See end of chapter for notes.
sprezzatura (org. Italian): (1) n. the ability to make one's actions seem effortless or to disguise one's true desire, feeling, or meaning; (2) n. studied carelessness
Chapter Four: The Third of Three Beginnings
In Which a Thief Strikes a Bargain
"I've had worse plans," Kuronue had said, waving one hand dismissively in the face of Botan's scream. He couldn't really fault her. A presumed enemy stumbling towards her with a sword sticking out of his gut? Not the most reassuring of sights, he was sure.
But damned if he wasn't he regretting his flippancy now. He could have probably weaseled a healing treatment out of Botan if he'd swallowed his pride and acted a little more pathetic. Healing wasn't his shtick: Kurama had always had a useful plant or three on hand for when things went pear-shaped, so he'd never bothered with it. Now he stood in Koenma's office with a gash in his stomach that was beginning to ooze in a distracting way, and wished he'd paid a bit more attention.
The almighty toddler himself sat behind a simple wooden desk and dismissed the large blue ogre who had shown him in with a single word. Kuronue ignored the ogre's departure as inconsequential, keeping his attention on Koenma. Appearances could be deceiving and he had to do some serious finagling if he wanted to pull this scheme off, so Kuronue bit back every "escapee from the local daycare" comment and forced himself to look polite and respectful.
The things I do for you, Kurama.
"Koumori Kuroji," Koenma said, folding tiny hands in front of him. For the first time, Kuronue was impressed. Koenma had remarkable diction while sucking on a pacifier. "In cooperation with two others—Kyukonki Gouki and the Jaganshi Hiei—you have endeavored to steal three treasures from the vaults of Reikai. Seven ogres were slaughtered in the course of your raid. The Shadow Sword has been stained with blood. Of greatest concern, the Forlorn Hope has been cracked, resulting in a serious drop of its power and threatening the balance the three treasures maintain. Is there anything you wish to say in your defense?"
Kuronue shrugged and scuffed a foot against the floor. "Sorry?" Koenma continued sucking on his pacifier. "As I recall, Gouki killed the guards," he said, ducking his head and rounding his shoulders in the best show of nerves and contrition he could muster. He was pretty nervous—Koenma had called him Kuroji, which meant he hadn't seen through the illusion, but this whole operation could go south way too easily. But the payoff… "And I did turn myself in. To be honest…" A shrug. "I planned to do that from the start."
"Yes," Koenma conceded. Chubby fingers tapped against the desk in a motion far too mature for the baby-faced prince of Reikai. "Which begs the question of why you robbed the vaults in the first place."
"Well…" He dragged out the word, tilting his head to one side and staring at a spot on the floor as he thought. "I suppose I wanted to show up my older brother for once."
Koenma was so surprised he stopped sucking on his pacifier. "Oh?"
"Yeah!" Careful, Kuro, everything hangs on selling this. "It's not fair—I'm just as good a thief as the old bat, but because he got picked up by Kurama, he's the one with all the fame and fortune, and I'm—"
"Kurama?" Koenma interrupted.
It took every ounce of Kuronue's self control to stifle the predatory grin that wanted to spread across his face. Instead, he waved both hands towards the prince, as if to say See? "Oh, yeah, everyone knows about the great youkai thieves, the Youko Kurama and Koumori Kuronue! Fifteen years of quiet and you still turn white as a sheet at the very mention!"
Koenma coughed in an obvious and unsuccessful attempt to regain control. "Quiet? I think not. Both thieves are dead."
Kuronue didn't have to fake his laugh, even if it sent a spasm of pain through his stomach wound. "If you say so."
Both hands pressed down into the desk now. Koenma stood in his chair, leaning forwards. "If you have any information…"
"Nah, I don't think I do," Kuronue shoved his hands in the pockets of his ripped jeans, rocking back on both feet. "At least, nothing I'd be interested in telling my jailer." Indigo eyes met and held hazel, both deceptively old in young faces.
Koenma rubbed at the letters inked on his forehead with one hand and sighed deeply through his nose. "In light of your cooperation, assistance, nonviolence during the initial raid, and extenuating circumstances, I could transmute your sentence from jail time to community service."
This was exactly what he wanted to hear, but looking too interested so early would not do. "What kind of community service?"
Seeming to recognize he may now have a bargaining chip of his own, Koenma relaxed back into the chair again. "I'm sure you've noticed that our current spirit detective is… untried."
That understatement earned another too honest laugh. Kuronue had rather liked the hotheaded, reckless hero. Urameshi didn't panic when things went wrong, had a real gift for sarcasm from what he could hear of the fight against Hiei, and had the luck of the devil himself to boot. "Harsh first case, wasn't it?"
"Yes. Well. Some experience added to the team would be most appreciated."
"So, help out on your cases rather than go to jail? How long are you thinking of having this little arrangement?" Kuronue rocked back on his heels as he thought.
Koenma narrowed his eyes as he weighed the possibilities. "One year."
