Chapter Three
The next day at school saw us getting called up to the principal's office so that Takenaka could politely ask us why the hell we had both cut class. In order to get Yusuke to actually support my story I had to edit it a bit so that Yusuke had heard a child screaming and run off, and that the two of us had fought off a kidnapper together. Considering that kids in the area had been falling sick or going missing for hours at a time (Gohki's work) and that a suspicious man had been reported as being seen in the area about the same time (Gohki himself), Takenaka was willing to believe it. He still lectured us and gave us a stern warning not to ditch again, but didn't take any further action against me. Beneath it all, he almost seemed… happy, for some reason. I had been afraid he'd want us to take that story to the police, but according to Botan Koenma was doing… something to make sure that didn't happen. Not sure I wanted to know what it was.
In happier news, Iwamoto was currently under investigation and in serious danger of getting tossed out on his ass. Even if he wasn't, Takenaka assured us he'd be on probation for at least a year. While he was being investigated, we had a substitute teacher. He was decent, though kind of boring. Yusuke, of course, was napping before the guy had even started lecturing, so he didn't even have that excuse to fall back on.
Keiko was still taking it upon herself to be my "guide," even though I'd thought Takenaka only meant her to do that for the first day. I guess she's the type who can't help but feel responsible for people. She seemed surprised when I struck up a conversation with Yusuke about video games, for some reason. Actually, the look on her face was a lot like Iwamoto's.
After school, Yusuke and I met up with Botan to discuss our plans for looking for the other two artifacts. Mostly, that just meant Botan was looking at a map and trying to work out the best pattern to search the city in.
"I think it might be more efficient if we split up into two groups: you and Yusuke search one half of town while I search the other," I suggested. "I sensed their energy signatures in the forest, so I'd be able to pick up on them if they were nearby. And you and Yusuke have the compass, so between the two groups we'd be able to find them both much faster."
"Well, yes, it would go faster, but it would be much too dangerous!" Botan argued. "If we separated like that, we wouldn't be able to contact each other if we met Hiei or Kurama, or worse, if they attacked us. You yourself admitted that you aren't sure you could defeat either of them, and Yusuke still isn't at your level yet! Our best chance is to search together."
"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence, Botan," Yusuke grumbled, annoyed at her pointing out that I was still stronger than him. Give it time, kid; you'll be outshining us all soon enough.
"You might have a point," I admitted. "Without a way of contacting each other when we find one of them, we'll just be dividing up our forces. Unless… You have that compass, and the eyeglass that allowed Yusuke to see into Iwamoto's pocket. Is there anything that will let us contact each other?" And there's the bait. Now to see if she takes it…
"Oh! There is, actually!" Botan said, searching her pockets. She pulled out a pair of small handheld mirrors. Bingo. Good thing I remembered the Four Saint Beasts arc fairly well. I really liked that arc…
"Seriously Botan? Is this really the time to be fixing your makeup?" Yusuke said.
Botan smacked Yusuke upside the back of his head. "For your information, Yusuke, these are Communication Mirrors, one of the Seven Spirit Detective Items made specially for your use by Koenma himself. If you have one of the mirrors, you can freely communicate with whoever is holding the other."
"Well alright then, we'll just hand one over to Tenchi and split up. If one of us finds Hiei or Kurama they'll give the other a ring," Yusuke said, rubbing the back of his head.
Botan frowned. "I guess that could work, but it'd still be very dangerous. What if they both ambush one group at once? Or split up to attack both groups so that we can't help each other?"
"I don't think we gotta worry about that," Yusuke said. "When I was listening in on their little meeting in the forest Kurama had a falling out with the other two; said he was leaving the group. So they're probably not gonna work together again anytime soon."
"In that case it's an even better idea to split up. If they've gone their separate ways then not only are they almost assuredly not going to assist each other, they're probably nowhere near each other, either. Unless one attacks the other to get his artifact, but that just makes our job even easier," I said.
