A.N. - Hello again everyone! Thank you all once again to all my wonderful readers, and a special shout out to those who left a review: Abyss Trinity, Baoh Joestar, Time on my Hands, Tsuyu no Inochi, Sonson-Sensei, and Joanna Kuwabara. You all are truly awesome, and I'm so thankful to each one of you. As promised, here is the next chapter in the untold saga, enjoy!
Poltergeist Report 2: The Untold Saga
Chapter 12 – The New Detective
by: Shisoukengo
A chime sounded through the speakers of a high-school, echoing throughout the various buildings and drawing the attention of each attending student present. The chime achieved its designed effect, a signal to all the students that it was time to report to their respective classrooms. As most of the attending students began hurrying to the location of their next classes, three of them stood around the gated entrance, alternating between looking at the students around them and at the random strangers passing by outside the gate. Their tough appearances, combined with the rough aura they radiated, kept most of the students from acting on their curiosity and getting close to them. All three seemed to be unconcerned with reporting to their class on time, and instead appeared to be looking for something, or someone.
"Has anybody heard from Kuwabara-san?" The tallest one spoke, looking at the two who stood beside him.
"Not for a while, Kirishima-san," The shortest, and heftiest one, responded as he looked to the third member of their group. "How bout you, Sawamura-san?"
"Me neither," Sawamura spoke while shaking his head, "I went to his house a few days ago and talked to Shizuru-san, but the only thing she'd say was that he went to some training camp."
The trio looked back outside the gate, preparing to report to their classes, when Okubo spotted a figure walking towards the entrance.
"Hey guys, you see that?" At his words, the trio looked up, spotting a figure striding toward them.
The glare from the early morning sun initially kept them from identifying the person, merely showing them as a silhouette against the background. However, as the figure drew closer, its features eventually revealed themselves enough for the three students to determine that it was a person wearing their school uniform. However, what caught their attention even more, was the all-too familiar hairstyle the person adorned.
"Oi, is that-" Kirishima posed, each of the three friends' eyes widening as the realization of whom the person was began to sink in.
"Yo! Didn't know you guys had formed a welcome committee," the figure's gruff voice spoke as he arrived just outside the school gates.
"Kuwabara-san!" Sawamura all but yelled, each of them rushing forward to greet the man who they hadn't seen for some time.
Kuwabara, for indeed it was him, met them at the gate, the group exchanging half hugs and high-fives amidst the loud cheers that echoed throughout the school yard. However, before the group could begin to get reacquainted with their friend, a loud voice sounded out to them across the school yard.
"Hey!" The group turned to where the voice was coming from, seeing the school's male physical ed instructor glaring at them from the main building. "Didn't you kids here the bell chime? Get to your classes immediately!"
"Hai," all of them nodded guiltily and proceeded to follow their educator's instructions. As they began quickly making their way into the school, Kuwabara assured each of them that he would catch them up on his summer break. The school day wore on, and later, Kuwabara found himself once again among his gang during lunchtime, this time on the rooftop and away from eavesdroppers.
"So, anybody wanna fill me in on how the trip to Kyoto was?" Kuwabara asked, before being assailed by each of his friends on the events that occurred during their trip.
The tales involved some playful banter and bickering among the three teens, and Kuwabara could only smile and at times even join in the ribbing that had become a staple of their gatherings. Kuwabara was surprised to learn that the trio had met up with their respective dates from their previous night out, Okubo himself bringing along a girl who the guys described as being really into the gyaru* lifestyle. Sawamura teased their heavyset friend about the girl's obvious penchant toward men who, as she eloquently put it, were "built like sumo".
It was no secret that among their gang, Sawamura and Kirishima were considered the most attractive among members of the opposite sex. Kirishima, though often reckless and easily excitable, possessed looks that were typical of the bishounen appearance, while Sawamura, who was a bit more average in appearance, had a more straight-forward personality and a streamlined athletic build that appealed to their female peers. So it was no surprise that after getting into highschool, those two had been the first of their group to attract female attention.
By contrast, both Kuwabara and Okubo were at much more of a detriment. Kuwabara, though similar in height to Kirishima and possessing a muscular build, was considered too physically imposing by most of their female peers. And the less said about his looks, which at best he'd heard described as "too rugged", the better. Okubo, on the other hand, could be considered better looking than his leader, but was sorely lacking in stature due to being both short and heavyset. It made Kuwabara happy to see that Okubo and the others had grown into their own during the past year. Though they still maintained their streetgang persona to a degree, each of them had managed to change their images into something much more respectable.
