By Chibiko
09/12/2002
Chapter 2
Koenma's wide brown eyes stared into mine as his lips worked nervously against that damned pacifier. He regained his composure soon. Climbing onto the desk so that he could be face to face with me, he drew himself up to his full height and glared. It was almost comical.
"No," came the firm reply.
Although I had expected his answer, it was still hard to keep a tight rein on my anger. Especially when the dark power within me, fuelled by a year of frustration and worry, was straining against my control and snapping at the god before me.
Koenma glared pointedly at the wisps of smoke that had risen from my right arm and was curling lazily in the still air. The temperature in the room had risen by a few degrees.
"You have trespassed on Reikai's property, barged into my office without permission and obstructed the work of a god," he stated.
True. But he hadn't raised the alarm. Perhaps he didn't want to throw me out of his office yet.
It was an interesting possibility.
I raised an eyebrow, feeling it arch and disappear behind the ward binding my jagan.
"So?"
"And so, I am not obligated to impart any top-secret information," he ground out through gritted teeth.
For a moment, I couldn't react; frozen by sheer incredulity at his words.
Not obligated?
Slow rage burned and awakened the dragon curled around my arm. I forced it back down.
"I know he went to Reikai the day before he left," I snarled, baring a fang. "He came here to look for you. You know everything, don't you?"
His face remained expressionless.
"He had been acting strangely since the last mission. The mission you sent us on even though the Urameshi team was already… deactivated."
He flinched.
"I… there was no one else powerful enough to take down Kazori and his army…" His voice trailed off.
I took a step forward.
"He hadn't been himself since the thrice-be-damned mission! There was something bothering him, but he won't tell me. Instead he paid you a visit, then the next day he was gone and no one could find him! I want some answers!"
I was shouting and I didn't care. To hell with anyone who heard me and damn the guards to Meikai. The past year of frustration, dashed hopes and fruitless searches churned within me, building into a raging tsunami dammed in only by my dubious amount of control.
No one in the three worlds will keep me form Kurama.
Koenma shook his head, flustered and a little lost, as the air crackled and sizzled with tiny bursts of youki that had escaped my control.
"I… I won't… I can't just tell you the location of any being you name –-"
His words ended in a surprised huff as I took hold of his collar, lifting him off the desk. The tsunami roared and the air around us flared into an inferno.
"He's my lover, godammit, and one day I just woke up to an empty apartment! Have you seen Shiori? For one whole year, all she did was pine away. She looks like a ghost! She won't tell her family anything and those two ningens are worried to death!"
I took a deep breath and lowered my voice to a hiss.
"Yusuke was so optimistic when we started the search. Now he's moody and discouraged, and it's affecting Keiko and bringing down the others' morale. Even Kuwabara's been abnormally quiet. Yukina tries to hide it, but I know she's been crying for the past few nights."
I paused, fumbling for the words.
"His absence is affecting everyone… Kurama is an important part of our lives. He's your friend too. You should know."
For a moment, he didn't reply. The silence stretched, hanging between us like a poised guillotine. The air hissed and sighed as the flames slowly died down. Outside the room, the sirens continued to wail.
Slowly, Koenma met my gaze. I blinked, taken aback by the weariness in those eyes; eyes that didn't fit the young face.
"Gomen nasai," he whispered, the words nearly swallowed in the stillness of the room. "Any information on soul is top-secret. I can't divulge secrets just because it concerns my friends." He gave a mirthless chuckle. "No, let me rephrase that: I can't divulge secrets, especially when it concerns my friends. I'm a god, Hiei. I cannot be biased. Eyes in the Makai and Reikai are watching my every move, waiting for me to screw up. Especially after I defied my father's orders to 'terminate Yusuke Urameshi' when he resurrected the second time."
He sighed and rubbed his pale face with chubby fingers.
"If I make a mistake, accusations would fly. Then we would be looking at a pretty scenario: internal conflict within Reikai, coupled with a war between Makai and Reikai, which would eventually destroy the Ningenkai. I have to do what I must, Hiei. Don't you understand?"
The last of the flames flickered and died out. I stared at Koenma, noting the aged brown eyes set in the ageless face and the dejected slump of his shoulders.
He has his duties.
I set him down on his armchair.
"I understand," I said quietly, watching those dull brown eyes light up. I gave him a quick nod and turned to leave.
My ears caught the sound of quickly approaching footsteps in the distance. No doubt the incompetent guards had finally sensed my youki and figured out that the intruder was in their ruler's office. Hn. Koenma would have had a better chance of survival relying on himself and his fuukuman.
But Reikai's pathetic excuse for a security system would work in my advantage. It would be easy to break into the vaults and search for Kurama's file, even if Reikai would be after my blood after they finally discover the break-in. I snorted at the thought. With the Urameshi team 'deactivated', what can Reikai send after me? A bunch of sword-waving onis?
I was less than concerned about the consequences of my plan, and more worried about the process. Reikai had dozens of vaults and hundreds of stacks of files in each one. How the hell was I going to look for Kurama's file? If I used the jagan, I would risk being detected. Forget searching, I didn't even know which vault to start at…
The deliberate clearing of a throat caught my attention. I turned back towards Koenma and raised a questioning eyebrow as the footsteps, accompanied by frantic shouting, drew closer.
"Hiei. What do you think of Reikai's security system?"
…What game was he playing?
I narrowed my eyes.
"To quote Yusuke, it's 'so crappy it isn't even worth shoving up Enma Daiou's bloated butt'."
Koenma winced. I smirked. Yusuke always had a way of expressing himself.
"It's true, I suppose," he said. "Someday we'd have to do something about it. Security is too loose, especially around the vaults."
I drew in a sharp breath. This was getting intriguing.
"And speaking of the vaults," he continued. "I think it's about time to clean them. You should have seen Vault Four. The files at the top of each stack are practically smothered by dust. The seventh stack actually had cobwebs over it."
Ah. I see. This made things so much easier.
I felt the corners of my lips tugging upwards in an involuntary smile. Koenma grinned back.
"Forget spring cleaning. I still think you should work on security. You never know when some psycho may decide to break onto the vaults."
"Yeah," he agreed. "You never know."
I flitted from the office just as the guards burst in and headed straight for Vault Four. Any thief could have picked the lock and gotten pass the rest of the defenses. There it was. The top file on the seventh stack. The answer to all my questions.
I snatched the file in triumph, sat down at in a dark corner of the vault… and found that I couldn't open it.
Kurama smiled back at me from the photograph tacked to the cover. Absently, I traced his face with my fingers. How long has it been since I last saw his smile? A shiver ran down my spine. When I finally find out the truth… when I finally find him… would he still be able to give me that smile?
I growled and shook off my unexplained fears. Then I flipped to the last few pages of the file.
A few minutes later, I was frantically re-reading those few pieces of paper, trying to search for some detail that I had probably missed. Hopefully a detail that would deny all the cold, impersonal facts I had just read.
I found none.
Kuso.
Kuso.
KUSO!
I shut the file and tried to stand, managing to do it on the fourth attempt. I replaced the file containing the information that had ripped the anchor from my world and sent it spinning in a confusing swirl of colors.
Ignoring the surprised yelps of some passing ferry girls, I shoved past them, kicked aside the lone guard in my way and headed for the nearest portal to Ningenkai.
TBC
Chibiko: For those who reviewed, THANKS! *Starts dancing with tare-Ginji* So… please do it again. @_@* Once again: Sylphide-chan? Review. Or else.