"Alright then, we'll split into two groups and each patrol half the city," Botan said, though it was obvious she still had some misgivings.
"Botan, if you're still worried about what might happen if you and Yusuke encounter one of the thieves, I could use the same technique I used on him to alter your breathing and unlock your potential for Hamon. It wouldn't be much, but it might allow you to hold your own and assist him, at least for a little while," I offered.
"Hey! I don't need you and Botan to hold my freaking hand, okay! Gohki took me by surprise, and I'm stronger now than I was then, so piss off!" Yusuke yelled.
Ugh, teenagers. I'd forgotten just how defensive they could be when they felt their competence was questioned in the fields they actually cared about, even when they knew it was accurate. I'd need to handle this delicately, or he'd go flying off half-cocked to try to prove himself. Even if it worked, he'd just be forming bad habits. Why give Genkai the extra work?
"I didn't say that I don't think you can handle it, Yusuke," I said patiently. "At the very least, I think you'd probably be able to hold them off long enough for me to back you up. But what happens if they decide to attack Botan? Or try to take her hostage? Are you really so confident that you can protect her and fight someone even stronger than Gohki?"
Yusuke faltered a bit, then sighed. "Yeah, alright, I get it. Be stupid to pass up something that'll help us out just because I'm still feeling sore about getting bushwhacked, fine," he said.
I turned to Botan. "Honestly though, Botan, I'd prefer if you only stepped in for emergencies; no offense meant, but you don't really strike me as a fighter," I said.
Botan waved her hand at me. "Oh, not offense taken, Tenchi, I know my limits, and a fighter I'm definitely not. But I don't intend to be dead weight or a hostage; I know a thing or two about self defense, I've got easy access to any information Lord Koenma can get on our thieves, and I'm not too bad at healing, either. If you think your technique will help me contribute to this case, then I'm all for it," she said.
I nodded. "Okay. Now, I advise you to sit down so you don't fall over. And don't try to hold your breath: the whole point is to expel it all from your lungs to correct your breathing patterns," I said, as I channeled my energy into my finger.
As Botan moved to comply, Yusuke crossed his arms and clicked his tongue. "Woulda been nice to get that kind of warning when you did it to me…" he grumbled.
"My way was more fun," I replied simply as I drove my finger at a precise point on Botan's midsection, causing her to double over gasping for breath.
When she recovered, she stared at her hands and breathed deeply. "Wow! This feels incredible; my spirit energy feels like it's just welling up inside of me!"
"Just don't start thinking it makes you invincible. Believe me, it doesn't," I warned. "That said, it'll hopefully be enough to keep you from being an easy target."
With that, the three of us parted ways; Yusuke and Botan to check one half of the city, while I looked through the other.
"Man, this is such a pain in the ass," Yusuke complained, consulting the compass again to find the needle wasn't moving at all. "Botan, what's the range on this stupid thing, anyway?"
"It depends on the strength of the demon you're trying to locate, but with as powerful as Hiei and Kurama are supposed to be, I'd say it's probably about 500 meters," Botan said.
Yusuke sighed, but kept searching. They'd been at this for an hour already, and it had started to become tedious about ten minutes in. If this was what the next few hours were going to be like, Yusuke almost hoped that he got ambushed by both of the thieves at once, just to save him from the boredom.
"So, um, Yusuke, do you mind if we take a break somewhere without people around? Koenma would like a world with you, he says it's important," Botan said.
Yusuke decided that even getting lectured by a thousand year old toddler was a decent diversion from walking around aimlessly hoping to run into a demon, so he assented and the pair walked into a deserted alley.
After checking that nobody was around, Botan pulled out a small case and set it on a steel barrel that had been left out. Opening it revealed a TV screen, which turned on and showed Prince Koenma, de facto head of Spirit World (at least while his father was away) at his desk.
"Good to see you're both alright," Koenma began. "I called you because I have some concerns about the new ally you two have picked up."
