on the book in front of him, and as he turned yet another page his visitors approached the table he was currently sitting at.
One of his assistants, this particular one being in charge of the River Styx and ferrying the departed souls to the Spirit World, came up to him and bowed. "Koenma, sir."
His eyes flickered to the blue hair, lavender eyes, and pink kimono in recognition. "Botan."
"Yusuke, Kurama, and Hiei are here to see you," she said quietly, motioning to the three boys behind her. Koenma turned towards the three and motioned for them to sit down, which they did.
"Thank you Botan. You may stay if you wish." Botan smiled at this and took a seat as well, clasping her fingers together and waiting in silence. "You said it was like darkness?" Koenma suddenly asked, looking up at Yusuke briefly before returning to the book. Yusuke crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat.
"Yeah. Like a moving shadow." Koenma turned another page and began to scan the contents on the withered page. "I brought the knife he stabbed me with as well." Koenma looked up sharply at this as Yusuke turned his head to look at Hiei. He reached into his coat and retrieved a curved knife with a large handle that held an intricate design as well as a pictograph in the center of it. There were words in some language that not even Kurama could recognize, but Koenma's mouth fell open at the site of it. The hiyoukai held it out and Koenma grabbed it immediately, pulling it close to him to inspect it.
"Well?" Yusuke asked, becoming impatient. If Koenma heard him, he didn't show it. Instead, he turned the knife over in his hands and inspected the other side, moving his head back and forth every now and then.
"Moving shadow…" he whispered, eyebrows furrowing in concentration. He suddenly stood and left the confused group, rushing over towards a large bookcase and scanning the books, coming to the one he wanted and yanking it down with two hands. This book was even bigger than the one he already had, and twice as old, but he lugged it to the table and nearly threw it down and ignored the dust that went flying in every direction. He opened it, quickly flipping through the pages.
"Koenma?" Yusuke asked, blinking in confusion. Koenma waved a hand in his direction, ignoring him. "Hey! I'm taking to you!"
"Yusuke, I understand that you're still a teenager and that makes you incredibly impatient. But right now, I need you to pretend like you're not a child and shut up," Koenma replied harshly, never taking his eyes off of the book. Yusuke glared at his 'boss' but didn't respond, pursing his lips in annoyance instead. Kurama and Hiei exchanged glances, apparently having some sort of non-verbal conversation with one another while Botan inspected the knife that Koenma had nearly dropped.
"Koenma…these markings…" she said quietly, running her fingers over the symbols carved into the handle.
"I know," he said tersely, grunting in frustration before flipping to another section of the book.
"But…it's been at least five hundred years!" she exclaimed, looking at the prince.
"Five hundred and sixteen," Koenma corrected. He finally found the page he was looking for, which held a picture of the exact knife Botan was holding with some text written underneath it. "Moving shadow over light…the blood of the moon and sun…" Koenma mumbled as he read the last of the text, sitting back in his chair and thinking.
"A prophecy?" Botan asked, but Koenma shook his head.
"No. A warning." He looked from Botan to Yusuke, Hiei, and Kurama and frowned. "I can't tell you a thing about Daisuke or what his connection is with Demetri. But Demetri himself is a reincarnation of the moon in physical form, with the potential to unlock the powers of the moon, becoming essentially a God." All three couldn't hide the shock from their face, but Kurama recovered first.
"How is such a thing possible?" he asked, leaning forward.
"You have to understand, the world is a hard enough place to understand as it is. But the universe," Koenma started, shaking his head. "There are things we will never understand, and I have a feeling this is one of them. What I do know is that…somehow…for whatever reason…a reincarnate was born in physical form on this Earth from both the moon and the sun about five hundred years ago. I was barely two hundred years old then…" he trailed off, tapping his foot against the floor in concentration.
"Okay, so several hundred years later and Demetri is born, and I suppose Daisuke?" Yusuke asked, raising an eyebrow. Koenma shook his head.
"No, not Daisuke. As I said, I'm not sure who he is or what his connection to Demetri is, but I'm assuming he's there to help him for whatever reason. You said he's the one who could freeze time, Kurama?" Kurama nodded in response, motioning towards the knife.
"So what's the purpose of that, then?"
"The knife itself is just a ceremonial tool, I only recognized it because the language dates back to five hundred years ago. But it's apart of this warning. No matter, I'm not concerned with the knife at the moment. What I am concerned with is-" he started, Yusuke cutting him off.
"Ayumi." Koenma nodded, tapping his fingers on the table.
"It's not a coincidence that five hundred and sixteen years ago this all started and Ayumi is sixteen years old. That means he waited for his chance rather than going after her as soon as she was born. But it doesn't make sense. The timeline is all out of whack. If Ayumi is who I think she is, then her and Demetri were supposed to be born at the same time, as ancestral siblings."
"Supposed to be? Who do you think she is?" Yusuke asked. Kurama answered instead of Koenma.
"The reincarnate of the sun."
