A/N: O my… It has been far too long since I updated. I am sooooo sorry. Please forgive me! T.T I hope this (very, very long O.o ) chapter will make up for all your waiting. Phase two of the Acire plan will be preformed in this chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or the characters, except for (dum-da-dum) the Acire. Neither do I own the song that in this chapter. It a song called 'The never-ending story', by Within Temptation.
Chapter 8: Frozen
'Too soon…' Ira thought. She turned her head and looked at the pink-haired girl, who was still quietly sniffing. 'Apparently I underestimated the human's healing ability. He should have been out cold for more than a day, not a few hours…' She rested her head in the palm of her right hand. 'But he could have been healed by the kitsune. After all, his plants have many uses.' The oldest Acire tilted her head to the left, removing the hand from under her chin. 'I don't think Meike is ready yet. She still looks so sad, but she won't tell me what's bothering her. My bet… Sarchi has something to do with it.'
Ira hung her head, for the first time she had trouble making a decision. 'I can't send them to go on with the next phase. I just can't let Meike go with Sarchi. He won't tolerate any kind of weakness, no emotion or anything else that might endanger the mission. I have no telling in what he might do when he's alone with her and she breaks…Poor Meike. Going on such a mission requires of one that they act without doubt and without struggling with their own emotions. In her current state she's barely able to feel free in her own thoughts, let alone being able to be as unmovable as a trough in the ocean.'
With a sigh Ira buried her hands in her long aqua hair, not noticing that her escaping breath drew the attention of two sets of large round eyes. Sparkling purple and foggy pink looked with question to the aqua water appearance. They both couldn't help but see the doubt. Ira's strong appearance looked like it was crumbling and was replaced by a new face, a face with signs of weariness, a face the girls had never witnessed before.
'But I can't postpone the mission and even if I tried to let it take place tomorrow or the day after that, Sarchi wouldn't allow it. He would come with arguments and facts that I can't deny, because it were those arguments that I used to get this whole plan up and going. The only way we can make sure our plan works, is to act now, now the human is awake and the other servants of the Reikai are with him. This is the only chance we've got, the thing we have been working to from the day that…'
Ira grinded her teeth. There they were again; the screams, those blood-curdling screams inside her head. They had been screaming ever since she escaped the Acire village in the Ithara Sea living. Every day, every hour, every minute. She never told the other Acire this and had never shown how much those voices were paining her soul, and she wouldn't give in now either! She was the oldest, the one responsible for the survival of her race. The elder had to be wise and calm at all time, so the followers didn't panic, her calmness had to reassure the people around her. 'I am the oldest, the leader of my people. I had never thought that I might had to take this task. I was young, one of the younger ones. It wasn't even appropriate to think that I might ever be the oldest of my race! I'm still a child myself, only 34 years old. ((A/N Acire are children until they are 37 years old and can live for a couple of centuries, just to let you know :) )) How can I ever replace our formal leader, the wise Triare? With her age of 814 years and gift of clear foresight, she was the most honored person in our tribe, she's the only leader I have ever had. She was so kind, so inspiring…' Ira's face tensed. 'I can never replace her, never! I don't have the qualities and the strength to be a leader! All I can do is try to act wise and to keep the memory of Triare alive by doing what she would have wanted that would happen like I have done before with Kurama… and I believe that she would have wanted that the mission would take place… for the safety of the entire tribe!'
Without lifting her eyes from the ground she spoke with a soft voice to Meike, who was still looking at her. "The time has come. Prepare yourself, Meike. You and Sarchi are leaving within half an hour."
Hearing this, Meike turned her head to the ground and resisted more tears from falling. All that she had left to do was waiting for Sarchi, who was somewhere near the plain where they lived, to come before she would set out to do what she was told.
Ira raised her head and looked with her eyes half closed to the ceiling of the stone and clay house. The uneven surface reminded her of the way the Ithara Sea used to flow, when she would play near the surface with the waves. 'So, I guess this is it then… Please, let the decision I made be the right one.'
"Waaaaaaahhh…"
"Oh, please spare me and cover your mouth. I can see what you've been eating yesterday!" Yusuke grinned.
"Ow, shut up, Urameshi! Can't a guy yawn anymore these days?" Kuwabara complained. He stretched his arms above his head and took a deep breath. After that he lowered his arms and started rubbing his eyes.