Ouch, not expecting the detective to live long, are you? Kuronue hummed in consideration. "Well, if I'm going to be joining this rag-tag team of heroes… some advice?" Koenma raised one eyebrow and gestured in an all right, fine sort of way. "Offer the same deal to Hiei."
"What?" Koenma cleared his throat, and when he spoke again his voice wasn't nearly so much as a squawk. "What? Why?"
"I'd say he has a few extenuating circumstance of his own," Kuronue said, shrugging. Now to let them wonder if they should take the words at face value or as a suggestion Hiei also had potentially important information. Kuronue didn't even know if it was true, but he did have one or two educated guesses—no one volunteered to have a jagan implanted if they weren't desperate. "Besides, Urameshi didn't kill him."
"Not killing someone isn't exactly the most stable basis for trust."
"Sure it is, especially in Makai. He had no problem killing Gouki, but he let Hiei be taken in quietly, even though Hiei made it a lot more personal. Makes me think he's seen something worthwhile in him. In fact," he tacked on, taking a chance on what he knew of the kid's character, "I wouldn't be surprised if he's asked about both our sentences."
The pacifier bobbed up and down as Koenma sucked on it, eyes narrowed. Score, Urameshi had totally asked what would happen to the pair of them. This might actually work. He'd gotten involved in the whole affair because Hiei approached him about it, and Hiei approached him because that damn jagan of his had recognized an illusion. Even if he hadn't seen through it entirely, Kuronue suspected Hiei knew exactly who he was, which meant he couldn't really leave him to Reikai mercy, or break him out and back into Makai. He did not want rumors of his survival reaching any of the three realms. Not yet.
Jagan were best known for their tracking abilities, which meant Hiei was (most likely) looking for something. His presence in Ningenkai meant he (most likely) hadn't found it yet. Which meant that, like Kuronue, Hiei would find Reikai resources very helpful. And thus wouldn't kill Kuronue for roping him into babysitting the detective, too. Most likely.
Koenma mumbled something about taking his recommendation under advisement and pulled his file forward to stamp. And as simple as that, "Kuroji" was officially a spirit detective, working for Reikai as community service. It was such a ridiculous turn that he suspected even his oh-so-stoic fox would crack a rib laughing at him.
"Now… What were you saying, earlier?" Koenma asked in what he probably wanted to be a casual tone.
"Oh, just that I know where a few of their old safe houses are. I could give you the locations, if you want. And…" he hesitated, biting his lip. "I've had a reliable source tell me Kurama survived."
Koenma turned almost as white as the stack of unstamped forms beside him. "Who?"
"I don't know his name," Kuronue said, plucking the convenient parts of the truth from the whole. "But he's well known for his honor and honesty. If he says something is so, then it is." Koenma rubbed at the ink on his forehead again, though his hands were noticeably shaking this time. Kuronue bit his lip. Now for the hardest, most important, most delicate part of the whole operation… Hands down, Kurama had the best subtle, manipulative ideas, but Kuronue hadn't lived with him for literal centuries without learning quite a bit himself. "If a person that reliable thinks he might have survived… well, Makai has a first class rumor mill."
Koenma shot him a disgruntled glare, and sighed again. "I'm well aware of how carefully this must be handled."
"Then let me handle it," Kuronue said. He was careful to keep his shoulders relaxed, his posture slumped and casual. If Koenma even suspected how much he needed this, he was screwed. He could have disappeared after the heist. He'd meant to. Except Kurama was alive, and this was the only way he could think of to find him.
"And why should I do that?"
"Three reasons." Kuronue held up three fingers, then curled one down. "You need subtlety and stealth, and you've got a master thief offering you exactly that." A second finger. "Who in the three realms would expect you to trust something so delicate to a new recruit, let alone a convicted criminal? Even if I was stupid enough to tell someone I was looking for the Youko Kurama, no one would believe me, so there's your rumor problem nipped in the bud."
"And the third?"
He let the last finger drop, and slammed his fist into the desk with the same motion. "I've got unfinished business with the damn fox," he said, voice too quiet to properly hear the tone. "He should have taken me with him." Kuronue glared into the godling's eyes, letting him read the absolute truth of this statement and interpret it as he wished.
Shockingly, Koenma hadn't jumped when he hit the desk, but he did stare at Kuronue long enough to make him worry he'd made some sort of misstep. "Very well," he said, just when Kuronue had started remembering how many doors and guards he'd passed through on his way here in case he needed a quick exit. "I will check myself to see if his soul was ever processed after we closed his record. If not, we will quietly open an investigation from the beginning. Is that acceptable?"
"More than," Kuronue agreed, allowing just a sliver of a smile and stretching.
"How will we contact you if needed?"
"The Den. It's a bar I own." Catching Koenma's concern, Kuronue laughed. "All legitimate and above board, I assure you. Leave a message if I'm not there." He tossed a casual salute Koenma's way and sauntered out the door, feeling very, very pleased with himself. Sure, Kurama could have gotten himself put on the case all while making sure that Koenma thought it was his own idea, but better safe than sorry.
