Disclaimer: Yu Yu Hakusho and all the characters in the wonderful show do not belong to me but all original characters do.
Note: italics indicate thoughts.
Confinement
Chapter One: Conflict
The problem with being in charge of the Reikai was that you're never in charge of only the Reikai. No, the duties went far beyond that. You had to make sure the Ningenkai was safe and sound, with no threats from the Makai, meaning that you had to keep an eye on the Demon Realm as well. And of course, there's always the paperwork that needed to be done in the Spirit World, the processing of all the confused souls. So much work.
Koenma was taking a short break from his tasks when the ferry girl entered his office. She held a massive book and three manila envelopes in her arms. The girl walked smoothly towards Koenma's desk and offered him the objects with a controlled expression. The lord took the objects from her and looked at it.
The book was ancient, the cover worn by time. The seams were coming apart and many of the pages were ripped or missing. The title was fainted, almost nonexistent, but Koenma made out the words: "Creatures of Legend." He was confused as to why the ferry girl had brought him the book, but he decided to ask her after he went over the contents of the envelopes. He placed the book aside.
Koenma took one envelope and opened it. It held a thick stack of paper, probably around two thousand pieces. The first paper listed a name, accompanied by two dates, a picture and a few paragraphs of information. There was nothing unusual about it; for every person that died, there was a record documenting the details of his or her life. Koenma quickly flipped through the entire stack and found that they were all just routine documents. He was puzzled.
"These all appear to be normal," Koenma said to the ferry girl, who was still standing in front of his desk, "I don't see why you brought this to me."
"Well, sir," the girl started, "these records were accumulated from a small area situated around a mountain in China. What I've brought to you is probably a fifth of the whole collection." She paused, preparing what she's about to say carefully. "As you've already mentioned, there's nothing bizarre or unusual about the records; they're all normal. However, none of the souls that were mentioned in the records ever reached the Reikai."
Koenma was utterly stupefied, rendered completely speechless. He leaned back in his chair and took a few moments to come to his senses. How can that be? He looked at the other two unopened envelopes. And this is only a fifth of it? That's three thousand souls! How's it possible that they could have three thousand souls missing and not have noticed till now? Koenma voiced his question.
The ferry girl looked a bit uneasy. "We're busy people, sir, as you yourself understand. These records date back as far as two thousand years ago. People get sloppy or lazy, papers get misplaced or overlooked, and souls get lost or forgotten. It's only lately that we've cleaned through all the files and checked every soul we've processed. We anticipated mistakes - it would have been impossible not to - but nothing like this. This anomaly was unexpected. We thought that you should know about it immediately."
"And this book?" Koenma asked as he pointed to it, "What's the meaning of it?"
"We did a little research on the area. There seems of be legend about a monster that dwells in the cave of the nearby mountain. No one knows what it is because those who have entered the cave never returned. We believe it's this monster that's been stealing the souls of its victims."
"Have you a guess at what kind of monster it is?"
"Nothing conclusive, sir. Villagers around the mountain reported hearing sounds from inside the cave, a female voice. Sometimes it was singing, other times it was crying. Our guess is that it's a Siren."
"Hmm…fits the profile. There have been Sirens known to take souls. But I thought they dwelt in oceans and seas." Koenma lowered his head in thought. "Whatever it is, this can't continue. Get me Yusuke and his team."
The ferry girl turned and left.
The four members of Urameshi-tachi arrived in the Reikai palace an hour later. Yusuke and Kuwabara were still complaining about being called upon during their peaceful summer as they walked into the office. Kurama had his usual calm expression. Hiei was detached as always. After seeing Koenma in his teenage form, which indicated the gravity of the situation, Yusuke and Kuwabara stopped their whining and allowed the lord to start his debriefing.
"I want you all to know that this is a serious matter," he began, "If it was less serious, I wouldn't have disrupted your summer." The lord sighed. "There is a monster loose in the Ningenkai, one that steals souls. So far it's stolen more than three thousand souls, possibly much more. You have to prevent it from stealing any further ones."
They were shocked. Even Hiei let his surprise show through his mask of indifference. Three thousand was unheard of, even for the most powerful demons because they were usually arrested or destroyed by the Reikai before they reach a hundred souls. Whoever this demon or monster was, it was powerful and elusive, smart and cunning. They would have to be very careful on this mission.
"The creature resides within a mountain cave in China. For as long as the people could remember, the mountain has been known as Jinshan, basically meaning Forbidden Mountain." Koenma continued, not delaying to answer their startled looks. "Now, we don't know for sure what the monster is, but from all the information we've gathered, we believe it is a Siren."
"But Sirens dwell in oceans," Kurama interrupted. The others glanced at him with curious stares. "Studying myths and legends is my hobby," the redhead simply explained. They all shrugged and turned their attention back to Koenma.
"Yes, that's true," Koenma said, "But there have been cases where Sirens traveled inland, probably for more of an audience."
"An audience?" Kuwabara asked. "That's right," Koenma said, and then he looked at Kurama, "Kurama, how much do you know about Sirens?"
"Enough," he merely answered.
"Good. You can tell them the details on the plane. You guys are scheduled for the next flight from Tokyo to Shanghai."
"I think I should start explaining now."
The team took off an hour later, after they were sped home to pack and notify their families. They were then rushed to the airport where they immediately boarded their plane to China. Naturally, they were seated together, and when the seat belt light eventually went off, Kurama decided that it was time to start his lecturing.
"First of all, Sirens are normally gentle creatures, beautiful and serene. They usually don't wish harm upon others; all they want is to sing and have their songs heard. Of course, there are exceptions to the norm. The Sirens of Greek mythology is one prime example. There are others but I won't get into the petty details."
The other members of the team seemed bored, not caring to hear about the usual nature of Sirens. Kurama decided to skip right to the crucial part.
"A Siren's voice is heavenly, divine beyond words. Simple speech can be turned songs. However, that same voice can be turned into a weapon. Sirens can manipulate their voices to bring pain and agony through their songs. They can stop hearts, burst veins, and shatter bones."
Yusuke and Kuwabara seemed vaguely surprised that songs could be so destructive. Hiei was his usual taciturn self.
"Sirens are not soul-suckers; they live off fish and other creatures of the ocean. The only reason some steal souls is for an audience."
"Koenma mentioned that," Yusuke interrupted, "What exactly does that mean?"
Kurama nodded to the black-haired boy. "As I mentioned before, Sirens only wish to sing and be heard, which means they long for audiences. Most find them among people, who love their songs so much, the humans stay by the Sirens until they die. And in turn the Sirens come to love the humans so much for their admiration and devotion that they wish for the humans to never leave."
"If that's the case, I don't see the problem," injected Kuwabara.
"That's precisely the problem. The Sirens want the humans to never leave, not even in death. They work magic through their songs and trap the souls of the deceased inside the corpses. The bodies are dead but the souls are still very alert, able to enjoy their songs for as long as the Sirens live, which is usually for hundreds of years." Kurama fell silent after he finished.
Yusuke shook his head in disbelief. "We must be facing one hell of a Siren," he stated, "Three thousand souls." It was still a shocking figure for all of them to grasp. "And how long did Koenma say this has been going on?"
"Two thousand years, maybe longer," Kurama answered him.
"Geez, that's one old broad. This isn't gonna be easy."
Little did they know how true that statement would prove to be.
A lot of boring info but it had to be written. It's all part of the story. Please review!
