Chapter Four

Keiko knew her parents were probably worried, but she didn't care. She had been helping in the shop like she usually did after school when a sudden, crushing feeling weighed down on her heart. Gasping in shock and pain, Keiko dropped the pan she was cooking with but paid it no mind, not even when the food was strewn haphazardly across the floor. It wasn't the same feeling she had when Yusuke died, but it was close enough that Keiko understood what it meant.

Someone was dead. She just couldn't tell who.

Her first thought was that Yusuke had done something stupid and got himself killed again, but she could still feel her fiancé's presence pulsing softly with life—and anger—in her heart. Reaching out with her feelings in a way she didn't entirely understand, Keiko probed the part of her mind where she kept the familiar sensations of her friends' auras. Kurama and Hiei both felt like Yusuke, strong but shaken and Koenma felt very similar to that as well. Botan, on the other hand, was brimming with pain and Shizuru was all but broken. Yukina was almost completely shattered and Genkai was wavering slightly, her light flickering like a spent candle.

She couldn't feel Kuwabara at all.

"No . . ." She said softly. Delving deeper, harder, into her mind, Keiko searched for any trace of her friend but she came up empty. There was nothing, not even a left over trace of warmth to show that he had ever been in her heart in the first place.

"No!" Keiko wailed, tears welling up and spilling down her cheeks. "Kuwabara!"

"Keiko?" Her mother asked, resting a careful hand on the younger girl's shoulder. "Honey? What is it?"

"I have to go!" Keiko said sharply and she ran from the shop, not even bothering to remove her apron. If Kuwabara was gone then something terrible was obviously happening. She needed to find someone, anyone, that could help. But who could she go to? Yusuke, Kurama and Hiei were all in Makai getting ready for that tournament and Keiko didn't have any idea how to get into Reikai to see Botan or Koenma. She could go to Shizuru's house but something inside told Keiko that the older girl wouldn't be there.

"Genkai!" Keiko said suddenly. Surely Yusuke's sensei would have some idea of what was happening. It would take her a while to get there, but it was better than nothing. And maybe, once Keiko was at the temple, Genkai would have some way to get in touch with Yusuke and the others. Hopefully they would be able to arrive in time to give Kuwabara some help.

Keiko resolutely ignored the nagging voice in her head that said Kuwabara was already long past needing help. She refused to believe it would end this way. Not now and not ever.

XXXXXXXXX

Koenma wasn't entirely sure where he was going, but following the human police in the direction of a spontaneously collapsed building seemed like a safe bet. And here he thought his betting days ended with Sakyo.

Shizuru's hand was held tightly in his. He wanted her to stay at the house but she refused to be left alone. Instead she clung to him like a life-line, as though she would drown without him there to hold her up. Looking at her broken, almost lifeless eyes, Koenma honestly believed she really would break without him.

Locking onto Yusuke's energy signature, Koenma followed it down an alley. There were several police cars parked on the side of the road and spectators had gathered on the street talking rapidly back and forth about what could have caused an old but sturdy building to suddenly crumble into dust. He heard whispers of a terrorist attack but he didn't have time to worry about that right now. All that mattered was getting to Kuwabara. Reikai could do damage control later.

The alley wasn't too deep but for some reason it seemed to stretch for miles before it came to an abrupt end. Through the open mouth, Koenma could see an abandoned lot where he spotted three of the ex-tantei gathered around something lying in the trash. Koenma felt his stomach clench with nerves. Whatever or whoever it was, it was sure to be a horrifying sight if the conflicted state of their soul shards was anything to go by.

Koenma held out his arm and Shizuru stopped short before she could see into the lot. Her hand that wasn't clutching Koenma's reached up to grab the material between the shoulder blades of his tunic like a lifeline. She was trembling.

"What is it?" Shizuru asked, nearly plastering herself to his back in order to peek over his shoulder. "Did you find Kazuma?" Koenma dropped her hand and brought his palm up to block her view. "Koenma?"

"Wait here."

"No! Please, Koenma! Don't leave me here alone! I don't—I can't—!"

"Shh," Koenma said, placing a gentle finger to her lips as he turned to face her. "Calm down. I don't know if it's him or not but the situation looks unstable. Wait here until I know it's safe, alright?"

Shizuru's hands clenched tighter on Koenma's sleeve, having migrated from his back. "You'll come back?"

Koenma's features softened as he looked at her. She looked so broken and her eyes were dull and blank with none of the fire or spark that he admired in her. He was her lifeline, Koenma realized, that last thread of hope and strength that kept her from being destroyed. She needed him. Not Koenma the ruler or Koenma the God. Just him: Koenma the man. It was both gratifying and terrifying. Gratifying because no one had ever needed just Koenma before, and terrifying because he wasn't sure if he knew how to be 'just Koenma'.

"I'll come back." Koenma said, relying on pure instinct. "I won't leave you alone, Shizuru. No matter what."

She didn't believe him, not completely at least. He could see it in her eyes. She was replaying every moment, every person, every dream that ever let her down and it made his heart ache. Koenma didn't want her to think that he would be another disappointment. He would just have to prove himself to her. And he would.

"Shizuru," Koenma said, reaching out with his free hand to gently brush the back his fingers against her cheek. "Trust me. Please."

Shizuru bit her lip lightly as she thought over his words. "Okay." She said softly. "I trust you."

Koenma relaxed with a sigh. He had the strangest urge to kiss her forehead but that would require taking out his pacifier, so instead he leaned down to rest his forehead against hers. "Thank-you."

