Aiko.
It seemed everyone had the same idea: don't let the enemy see you in your school uniform.
Yu greeted me with a nod as Kurama and I approached the group. He knew I wouldn't let them go off without me, not this time. And so, with a heavy sigh, he reached his hand out to me for a shake, and I sneaked underneath his arm for a one-armed, half-assed embrace I dared call a "hug."
"Why can't you be like Keiko, eh?" he snapped in my ear quickly before letting go. "She knows not to stick her nose in this shit."
"Well, she should learn to," I replied quickly, hushed. "Maybe then your ass would be kept in check."
"Uh-huh." He leaned in again and nodded to the members of the group.
Along with Botan and Kuwabara, there was the familiar face of Genkai, who I only met once, and two younger boys I'd never seen before. Among the two was another, a familiar face—one I saw on campus. Yu, Kaito.
He was notorious in Meiou for his astounding grades and off-campus achievements, and though there was never any real talk of the feud, the student body and sometimes even the staff would often be seen quietly betting on who would score highest on an exam—Yu, Kaito, or Minamino, Shuichi. The fact there were still people betting on Kaito in our second year showed he was a formidable academic opponent.
Despite the glaring sun's rays, I locked eyes with Yu, Kaito. He knew who I was too—unfortunately, not because of my achievements on and off campus (which did not exist).
"Yana." Yu nodded to the first boy who had to invest in ten times the amount of hair gel he did. He nodded to another boy, one with beady eyes and dyed blonde hair. "Kido, and Kaito is someone I'm assuming you know. They're physics, got some strange powers from the tunnel. Kurama tell you about it?"
"Little bit." I nodded. "Anything special?"
"Real special. Not the normal stuff you see from reiki. Like Yana can literally become you if he touches you. Learn everything about you, memories and all."
I bristled.
"Don't worry," Yu whispered. "He's cool. Won't touch you—any of us."
I nodded, convincing myself to trust his word.
"You scouting out the place?" he asked, straightening upright and looking down the tracks, at the freeway that rode along the train. "Planning an escape route or something?"
I nodded again. "You want me to convince your mom too? Tell her? Lie?"
"I'm going to…" He shrugged. "I'm telling her to go up north for a while."
"She knows?" I asked. I wasn't surprised, because surely she should have figured something out by now with how often he disappeared.
He nodded his head side-to-side. "Eh… kind of. She may be drunk all the time but she's not an idiot, you know? She knows something's up."
The announcer's automated voice spoke over the loud-speaker above, announcing our line's arrival. Just seconds later we could hear the train roaring against the wind, heading towards us at a dangerous speed on the tracks.
We were first on the car and I seated myself promptly. I was sure when the new faces noticed I fell asleep during the ride they would take advantage to ask why I was there.
Which someone in the group, most likely Botan, would surely reply. "We kind of just accept it at this point."
I didn't trust Kurama when we were at his home, as he was surely going to slip out his window undetected, but I knew I could rest here. I trusted him to not leave me on public transportation—a train of all places.
He didn't.
He nudged me off his shoulder, waking me up, and I restrained myself from rubbing my eyes as we stepped off the train and into Mushiyori Station. The building was crowded on the platform, and when we stepped into the lobby it was still bustling with people for the early morning rush. I kept pace with the red-head next to me, and as we closed in on the main entrance, with the blinding daylight shining through from outside the glass doors, he leaned closer to me with a small whisper.
"Brace yourself."
I didn't pay his words much mind as we stepped through the automatic doors and into the morning. When my pupils adjusted to the immediate change, my surroundings were clear.
The flurry of youkai bugs flying around the city was sickening, and I was pleasantly reminded of the incident at Sarayashiki. My breathing quickened and I began blindly digging around in my purse for anything to calm me, eyes still locked on the swarm of bugs. A bottle of water or—there we go. I had no qualms throwing three days clean down the drain.
I fumbled with the box of Cupids before shoving the cancer stick in my mouth and frantically searching in my bag for a lighter.
"We're fucked," I hissed to Kurama, who watched me pull out a zippo.
"These bugs aren't here to take control like the last time," he reassured me, pinching the cigarette with his fingers and pulling it from between my lips before I could light it.
"You mean to tell me with the entire city of Mushiyori like this, there's not one bug that's taken control of someone?"
I quickly scanned the people passing by us on the streets for signs of violence—for signs of complete hostility. Nobody seemed to be taken over by the parasites, at least not at first glance.
"They're different," he said promptly, flicking the cigarette on the cold concrete below us and grinding it with the heel of his shoe. "They're not being controlled."
Though it was reassuring, the sight was still… chilling.
"Alright, we're splitting up," the old woman's voice broke through my fear and dragged my attention to the group. My eyes searched for her and I eventually found her near Yu's hips. "One group is going with me to find anyone involved. The other is to scout the city for the tunnel and see how far along it is."