It was truly a turning of the leaf, and appeared to be paying off quite well.
"Man, sounds like you guys had a much more excitin time than I did," Kuwabara groaned, though inwardly he wasn't too upset. After all, with the recent attack from a yokai like Rando, and the looming threat of a possible war in the Makai, Kuwabara reasoned that trading in a few months of his personal life in order to gain significant improvement of both his physical and spiritual prowess was definitely a trade off he could live with.
"That reminds me, what'd you do for the break, Kuwabara-san?" Kirishima asked as he opened what appeared to be a homemade bento.
"Yeah, you mentioned not being able to go to Kyoto with us because of a training camp," Okubo stated, as he began casually munching on a steam bun.
"Yeah," Kuwabara spoke, pausing briefly to take a long sip of his sports drink. "It was real hell I tell ya. Lotsa runnin, climbin, sparrin, day in and day out."
His gaze was cast to the sky overhead, his now trained senses able to discern everything from the wings of birds overhead to the very vapors of clouds in the sky with a startling amount of clarity. As if everything in the world around him were being viewed through lenses of the highest definition. Even now, after having weeks to get used to it, the teen still found himself marveling at his newfound senses. As he stared at the sky, his mind reflected back over everything that had occurred during his "training camp". Since Kuwabara hadn't given a lot of specific details, it left his friends to use their imaginations to fill in the blanks. And though they grimaced at the idea of spending an entire summer break doing such things, neither were aware of just how out of the loop they still were.
"But, thanks ta that, I got a lotta progress done! I'll be able ta show my sempai, Hitoshi, the fruits of my trainin!" Kuwabara spoke with a fist clenched, eagerly looking forward to his first day of practice since the start of summer break.
Kirishima and Okubo nodded along, each of them aware of their friend's new rivalry with the senior student of his kendo club. Each of them recognized the quirk of their friend, his need for a rival to compare himself toward, in order to motivate him. And the "cool sword guy" known as Hitoshi Daishi was the new obstacle for Kuwabara to overcome in Urameshi Yusuke's absence. However, it was Sawamura who decided to say the quiet part out loud.
"I still think it's a bummer that Urameshi-san ain't here. You could show off how strong you've gotten and maybe get a win over him for once."
The two others looked apprehensive at their friend's mention of their leader's rival, knowing how down Kuwabara seemed whenever Urameshi Yusuke's name had been mentioned this past year. All three were even more in the dark about the delinquent's disappearance, the most they'd been told being that he'd gone to visit with a sick family member. It was a believable half-truth, especially given that no one knew of Yusuke having any family other than his Mom. However, each of them was surprised to find Kuwabara grinning at the thought, as if the mere idea of it still excited him as much as it had before.
"Yeah, well Urameshi's got more important stuff ta deal with, but I'll definitely get a crack at showin that punk how much I've improved once he gets back!" His fist clenched, drawing the eyes of his friends, and each felt their jaws drop as they noticed for the first time the faint scars and rough patches of skin that adorned them, particularly around the knuckles.
"Speakin of, I take it you guys kept trainin wit Enomoto-sensei while I away" Kuwabara asked, drawing his friends' attention back to him, and after a moment's silence, the three began to fill their friend in on the time they spent at their instructor's gym.
Kuwabara had already known that Enomoto had still trained his friends whenever he arrived back in town to run his gym. But the former delinquent turned high-school student was shocked to discover that while doing so, the ex-professional fighter had been working on a new training regimen he was intending to implement. While specific details of this new training were mostly unknown to his friends, the name of it, Automatic Attack Reflex Training, sounded pretty cool to Kuwabara.
"Did he say when it'd be ready?" Kuwabara asked excitedly, only to receive negative responses.
"Nah, he didn't. He hasn't said much about it, only that he found out about it through rumors, and that he apparently tracked it down to some guy over in China," Okubo stated, watching the elation drain from his friend's face.
"Damn! Sounds like that could be one more thing ta help give me an edge once Urameshi comes back," Kuwabara spoke, his disappointment having not affected his determination.