"Tenchi? What about him?" Yusuke asked.
"Simply put, his sudden involvement in this case is extremely convenient. And extremely suspicious," Koenma said.
"Suspicious? What do you mean?" Botan asked.
"Look at it this way, you two: a powerful psychic just happens to transfer into Yusuke's school the very same day I give him an extremely important case. He just happens to be around Yusuke when I give him his case, and then he just happens to arrive in the nick of time to save Yusuke's behind. And then after healing Yusuke's wound and giving him a sweet new power-up, he invites himself along to help you. That doesn't seem the least bit off to you?"
"I… it does seem very convenient," Botan said thoughtfully.
"Yeah, well so what?" Yusuke said. "What would he even get out of trying to trick us? I don't know about you, but 'I don't want the place I'm living in to turn into Demon Central' sounds like reason enough to want to help out."
"You'd be surprised, Yusuke. And as for what he'd get out of it… it's possible he wants the Artifacts of Darkness for himself," Koenma said. "I'm not saying there's any proof he's not on the up-and-up, but it's something you should watch out for all the same."
"But if that's what he wants, why is he helping us to get them? We certainly wouldn't just hand them over to him," Botan asked.
"Well, he did claim that he wasn't sure whether or not he could defeat Hiei or Kurama himself, didn't he? Assuming he was telling the truth, it only makes sense for him to help your investigation. It would be much easier for him to take the artifacts back from you and Yusuke than from those two, even with the power he's given you both."
"Well, what the hell would he even do with them if he got them?" Yusuke asked. "There a big market on soul-sucking disco balls I'm not aware of?"
"As a matter of fact, yes there is," Koenma replied. "There are a limitless number of demons with a taste for human souls, and many of them would give anything to be able to feed as easily as they could with the Rapacious Orb. And there are more than a few humans who would just love to get their hands on an item that allowed them to drain the souls from their enemies' bodies. The Rapacious Orb alone would be worth a fortune to the right buyers, and the three artifacts together are priceless. Even if he didn't plan to sell them, the things an unscrupulous person, human or demon, could do if they got their hands on those items… I'm not prepared to risk countless lives by blindly trusting someone we don't know the first thing about."
"So what are we supposed to do? Do you want us to just tell him he can't help with the investigation anymore?" Botan asked.
"No, not at all," Koenma said. "If he is after the artifacts, that'll just let him know that we're onto him, which could just make this whole thing worse. And if he isn't, then we'll be alienating a potentially invaluable ally. I just want you two to keep what I've said in mind and keep a very close eye on Tenchi Higashikata. From now on, you can't leave him alone with the artifacts or turn your back to him, and if you see anything you think is suspicious, you need to tell me immediately. I'll be doing a background check on our new friend in the meantime."
"I don't like it," Yusuke said, crossing his arms. "I get that it's pretty suspicious, but the simple fact is he saved my ass. I don't wanna turn into the kind a guy that's always going 'what's he up to?' every time someone decides to not be a raging prick to me. I've been on the receiving end of that kind of crap way too many times to like it."
Koenma sighed. "I understand that subterfuge doesn't come easily to you, Yusuke, but it's not like I'm asking you to rummage through his trash and ask him where he was at 3 AM last night; I just want you to keep an eye on him to see if he says or does anything that leads you to believe he might be holding his real motives back, that's it. Frankly, I hope I'm wrong about him; I'd love it if he turned out to just be in the right place at the right time, but it's important to cover all our bases in this situation."
"Yeah, I guess you got a point," Yusuke conceded. "But I'm still not happy about it."
"None of us are, Yusuke," Koenma replied. But we've got to do it regardless."
The mood in the alley was grim, as Yusuke and Botan were asked to work with someone that, according to Koenma, they couldn't trust, at least not yet. Neither of them was really cut out for this kind of situation.