"How do you feel?" asked the green-eyed kitsune.
"Fine, just a bit stiff and…" Kuwabara swallowed his words back in when he recognized his friend's voice. His eyes grew twice their size when he stared at his friend, who was kindly smiling like nothing had happened. "Ku… Kurama…? You… But…" He looked around, dazzled and confused. "What… What happened?"
"Remember your fight with Ira?" Kurama asked.
"Who?"
"The Acire girl with the long aqua hair and big aqua eyes." Yusuke explained.
"Vaguely…"
"She overwhelmed you with one of her techniques, making you faint," Genkai told.
"Oh yes, I remember that! That crazy woman!" Kuwabara clenched his fist. "Who does she think she is, putting herself into me, like… like fries in ketchup!"
"That must be the most stupid comparison I've ever heard," Hiei said with his face turned away.
"Shut up, you shrimp! I didn't ask for your opinion!" Kuwabara yelled.
"What did you call me!" Hiei's face tensed and he glared daggers at the human who dared to make fun of his size.
"Shrimp, shrimp! Are you deaf?" Kuwabara said, throwing more oil on the fire.
"Within just a few seconds, you won't just be deaf, you won't even have a head on your shoulders!" the black-clothed demon growled, unsheathing his katana.
Kuwabara became quiet and swallowed. 'O-oh…'
"Now now, don't do anything rash, Hiei." Kurama said, trying to cool down the fire demon's hot temper. "You know Koenma is going to throw you in the Reikai prison if you kill Kuwabara."
"Hn." The kitsune had a point. There was no way in all three worlds that Hiei would go to that place. Too many spirits… He sheathed his katana and went to stand in a corner of the room against the wall, arms crossed and eyes closed.
All the others present in the room sighed with relieve and if they didn't do it out loud, it was defiantly hearable in their minds.
"OK, where were we…?" Genkai said. "Ah yes! After the fight, when you had fainted, the Acire released Kurama and returned him to us."
"Just like that?" Kuwabara said unbelieving.
"Just like that," Kurama replied.
"That doesn't make sense! Why would those creatures first kidnap you, only to let you go so easily?" the human thought up loud.
"I don't know," Kurama emitted. "Ira hasn't told me anything about the reason for letting me go when she brought me to you."
"Ira. That Acire again! You speak of her like she's your friend!" Kuwabara exclaimed.
"Trust me, she's not my friend," Kurama said, trying to ease the human.
"But why do you speak so friendly about her? She freaking kidnapped you!"
"I speak friendly of her, because she has been very kind to me during my stay in the lake."
"Kurama. You talk about this whole situation like it was a holiday," Yusuke said, glaring at the kitsune with his eyes half-closed.
"Yusuke, trust me. I didn't think of it as a holiday and I was quite aware of the dangerous position that I was in, but I can't deny that I have been treated polite and with respect."
"Ow, come on! Like those creatures would know anything about that!"
"Yes, they do, Yusuke. They treated me as an equal. You may not believe it, but I could sense that the kindness was real. The way they talked to me, how they acted…"
"Kurama, please, this is…"
The kitsune didn't let his brown-eyed friend finish his sentence. "Look, they even brought food with them, food from the human world… For me."
"Was it good?" Yusuke turned around and gave Botan a glare. "What! I just want to know if it tasted good!"
"Yes Botan," Kurama said, slightly laughing. "It was OK."
"Still, it doesn't mean anything!" Kuwabara said loudly, continuing the discussion.
"Yes it does. They cared enough to go trough some trouble, considering they're demons that have never been in the human world, just to get this food for me."
"Maybe," Hiei remarked, still standing in his corner, "but it's possible they brought it to keep you alive, because they needed you for something."
"Maybe," Kurama emitted, "but if they needed me for something, I already must have done what they were after. Why else let me go? What ever it is, it's not about me anymore."
"That, or they have another use for you," Botan stated and with that she said the first smart thing of her day.
"Like what?" Kurama questioned.
"I don't know, but you never know what they are thinking," the ferry-girl said.
"I don't care," Yusuke growled. "I still don't trust them."
Ira patted the young girl on the head, twisting her fingers in the soft pink curls. "Are you ready?"
