Chapter IV
Luckily, Yusuke and the others had driven to the park to look, so after Botan zoomed away, they got in Yusuke's car and went to the explosion site.
"How bad do you think it is?" Kuwabara asked, looking out the passenger side window. "A lot of people probably died, huh?"
Hiei, who was sitting behind Yusuke, rolled his eyes in exasperation. "No shit, Sherlock."
"Remember? Koenma said that Botan had a new job to do. She probably had to guide the spirits of all the deceased to the Reikai," Kurama said. He was sitting next to Hiei in the back. "That's why she was so upset. It's sad, knowing that all those innocent people died because of one heartless being."
They were silent for the rest of the ride.
+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+
When they got to the wrecked building, they saw a border of yellow caution tape surrounding the heap of rubble. Police officers in blue uniforms conversed amongst themselves in low and urgent voices. Yusuke groaned, smacking himself in the forehead. "Great. This is really great. How the hell are we supposed to get in there and look for clues if the friggin' cops are here?"
"I can help you there, Yusuke."
Yusuke fell over again. "JESUS, KOENMA!!"
Koenma grinned, his blue pacifier sticking out of his mouth even in his teenage form. "Sorry. Almost forgot: I'm going to initiate a temporary time stop so you four can search around and find things that could help us out. And be careful, there's loads of sharp metal around, don't want to lose a finger, do you? Well, best of luck!" He turned to leave.
"And where are YOU going?" Kuwabara asked, glaring at Koenma. "Aren't you going to help us?"
The demigod looked at the orange haired boy. "Erm. . .Kuwabara, I'd love to, but I've got no time. I'm off to do my paperwork. I love paperwork."
"Oh, oka-waaaaitaminit," Kuwabara said, confused. "Didn't you say that you hated pape-"
"Sayonara!" Koenma said very loudly as he vanished with a small pop. Kuwabara scowled. "Friggin' pansy-hey, the cops and other people aren't moving anymore! Koenma must have used the time-thing! We should be able to go in now."
"Right." They all climbed over the yellow tape and walked around the area, looking for anything that stood out against the fragments of steel and concrete.
Yusuke groaned. "This'll take friggin' forever. What are we looking for anyway?"
Kurama sighed. "Haven't you been listening to the authoress at all?"
"Erm. . .no."
"We're supposed to look for anything that stands out against the fragments of steel and concrete, which, incidentally, we are up to our ankles in. Try to pay attention next time."
"Right, right."
They searched for about an hour, looking under pieces of concrete, steel, and plaster to see if there was anything unusual that could be salvaged. It was a hot and tiring job. Before the hour was done, all of them were quite sweaty, as the day was extremely warm.
Hiei decided to give up. "This is stupid," he grumbled, leaning on his sword. "We've searched for an hour and found absolutely nothing. Let's just forget about this."
"No, Hiei!" Kuwabara said, standing up straight. "This is a very important mission! What'll happen if we fail it? There'll be chaos in the world!"
Yusuke rolled his eyes. "There's already chaos in the world, baka. You just wanna see that girl."
Kuwabara blushed. "No, Urameshi! That's not it!"
"Like hell it isn't."
Kurama shook his head. As he did so, something glittered in the sunlight, catching his eye. For a moment he thought it might be scrap metal, but it was too bright. Ignoring the argument going on between his three friends, he went over to it and saw what it really was.
It was a small round box made of white alabaster. He tried to open it, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't pry it open. Upon further inspection, he saw a golden keyhole and mentally smacked himself. Of course he couldn't open it. He made to put it in his pocket, but he decided to take one last look at it. What he saw made his eyes widen.
"Taiya" was engraved into the smooth stone.
Kurama turned to the others.
"It seems we have our lead."
+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+
Yes, Kurama, it seems you do have your much-needed lead. Read on to find out what happens!
Luckily, Yusuke and the others had driven to the park to look, so after Botan zoomed away, they got in Yusuke's car and went to the explosion site.
"How bad do you think it is?" Kuwabara asked, looking out the passenger side window. "A lot of people probably died, huh?"
Hiei, who was sitting behind Yusuke, rolled his eyes in exasperation. "No shit, Sherlock."
"Remember? Koenma said that Botan had a new job to do. She probably had to guide the spirits of all the deceased to the Reikai," Kurama said. He was sitting next to Hiei in the back. "That's why she was so upset. It's sad, knowing that all those innocent people died because of one heartless being."
They were silent for the rest of the ride.
+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+
When they got to the wrecked building, they saw a border of yellow caution tape surrounding the heap of rubble. Police officers in blue uniforms conversed amongst themselves in low and urgent voices. Yusuke groaned, smacking himself in the forehead. "Great. This is really great. How the hell are we supposed to get in there and look for clues if the friggin' cops are here?"
"I can help you there, Yusuke."
Yusuke fell over again. "JESUS, KOENMA!!"
Koenma grinned, his blue pacifier sticking out of his mouth even in his teenage form. "Sorry. Almost forgot: I'm going to initiate a temporary time stop so you four can search around and find things that could help us out. And be careful, there's loads of sharp metal around, don't want to lose a finger, do you? Well, best of luck!" He turned to leave.
"And where are YOU going?" Kuwabara asked, glaring at Koenma. "Aren't you going to help us?"
The demigod looked at the orange haired boy. "Erm. . .Kuwabara, I'd love to, but I've got no time. I'm off to do my paperwork. I love paperwork."
"Oh, oka-waaaaitaminit," Kuwabara said, confused. "Didn't you say that you hated pape-"
"Sayonara!" Koenma said very loudly as he vanished with a small pop. Kuwabara scowled. "Friggin' pansy-hey, the cops and other people aren't moving anymore! Koenma must have used the time-thing! We should be able to go in now."
"Right." They all climbed over the yellow tape and walked around the area, looking for anything that stood out against the fragments of steel and concrete.
Yusuke groaned. "This'll take friggin' forever. What are we looking for anyway?"
Kurama sighed. "Haven't you been listening to the authoress at all?"
"Erm. . .no."
"We're supposed to look for anything that stands out against the fragments of steel and concrete, which, incidentally, we are up to our ankles in. Try to pay attention next time."
"Right, right."
They searched for about an hour, looking under pieces of concrete, steel, and plaster to see if there was anything unusual that could be salvaged. It was a hot and tiring job. Before the hour was done, all of them were quite sweaty, as the day was extremely warm.
Hiei decided to give up. "This is stupid," he grumbled, leaning on his sword. "We've searched for an hour and found absolutely nothing. Let's just forget about this."
"No, Hiei!" Kuwabara said, standing up straight. "This is a very important mission! What'll happen if we fail it? There'll be chaos in the world!"
Yusuke rolled his eyes. "There's already chaos in the world, baka. You just wanna see that girl."
Kuwabara blushed. "No, Urameshi! That's not it!"
"Like hell it isn't."
Kurama shook his head. As he did so, something glittered in the sunlight, catching his eye. For a moment he thought it might be scrap metal, but it was too bright. Ignoring the argument going on between his three friends, he went over to it and saw what it really was.
It was a small round box made of white alabaster. He tried to open it, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't pry it open. Upon further inspection, he saw a golden keyhole and mentally smacked himself. Of course he couldn't open it. He made to put it in his pocket, but he decided to take one last look at it. What he saw made his eyes widen.
"Taiya" was engraved into the smooth stone.
Kurama turned to the others.
"It seems we have our lead."
+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+
Yes, Kurama, it seems you do have your much-needed lead. Read on to find out what happens!