Phoneix From the Ashes

Chapter 2

by Bottou-chan

Though she had never been his mother, Raiha had respected and cared for Mori Tsukino deeply. She had held Kurei's love and respect; surely, the remnants of the faithful Jyushinshuu would not abandon her. With Mori Kouran gone, there were a number of rapacious wolves who would have loved to take over power within the Kokom Corporation. Neon and Raiha had efficiently cleaned house of all the greatest threats. To other less-dangerous individuals, well-chosen words helped express, in no uncertain terms, that certain actions would not be tolerated. Likewise, Mori Kouran's absence left a powerful vacuum in the Japanese underworld. Raiha and Neon coolly conveyed the message that Mori Tsukino had no interest in involving herself in such affairs, and that the different gangs and factions could fight amongst themselves over the remnants of Mori Kouran's considerable slice of pie. The idea of retiring had been Mori Tsukino's idea. She had enjoyed the peace and quiet of the Moon Palace for much of her married life, even though it had been house arrest of the most perilous sort. It would be difficult for her to return to society after so many years of virtual solitude; it would be a burden for her to manage her late husband's affairs, and she had no attachment to the wealth he had accumulated. So Neon and Raiha had set things in motion to dispose of the estate. What, exactly, they would do with themselves when Mori Tsukino had no more need of protection, and the Kokom Corporation was dissolved, they were not sure.

They only knew they would find something.

"Something" appeared unexpectedly on their doorstep one night. The three of them were living temporarily on the hot springs property, and were not expecting any guests or visitors.

It did not take Uruha training to be suspicious of an uninvited guest in the middle of night miles from the closest neighbor.

Raiha silently unsheathed his katana, and motioned for Mori Tsukino to make herself safe in another room. Neon cautiously approached the door in silence.

"Oi, oi! I know you're home! It's very inhospitable to just leave a visitor outside like this!" came a plaintive voice from the other side.

Neon opened the door a tiny crack.

"Joker?" she asked in disbelief.

"You should've left a forwarding address," grumbled Joker. "You know how difficult it was? I must've spent a whole day trying to track you down. What are you doing out in nowhere-land?"

"I thought you were dead," said Raiha, his voice matter-of-fact, but his eyes wide. He was not normally one to admit to being surprised, but this was certainly unexpected.

"Pff. I don't know what you mean," said Joker, shrugging out of his jacket and tossing it over a chair back. He grinned at Mori Tsukino, who was hovering cautiously in the background, and added, "Nice to see you, Mom," in the most cheerful of greetings. He and the Three Nincompoops had been in charge of her protection detail for a certain length of time during the Tendoujigoku matter.

"Well, this is certainly like your timing," said Neon, covering up her own shock with gruffness. "You leave us all the dirty work and come waltzing in when it's over."

"Is it over?" Joker seemed genuinely concerned. "Don't tell me I missed the fun part."

"It's just business from here on out. Negotiations may take another six to eight months, but we're cashing in everything. All the housecleaning got wrapped up weeks ago, if you know what I mean," she answered.

"Hrmph. Paperwork," he answered scornfully. "Everyone knows you save the best part for last. You two are so backwards."

"We didn't have your sage advice to counsel us," answered Raiha, smiling. "So, seriously, tell us--- how did you escape?"

"Escape?" From the deep shadows beneath his ballcap, Joker gazed languidly at the three expectant faces. "Don't tell me you were anything like, say, worried."

"Hmph. You're a big kid. You can take care of yourself," sniffed Neon. "But—" she added, almost hesitantly, "—an extra set of hands to help wouldn't have hurt."

"We had heard that you hadn't made it past Kadotsu, that you had both gone down together," said Raiha. "Something about a black hole. How did you escape?"

Joker smirked. "A good magician never tells," he said.

"Now, isn't that a cheap way out."

He shrugged. "A magician never tells, but a smart person can figure it out anyways. I mean, come on. Think back to science class. Since when does gravity plus gravity equal a black hole? You can multiply gravity, and all you get is really strong gravity. A black hole, on the other hand, comes from gravity plus matter. Sorry to disappoint you like that."

"Oh, never mind," said Neon. "It's been so long since I was in school, I've forgotten all that stuff."