We stood at attention, away from the entrance to Mushiyori Station and off to the side as she eyed our group.
"Yusuke, Kido, and Yanagisawa are with me."
"Hey! Any particular reason why I'm not going?" Kuwabara asked.
"Because your reiki is gone," she replied bluntly, to which Kuwabara puckered his lips briefly in a frown. "You may be able to fight but as you are it will be no match for anyone we may come against. You're better off with this group anyway."
He shrugged and spoke low, to himself. "Feels just like being picked last for sports."
"Use your strength to protect this group," Genkai said.
Kuwabara frowned but nodded as he shoved his hands into his varsity jacket's pockets.
"Kaito will accompany you. His territory could come at an advantage if necessary."
I wondered what Kaito's territory could do as Meiou's Number Two nodded, understanding his orders.
"Kurama's best suited to search for the tunnel, and his abilities to strategize and fight are needed among you."
Kurama nodded then as well.
"Botan will serve as our messenger, as she will be able to travel between us the fastest, or to Reikai if need be."
Botan smiled and stuck her fingers to her head in salute, and Genkai then turned to me, with a more than expressionless face.
"And you."
"I'm here on personal business, and there's not much to me," I said, trying to sound as polite as possible. "So I don't know if you'd really be able to give me any orders… uh, but I'll follow whatever you give me…"
"You have a knack for pushing yourself into trouble, so maybe if we're lucky you'll land smack dab in front of the creator," she said plainly, and I held back a forced, throaty laugh. "You have no real reason to be here otherwise, so do whatever it is you have to do and try not to jeopardize anything."
I nodded slowly.
"Besides, you've got some meat in your head if you've been able to track us down twice. Apply that brain power to this and try to make use of yourself while you're here."
I nodded again, already feeling down about the order as I was paired with fucking Kurama, who at this rate was Japan's Brightest, and Yu, Kaito, our prefecture's number two child prodigy.
The two smartest students in Meiou for a reason. I was no match. I shouldn't complain; I knew I had no other reason to be here.
I had to remember I was here to assess the damage of Mushiyori and the potential issue that could erupt. And just being here less than five minutes already made me aware of how serious the issue was. I may not be useful to her, but to Kurama and our families, I would be.
"When you're all done with your scouting, come find us. It shouldn't be too much a problem with Botan in your group and a communicator between us."
"Won't be!" Botan replied proudly with a nod.
With that, we split up, letting Kurama take the lead.
While I could see the youkai flying around town, latching on people, or seemingly minding their own business in the air, I had no idea what a tunnel felt like. If it was anything as creepy as the feeling these bugs gave me, then I was glad I didn't know what I was looking for.
Kurama knew, though.
"So you're looking for the source?" I asked Kurama.
He nodded. "Where it's the strongest. That's where the creator should be."
"You're in chemistry, Hojo, you should know at least the basics of this. Think of heat," Kaito said from behind me. "I guess the simplest way to explain it is..."
His tone was obviously neutral but I couldn't help but feel like he was speaking to me about this like because he was a geeky little snob and he saw my placement on the roster in the hall. I wanted to make a rude remark, but seeing as how I was here uninvited and served no use other than my own, I figured I should take the stupid lecture with a zipped-closed mouth.
"Like a campfire on a cold night. The source of the heat is the strongest, and its warmth is emitted outwards, towards the cooler temperature. A gradient."
I couldn't keep it shut for long. At least I was tame.
"I'm going to have war flashbacks of that class. Stop." I looked to Kuwabara before anyone could react to my tone. "So… if you had control over your reiki, then you'd be able to look for it?"
Kuwabara paused, surprised, but then nodded. "Yeah, normally if I just concentrate I could feel something's off. But I can't feel a thing! I can't even see any of these bugs Botan's complaining about!"
"You're lucky, Kuwabara, this is absolutely disgusting!" Botan seethed, waving around a fly swatter she magically pulled out of her purse to keep the bugs at bay. "Then again, I think I'd rather see them than not know they're touching me."
On cue, I waved off a bug that landed on Kuwabara's broad shoulder.
Kaito was next. Though I wasn't too keen on talking to him, I wanted to know I wasn't alone.
"Can you feel it? The tunnel." To which he shook his head in reply. No. "Botan?"
"Somewhat," she replied. "I couldn't search for it like Kurama is but if I was near it I'm sure I'd be able to feel the presence."
At least I wasn't alone.
We headed out of the heart of the city and into the suburbs. The sight of cozy homes and corner stores were short-lived, and we followed Kurama into the outskirts of Mushiyori.
The youkai bug epidemic that manifested in the city was slimming here; it was close to none.
Grass and trees were plentiful, though since we were just coming out of cold weather the grass was still greening. There was a dirt path we found that lead us up a mountain, into forestry. The path we walked on was untouched spare the small prints from wild animals that ran around days or weeks ago when the ground was wet, leaving various prints in the hardened dirt.