Meike slowly nodded.
"Then it's time to get going," Sarchi said with a low voice, standing in the door opening with his arms crossed. "We don't wanna be late and lose sight of our 'guide'."
"There's plenty of time left," Ira said reassuring. To anyone it would sound like she was saying it to Sarchi, but in reality the words were said to ease the younger girl, who was slightly shaking by the nerves. "They're still all together."
"Maybe now, but perhaps not for long," Sarchi said, closing his eyes.
"I know, but before you go..." Ira kneeled and looked Meike in the eyes. "… I want you to have this." In her hand she held a cord with a soft-orange shell on it. The edges were smooth and the surface gently wavy and soft. "I got this shell from a friend, a long time ago for my 20th birthday. Hana was her name. She had a way with making things. This shell is very special. She polished it, so that when the light is just right, it will glitter with all the colors of the rainbow." Ira sighed, closing her eyes and pressing the shell to her heart. Old memories, but the future wouldn't wait. She reopened her eyes and looked into Meike's eyes, her aqua orbs full with warmth and kindness. "It always brought me luck or helped me to get through difficult times when I needed it. Now I want you to have it." Ira reached her hand, the shell in the palm of her opened hand.
Meike stared with disbelief, first to Ira's hand, next into her eyes. 'Why, how can she entrust me with this? This shell… It's the most valuable object she possesses, the one thing that she has left from her best friend. The only thing left of what once was their friendship… now that…after that night… Why… Why give it to me?'
Almost like she could read her mind, Ira said: "This was a gift from her to me, but now I want it to be a gift from me to you. Hana and I… we shared great times. We were as close as friends could get. This shell is the symbol of that friendship. It was… well… the object of our bond. When we had an argument, I just had to see the surface of the material sparkle and I was immediately reminded of all the good and bad things we had been trough together. It always made me feel, that I wasn't alone, that there was always someone I could count on. That everything would be alright." Ira looked deep into the young girl's eyes. "It gave me hope when I felt lost and alone. No matter what happened... Everything would be alright." She stroke the girl's cheek.
"I don't want to interrupt your little speech, but we should really be going now!" Sarchi growled annoyed.
Ira didn't reply to his incentive. Instead she took Meike's little hand in hers and placed the shell gently in the open palm. "It will all be alright… No matter what happens…"
The little house faded away in the distance. Side on side, Meike and Sarchi swum trough the lake, to the portal that would lead them to their destination.
Meike, while swimming, tied the cord with the shell on her waist, which shattered the light into all colors one could imagine as she laid the second knot in the cord. It gave her mixed feelings. A part of her still felt guilty about her accepting the shell, which had been very important to Ira, but on the other hand washed the soft-orange object away most of her fears. 'It feels almost like a piece of Ira is with me, watching over me. Taking away my fears. Making sure I'll be alright. I can almost feel her here with me.'
'That ignorant good-for-nothing… Bleh! She suspects something. Damn you, Ira! Even if you yourself decide to stay far away from the scene where the most important happening will take place, you still want to keep your control. Meike doesn't know it, but I do, and you know I do, don't you? You had this little piece of crap, this stupid shell, with you for so long, practically always in contact with your body, that it contains part of your energy. Through this shell, you will always be able to sense how the person is doing who is wearing it.' Sarchi grinded his teeth. 'You took away a great part of my control that I had over Meike, you gave her hope, comfort and a reason to resist me and besides that a precaution measure to make sure I can't harm her, because then you'll know. And that is why I detest you, Ira! You comfort them, but are trying to restrain me! Do I not have the right of peace of mind, the right of a new start? Why are you building their new life, but are you destroying mine?'
"Look, the portal." Meike pointed in the distance. "It's not that far anymore now…"
"Good." 'You can't stop me now, not this time, Ira. I will do this my way, I will have my revenge, and nothing is going to stand in my way!'
"Ira… Is something wrong?"
"No… No, I'm fine." Ira had taken Sarchi place at the doorpost and was leaning against it, staring in the distance. Her eyes looked sad with dominance of the blue-grayish color and the slow movement.
"Are you sure?" Jeresa looked around the corner, her eyes big and questioning.
"I'm fine, Jeresa. Trust me."