Hiei scoffed and looked at Kurama out of the corner of his eyes. "That's unlikely. I dug around for some time and I didn't find anything."
"That could just mean it's locked up in there pretty tight. What's the other option? If Demetri is the reincarnate of the Moon God and his object is the sun, why else would he be going after Ayumi?" Kurama asked, turning back to Koenma. "Why is his object, and apparent intent, to harm her anyways?"
Koenma let out a huge sigh and shook his head, eventually shrugging his shoulders. "Only he would know. There are so many legends and myths about the sun and the moon that it's difficult to decide which is false and which has any truth to it." He thought about it for a moment and then stood up, closing the two books. "Alright, this is obviously your official new case, Yusuke. As well as top priority. Kuwabara isn't a Spirit Detective but I'm going to assume he'll want to join in, so you'll have to inform him of everything we've discussed once you've returned to the living world. Where is he, by the way?"
"Left him at my place to watch over Ayumi," Yusuke explained, standing up as well as Hiei and Kurama. "Besides, he hasn't quite got the hang of Astral Projection yet."
"Very well. As for you two, your service is not mandatory at this point. Both of your slates have been wiped clean as promised," Koenma said to the two demons. Kurama tilted his head to the side and offered a polite smile.
"Your point is noted, but I'd like to stay on this case if you don't mind." Koenma nodded in response and then everybody looked at Hiei, who shoved his hands into his pockets and refused to look at anyone. "Come now, Hiei. You can't say you aren't interested in this one." Hiei thought in silence for a few minutes before looking to Yusuke rather than anyone else.
"I will stay under the condition that I will not be forced to babysit that pathetic ningen girl. You guys may think she's some powerful reincarnate, but I remain doubtful. You, the fox, and the oaf can look after the girl. All I'm interested in is Daisuke and especially Demetri," he told him, narrowing his eyes at the ghost of a smile that formed on Yusuke's face. "And don't look at me like that. Demetri did try to kill me, and he will pay dearly for that." Hiei walked ahead of them, not bothering to wait for them to follow.
"That guy always has to make everything difficult," Yusuke started, a sour expression on his face. Kurama only smiled and clasped his hands behind his back, pleased with the idea that the four of them would be working together once more. "So what are you going to do then?" Yusuke asked, turning to Koenma.
"Botan and I will be researching. Hiei does make a point; if Ayumi really is the reincarnate of the sun, there should be something to find, and she should be showing some sort of power." He turned to face Botan then and thought about something for a moment. Snapping his fingers he said, "Botan, I want you to find out everything you can about her parents, as it stands she's currently living with just her grandmother. Her mother died when she was just a baby and her father was never around."
"Of course. I'll see what I can find, sir. What will you be doing?" she asked, tipping her head to the side and gazing at her boss.
The Reikai ruler offered a small smile as he clasped his hands behind his back, turning to walk steadily out of the room. "I will be digging around through legends, myths, and folktales. If there is any true connection between the sun and the moon, I'll find it."
Ayumi finished the last of her homework and closed her textbook, letting out a sigh. Sitting cross-legged on her bed with her school things spread out all around her, she had actually managed to forget about what happened today after engrossing herself in all the work she had. Now that she was finished, she wasn't quite sure what to think. Quite frankly, it seemed incredibly crazy and bizarre and the more she thought about it, the more she felt like there was some misunderstanding.
As she gathered up her school stuff and began organizing everything, her grandmother knocked and opened her bedroom door. "Just wanted to check in on you. You were quiet at dinner."
Ayumi looked away from her grandma and finished packing away her things, setting her bag on the plush blue chair in the corner of her room. "Was I? I didn't notice. Been thinking about school and all the homework I have already." Ayumi had never really lied to her grandmother before. She didn't like it.
"Well I'm glad you're taking it so seriously," her grandmother said, a little surprised. Ayumi was usually a 'just above' average student. She was good, but not great. She was determined to do better for high school, and wished that she could find solace in her grandma's praise. But she had only done her homework to keep her mind busy from what happened today, not because she was looking for a good grade.
"I have to grow up eventually," Ayumi started, laughing slightly and facing her grandmother. "I can't be ichi-hiki forever." Her grandma smiled at the nickname and tipped her head slightly.
"I suppose you can't. But you'll always be one to me. Goodnight, ichi-hiki." Ayumi smiled warmly as her grandmother left, and unfortunately, the smile fell from Ayumi's face. Rubbing her hands over her face, she let out a sigh and fell back onto her bed. After staring at her ceiling for a while, she fumbled for the remote on the dresser attached to the left side of her bed frame and turned the television on.
The next morning Ayumi said goodbye to her grandmother, closing and locking her apartment door behind her. Suddenly feeling like she was being watched, she turned to check her surroundings. Upon realizing that she was by herself, she closed her eyes and released a frustrated sigh. She was turning into some paranoid psycho because of all this…whatever the hell 'this' was. Pulling her bag tighter onto her shoulder, Ayumi left the apartment building and headed for school. When she came to the corner, however, she saw one of the guys that was with Yusuke. If her memory served her correctly, his name was Kurama. An odd name for a human, really.