From there, the group's conversation went to more familiar topics as they each finished their lunch. Once the school chime sounded, signaling the end of their lunch period, the gang made plans to return to Enomoto's gym in a couple of days, with Kuwabara stating he would need at least that long to catch up on all of his current classes, and Okubo, had to work his part-time job in that same span of time. For the rest of the day, Kuwabara's focus drifted in and out of his studies, as a myriad of thoughts occupied his mind. From reflecting on his training under Genkai, to her declining health that ended said training earlier than she'd originally planned, to information he'd received from the female yokai, Sayonaka, and of course the still unresolved tournament in Makai, which he knew was supposed to begin soon. Each of them occupied space in the back of his mind, all the while he tried his best to absorb the lessons his teacher was trying to impart to the class.
'Figured things would get pretty hairy once Urameshi's ancestor kicked tha bucket,' he thought as he stared down at his text book. 'Felt pretty confident Urameshi had the situation handled when Koenma told us about the big tournament down there. But some new freak comin along and plottin behind the scenes? That's gotta be somethin big if what that chick said is true. Koenma's pretty sure that this guy could wind up comin here, seein as he sent scouts and all.
'Urameshi and the others probably ain't gonna be able ta deal wit it if they're involved in this tournament. And Koenma's made it clear that those jerks in the Spirit Defense Force are gonna be too busy wit their duties for Reikai to step in if he does decide to show his ugly mug here.'
Kuwabara looked down as a faint snapping sound registered in his ears, and drew the attention of everyone else in the classroom, as he spied the broken pencil splinters in his hand. Realizing everyone's eyes were on him, the former delinquent apologized, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment at having caused such a commotion. However, he couldn't ignore the cold feeling in his spine at the previous thought he'd been entertaining, and the ultimate conclusion to which it led.
'Koenma made me tha new actin Reikai tantei, just before my trainin wit Genkai-baa-chan started. That means I'll have ta deal wit this clown if he does show up here,' He finished the thought, a combination of nerves and excitement as he reminded himself of Genkai's last words to him before he'd returned from her compound.
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Kuwabara stood at the bottom of the steps, staring up at the old psychic in what seemed like a mirror image of his arrival at her temple four months ago. He was a bit surprised, and disappointed, at her sudden announcement earlier that afternoon. Though if he thought more about it, he'd admit he should've seen it coming, since the woman who'd been helping in his training, Kuroko Sato, had made the decision to return with her children to her home a couple of days prior. And both his kenjutsu instructor, Kanekita Rentatsu, and martial arts instructor, Enomoto Takeo, had once again returned to the city and their respective jobs earlier in the week.
"Your training's officially complete, Kuwabara. You've made a great deal of progress in mastering your senses, and have learned just about everything I have to teach you. All that matters now is how you use it." Kuwabara startled at her words, not believing that she was cutting his training short.
"But, baa-san, you said you'd train me for six months! You trained those guys that Kurama brought here for a year. What gives?" He asked, unwilling to accept her statement on the surface.
"I know, and part of me wishes I had more time, but I'm afraid I don't." The seriousness with which she spoke caused the teen to withhold any retort he might've had. However, the old master wasn't done speaking.
"Quite frankly, you were already much stronger when you first arrived than those demons were when Kurama asked me to train them. As such, you didn't need as long to reach their level. In fact, I'd say that you're currently right at the apex of an A-class being. That's why I focused the majority of your training on refining your current techniques and abilities, while adding what I could here and there to compliment those abilities." Kuwabara's eyes widened at her statement, seemingly in disbelief that he'd become that strong.
"Besides, having met those other two sensei of yours, I can assure you that if you continue under their instruction, you will grow even stronger. I take it you don't know much about them personally?" Kuwabara shook his head in response to her question. "I thought so. I took the liberty of meeting with both of them before you came here. It wasn't hard to get the information from Shizuru-chan. The swordsman, Kanekita-san, is a man who possesses a serious personality, and who prides focus above any other trait a warrior should possess, and believes in mastering the basics. As such, his swordsmanship is top notch in this world. If there were anyone who could be said to be near grandmastery, it would be him.
"As for Enomoto, I've known him for quite some time, though it's been decades since I last saw him. He may seem like a non-serious person, in fact calling him a goof wouldn't be off the mark in the slightest. But, when it comes to unarmed combat and mastering the human body, you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone with the combined knowledge of either that he possesses."
"Whoa, whoa, back up a bit. You're sayin that you've known Enomoto-sensei that long?!" Kuwabara asked, disbelief etched all over his face.