"Are you guys sure we should be going up a mountain?" I asked, trekking behind Kurama. "If it was all the way up here then wouldn't Reikai already know where it is?"
"It does seem odd to place a tunnel on higher ground," Kurama noted in front of me. "But the presence is definitely increasing as we continue this way."
"If we don't find anything, we can always go back down and search around the mountain," Kaito suggested from the back of the group.
"Can't Botan do a quicker check flying around?" I looked over my shoulder for the blue haired reaper.
"I don't think I should be flying around so close to the tunnel," she said. "What if the creator or his friends are here? I don't want to give us away."
"True." I nodded.
"We'll decide on something if we don't find anything when we reach the strongest area," Kurama said.
When we left the forestry, the path turned to flat land and died, muddling into broken grass patches. Our view of the deserted grassy plane was eerie, completely unsettling. There were no bugs in sight.
"This is it," Kurama mumbled, slowing to a stop in front of me.
I looked around at the empty scenery, finding what could have been a few relatively large shacks in the distance. Other than that, nothing but greening grass as far as the eye could see and the curving hill of a mountain heading higher into the sky.
Where was the tunnel?
I turned on my heel, looking over my shoulder to see the city in the distance. From here, it was as if the city was surrounded in a dirty haze, one visibly moving…
Why would they all be out there and not here, closer to the tunnel where they came from? …Because there was a food source out there.
The realization churned my stomach, and I took a deep breath to calm myself.
"Are you sure the tunnel's here?" I asked, looking back to Kurama. "Am I missing something? Can I not see it?"
"I figured it was just me. It seems like a… common vacant lot," Kuwabara mumbled. "I'm sure the tunnel isn't in that shack in the distance…" He looked around, just as confused as me. "There's nothing here?"
"Do you think you latched on something else, Kurama?" Botan suggested. "I mean, this is the area Reikai mentioned it should be in but…"
"You sure the guy's in the center of this tunnel?" Kuwabara asked.
"I wasn't picking up a person's aura; I was picking up Makai's presence," Kurama replied. "If I was picking up on his aura then naturally he would be in the center of the expanding tunnel. So either way..."
"Then what the hell?" Kuwabara grumbled, looking around the scenery.
"Regardless of who or what we've found, if we can't find it on the surface…" Kaito's words clicked in all our heads instantly, letting us finish the sentence together. "It's underground."
If it's underground then… those probably weren't "shacks." What could they be...? I stepped forward in the grass, away from the group, and felt the few yellowed weeds crunch underneath my boots.
I gasped in both excitement and realization, feeling the revelation hit me like a ton of bricks.
"What?" Botan asked.
"We're at a nature conservation area!" I grinned. "That's why there were animal prints on the dirt path and why there's a cave here. Those shacks are probably garages for security and fire patrol."
"Okay I know figuring we're looking for a cave now is important but," Kuwabara said. "I don't get why you're excited to know this is conservation area."
"Because if we're forced out of here by the enemy, then we don't have to come back right away—to find its location, I mean. We'd be able to find it at a local library. There's caves. This is a nature conservation area for exemplary landforms and geological sites. It'll be listed!"
"Yeah but if there's more than one cave, it'll be harder to pick which one it's in just from reading about them."
"Would it really be smart to plant a tunnel at a nature conservation area?" Kaito asked. "There's patrol that scouts the area every so often to make sure the wildlife are fine. There's also students, and private and government employees that come down to sites like this to do research and studies."
"As for patrol, the land could be privately owned," Kurama replied. "During off-season when the weather is too cold and most wildlife is hibernating, the security is more relaxed."
"As for students…" I paused, crossing my arms in thought. "The cave has to be something that nobody finds interesting or doesn't have anything worth researching."
Kaito hummed to himself, looking out across the grass plain. "Something's not right. I don't see why nobody would go to a cave for research, especially one that's so winding and large that it could hold such a dangerous tunnel."
"You're right…" I mumbled begrudgingly.
"Let's check out the area anyway!" Botan suggested. "See if we can find any caves and give them a look around."
"Getting too close to the enemy may be dangerous," Kaito said. "Plus a cave is a good place to hide a body—especially if it's deep."
"Yeah we definitely need to be more careful up here," Kuwabara said, looking around the plain. "I'm already getting a bad feeling about this place."
"What's wrong?" I asked, looking around the plain. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. "Let's just go look at those garages, maybe they have a name on them or something."
"We'll look up the conservation area at the library another time," Kurama said suddenly, turning back around to face the city our hill hovered over. "We should head off to see Yusuke's group."
My brows furrowed. "But… we're already here. Are we really going to turn back now after taking like over an hour to walk here?"
Even Botan looked a bit skeptical, but with a small huff she began digging in her bag.
"I brought along some detective items," she whispered to me before pulling out a familiar golden ring. "Here."