Botan was friendly, upbeat and optimistic, and always wanted to believe the best of people (though she certainly didn't think there was no such thing as pure evil; she'd seen too much while guiding the souls of the dead for that); everything in her wanted to trust the boy that had come to Yusuke's rescue and selflessly volunteered to help them recover the Artifacts of Darkness. But she knew Koenma had several good points.
Yusuke himself was certainly a lot more cynical than Botan (despite the fact that Botan had actually seen far more cruelty and suffering than Yusuke probably knew existed), but he had found himself trusting the new student too. He had almost forgotten what it was like knowing people his own age who weren't scared witless of him or willing to immediately jump to the worst conclusions about him just because of his reputation and attitude. He didn't really count Botan (he'd asked her age once, and she'd smacked him on the head with her oar), and Keiko and Kuwabara had long since become fixtures in his life, so he never really compared how they acted to other people.
Tenchi, though, hadn't seemed intimidated or judgmental at all. He'd stuck up for Yusuke against Iwamoto, apparently for no reason other than because he didn't think Yusuke'd done anything wrong, and then fought Gohki to save his life, again for no reason other than because he thought he should. At school, Yusuke had found himself trading quips and meaningless insults and chatting about video games like he sometimes did with Kuwabara after his resurrection (on those occasions where the redhead wasn't challenging Yusuke to another fight and getting his head kicked in).
Now he was being told it might all be a lie, that Tenchi might just be another asshole trying to use him. Yusuke had dealt with people like that before: punks who wanted to piggyback off his reputation and talent for fighting, mostly. If Tenchi really was just another one of them… He found his fist clenching at the thought.
The moment for ruminations was ended when the compass in Yusuke's pocket started beeping, indicating the presence of one of the two remaining thieves. Yusuke pulled out the compass and looked at it, his eyes widening in shock.
"What the!? This thing says he's less than a hundred meters away!" he yelled.
"What!?" Botan and Koenma both cried.
Yusuke sped out the alley and in the direction the compass pointed to. Slamming the case containing the screen shut (ignoring Koenma's shout of protest), Botan quickly followed him.
Back in the busy streets, Yusuke rapidly looked all around him, unable to find the demon in the crowd until the compass said he was only 10 meters away.
Kurama, the one who had cut ties with Hiei and Gohki, walked toward Yusuke, seeming for all the world like just another student walking home from school.
He had bright green eyes, with delicate, almost feminine features and long vibrant red hair worn loose down his back; if Yusuke hadn't heard him speak he might have thought he was a flat-chested girl at first glance. He wore a school uniform, pink with gold trim.
As Kurama approached, Botan caught up to Yusuke, and both stood their ground. Kurama, though, walked right past them, seeming not to even notice them.
'Don't worry,' Kurama said to Yusuke telepathically. 'I have no intention of fighting you, nor do I intend to flee. In fact, I've a favor to ask of you.'
"What? What do you-" Yusuke asked, but was cut off.
"Three days," Kurama said, turning back to look at the Spirit Detective and his assistant. "The local hospital is five minutes' walk from our current location. In three days, meet me there, and I'll gladly return to you the Forlorn Hope."
"Huh? Wait a sec-"
Kurama didn't stick around to hear what Yusuke had to say, and was quickly swallowed up by the crowd. Yusuke and Botan attempted to find him, but had no luck; he'd hidden his tracks too well. At Botan's behest they continued their search, hoping to find Hiei's hiding place. They would wait until later, when they met up with Tenchi, to discuss what had just happened.
We all met up back at Yusuke's house again to report back. I hadn't found Kurama or Hiei (not that I thought I would; they were both bound to be good at covering their tracks), but I had found a warehouse (and a bunch of pissed-off punks spoiling for a fight. They got it) at the docks that still had traces of theirs and Gohki's demonic energy; most likely another of their meeting places. They, of course, had far better luck. The fact that they probably didn't get lost and wander around in the same general area for almost half an hour probably helped there, though I kept that to myself. I'd also done myself no favors by spending an hour practicing the Hamon techniques I remembered; it was a productive hour though, and I'd worked out two moves well enough that I felt I could use them in a fight without worry.