"Dimwit, are you saying you're losing your hearing this soon?" Genkai asked, causing an embarrassed flush to tint his cheeks, even as he scowled at her response. "Yes, I've known of him that long. Though he was a much different person from the brat I once knew. I suspect he probably adopted his current persona, in order to not take himself too seriously, and risk winding up like his former master, Toguro."
"NANI?!" Kuwabara's screech of disbelief caused a disturbance among the nearby animal life, and annoyance appeared on the face of Genkai. Realizing this, he immediately clapped his hands over his mouth.
"That said, you should return to your home, and prepare for what is likely to come. There is no reason to believe that yokai wasn't telling the truth, and Koenma has unofficially made you the newest Reikai tantei. That means that, without a doubt, you have been recognized by Reikai and are currently the strongest human in Ningenkai. Continue to develop the skills you've learned here, and you'll have all you need to protect this world." Genkai spoke, as she turned to retreat inside of her compound. She didn't need to see him to know he'd bowed in thanks to her tutelage, and he didn't need to see her face to know that she wore a small smile in knowing she'd tied up the last of her loose ends.
As the memory receded, and Kuwabara returned his focus to his lessons, a final thought crossed his mind. One that helped dispel most of the apprehension his previous thoughts inspired and set his face in a determined scowl.
'Accordin ta Ba-san, I still got a lot more strength left in me. So bring it on, asshole!'
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In the late hours of the night, screams broke through the silence of an old, decrepit multi-story building set near a wooded area, and located just outside of a nearby town. The building's appearance and history as an asylum for the mentally deranged kept away those who held even the most basic awareness of it; and was located at a distance sufficient that those who didn't know, or chose to trespass on its haunted grounds in spite of such awareness, would be unable to reach out for help from any of the local authorities.
Inside the building, multiple sets of footsteps could be heard as a group of four people ran at full speed through one of the many hallways. They had originally been ten people, but over half of them had fallen victim to the vengeful spirits that occupied the building. The group were simply upstart filmmakers and performers, seeking to launch their respective careers by capitalizing on the rumors of a haunted mental asylum. However, after just two hours inside of the asylum, they had quickly discovered that those weren't rumors at all. They had begun getting picked off, one by one, falling to what seemed like horrible accidents, but were in fact the actions of the souls of those who had not experienced peaceful deaths, and thus had not been able to transition to the next world. The group quickly realized that they were beginning to tire, even as their terrified minds wouldn't allow them to stop.
"Kazuki-san, we've gotta stop soon! We're not gonna be able to make it to the ground floor at this rate," a girl dressed in all black and with pale skin stated.
"I know, Sachi-san! But we gotta put some separation between us and them!" a man, Kazuki, breathlessly replied as he continued to lead the group through the corridor lined with metal doors. "If we stop now, what happened to Seiji-san will happen to us!"
"Damn, this whole thing is nuts!" Another male stated as the memory of their fallen friend surfaced.
At the mention of that name, the girl, Sachi, let slip a cry of anguish as the memory of what occurred replayed in her mind. The other two briefly shut their eyes, as if doing so would be enough to block out the unpleasant memory. It didn't succeed, and they each reopened their eyes to try and focus on the path in front of them.
"Oi, just up ahead is the door that leads to the stairs. We can take those to get to the chapel on the floor beneath us. They say it's the only place those things can't reach," a third member of the group spoke, her breaths coming in huffs.
"I got it, Rika-san," Kazuki responded as he spotted the door just up ahead.
However, just before they reached it, one of the metal doors that littered the hallway was violently slid open by what seemed like an invisible force, just as the group was passing by it. With little warning, the gruesome hand of a ghoulish figure reached out and snatched the other male figure by the collar, dragging him into the room as he screamed and struggled to get loose. The door then slammed shut just as it had opened, roughly and without anything even touching it. Sachi and Rika screamed, even as the latter ran to and proceeded to beat her fists against the door, a wordless cry of horror escaping her as she did.