She shoved the small ring in my hand, and I remembered it instantly. Hard to forget something you saw when you were sure you were going to die…
"Why?" I whispered, keeping the boys attention to themselves.
They stood behind us, talking about where to possibly find Yu's group.
"Worst case scenario, I need to leave and contact Reikai, leaving you as our last resort," Botan replied, hushed as she gripped me by the arm and pulled me away from their group quietly.
"Gee, thanks," I scoffed a laugh. "I love being important."
"They're acting weird and I trust Kuwa's instincts," she replied, serious expression far from budging. "You need to learn how to use this. You're the only one here who doesn't have a means to protect themselves. Even Kuwabara has his brute strength without his reiki."
"Then… what do I do?" I hesitated, looking down at the strange ring.
"I have to warn you that once you use it, you'll definitely pass out," she said. "You remember what it did to Yusuke's reigun? That's what will happen. It increases the strength of your reiki ten times. Aim right and you'll kill your attacker. You may pass out but you'll at least live…"
I swallowed the lump in my throat at the thought of killing someone. I thought again of Goki. I could still remember the way his head tore apart...
"Slip it on," she ordered, and I did so, feeling the cold gold slide down my index finger. "Now there's plenty of ways to go about this but… I think this way would be best."
I waited patiently for her to start, staring at my finger and how tacky the ring looked on me. The fire-red manicure and this stained gold clashed in all sorts of ugly ways—and red and gold were supposed to look cute together. Step up your fashion game, Reikai. This was the twentieth century.
"Concentrate on your finger tip," she said, but as I replied with a small "uh…" she sighed. "Okay… you know that feeling when you see a ghost or youkai? That otherworldly presence that pressures around you?"
I nodded.
"Your reiki is being put to use when you pick up on otherworldly beings. Enough to make you aware of their presence. If you remember someone you saw then your body will remember the reiki it used to see them and will recreate a similar amount."
"Uh… is there any other way for me to learn how to channel reiki?"
She cocked her head to the side, humming in thought. "Yeah, but I think this would be the easiest way right now, especially with something that will magnify your reiki ten times its normal amount."
I frowned and stared down at my finger tip, and before I was distracted by the pretty color of my nails, I remembered what it was like to see the ghost at the shrine after New Year's.
She was radiant, elegant. Beautiful. It was strange to see her. Off. I could only remember why nobody seemed to pay attention to her when she was so obviously incandescent.
"Now channel that feeling to your finger," she instructed. "Just test it, don't let it go."
Channel...? I closed my eyes, concentrating on the idea of seeing her again, pushing any and all feeling to my hand. I remembered the way she had this radiance to her, the way she seemed to glow...
I could feel a shift—a shift in me. I opened my eyes. A small pressure around my body moved slowly, both from underneath and atop my skin in a smooth sequence. My being, a part of me, traveled to the base of my hand and toward my finger.
A spark—a pale, lustrous blue—emerged, traveling from the base of my finger where the ring resided to the tip of my nail. In an instant, it sparked off and disappeared into thin air.
Mouth agape with wide eyes, I turned my vision to Botan, who was gleaming with a bright smile. I felt a little tired but it was manageable. Really, all I wanted to do was yawn and sit down for a moment to regain some strength, but I was fine otherwise.
Again another spark emerged from the ring, crackling and spreading up my finger.
"Yes!" she said excitedly yet hushed, and quickly grabbed me by the shoulders. "But remember! You only get one shot. Your reiki is too low to use this again, so you'll pass out if you fire even one shot."
Excited, I channeled the reiki again to my finger, letting the sparks crackle on and on. If I wanted to shoot, I just had to concentrate harder, recreate what Yu did.
"Don't let your reiki go!" she said quickly. "You'll wear yourself out if you do!"
I stopped immediately, watching the reiki disperse into the air around me, feeling nothing but excitement and that I could use another nap sometime this afternoon.
"What are you doing?" Kuwabara asked, hovering over Botan's shoulder.
"Just preparing for the worst!" Botan laughed nervously, shoving my hand to my side to put it out of sight.
Kurama eyed my hand with little interest. "You think she should be given that?"
"I'm not giving it," Botan said. "Just… letting her use it while we're here."
"He's just mad someone else can save the day now." I placed one hand on my hip before flipping my hair over my shoulder.
"You'd probably blow yourself up using that," Kuwabara noted.
"Shut up." My face fell. "Whose side are you on here?"
"We should get going," Kurama said, breaking our bickering. "Botan, you have the other communicator right? Try calling Yusuke's group."
"Alright," she said, pulling out the familiar pink compact I remembered.
As the compact beeped softly in our group's silence, I stared out past the grass and into the city below, watching the dirty haze above the city float around, flourish in a slow, fluid movement like a fog. A heavy miasma, a promise of death's arrival. The disgust I felt at the sight struck a deeper cord in the depths of my heart, resurfacing a familiar fear in me and erasing my lingering excitement in the same moment.