Jeresa tilted her head and gave a little glare, which made her look cute instead of threatening, telling Ira that she knew that it wasn't true.
'Honestly!" Ira said, widely smiling. "It's just that…" she sighed and looked to the distance again, "this is such a big step. If all things go as I planned, we can start our lives all over again soon, all problems will be solved. However, if something goes wrong, there's a good chance things will turn for the worst."
"But nothing will go wrong, right? I mean, Sarchi and Meike will do as you planned, not?"
"Of course," Ira said, more to calm the girl than to her own belief. 'Sarchi, you'd better not try anything. I know you're up to something and if I find out it endangers anyone of the tribe, I swear you will pay for it!' "Everything will be alright…"
"This is ridicules! What is wrong with you!" Yusuke was screaming his lungs out towards his friend, who just told him something else he had heard while he stayed at the Acire's place. "Kurama, have they brain-washed you?"
"Yusuke, calm down…"
"Calm down? Calm down! You are freaking turning the blame of a mass murder to the Reikai… To us!"
"That is not what I say, Yusuke!" Kurama returned slightly irritated. "It is not our fault, but Koenma's."
"I don't believe it!" yelled Botan. "Lord Koenma would have done anything to prevent this from happening! How dare they accuse Lord Koenma! If they could blame anyone, it would be the demons that attacked their village."
"But the Reikai promised to help them out when they were under attack," Yukina said with a soft voice, practically a whisper. "You were send to protect them, and that is way they might see you as guilty, but could it be that they see Koenma, as the head of the Reikai as more responsible. I mean, he is the one that send you too late…"
"You know Urameshi, she has a point," said Kuwabara, who, of course, supported Yukina's vision. He took her hands. "My love, you are so smart. Smart and beautiful!"
In the shadow, a certain fire demon clutch his fist, grinded his teeth and prepared to attack a certain sister-touching human.
"If my ears aren't deceiving me, it looks like the Tantei is fighting. Perfect! That means they won't notice us!"
"Sarchi?" Meike pulled his dark-green sleeveless shirt. "Should I go give the warning?"
He turned around with an evil grin on his face. "No… We are not going to give a warning."
"Wha..!" Sarchi put his hand in front of her mouth to prevent the Tantei from hearing her. Meike pulled his hand away. "But we are supposed to give a warning before we attack!"
"Well, we're not attacking now, are we? We will do that later."
"But they need time to respond and figure it out! It isn't fair if we don't…"
"Life isn't fair, Meike. Learn to live with it." He turned around and starred at the Tantei again, who were only a couple of hundred feet away. 'Poor twerps. They have no idea that danger is so close. They won't know what hit them!'
Meike stared at Sarchi, or at least the back of his head. 'This is wrong. It's part of the rules. We must always give a warning, always give a second option, a way out… It's not fair if they don't get a warning.' She looked in the distance and saw how Kurama suppressed a smile, when a black clothed boy glared daggers at a orange-haired boy which he had just hit. 'Why wouldn't they deserve a warning…?' Meike clutched the orange shell in her little fist. The soft material turned warm and not before long the warmth was spreading throughout Meike's body. It was so familiar, so trusted. It reminded her of the times Ira would pick her up and hug her. 'Ira…' Stronger than ever before, Meike felt as if Ira were with her. She opened her hand and looked at the shell, which sparkled in all colors, but this time 1 color dominated: aqua.
She looked up again. Ira had decided to let Kurama live, to let him go, to let him be unharmed. Ira and Sarchi were almost the same age, only 2 flow-cycles apart, yet they were so different and now Meike was seeing the biggest difference of them all. Where Ira would try to build a new life according to the rules by which the Acire race had lived peacefully for 3000 years, Sarchi would ignore them if they stood in his way. Ira cared about tradition and a solution for everyone, allies and enemies, Sarchi only cared for himself. Ira cared, Sarchi didn't. Meike looked at the back of Sarchi's head again. 'Am I really going to follow all his orders without a fight, bringing myself and my race to disgrace? … No… No, I won't! I don't care what he'll do to me… I just can't do this. I could never forgive myself…'
'I… I could never forgive myself.' Meike rose to her feet, making Sarchi turn around to see what she was doing. "I can't…I just…" She shook her head. "I don't care… I don't care what you do to me, or what your intentions are… But you can't force me to stay quiet!" Meike raised her head, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.