Being too afraid at the thought that what happened could've been to either one of them, or that they could be next, Kazuki reached and grabbed both girls by the wrists. He forcibly pulled them along the corridor toward the stairwell door that had just been indicated, letting go of one girl's wrist in order to grasp the knob of the door, blowing it open with his shoulder. However, he had not even made it through the door yet, when the girl dressed in all black was dragged by an invisible force down the hallway. Her screams of terror echoed along the corridors, joined alongside Rika's, whose hand he still held onto, both standing stock still momentarily, shaken by the horror they were facing. After a moment though, as Sachi's screams faded along with her, Kazuki willed himself to move, and the frightened young man pulled the girl into the stairwell and down the steps.
The two miraculously managed to make it to the level below, exiting through the stairwell door into another corridor, this one more well lit than the other upper corridors. About a quarter of the way down, Kazuki spotted the entry door to the room they were searching for, and quickly burst through it, stopping just long enough for his female companion to make it across the threshold before he shut and barred the doors. Rika's screams had toned down to crying at this point, her mind unable to cope with the tragedies of the night. Kazuki himself was barely holding it together, his mind slowly slipping into a state of delirium, his hands gripping the hair atop his head.
"FUCK! THIS IS ALL FUCKING INSANE!" He yelled, his thoughts no longer geared toward the possibility of escaping the now confirmed haunted asylum.
"W-w-we n-never should've c-come here!" Rika cried, her chest heaving with both exertion and fear as terror maintained its hold on her.
Suddenly, loud wailing could be heard echoing throughout the building, drifting down throughout the corridors on each floor. Looking around at the walls, and the strange writings that adorned them, Kazuki and Rika heard rumbling sounds throughout the building, as if it were attempting to come alive. They watched as the walls seemingly shook, the wailing sounds growing louder by the passing moment until finally, cracks began spreading through the walls. The cracks appeared random at first, only for a pattern to develop as each of them splintered to and through various characters etched onto the walls, as if they were deliberately carved. The two lone occupants drew closer to each other, the fear within them building as the wailing surrounded them on all sides.
As the cracks continued to splinter the written characters on the wall, the doors to the room began banging, as if something or someone were trying to force the doors open. Just as it appeared the impromptu barricade would hold, the doors were suddenly smashed open. Pale, ghostly apparitions began to filter into the room, seemingly appearing from all sides. Their faces appeared as rage-twisted and hate-filled spirits of those who had seemingly died within the asylum. Both Kazuki and Rika let out terror-filled screams at their appearance, both now practically on top of each other as they tried to keep their distance between themselves and the ghosts that sought to end their lives.
Just as all seemed lost, a bright light suddenly flashed within the room, blinding both living occupants, and causing the angry spirits to shrink away. As suddenly as it appeared, the light faded just as quickly, leaving a moment of silence within the room.
"Yare, yare. You people sure have stepped knee-deep in it, ain't ya?" A gruff voice asked, drawing the attention of the two living occupants, as well as the spirits who sought to claim their lives.
A tall, broad male figure stepped forward from one of the far-side walls, having seemingly appeared from nowhere. Dressed simply in a white trench coat, with matching pants, and grey, high-top boots, his abdomen wrapped with white bandages as well. He wore no shirt underneath his trench coat, giving him a very gang-like appearance, his Sunfire-colored hair styled in an old-fashioned pompadour style. But what was most surprising to Kazuki and Rika, as they took in his appearance, was how comfortable and confident he appeared in front of the horrors surrounding them.
Walking forward, his hands casually stuffed in the pockets of his pants, the young man stopped in front of Kazuki and Rika, as if intentionally placing himself between them and the angry spirits of the dead. His face appeared deathly serious, in stark contrast to the casual appearance and speech he adopted as he entered the room.
"W-who are you? W-where did you come from?" Kazuki asked, in disbelief at the man's sudden appearance.
"Who cares where he came from! Can you help us, please?!" Rika replied, her eyes barely alive with the light of hope.
"Don't worry about it," the young man responded, "just leave all this ta me."
He turned, giving them a side profile and flashing a grin, along with a thumbs-up gesture. He then turned back to the apparitions, which had begun voicing their fury once again, though they seemed to lack the fervor to attack that they previously displayed. The reasoning for this was lost on the two living occupants of the room, as neither were spiritually aware.
So the aura that began surrounding the strange man after his declaration was unnoticed by them. They only knew that the room somehow managed to become noticeably brighter, illuminating the angry spirits therein and making them visible to Kazuki and Rika for the first time. The apparitions were shrinking away from the stranger as if intimidated by him somehow. The light within the room only grew brighter, and the ghastly spirits continued to snarl in anger.