Despite the state of this city, nothing was being done about it. Any psychic in their right minds knew their words meant nothing to the public, and if they had any sense they would have packed up and left a long time ago.
Because nobody in their right mind would heed their warning… the warning of an apocalypse. Nobody would, not even my parents. And as I watched the grass in the distance move slowly as if pushed by the wind, the same cord was struck again, harder.
I would have to lie. Lie about something this serious, involve others… I remembered the last time I lied to save a Hojo. I didn't think we ever really moved on. I always wanted to believe they knew I was lying, deep down.
But this time, if they found out I was lying… I could consider myself disowned. But I had to lie because there was no way they would believe this mess.
I shook the memories away and figured I could put the escape route aside for now. I could think about it when the disgust wasn't manifesting deeper, stronger, and clouding my judgment.
I inhaled heavily. The air up here was still, calming. I was becoming impatient with the group as they decided about how they were going to find Yu's group.
Wait. The air was still.
There was no wind.
Cautious from Kuwabara's words, my eyes darted back to the patch of grass that shifted just moments ago. Not another patch of grass had moved. Probably an idle animal… this was a nature reserve after all.
Eyes too lazy to move from the spot, I took a deep breath and thought about what Yu's group could be up to—if they found anyone.
Kuwabara and Kaito walked past me with Botan trailing behind them. I stayed put as they stepped on the dirt path.
Kurama placed himself next to me, whispering. "Do not stare; it's not wise to let them know we're aware."
It took a moment for me to put the pieces together, and chills ran down my spine like a tidal wave.
"That's not funny," I hissed. My eyes darted away from the grass, frantic to land anywhere else but finding nowhere safe.
"I'm not joking," he replied.
I forced my gaze to settle on the city below as we began walking.
"Walk ahead of me," he said quietly, and I nodded. "Stay in front, in sight."
My heart throbbed in my throat as we stepped back into the forest. I could take a human. Well, I had a better chance with a human. But one with a "territory"?
I'd be fine… I had the ring.
Throughout the walk, I would check over my shoulder, worried they were following us. After the umpteenth time I glanced over my shoulder, Kurama's hand hovered in front of my eyes, blocking the view over my shoulder.
"Is he following?" I whispered, returning my eyes to the path.
"No," he replied calmly, and I sighed in relief.
Our attention turned to Botan as she sighed. "Second time I tried. Nobody's picking up the communicator."
"Does it run on batteries?" My question was merely hopeful.
She shook her head and debated on what to do. As we continued deeper in the forestry, she turned to us with an announcement.
"I'll do a quick scout of the city for them!" she said with a forced, cheerful smile. "I'll be back in a jiffy."
It was shocking, as none of us saw it coming. We expected the oar to materialize by her side. Instead, her physical form dropped unconscious, scaring Kuwabara out of his wits as he lurched over to keep her body from collapsing to the ground. He grabbed the collar of her sweater in time, practically choking the body as her soul separated from its shell, emerging gracefully, easily.
I watched her floating in midair; I couldn't hide the apparent shock on my face, and neither could Kuwabara or Kaito. Kurama, however, didn't seem fazed as an oar materialized next to her. She smoothed her kimono underneath her as she sat on it and flew into the sky.
She too had a beautiful glow...
Kuwabara heaved Botan's shell of a body over his back, carrying it with him as we continued down the path. When we neared the exit of the woods, Kuwabara spoke.
"Hey, Kurama." He looked over his shoulder to us. "Is anyone following us? I had a bad feeling back up there, it went away but..."
I swallowed the lump in my throat, anticipating his reply. They could have seen Botan leave and figured she may bring someone back, and it was better to get us when we were all together. I was almost trigger-happy at the thought, ready to aim and fire.
"Their presence disappeared long ago," Kurama said, and I sighed in relief. "We ought to assume they left us and went to check Yusuke's group."
"Urameshi, eh?" Kuwabara mumbled to himself, hiking Botan's body up as it began to slouch over. "They could be in trouble."
"This is Urameshi we're talking about," Kaito reminded him.
Kurama nodded. "Genkai is also with them. For now, I wouldn't be too worried."
I said nothing and turned my attention to the path we were walking. It was on cue that we stepped out of the forestry and into the suburbs of Mushiyori that Botan's flying body could be seen barreling at us on her oar—full throttle.
"I don't know where they are!" she called. "They're not on the streets!"
A few yards from us, she hopped off her oar and continued to glide closer to us before stopping in front of Kuwabara. She hovered inches off the ground as she waited patiently for her body.
After a few seconds of everyone waiting quietly, Kuwabara finally took her body off his back and held it up for her so she could reenter. And like the body was just sleeping, the minute her soul disappeared inside the shell, her amethyst eyes opened.
"So they're inside somewhere," Kurama noted to Botan as she stood on her own.