"Hello. Our schools are in the same direction, so I thought I'd walk you," he announced once when she reached him. He seemed friendly enough, with kind eyes that were the brightest shade of emerald she had ever seen. Coupled with the pressed uniform and luxurious red hair, he didn't seem like he could harm a fly.
She finally smiled and nodded. "So I guess that means you're on watch this morning."
He offered a friendly smile and tipped his head to the side. "Well, I figured I'd be the best choice to watch over you in the morning. As I said, our schools are in the same direction. I haven't formerly introduced myself, by the way. My name is Kurama," he started, a small frown suddenly forming on his face. "However, if we are around other humans, I would greatly appreciate it if you called me Shuichi."
Ayumi couldn't help but crack a bit of a smile. "Shuichi sounds a lot more human than Kurama does."
"I'm glad you think so."
"Well, I'm Ayumi. It's a pleasure. I've got to say, I don't often meet other redheads. It's a little odd."
Kurama smiled and looked up towards the sky, a knowing look in his eye. She wondered how much of that she would be receiving from this little group that she had somehow gotten tangled up with.
"I don't often meet other redheads, either," Kurama finally told her.
"Well, my hair is red because of my father. He's Irish."
"Oh, so you're only half Japanese then."
Ayumi chuckled and put her hands in her pockets. "Yeah. What's your excuse?"
Kurama bit back an amused smile and answered, "Well, my hair is red because of my youki. But that's a discussion for another time." Ayumi bit back a wry smile and shook her head, thinking about something else.
"Alright, so if you're not going to give me any straight answers about your non-human status, how about an easier question? How well do you know Yusuke?" she asked, raising an eyebrow in Kurama's direction.
If Kurama was thrown off by the question, he didn't show it. Something told Ayumi that this particular person was very good at keeping his emotions under control. "I'd like to think that I know him very well, and yet every time I'm certain I've learned all there is to know, he does something crazy and completely throws me off course. Although, when he does something crazy, it's always in a very Yusuke-esque fashion. So I suppose I can say that I know him very well, but there is always something new to learn."
"How poetic," Ayumi teased, earning a smile from her companion. "You speak highly of him…I guess maybe I'm just wondering if he's for real or not. I mean, I guess my life is pretty much in his hands, and he's only my neighbor. I've only known him a few years, and even then I've only had a few conversations with him and run ins. I don't really know him at all except for that his name is Yusuke Urameshi, he moved into that building because his old apartment was set on fire, and his mother isn't exactly 'mother' material- although Atsuko is still a good woman." She sighed and turned onto the street that her school was located on. "Hell, the only personal thing I know about him is that he's in love with his best friend but he's too stubborn and shy to do anything about it."
Kurama did seem a little surprised at the last part, and couldn't help but say something with the ghost of a smile on his face. "Well, that's more than a little personal. You were able to tell that about him by, I'm assuming, just by looking at him?"
Ayumi shrugged. "He tries to hide it, but he might as well be wearing a neon sign," she admitted, unable to stop the laughter from her mouth. "But anyone who pays attention can see that kind of thing. The way he greets her, the way he says goodbye to her, the way he looks at her. It's the same for her, too. So while it may seem like a personal thing to know, to me it was just something he was indirectly shouting out loud. If that makes sense."
"I think it does," Kurama murmured quietly. They reached the front of Ayumi's school and she stopped, turning to face Kurama.
"Thank you for walking me. I appreciate it." Her friend Satsu noticed her from the courtyard and rushed over, stopping short when she noticed her companion. "Good morning, Satsu."
Satsu blinked a few times, cheeks turning red at the sight of Kurama before tearing her eyes away and looking at Ayumi. "M-morning," she stammered. "Who's your friend?"
"Oh, this is Shuichi," Ayumi introduced, smirking in Kurama's direction. He turned his attention to Satsu and offered a polite smile. "Shuichi, this is my friend Satsu."
"It's a pleasure," he said warmly with an air that screamed 'I'm a gentlemen'. "Well, I should be going. I don't want to be late. I'll see you around, Ayumi." He bowed to both girls, who returned the gesture (Satsu's bow wound up being a bit deeper than Ayumi's, for obvious reasons). Once the redhead waved and walked off, Satsu gripped Ayumi's hand and nearly dragged her into the courtyard.
"Oh, you are so going to tell me about him! He's so…he's so…handsome!" Satsu gushed, placing her hands on her cheeks, which were slowly turning red. "And those eyes…"
Ayumi had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. "He's a friend of my neighbor. I've seen him hanging around once or twice, and we just bumped into each other on the way to school." Ayumi didn't like lying to Satsu either, but she didn't say anything else on the matter as Satsu continued to fawn over him. She listened with a practiced ear, responding with some 'Mmms' and an 'is that so?' Her mind, however, was miles away from Satsu and her newfound crush.
For one thing, she still felt like someone was watching her, and it was really starting to creep her out.