"So in three days you'll meet him at the hospital, and then he'll just hand the Forlorn Hope over to you?" I asked, seeking confirmation.
"Yep. 'Least, that's what he said," Yusuke confirmed.
"You realize this could very well be a trap, right?" I asked.
"He's right, Yusuke," Botan said. "It's no coincidence that he asked for three more days. By then the moon will be full, and that means that the Forlorn Hope will activate. When that happens, the mirror will reflect the strongest desire of whoever looks into it, and that desire will be granted. But their heart's desire comes at a price."
"And that price is…?" I said, hoping to lead her on.
"I have no idea," Botan said. "Very few people know, actually. But what matters is that getting the mirror back is pointless if his wish destroys the Earth, or something just as bad!"
"But he could just do that by himself, right? Why would he go out of his way to meet me?" Yusuke pointed out.
"You have a point there," I said. Inwardly, I noted that it would make perfect sense if the Forlorn Hope required a human sacrifice or something along those odious lines, but kept it to myself. It'd all work out anyway.
"Yes, that is a tough one," Botan admitted.
"Besides, I just… kind of get the feeling I should trust him," Yusuke said. Why was he looking at me when he said that?
"A feeling, huh?" I asked, tilting my head to the side a bit. "I suppose there are worse reasons to trust someone, though frankly I think this is a pretty serious matter to entrust to your gut feelings."
"Maybe, but… when I looked into his eyes, he looked more sad than evil. Maybe even a little scared." Seriously, was there something on my face? Whatever; I resolved to ignore it.
Botan sighed. "I just wish we had more information on this guy. If we weren't fumbling around for his background, we might have some idea of what he might be trying to accomplish…" Damn it, now she was doing it too!
"Okay, is there something on my face?" I asked suddenly. "Because you two keep staring at me. Did something happen while you were on patrol that you aren't telling me?"
"What? No, nope, nothing at all, why would we hide anything, don't be silly!" Botan said with a lot of forced cheer, gesturing wildly. She was an absolutely terrible liar.
"Hey guys, I'm making dinner! Tenchi, Botan, do you want to stay over to eat? I brought plenty of food," Atsuko said, entering the room before I could press the pair for information.
"Oh, thank you, that would be lovely!" Botan said, relieved at the interruption. Glancing out the window, I saw something that made me blink.
"Geez mom, knock before you come in, would ya? We were having a private conversation!" Yusuke snapped.
Atsuko's response was cut off by me. "Actually, I should probably head home," I said. "It's a bit of a walk and I'd rather not get back too late."
"Huh?" Yusuke and Botan both said.
I bowed to Atsuko. "Thank you for your hospitality," I said, and walked out the door.
Once outside, I turned towards a building overlooking Yusuke's house and spotted Kurama. Catching his eye, I crooked my finger at him to follow me.
I walked to a vacant lot and stopped, turning to face the demon turned human.
"You're Kurama, right?" I asked.
"I am," he said with a nod. "I would presume that you are known as Tenchi Higashikata, correct?"
My eyes widened. "How did you know my name? There's no way Yusuke and Botan told it to you, and I haven't made any kind of reputation for myself yet. So how long have you been spying on us?"
"My apologies, but when someone appears with such strange abilities as yours appears I make it a point to be as well-informed about them as possible. I have, as you say, been observing you and your allies ever since you defeated Gohki."
"And what exactly have you figured out?" I asked with a slight tilt of my head.
"About you, specifically? Very little; I must compliment you on your abilities in covering your tracks. I have been unable to find any hint as to where you might have attained your powers and the training you clearly display in them.
"But about the Spirit Detective, Yusuke Urameshi? Very much."
"Is that why you met up with him, asked him to meet you in three days? Because you can predict what he'll do more easily? Because you think you can take him, if it comes to that?"