"Still, I think it just plain coward to blame us for it all. I mean, we tried to help those being, for goodness sake!" Yusuke exclaimed.
"Yes, Yusuke, you've said that ten times now. We got it," Genkai said annoyed.
"Listen, all I'm trying to say…"
"Quiet!" Everyone looked at Hiei, becoming death-quiet. All, but Kuwabara.
"Why should we? Just because you say so!"
"I heard something…"
"You did?" Yusuke asked. He raised his head and looked around. "I don't sense anything."
"Maybe it was the wind…" Botan thought.
"Baka! I know what wind sounds like. This was definitely a voice."
"What!" Yusuke rose to his feet. "But then… where is it coming from?"
Sarchi pressed his hand to Meike's mouth. "What do you think you're doing!" he hissed. "They'll find us if you don't keep your voice down!" He relaxed a little bit and took his hand away from her mouth.
"I don't care. I… I will warn them. They need to be warned…" Meike said, almost as if in trance.
"What! Are you crazy! You'll destroy the planning, the strategy! Everything!" His face tensed. "Listen to me! Who cares about this warning? They don't…" he gestured to the Tantei, "I don't care and hearing you, you care about nothing about now! So who cares!"
Meike's blank eyes disappeared, getting back to reality. Who cares? There was only 1 answer that none could get around. "Ira cares…"
"I… Ira…?" Sarchi's grip loosened as he stared in nothingness. 'Ira?' Meike fell out of his hands on the ground and started to run away, away from Sarchi so she had some distance and time to perform the ancient ritual. 'Ira?' She did it. Even from such a great distance, she would show off her power, she would still control the younger ones, having them on her side, she would still be standing in his way. 'I won't let you… take my revenge…! Never! Do you hear me Ira? Never! You know I can't stop Meike now, now you'll feel when I will harm her…You destroyed it, Ira… the first phase of my plan… How could you! How could you, Ira?' Sarchi buried his hands in his hair. Without an expression he looked into the distance. Ira had won the first battle in their physiological war.
Meike looked around. The lake from which they came was too far away. If she would sing from there, the Reikai Tantei would barely be able to hear her. To make sure they got the warning loud and clear, she climbed up a tree, not to far from Genkai's temple. She held the shell in the palm of her hand. Time to begin.
'Concentrate…' That was the most important thing. "Water from the Earth, join your comrade in the Air and together bring my message." It wasn't her formula. Ira had used it to call upon the rain the day their village was attacked. She liked the sentence. It resembled how one element could tie two others together for a shared goal.
A small shard of fog rose from the ground, spreading over the forest. It didn't get more then 50 cm high, but that was all Meike needed to get her message through. She preferred to let it rain when she would send a warning, but she didn't have the ability yet. Right now, she had to do with thin fog.
Meike took a deep breath and started.
'Armies have concurred and fallen in the end…'
"Where is this fog coming from?" Yusuke said.
"Wait, listen!" Kurama turned around. "Do you hear that?"
"What?" Botan stood besides him.
"A voice… A singing voice!"
"I hear it too," Yukina said, sitting up straight.
'Kingdoms have risen, then buried by sand…'
"Oh no… Does that mean..?"
"Yes, Kuwabara. It means we'll get to see some more Acire action within a short period. The only question now, " Kurama said, "is where, when and maybe more important… who?"
"If they're that specific, all the information we need has to be in the song…" Botan closed her eyes and listened to the best of her possibilities. The other members of the Tantei soon followed her example in order to try to get informalities from the warning.
'We'll all be forgotten
There is no endless fame
But everything we do,
Is never in vain'
Sarchi slowly regained his normal thinking-pattern as he tilted his head to the right, listening to Meike's song. 'You had better not tell them everything, little girl, because if they understand what I'm going to do with your help, that could very well mean the death of both of us.'
'Forests and deserts
Rivers, blue seas
Mountains and valleys
Nothing here stays'
Almost reaching the end of the song. All Meike could do now was hoping that the Tantei might understand the cryptic song.
'While we think we witnessed
We are part of the scene'
The Tantei listened without drawing breath. The fog already started to withdraw, showing them the song was getting to it's end.