Pulling away, Koenma made sure that Shizuru wouldn't move before he started into the lot. Her hands dropped away from his clothes reluctantly and Koenma felt a strange sense of emptiness. He didn't have time to dwell on it, though. Time was of the essence.

Stepping across the lot, Koenma stopped behind Kurama's kneeling frame and got his first look at Kuwabara. He was in pieces. Everywhere. Koenma swore so violently even Yusuke flinched.

"Koenma," Kurama said, Botan held unconscious in his arms.

The greeting was more of a threat than anything, but Koenma didn't look up from Kuwabara's dismembered corpse. The young prince had seen a lot of death in his thousand years of life, but for some reason seeing Kuwabara's body lying in pieces amongst the garbage was by far the most horrific. Koenma felt utterly sick. His vision blurred in and out and he fought back the bile that burned in his throat. He couldn't fall to pieces. Not now.

"You bastard!" Yusuke roared, launching himself across the lot to latch onto Koenma's robe with enough force to lift the taller boy off his feet. "What the hell were you thinking giving him a mission alone?! Just because we were in Makai doesn't mean we wouldn't come back of he needed us! And now look at him! Just fucking look! This is your damn fault Koenma and I'm going to pay you back in spades!"

"For the last time, I had nothing to do with this!" Koenma roared, slapping Yusuke's hands away with surprising strength. "I didn't send him on any damn missions okay? Now quit screwing around and help me damn it!"

"Oh I'll help you alright!" Yusuke screamed back. "Help you to your grave!"

"Enough detective!" Hiei snapped. Yusuke wavered for several seconds before he scoffed and pushed Koenma back.

"How exactly do you need our help?" Kurama said evenly, but Koenma could still see the threat of pain lingering in his gold-flecked eyes.

"Find every piece of him," Koenma ordered and the three remaining tantei gave him a blank, uncomprehending stare. "Don't miss even a hair. We're gonna have to play things very carefully if we want to get him back."

"Get him back?" Yusuke said blankly before anger once again blossomed on his face, turning it a brilliant, splotchy red. "Get him back?! Don't screw with me Koenma! You know as well as I do that he can't come back! You told me yourself that without a body it isn't possible and Kuwabara's is in pieces! Fucking pieces! You can't fix that! No one can!"

"Koenma?" Shizuru called softly and there was a faint crunch as someone stepped into the lot, it had to be Shizuru. Koenma turned swiftly to stop her but it was too late. Shizuru stopped short, staring at her brother's corpse in horror before she suddenly screamed.

"Shizuru!" Koenma said, leaping across the lot to grab her arms firmly in order to keep her from clawing at her face. "Shizuru, calm down! This isn't over! Please, just give me some time—Shizuru!"

But she wouldn't be calmed. Koenma could feel Shizuru's soul shard begin to weaken further until it began to crack under the stress. He felt completely helpless and realized there was only one thing he could do.

"I'm sorry," Koenma said brokenly before he lashed out and struck her hard on the back of her neck. Shizuru collapsed like a rock into Koenma's arms and a dead silence filled the lot in place of her screams. It was several moments before anyone spoke.

"You're right Yusuke." Koenma said tiredly, the combined weight of emotion and responsibility heavy on his shoulders. "There isn't a single person in Makai or Reikai that could fix this."

"Then why the hell are you screwing with my head?" Yusuke demanded, sounding as tired and broken as Koenma felt. "Is this some sort of sick game or—?"

Koenma cut him off before he could finish. "Hiei, you're the only one that can find him and bring him back in time. Short of killing him, I don't care what you do. Just get him here."

Hiei's eyes narrowed for only a moment as his jagan eye flared to life once again. A look of surprised understanding flitted across Hiei's face and he nodded once. "Hn. Just make sure everything is ready when we get here."

"What do you mean 'we'?" Yusuke asked but Hiei was already gone.

"Kurama," Koenma said, turning to the humanoid fox. "There's a lot of media and police attention gathering outside of the alley. It won't be long before they find their way here and I don't have to tell you that that would be very bad right now. Like Hiei, short of murder, I don't care how you do it. Just get rid of them."

"Right." Kurama said, standing slowly with Botan still in his arms. "Yusuke."

The bewildered teen held out his arms and accepted the blue haired ferry girl. He barely had a grip on her before Kurama sprinted out of the alley and back towards the street.

"Yusuke," Koenma said sharply, "You need to take Botan and Shizuru to Reikai. Tell George to put them in my personal chambers and then come back for Keiko, Yukina and Genkai. There's no telling if this is a solitary strike against Kuwabara or if whoever did this is after us all."

"Like hell! I'm not leaving until you tell me what's going on!"

"I don't have time, Yusuke!" Koenma yelled back. "I don't even know for sure if it will work! I'm flying by my ass right now and I really don't need you making it harder on me, okay? Just take the girls to Reikai and get back here!"

Yusuke and Koenma locked eyes and stared. For several tense seconds Koenma was sure that Yusuke was reading the depths of his very soul and Koenma did his best not to squirm. At long last Yusuke gave the deity a firm nod and shifted Botan so he could take Shizuru as well.

"Whatever the hell you're doing," Yusuke said, "it had better work."

"I'll do everything I can Yusuke." Koenma swore and Yusuke nodded again.

"You better." And with those brief, parting words, the ex-detective was gone. Koenma stared after Yusuke for just a moment before he sighed and went about the gruesome task of finding every scattered piece of Kuwabara.

Kaliea: Is it bad that I get a sadistic kick out of writing this story?