Botan nodded. "I'm worried though. I wouldn't be if the communicator was working…"
"Let's not worry too much about it," I offered, though even I wasn't too convinced.
If we were being watched then Yu and his gang were definitely being trailed.
"We should walk the city, look for them," Kaito said.
Everyone agreed, and we set foot into the bug infested city. Botan, again, pulled out a fly swatter, and I stayed close enough to her for protection.
Everyone continued complaining about the bugs, and though I hated seeing the little monsters, I didn't want to drudge up old memories that were better left in the corner of my brain, collecting dust. I stayed relatively quiet on the subject. Kuwabara was upset that he wasn't able to see them still, but Botan and I hastily reminded him with each complaint that it was better he couldn't see the disgusting bugs floating around.
By now, back in the heart of the city, the sun was high in the sky. The boys looked around the streets for Yu's group or anyone suspicious while I was more preoccupied on the state of the town. I was only drawn out of thought when I heard a familiar wailing.
Having heard it plenty of times during my short high school career, I perked up instantly at the sound of sirens. I looked around the crowded streets for the tell-tale black and white car, and saw it barreling through the horde of bugs down the street.
It passed us by in a hurry, prompting worry in Botan and I.
"You think something's happened to Yusuke's group?" she asked, voice clearly laced with suspicion.
"We're in a huge city, maybe it's not even related," I said.
"Well, we shouldn't be too worried," Botan said with a reassuring smile. "Genkai's with them."
"Regardless, I don't think we should be idle any longer," Kurama said, and Botan was the first to take off running.
The group headed after the blaring cop car, and I knew I was the only one thinking to myself how this was the first time I wasn't running away from one.
I hadn't eaten since yesterday afternoon and I was running on maybe two hours of sleep. I wasn't going to be able to keep up with them—not to mention I had used the ring and that had been a tad draining.
Botan led the way as we ran through the suburbs of Mushoyori, and though I fell behind, and was wheezing loudly thirty seconds into the run, I was able to follow. We lost sight of the car long ago, but we were graced with another clue as we rounded a street corner.
Botan stopped to see the ball of reiki that shot into the sky, parting clouds as it traveled up.
I would have to be an idiot to not realize what that was, especially when I was right next to it almost a year ago when it tore apart a head.
"Yu's reigun!" I said, coming up behind Kurama.
Kurama grit his teeth, running towards where the ball came from. I made it to the hospital Kurama led the way to without passing out. I waited in front of the hospital's front gate, breathing heavily and reading the stone print on the main entrance's wall.
Daikyo Hospital.
...And no cop car. I would have boasted about being right but following it led us here.
I turned my attention to the hospital itself. It was so quiet... it was silent. Hospitals were never silent. There should be ambulances making their runs, people walking in and out. Hell, even a ghost should be here somewhere.
That wasn't the entire gist of the issue, though. The atmosphere surrounding the hospital was eerie, uninviting. A thick pressure in the air, humidity.
Kuwabara was the first to head towards the entrance. "Alright, let's do this!"
"Wait." Kurama grabbed him by the shoulder.
"What?" Kuwabara asked as I scanned the windows.
Nobody was walking around. It was like the building was completely deserted.
Kurama eyed the windows. "It's strange. It's too quiet."
"Now that you mention it… it is pretty quiet," Botan mumbled.
"What are you talking about?! Hospitals are typically kept quiet!" Kuwabara pointed out.
"Yeah but… I don't even see anyone… walking through the halls…" I said, out of breath still.
"So…" Kuwabara trailed off, catching on but still not sure why he couldn't just go in and help.
"You don't get it at all, do you?" Kaito said.
Kuwabara and I glanced over our shoulders to the child prodigy, side eyeing him so hard our eyeballs threatened to fall out their sockets. Tensions among us may have been high but I wasn't the only one taking personal offense to Meiou's Runner-Up's tone.
"What?" Kuwabara all but growled at him.
"If that was Urameshi's reigun and we haven't seen any other action since…" Kaito explained. "Something's wrong."
"Thank you, Sherlock," I hissed. "We would have never figured that out without your help."
It wasn't that Kuwabara didn't know. It was that Kuwabara didn't care; they needed help so he wanted to help.
Kuwabara lifted Kaito off the ground by the collar of his jacket, and at that point I had to restrain myself from vocally encouraging him.
"What of it?!" Kuwabara yelled, lifting the school boy off the ground.
"This is someone's territory," Kurama said, calming Kuwabara, who I secretly wished would keep going. He dropped Kaito, who stumbled to his feet upon landing. "It's the enemy's and we don't know its rules."
"You can't tell what he can do just from being near it?" I asked, turning to Botan. Probably a dumb question but...
She shook her head. "No. So it's not wise to just go in inattentively."
"Yes, especially with Kuwabara not having any reiki," Kurama said.
Kuwabara practically fiddled his thumbs at that point. "When you put it that way…"
"You all stay here," Kurama said, and looked down at me specifically. "Don't do anything until you hear from me." His attention then turned to Botan. "I'm going to check things out."