'This never-ending story'
The fog was practically gone as the last words echoed over the land:
'Where will it lead to?'
Silence. Silence that seemed to reach the unending.
Botan was the first to speak: "… Woo… That was… freaky…" She turned to Kurama. "Did you understand that? I couldn't make any sense of it."
"It was very vague, but there have to be some clues…" Yusuke said.
"'Concurred and fallen in the end.' Those who now think they have won, will be the ones that lose," Hiei started the analysis. "'Kingdoms have risen, then buried by sand…" Even the largest will eventually fade away."
Kurama continued. "But everything we do, is never in vain'. Because of an action, this will happen."
"Lack of protection from Reikai?" Yukina thought.
"Could very well be possible…" Kurama agreed. "The next part confirms that. 'Mountains and valleys, nothing here stays.' Even the biggest or strongest can stop existing…"
Meike let herself drop on the ground, falling on her knees. She stood up and quietly walked to Sarchi, who she found watching the Reikai Tantei.
"They are trying to figure it out." Sarchi turned around. "You made it far to easy to understand. I hope for you they don't get the full meaning, that could mean trouble..."
Meike didn't reply, she just looked at the Tantei and at Kurama, who looked like he was caught in thoughts. 'It doesn't matter. Even if they found out, you would still find a way to get the damage done…'
"So we agree that the next assault will most likely take place in the Reikai, or at least against someone of the Reikai," Genkai concluded.
"Still, what do they mean with: 'This a never-ending story'?" Yukina asked.
"One event will follow the other," Hiei explained. "Reikai did something, they will do something, the Reikai will do something and so on…"
"Like a chain-reaction," Kuwabara said.
"Well well, do you know such a difficult word?" Hiei said grinning.
"Why you…!"
"Come on, guys. This is not the right moment," Kurama said. "They will attack within a short period of time and we still don't know who."
Genkai turned to the blue-haired ferry-girl. "Botan, fly to the Reikai immediately and inform Koenma about the newest developments."
Botan nodded. "Will do!." She took her oar in her hand and let it flow in the air, jumping on it as soon as it stayed stable in the air. "I'll fly as fast as I can. You take care of yourself, alright?"
"Will do," Yusuke said.
"You take care too," Yukina added. She waved at the ferry-girl, who started to fly higher and higher, further and further away from the temple.
"She's leaving! That's it! The moment we have been waiting for!" Sarchi grabbed hold of Meike's shirt, picking her up and clutching her under his arm. "You stay quiet and let me do this. Remember, not a sound! If I lose my concentration, we'll both be death!"
Meike nodded. She knew what was going to happen next. She closed her eyes and tried to think of happy things, so she wouldn't feel nauseas.
Sarchi stared into the distance, focusing on his energy. Slowly his body lost its solid form and with his, Meike's body as well. Not before long they both had turned into a shard of water vapor looking like a small cloud, floating in the air, being carried by the wind or draw to other clouds. They went up, higher and higher, following the trail of a certain grim-reaper on an oar.
It didn't take long before Botan reached the Reikai. She jumped of her oar and started to run towards Koenma's office. In her hurry, she didn't see someone coming from around the corner.
"AH!" Ayame fell to the ground, dropping the papers she had been carrying. She looked up, pissed. "Botan!"
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Ayame!" Botan apologized to her colleague. "I didn't see you."
"Well, I've noticed that!" She looked down to the papers on the floor. "Aw… It will take me hours to get them back in right order!"
Botan helped Ayame gather the forms. "It's my fault. I'll help you fix it."
"You had better!" Ayame exclaimed.
"I promise. I'll be right back." She handedthe other ferry-girl the papers beforestanding up.
"He! Where are you going?" Ayame asked surprised.
"To Lord Koenma. I have some urgent information." Botan made a few steps, trying to run, but all of a sudden she started to feel dizzy. The world was turning around, faster and faster. Her legs got weak and no longer able to carry her weight, Botan collapsed.
"Botan!" Ayame rushed to her friend and helped her to sit up straight. "Botan, what's wrong?"
"I… I feel so… weak… So… tired."
"All of a sudden? Just a minute ago you were bouncing around!"
"I… I don't… know…"
Meike looked at the ferry-girl who lay in her friends arms. Sarchi had decided to block her energy for a short period of time, so they would have some time to carry out 'phase 2', or at least what was left of it.