"I see he told you about that; I wondered if he would put that much trust in you. Truth be told it's less that I think I can predict his actions or defeat him in combat, and more that I believe that he will understand my actions."
"Whoa, wait, back up, what do you mean you're surprised they told me? You think they don't trust me?"
"You must admit that the circumstances of your arrival and the assistance you gave to Yusuke were quite suspicious; Koenma has told them that he believes you might intend to steal the Artifacts of Darkness for yourself. Is he correct?" Kurama's said, eyes narrowed. His voice was still soft, but there was a hint of steel buried in it.
"What!?" I yelled. "Why the hell would he…" I trailed off as my mind began to piece together exactly why I might be considered suspicious. "Oh. Oh shit, I am suspicious as all hell."
Kurama hid his amused smile behind his hand. "I see. So you hadn't even considered taking them for yourself. I'm relieved; the wish I intend to make on the Forlorn Hope could be rendered pointless if the artifacts fell back into the wrong hands; hence my willingness to assist the Spirit Detective in recovering it once I'm done."
I wanted to say "Your wish to save your human mother, right?" but couldn't. The words simply died in my throat. Right; I have no way of knowing that, or at least none that I would be able to convince Kurama with, since he's been following me.
"And what wish would that be?" I asked.
"I'm sorry, but if you'd like to know that you'll have to wait three days to find out," Kurama said coolly.
"Afraid I'll try to stop you if you tell me what you're planning? I guess you're the type who plays things as close to the vest as possible."
"Yes."
"You realize that doesn't exactly inspire trust, right? If you aren't willing to tell me what your wish is, or why you want Yusuke to meet you there at the hospital, I can't really assume you're on the up-and-up. After all, all you said was that you'd give the mirror back. You didn't say you'd turn yourself in, and you're crazy if you think Koenma will just let you walk away after breaking into Spirit World and taking the artifacts." The words left my mouth without me even thinking about them. I knew what his wish was; why was I pushing?
"And will you try to stop me?" Kurama asked, eyes narrowing again.
"I might," I said, my mouth once again speaking without my permission. "Unless you change your mind about telling me."
"I'm sorry, but I cannot do that. And I've no intention of allowing you to jeopardize my plans," Kurama said sadly. He reached into his hair and grabbed something between two fingers. Oh shit, he's reaching for his seeds. This could get bad. Why was I picking a fight?
Much like when ROB had spoken to me, I felt the explanation sear itself into my being.
You Needed Worthy Opponents. It didn't just add in new opponents, it also caused fights that didn't need to happen, even by hijacking my body to start them! That motherfucker ROB didn't give me enough points for this shit!
I took up a combat stance as Kurama's demonic energy flared, and the thing in his hand grew into a… giant blade of grass? Hold on, wasn't his weapon of choice the Rose Whip?
"Grass Blade!" Kurama called out. Seeing my confused expression (and misinterpreting what it meant), he explained, "Do not be fooled. I have the ability to control plants. By growing it with my demonic energy, this blade of grass has become sharp enough to cut steel."
"Is this really so important to you that you'd rather kill me than tell me what's going on, just on the chance I might try to stop you? Depending on what it is, I might help you, you know," I managed to say, hoping that I might still be able to avoid a fight.
"I apologize, but it is a chance I cannot bring myself to take. I am not a trusting person by nature, and though I feel no ill will from you, you are yet a stranger to me. But I do not intend to kill you; if I simply incapacitate you for the next three days, you will be unable to stop me."
I chuckled. "So there's no way around this, huh? You won't tell me unless I beat it out of you, and I can't just back down without finding out what your wish is; there's too much at stake for both of us." I literally couldn't. Stupid ROB. I mean come on, forcing heroes to fight each other on their first meeting just to make things more exciting? What was this, a comic book?
He gave a sad smile. "That is correct." That comic book had better come with a trading card. Or at least a holographic cover.
I punched my fists together and smirked, pretending to be much more confident than I really was. "Fine then! Let's get this party started!"