"Oi oi, you guys have been makin a lot of ruckus around here tonight. Don't s'pose I could ask ya ta calm down eh?" He asked, the question rhetorical and seemingly absurd in the light of what he was facing. However, his grin never wavered.
"By the way," he cast a sidelong gaze to Rika and Kazuki, "tha name's Kuwabara Kazuma. And dealin wit these things is my specialty."
With those words spoken, he turned back to the apparitions, removing his hands from his pockets even as the ghastly beings snarled and began approaching the trio yet again. Kuwabara began chanting as he brought his hands together, his aura beginning to concentrate into his palms, before enshrouding his hands the longer he chanted. As if sensing what the human was about to do, the ghostly apparitions rushed forward, attempting to stop whatever was coming.
However, just as they reached their target, Kuwabara thrust his arms outward at the exact moment he finished his chant and shouted.
"Seikon Harau!"*
The collected energy exploded outward, washing over all of the spirits, first within the room before spreading outward. The released energy encapsulated the other spirits within the condemned building, their ghostly wails echoing throughout the halls. The light from the energy shone so brightly, it could be seen by those within the nearby town who were still awake, lighting up the nearby woods in the process. The light remained for several seconds, before finally fading away, the voices of the apparitions also growing silent in the process.
Once it all faded, silence descended upon the building, though to the other two young adults it seemed vastly different than before. Whereas the previous silence they had experienced upon first entering the building had seemed creepy and foreboding, this new bout of silence was one of calm, almost tranquil. Kuwabara stood back up, his back seeming to tower over the two young adults behind them. And as the terror that gripped them before drained away, replaced by the shower of relief, only then did the two notice the kanji characters etched on the back of his jacket.
Ironically, they read safety comes first. Stuffing his hands back into his pockets, the orange-haired teen turned toward Kazuki and Rika, as the two maintained wide-eyed looks of amazement and relief.
"Oi, if you guys are alright, ya should probably get outta here," he spoke, before turning and walking out of the no-longer barricaded the door to the room.
The two young adults looked at one another, before hastily following after their apparent savior, not knowing whether the ghosts. They only managed to catch a glimpse of him as he entered the stairwell door. They entered the stairwell, intent on catching up to the teen, only to discover that he was already two floors above them and heading in the direction of the 4th floor. The two adults continued to follow him, hoping that by staying close to the teen they could avoid any more of the angry spirits. They finally caught up to him on the 4th floor, which held the fabled locked room of 402, and the one in which their film crew had intended to enter at the climax of their filming.
As Kuwabara walked down the corridor approaching the locked room, the panicky duo called out to him.
"Hey! Don't go near that room! Anyone who tries to get in there will be cursed to die!" Kuwabara half turned to them as he addressed their concerns.
"Thought I told you guys ta get tha hell outta here?" He asked, staring at them with a look showing he meant business.
"Are you insane?" The girl, Rika, replied, still affected by the night's events. "We can't leave with those things still around here!"
"Yeah, not to mention our friends are still in here somewhere!" The man, Kazuki, stated emphatically. "We can't leave til we find them."
Kuwabara stared at them for another moment, before breathing a sigh and rubbing the front of his head with the palm of his hand. He then looked back at them, attempting to convince them to leave the building.
"Dumbasses! Ya think I would send you guys wanderin around this place if there were any more onryo* in this place? What do ya think was tha point of that stunt I pulled downstairs?" He asked, frustration at their non-compliance seeping into his voice. "Don't worry, I promise ta find ya friends and get em back to ya."
He then continued on down the corridor, content on letting them find their way back downstairs and out of the building. It was only after watching for another moment, as the teen continued his approach to the door before the two adults decided to heed his words. Meanwhile, Kuwabara approached in front of the door, placing his hand on the handle of the steel door. He waited a few moments, his senses keen throughout the entire building, as he could detect not only the yoki located behind the door but also the couple who he was now certain had reached the first floor and the entryway to the building.
Throwing open the heavy door, Kuwabara's eyes scanned the darkness, as they were now adjusted to the dark. He stepped just inside the room, allowing the door to shut behind him, his hands at his side as he strode into the room. As he moved across the room of what he understood to be formerly the intensive care unit. The deeper he got into the room, he could make out a figure, huddled in a far corner of the room. Bones and other human remains littered the floor, while three people stood facing another wall. Two of them were standing, while one was strapped to an old, rusted wheelchair. The two who were standing seemed as if they were in some sort of trance, while the one in the wheelchair seemed to have struggled for some time, before giving up and seemingly accepting his fate.