Sit tight, fox. I won that last bet—you owe me a confession.
Glossary
koumori: bat. Used here to mean bat youkai.
jaganshi: One who has mastered the Jagan. See below for rambling notes about titles, last names, and youkai naming conventions.
kyukonki: My best guess at the romanization for the kind of youkai that Gouki is. Roughly translates as "soul-eating ogre." I've one or two thoughts on the differences between ogres working in Reikai and ogres in Makai, but I didn't want to shoehorn them into this chapter, so I don't know when they'll come up.
Reikai: Spirit World, Spirit Plane, Spirit Realm. Where Koenma and Botan are from.
youkai: demons, or spirits, or apparitions, as you like. A race of beings that are not human.
youko: spirit fox
jagan: (side note: googling 'jagan' in hopes of finding a literal translation is unhelpful and brings up an Indian actor.) Google translate says "evil eye." The third eye which Hiei had implanted. There's some ambiguity in canon about what, exactly, a jagan is and is not capable of. I'm limiting it mostly to tracking ki (whether youki or reiki), far-sight (within a limited range), and some rudimentary mental powers (i.e. telepathy and control over simpler minds). It also artificially increases the control its possessor has over his or her own ki. Hiei acquired the jagan for the first two reasons.
Makai: Demon World, Demon Plane, Demon Realm. Untamed and uncivilized for the most part, and inhabited by youkai.
Ningenkai: Human World, Human Plane, Human Realm. You're in it. (side note: I'm still hashing out when to use 'human' and when to use 'ningen,' but right now I'll probably use ningen to basically mean 'not youkai.')
A note on names vs. titles:
While the English dub of the anime treats "youko" as a given name, I've opted to treat it a little bit differently, and decided to use it as a sort of model for youkai naming conventions. Aside from the given name, demons will have a last name and/or title associated as well. Some of them are clan names, some of them are straight-forward species names, some of them are earned titles (almost a warning label). Kyukonki Gouki is simply a species name. Think of it as short hand for "Gouki, who is a soul-eating ogre." Kuronue uses "Koumori Kuroji" in the same way, further downplaying his power level and experience. Kurama and Kuronue have enough of a reputation, however, to flirt with the line between a species name and a proper title: hence the Youko Kurama and the Koumori Kuronue (though they're so often mentioned together that the respectful "the" carries through the phrase: the Youko Kurama and Koumori Kuronue). Hiei, having survived the surgery to get his jagan, has earned the title of Jaganshi. Jaganshi Hiei would be interpreted more as "Hiei, the Master of the Jagan," and thus I use a "the" in front of his name, as well. Compare when Hiei and Gouki are mentioned together to when Kurama and Kuronue are mentioned together. Not only are they less of a unit (the former being mere associates while the latter are genuine partners), but the "the" is only given to Hiei. I've italicized the relevant Japanese word when I'm using it as a species name or title. If and when demonic clans show up, I'll treat those as proper last names and not italicize them.
I'm not exactly a linguist and I don't know a lot of the professional terminology, but I did put some thought into this, and the grammar (if somewhat unconventional) is deliberate. Now to see if I can keep it consistent...
A note on the chapter:
And so Kuronue becomes a spirit detective, in his own way. One of the things I'm trying to do (that so far seems to be successful) is to have a similar set-up in this fic as is in the anime/manga, but with with entirely different motivations and/or methods. Same end goals, different paths through the wood. This will be especially interesting when it comes to Hiei and how he'll work with the rest of the group... I can already tell you Hiei is going to cause me, personally, a lot of trouble. But, that's for later.
Welcome back to the longer chapters! I think the last one is going to be the shortest in the fic, or at least the shortest for a while. Next week's especially is a monster (almost 5k!) and one of my favorites. Shuuichi's only had a cameo so far, but chapter five will introduce him properly, so be patient, please. Over ten thousand words and the plot is only now starting to pick up...
We're also coming to the serious differences between This is How You Remind Me and Sehnsucht. So far it's mostly been scenes that were alluded to in the original take but never actually shown, along with some tweaking of motivations that should have put people back in character. Next week takes a sudden sharp left, though. I'm looking forward to it, though I don't know about all the rest of you.
Final note/confession: I was extremely tempted to kill Shiori off last chapter. Starting the rewrite, I fully intended to (it was one of the thoughts that prompted the rewrite, in fact). Buuuut, no. I had mercy. And a few ideas that required her to still be alive to work. Plus I'm already turning Shuuichi's world on it's ears; having him grieving for his mom at the same time would have been too messy.
Also, yes, I need to standardize the format of the definitions at the beginning. I know. I'm just lazy.
No anonymous reviews this week, though thanks go to Tiakay and Unita for their reviews on chapter three.
If you read and enjoyed this chapter, please review!