I opened my mouth to say, "I wouldn't follow you into something dangerous!" But I'd proven plenty of times before I would, so I pursed my lips and let my arms fold over my chest.
I watched as he ran for the entrance, pushing away the thought of having to tell Shiori some obscure lie about her son's death. I wanted nothing more than for him to change his mind and return to our side… but someone had to check on Yu's group.
It wasn't until his feet left the ground, pushing him into the air, that I was reminded of who—or what—he really was again. A vine extended from his hand, a vivid bright green, and elongated. He aimed it wildly, though obviously knowledgeably as it latched on the chain link fence that stood on the roof of the hospital five stories up.
I was reminded again of something I paid no attention to due to his human façade: I was emotionally, romantically, invested in a youkai.
Why did I disregard that reality? Something like that was really something to think about when investing yourself in someone. I always knew what he was—he told me, showed me. I saw the way he could control plants; I spent time eavesdropping on Natsume's conversations to see when her father would be in town to protect him.
It was this strange cycle. Remember, revel in brief shock, and then easily disregard.
But watching him landing on the roof gracefully and disappearing seconds later… I would be lying if I said at this point I wasn't curious about him as a youkai.
"I hope they'll be okay…" Botan said aloud, mainly to herself.
I eyed the windows again, searching for anyone moving. Why was there nobody there? Where was everyone?
"Do you think anyone who enters disappears?" I asked.
Botan shrugged. "Everyone's territory is different… so maybe. The territories definitely have their way of harming people if you break the rules."
Rules? "Like… like that sign that was left on the door of the mansion?"
"That was due to my territory," Kaito said. "I call it Taboo. If you say the word I chose in my territory, I can take your soul."
I tried controlling the shiver of fear that ran down my spine to no avail.
"And you can make it go away by choice?" I asked, coughing to clear my throat. "I said 'hot' when I entered and nothing happened."
"Either by choice or when you're knocked unconscious," Kaito replied. "Or killed."
I paused, watching the quiet hospital.
"Should we really just wait here?" I asked. "It feels so wrong to just sit here and wait for them."
I knew I couldn't do anything—but one shot. One shot if I aimed right. One shot to save them.
"We really shouldn't go in," Botan pressed.
"I'm with Aiko," Kuwabara said. "It feels wrong."
"We can't do anything!" Botan said. "We don't know anything about the territory and it'd be dangerous to walk in blind. The last thing they need is to be in a position to save us."
I stared down at the ring on my finger, wondering if I would be lucky enough to get one shot in. If they didn't come out soon, we'd have to go in eventually—we couldn't leave them here. I pushed aside the thought of a ball of reiki tearing someone apart, justifying the action as self-defense.
"Yeah, but it feels so wrong," Kuwabara mumbled. "Being useless out here when I could be helping—or knowing what's happening at least!"
Glass shattered, provoking silence from us. We waited patiently, hoping to see someone run by the windows, come from the entrance. But nobody showed.
"Maybe it's from the back," Kuwabara mumbled, eyeing the windows as feverishly as I was. He groaned and stomped the ground, kicking rocks. "Damn this sucks. Being left out of the loop."
The minute those words left his lips, the atmosphere around us shifted subtly. The eerie feeling, the humid-like pressure, both gone instantly.
"It's down!" Botan said, and I was the first to move my legs towards the main hospital entrance.
I wasn't really interested in running, but knew I had to if I wanted to see how they fared.
Wary of our surroundings, unsure of how many enemies were in the hospital, I channeled reiki to the ring again. The small crackles could be heard under our footsteps as we entered the hospital.
Stepping inside, our eyes hit the ground. Everyone was on the floor, struggling and coming to as if they'd all been passed out the entire time. Staff and patients groaned as they struggled to sit themselves upright, but we had no time to check on the public.
The police would be here soon to do that as someone with enough strength would call them. We needed to get out of here. We weaved through the hallways, looking for Yu or Kurama, even Kido, Yana, or Genkai would have been a relieving sight.
Luckily, we found Yu first. He was standing at a broken window, staring out into the back parking lot. Behind him were Yana and another male, both struggling to help themselves up from the floor.
I slowed to a stop, relief washing through me at the sight of everyone alive. I stopped channeling, letting my reiki return to equilibrium in my body.
"Hey!" I called for his attention, relieved to see him alive.
He paused, face changing from a somber relief to one of surprise. He turned to us with an appreciative smile on his face.
"What in the world is going on here?!" Botan chided as I strode forward.
I looked around our small group. Someone's missing. Who's missing? Yu's didn't seem too freaked out about it so maybe they're okay.
"I really don't want to talk about it!" he laughed, forced.
"The entire hospital is going to be in frenzy!" I called, closing in on him. "We need to get out of here before the cops come!"
I walked to the juvenile delinquent and looked him over as Genkai jumped through the broken window.