"I'll tell you guys about it later," said Joker. "Anyhow, let's just say that Kadotsu wasn't so tough once we arrived, and he didn't last too long. I had a great time and did a lot of interesting stuff."

"And you didn't send us a postcard?" asked Raiha playfully.

"I can just see it--- a postcard with a black hole on it. 'Wish you were here! Having a great time!'" said Neon, snickering.

He gave an exaggerated sigh. "How many times do I have to tell you--- it wasn't a stupid black hole? Besides, I didn't see a mailbox anywhere. Anyhow, I sort of kicked around and did my own thing for a bit. And then I ran into Kurei—"

"Now, that's just going too far," snapped Neon. "If you're going to just tell us a pack of lies, we've got better things to do."

"Who says I'm kidding? I mean it," said Joker.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, pal, but Kurei went back in time while you were gone," said Raiha gently. "And he didn't come back. He used up the last of his Hokage power."

"Yeah, yeah. He told me all about it. Vengeance and stuff. I told him exactly what I thought about it, playing with space and time and all that. What a headache, I tell you… not something you want to mess with often. Too many variables. But he didn't seem to care. He did what he wanted to do, which is pretty much par for both of us." Joker shrugged. "Anyhow, just for updates, Koganei's doing well, too. Fweeeee! Have you seen that kid? He hit his growth spurt. I swear I wouldn't have recognized him if I passed him on the street."

Neon and Raiha both looked extremely serious.

"How did you know Koganei went with him?" he asked, his voice tense.

"Oi, I told you. I ran into them. We had a nice little chitchat. Tea and petit fours and all that. Yum."

"You're serious." Neon leaned forward intensely.

"Yeah."

"You're really serious."

"Yeah."

"Really, truly serious?"

"Well, no. We didn't actually have tea and petit fours. But we talked."

She drew a long, careful breath. "And?"

"And what?"

"And what did he say?"

"He said, 'Joker, you handsome rogue—'"

A cushion narrowly missed his head, and he tried again.

"Well, he talked about his revenge. A lot. It's a common theme with him, y'know? I'm sure you've noticed. Anyhow, I managed to steer the conversation to the present. What he was doing, what he'd been doing, what he planned to do. He gave me the impression that he wouldn't mind getting the gang together for a little fun. We compared leads and stuff, and he said he'd be busy for a while and couldn't come back, but to make sure that Mom was safe and well-cared for, and then maybe we could all get together and do our thing."

"Get together?" said Neon, perking up.

"Yeah. I'm guessing Miki and Aki are around somewhere---" he craned his neck as though expecting the girls to spontaneously appear at the mention of their names.

"They're taking care of things in Tokyo," said Raiha. "We're taking care of things over on this side and using the onsen as our base for the time being. It's nice and remote, if you understand… some people prefer not to be seen coming and going."

"At least you're doing it with style. Oi, Neon, wanna join me in the kon'yoku when you're done?"

"You wish," she sniffed. She changed the topic by bringing him up to date on Mori Tsukino's plans to retire to a life of contemplation. "So, like we said, it'll still be six to eight months before we've wrapped everything completely up… how will we know when Kurei is ready for us to join him?"

Joker grinned. "I'll let you know."

It had only been a matter of days between their lost comrade's sudden reappearance and the arrival of the Hokage on field trip. Several months had passed since then, and Joker was now standing in front of Raiha and Neon, waving the newspaper in front of them.

"Hey, Raiha, your picture's in the paper." He scrutinized it again, and added sulkily, "Darn photographer cut me out. I think that's my elbow."

"You can clip it out and send it to your mother. A picture of your elbow," said Neon sulkily. "Mori Tsukino leaves for the abbey next week. When will Kurei be ready for us?"

Joker shrugged. "He hasn't said."

Neon raised an eyebrow. "You've been talking to him?"

"Pffft. No. I just said, he hasn't said anything. That means he hasn't been talking to me."

"You know, Joker, voices in your head aren't always such a good sign," said Raiha gently.

"It's okay. We've been using tin cans and string. I'll tell you when he's ready, and I mean it."

Raiha didn't feel like pursuing the joke any further. Instead, he lost himself in his own thoughts. He was looking forward to the beginning of a new adventure, but he knew there was still one loose thread left over from the last.

And he couldn't leave Japan until he resolved it.