'Gotta be tha case, since none of em even reacted to the door opening,' Kuwabara thought as his eyes traveled from them to the figure sitting in the corner. 'Probably think I'm those onryo bringin their friends here.'
"YOU!" A decrepit voice snarled, just as Kuwabara reached the halfway point in the room. "What did you do to my patients?! You cost me more meat!"
Kuwabara stared at the figure, only his training preventing him from puking up his guts at the very sight just a ways from him. Dark, sunken skin wrapped in an old, stained dress and suit coat, similar to what a doctor or manager might wear. The figure somewhat resembled a female, it's hair worn and matted in places, and it held a rusty knife in its hand. A knife it was currently using to carve up the freshly killed body in front of it, as blood dripped from its rotted mouth.
"Che, a kokuri baba*. Splain's a bit. I'm guessin you use ta be tha lady who ran this place. But ya couldn't stand tha shame of havin ta deal wit losin the run of this place and decided ta kill off all your patients once this place started goin under. And since it's not a lotta abandoned temples these days, ya locked yourself away inside this room instead. And ya used tha souls of all those people as onryo* ta get ya fresh victims to snack on once ya started starvin." Kuwabara glared at the old woman as he finished his assertion.
"Yes! Foolish people come here every now and then, thrillseekers looking for attention. They're clearly dissatisfied with their everyday lives," she snarled, dropping the appendage of the body she had been in the process of consuming. She lifted a wrinkled, old finger to point at him. "You have cost me new patients to oversee, as well as the ones already in my charge!"
"Damn right I did. Though I wonder just why all those angry spirits didn't try and go after you?" His hands remained in his pockets as if having already determined the yokai was no threat to him.
"That's simple, they are all my patients. They know that as their doctor and primary caregiver, they cannot strike out against me," As she spoke, the yokai continued pointing an accusatory finger at him. "They also know how desperate so many are that come here, and so they bring them here, to me, that they may seek relief from what ails them."
Kuwabara resisted the urge to retch at the thought of the sort of "help" this former human turned demon provided. Instead, he settled for keeping his glare on her, while also making sure to keep the three people in his peripheral vision. But the ghoulish old woman wasn't finished.
"But you have somehow cost me all of my patients. No matter, I will simply start over, and gather new ones. And you will be the FIRST!"
Her snarl turned to a scream as she suddenly prepared to lunge at him with her knife. However, before she could fully get on her haunches, she found her body pinned to the wall by a glowing sword of reiki. The daito-shaped blade of reiki extended from what appeared to be an ordinary-looking sword hilt. The hilt was held in both hands, one hand grasping it, and the other pushing the end of it with his palm. The blade dug in further, causing yokai to cry out as more blood seeped from its mouth. Kuwabara's face scrunched, both from the up-close appearance of the creature and the stench which emanated from her foul breath.
"Sorry baba, but I'm afraid your license has been revoked," Kuwabara growled, and with a twist of his wrist swiped the blade up and to the side, severing her body from chest to shoulder.
The kokuri baba released a final cry of pain, before collapsing over and bleeding out on the floor. Kuwabara extinguished his reiken, expecting that the three in the room would immediately snap out of their trance. That didn't happen though, causing the current detective to once again sigh in frustration. His palm once again meeting his forehead.
"Che, guess I gotta snap em out of it," he grumbled, stashing the hilt he was holding back into the pocket of his jacket.
"I have to say, Kuwa-chan, you've gotten so much better with your reiken than you were before," a bubbly voice stated from behind him.
Kuwabara turned in the direction of the voice, spotting a smiling blue-haired woman dressed in a pink kimono, floating on an oar in the room.
"Genkai-san's training has really paid off for you," she stated, continuing to smile at her companion.
"Hey, ya don't have ta sneak up on people, Botan," Kuwabara replied. "Glad ta see ya' hear though, you've got some healing ability, right?" Botan nodded, as Kuwabara then turned to look down at the body of a victim of the yokai. "You think ya can patch this poor guy up?"
"Unfortunately, no," Botan replied, shaking her head. "My healing ability is mild at best. It's not enough to heal those sorts of extreme injuries."