"Botan!" Genkai called to the reaper, and I took my eyes off Yu for a moment to look out the window, finding an unconscious man in a lab coat. "Tend to those two boys; they took some heavy injuries."
"Yes Ma'am!" Botan smiled before heading to where they were.
"What happened? Was he the one with the territory?" I bombarded him with questions, not letting him get an answer in. "Was he part of the creator's group? Are you hurt?"
He looked down at me, eyes searching my face in wonder of what to answer first. "Uh. I'm alright!"
"Christ. Yeah… at least you're alright." I cringed, knowing I wasn't going to get anything out of him. I let out a sigh and for some reason tried again, unable to help myself. "What happened? Was he the enemy? What did he do?"
"Geez, I'll tell you later!" he replied. "Stop with the third degree!"
"Excuse you, dumbass, but what if he has reinforcements in here or something? We were being watched at one point."
His brows furrowed. "What?"
"We have no time to argue. We need to leave." Kurama's voice carried over to us, and I looked behind Yu to find him coming down the hall. Thank God he was alright too. "I've called the police. They're on their way."
It was then we all became aware of the ever-growing sound of sirens, and the little… strange… cooing that came from behind Kurama.
"Puu." There it was again. The same ugly little thing from the bus stop.
Yu looked around the hallway for the noise, and finally Kurama moved out of the way to show two more surprises. Keiko and the older Kuwabara had somehow managed to find their way down to Mushiyori, no doubt in search of the boys.
"Sis!" Kuwabara knew where to focus his attention, as did Yu, who called out Keiko's name in surprise.
"How did you even get here?" Yu asked, and then looked at me.
I quickly defended myself. "I haven't talked to them in weeks!"
"Puu lead us here," Keiko said, to which Yu groaned. "He's been acting really strange since last night."
"Why can't you be more like Keiko, eh?" I reiterated Yu as I turned to him, my tone becoming exaggerated and obnoxious. "She knows not to stick her—"
"Shove it, Aiko!" he snapped
"Kazuma, what's happening here?" His sister asked.
"A whole lot of stuff—" Kuwabara replied, but was quickly cut off by Genkai.
"We have no time! You all can talk once we get out of here."
"Shit!" Yu groaned as the sirens grew louder.
Nobody had to think twice, we all began down the hallway, searching for the nearest exit. I practically skidded to a halt as a more than important thought crossed my mind.
"We need to get the security tapes!" I said, and everyone paused to think of the option, looking back at me. "I'm sure Yu and the doctor didn't have a cup of tea and talk it out!"
"I don't care if I'm on it." Yu shrugged.
"You're on it!" I pointed to Kurama and then quickly realized I couldn't afford leaving the tape either. "…I'm on it! Get that fucking tape! We have no idea if any Barrier officials work in the Mushiyori police! If they see Kurama, we're fucked!"
"Yeah but wouldn't that would be suspicious to take the tape?" Yu pointed out.
"Blame it on the enemy!"
Genkai snapped and began heading for the entrance again. "Make your decision."
Kurama smiled and opened his jacket, revealing a black VHS in his inner pocket. I sighed in relief.
"Let's split up," Botan offered. "Meet up at the train station. If a big group runs down the street we're bound to be stopped."
"Shizuru." I looked to the older Kuwabara, and she nodded. "Keiko, Botan, and…" I paused, looking at the old woman and wondering how to address her when I was spouting orders… Yu was her disciple. Student was to teacher as disciple was to— "Master Genkai... With me?"
She blinked slowly, as if silently approving of the way I addressed her. The other girls nodded.
"Kido's staying here," Yu mentioned. "He was injured in the fight with the doctor. He needs medical attention."
"I'll stay here with him then," Kaito offered. "Make sure he's fine and cover up loose ends."
"Yana, Kurama, Yu, and Kuwabara—together," I said, waiting for them to nod.
"Get the lead out of your shoes, girls," Master Genkai snapped. "They'll raid the hospital in just less than a few minutes."
"We'll meet at the train station," Kurama said before looking to me. "Make sure to not to stray from your group."
"The only place I'd go back to is the mountain to scout around," I reassured him. "And I have a curfew, so I won't."
He stared me down, a silent regard for me to keep my word. With a deep breath, from adrenaline and prep to run, I cracked a stupid grin as a promise. So stupid… he had to repress the wry smile to mock me.
Our groups parted ways—our shoes hitting the pavement and carrying us past the cop cars. The boys stayed at a halt, waiting for us to disappear before heading out.
Never in my life could I remember looking forward to being at a train station.
A/N: Usually, I go off the manga. This time I decided to mix aspects of both the anime and manga. You may see me doing that from now on, so there's a little heads up.
Thanks to YuYuHakushoObsesser, hollyandthediamonds, and one guest for reviewing last chapter, and everyone who's tagged along through follows and faves! Muah.