Still in their vapor form, Sarchi and Meike moved through the halls of the Reikai palace.
Koenma growled. The pile of paperwork only seemed to get bigger, he even had to be in his teen-form to reach the top files. No matter how hard he worked, one finished file would be replaced by two new ones.
He took a red stamp and pressed it on the right-bottom of the paper, before putting it aside. "Request denied!" 'I should get some more henchmen to do these meaningless things… All my ogres are busy with other things…' 'We request that you open a portal between the human and demon world…' Ha! Like I would fall for that!'
He put the stamp away and grabbed the next file of the pile and started reading it. 'Is it just me, or is the air getting damp in here?'
With one of her friends arms over her shoulder, Ayame slowly carried Botan through the hallways. "Botan, do I really…"
"Yes… It's… very important…" Botan said, almost out of breath. Koenma had to know about the song and her current state only pointed out more that this was serious.
"It's not far anymore. Just two more halls and we'll be at his office," Ayame told.
Tip… Tip…
Koenma looked up when he heard water drops falling. His eyes widened when in front of him he saw a transparent thin vapor. The vapor was forming into drops and those started to stick together, forming a small figure.
Concentration. She had to get out of this form, not too slow and not too fast. She noticed Koenma's eyes on her as she became more aware of her solid-turning body.
The prince of the Reikai looked with surpriseat the little girl with pink curls, who was kneeling on the floor of his office. He wondered why he couldn't feel her presence, even when she was sitting in front of him.
Meike was afraid. She knew what to do, but every part of her body resisted. However, after a few moments she gently lifted up her head and looked in Koenma's eyes. She was afraid to look, she didn't want to see what was going to happen, but she had no choice.
Intrigued by her eyes, Koenma stared as under hypnosis in them, those big pink-colored orbs. They were so innocent, yet so full of fear at the same time. He noticed how the girl switched her attention and her eyes just a mere fraction away from him, behind him. As her eyes grew big with fear, Koenma felt a sharp pain in his chest and head. Everything around him turned black as he fell unconscious. His head first fell on the desk, but because of imbalance he fell to the side, off his chair and on the floor.
From behind him someone grinned. "That was too easy! The prince of the Reikai, down without a fight!" Sarchi laughed. "How pathetic!"
Meike looked at the unmoving body. She had seen this before. It was the worst state a person could be in, worse than living, worse than being death. She couldn't imagine that he had to be punished so severe, so cruel. 'If Ira ever finds out, she'll be so angry… She would never wanted to let this happen… But it has… I'm so sorry. Please forgive me…' "Please…Forgive me…"
"He never will, Meike," Sarchi said grinning. "He will never say another word and even if he does, he will never ever forgive you."
Knocks on the door.
"Damn! They're here already!" He grabbed Meike and turned back to their vapor form, waiting to see who entered the room.
Knock-knock!
"Why isn't he opening the door, or at least saying something!" Ayame yelled frustrated. "He was here 5 minutes ago. Well, in that case I just have to let myself in!"
"Be… careful…"
"No worries, Botan. There's most likely noting wrong." Ayame touched the doorknob and turned it, opening the large door. She gave it a little push, opening the door further, not noticing that as she did it a small cloudlike vapor slipped over the floor past them, disappearing around the corner. "Lord Koenma?"
Ayame walked in, Botan still hanging on her shoulder. She looked around. "Not at his desk, not near the screen…"
"Lo… Look…" Botan pointed.
There he was, on he floor. Ayame covered her mouth with her free hand, her way of preventing a scream. She walked towards the laying body as fast as she could, still carrying her friend. "Lord Koenma!"
Once near their boss, Ayame put Botan against the desk and sat down herself next to Koenma. "My Lord! Wake up!" She grabbed his shoulders and shook him. "Wake up, damnit!" She let go of him. "No reaction, limited spirit energy… Lord Koenma isn't death, but he certainly isn't functioning normal… What happened to him?"
Botan knew the answer to that question. "A… Acire…"
A/N: Woo! That was a loooong chapter! More then 13 pages in Word! O.o I hope it makes up for the long time it took me to write it :)
Please, review. :puppy-dog eyes: Please?