Both Botan and Kuwabara looked down at the mangled corpse, before raising their head to direct their attention on the spirit hovering nearby. The spirit stared down at its own body, sadness reflected in its gaze at the realization that there was no chance for it to reclaim its life. Kuwabara shook his head, his fist clenched in frustration at his inability to save someone, even though he had managed to save the lives of the other filmmakers. Botan assured the spirit that Reikai was a good place and that he would be taken care of there. She even agreed to allow him to visit with his family before she escorted him to the other side.
In the meantime, Kuwabara set about snapping the others out of the trance they were being kept in. Upon doing so, he escorted them out of the building, where they were reunited with their friends. The joyful reunion didn't last long though, as they began almost immediately to make plans to let the world know about what they had experienced. Not liking the sound of that, and wanting to adhere to his duties as Reikai Tantei, Kuwabara used an herbal concoction made from the extract of a plant by Kurama. He gave it to them, under the guise that it would help facilitate healing any wounds they had, but in actuality was made in order to wipe their memories of the event.
After ensuring that all the loose ends were covered, Kuwabara then prepared to head home, as he had to prepare for school the next day. His right fist began glowing with a familiar chartreuse glow as he prepared to bring out arguably his most powerful weapon.
"You can't keep using that technique, Kuwa-chan," Botan stated, drawing a bewildered expression from the teen.
"Nani? Why not?" Kuwabara demanded. Botan just sighed, shaking her head at her friend's clueless tendency.
"Because, Kuwa-chan, there's no telling what sort of repercussions a weapon like that could have here in Ningenkai. That's why Koenma-sama has told you to limit its use," She replied, her argument logically sound. Kuwabara scoffed in reply, summoning said weapon into his hand after a few moments of focus. 'He really has gotten much better at controlling his reiki,' she mused.
"That's funny, he don't seem to have that same stipulation for those SDF jerks," Kuwabara stated, brandishing his weapon at the astonishment of the spirit who continued to watch from nearby.
"Now wait a minute, that's a completely different matter," she rebuked, drawing his attention before he could use his Jigen To. "Their power is different from yours, and it's been tested to determine how safe it is for Ningenkai. Besides, they don't go around opening portals in Ningenkai on a regular basis either. That means they're under restriction as well."
Kuwabara narrowed his gaze at her, considering her words, as he took in her reply. After cutting another glance at the corpse in the corner, he shrugged as he turned and readied his weapon once again.
"It's not like this is tha only time I've ever used this power here. After all, it ain't like even baa-san can train me ta master a power without allowin me ta use it. B'sides, how else does he expect me ta get around ta all these different places and handle all these cases?"
With that, Kuwabara used his Jigen To, opening a pathway in space that would lead him to his home, hoping that Shizuru wouldn't have noticed his impromptu absence. Botan pouted the whole time, frustrated at the teen's known stubbornness, while Kuwabara stepped through the pathway. Once it shut, and she determined there were indeed no signs of any disturbance to the fabric of Ningenkai, she once again released a sigh before summoning her oar and carrying out her own duties as an emissary of Reikai.
To Be Continued…..
A.N. - Man, can you believe I meant to have this chapter out on Thursday or Friday at the latest?! Well, at least it's a pretty decent sized chapter. I know I promised more action, and it is coming, believe me. But I felt it appropriate to provide at least a scene or two of Kuwabara performing the basic duties of a spirit detective, before diving into the good stuff. As always, thanks for reading, and please don't forget to drop a review, thank you!
Glossary:
Gyaru - term used to describe a woman with tan/dark skin and bleach blond hair.
Onryo - term used to describe a vengeful spirit/ghost.
Seikon Harau - meaning Soul Cleanse, it's a technique developed by Kuwabara, under Genkai's tutelage, that draws upon the concepts of Genkai's Spirit Wave technique she used against the corrupted human martial artists, M1, M2, and M3. The user moves their hands in the opposite motion of the Soul Restoration technique while chanting and charging their reiki around their body. This requires the user to be in perfect sync, so the chant and hand movements must complete at the same time, otherwise, the technique will fail. Once complete, the user's reiki explodes outward from their body, enveloping any nearby spirits. Those spirits/souls struck with this reiki are purified of any negative emotions, reverting them to their pure, original forms.
Kokuri baba - type of yokai who has the appearance of a ghoulish looking old woman, they are reclusive and feed on human flesh, both living and dead.