Pawns
by Quicksilver
Part Seven
"ARRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHH!"
Miyako was ready to tug her hair out. She picked up a pillow on the couch and punched it angrily. She'd stopped in to change before going to visit Maron, but the news awaiting her at home was enough to put her best friend's welfare out of her mind temporarily.
"Calm down, Miyako," her father said, trying to soothe her. "We've two days to get something set up!"
"Two hours, two days, two weeks- what difference does it make? I can't believe Sinbad sent yet another notice- this makes it- what? The fourth time this week?" She threw the pillow down and started to hunt for something glass to break.
"He and Jeanne missed a target for the first time- of course they're coming back. Though how they plan to steal the tower..." Her father sounded slightly perplexed.
"That pin Jeanne threw had something to do with it. Are the lab reports back?" she asked, forcing herself to sit down and take a few deep breaths and think with her head, rather then her emotions. The two kaitou seemed to exist to piss her off.
His expression grew even more puzzled. "Yes. No prints, as we expected. And the weird thing is, they can't identify it."
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"Wait a sec," he told her, heading over to the closet where he kept his briefcase when he was at home. She watched him pull it out and pop the lock, then flip through a few files before selecting one. "Take a look at this."
She read them over intently, and studied the reports. She wasn't a science major, but something immediately struck her. "It's harder then diamond?" Diamond had a hardness of 10- it was the hardest element known to man.
"Yes. They weren't able to cut a piece of it, so they had to perform the tests on the entire piece."
She winced. She knew what the tests could do to something- sometimes in trying to identify something, they would destroy it.
"Don't worry- it's still in one piece, and looks just like it did when we collected it from the crime scene."
"It survived the acid tests?"
"And the electroscope, density... you name it, we tried it. We're not able to tell what the hell it is, only that the thing is solid and that it's denser than anything we've ever seen. The scientists would love to get their hands on Jeanne to ask her some questions. It looks like an entirely new compound, possibly even a stable element."
"I always said she was no ordinary thief. I wonder if Sinbad's pins are made of the same material?"
"Doesn't he use black?" her father pointed out.
"Hmmm, well. it could be a variation. You know a lot of compounds come in multiple colors, depending on the exact composition," Miyako said. "For every answer we get, though, we come up with a dozen more questions." She stared at the picture of the pin, noticing how the light had reflected off the surface, giving it a pearly sheen. "Exactly what is Jeanne?" she whispered. There were too many things about the kaitou that just didn't make sense.
"Huh?" her father said, not following her.
"Nothing, nothing, Dad," she said, smiling at him. He'd think she was nuts if she started to talk about her suspicions, and probably remove her from his team, which was the last thing she wanted. She would catch Jeanne and Sinbad, both, if it killed her. She felt like she was on the verge of a breakthrough. Knowledge was power, and she almost had enough to
"Did you stop to see Maron today?" her mother called from the kitchen. "I brought her and Nagoya-kun some soup for dinner- I figured it was the least I could do."
Miyako didn't even bother asking how Akiko knew Maron had been ill. Her mother had a radar for the other girl, considering her a second daughter. "No, Mom. I wanted to talk Dad first. I'm on my way over now."
Her mother smiled at her as she grabbed her bag and left. Miyako didn't even bother to change into street shoes- she was merely going across the hall. It was wonderful that she lived so close to her best friend. She knocked on the door softly, and entered without waiting for an answer.
Chiaki sat on the couch, watching television. She tried to see exactly what show he was watching, and wasn't surprised to see that it was Inu Yasha. He looked up and smiled at her. "Ah, Miyako!" Chiaki sounded glad to see her, and gave her a grin that lit up his chocolate brown eyes. "Good day at school?" He rose to his feet in a lithe movement, coming over to stand within arm's reach.
"The usual," she said, trying to keep from brightening too much at his interest in her. She hated how she immediately dissolved into a puddle of goo whenever he flirted with her. He was handsome, sure, but she had other priorities. She didn't need a man to fulfill her.
No matter how cute.
"How's Maron?" she asked, trying to keep her blush within manageable levels.
"She's better. She had some of the soup your mother made -thank her again for me, it was delicious- and was up for a little while. She's napping again now, but I think she'll wake up in half an hour or so. Did you get our stuff?" he asked. He raised his arms towards the ceiling, stretching slowly, as though his back was bothering him.
She ignored that. "Yes, it's in my bag," she said, an unwilling smile springing to life as he continued to grin at her. Damn, the boy was just too handsome for his own good. Everything he did just drew attention to his physical perfection.
He reached out and squeezed her shoulder gently in thanks. "You're wonderful." Then his expression grew slightly pensive. "I hate to ask this of you, but I have to do a few errands. Can you keep Maron company? I really don't want to leave her alone."
"Of course I will!" Miyako said. "Didn't I volunteer already?"
Chiaki's smile lit his eyes, and for a second she let herself drown in the pools of warm chocolate. "Thank you. You're a wonderful friend to Maron- and to me." He bent over and kissed her cheek briefly, barely brushing her skin with his lips, and then was gone.
She stared at the door he vanished through blankly for a second before picking up the remote to turn the television off, acting mechanically while her mind spun.
Chiaki had kissed her... Chiaki had kissed her. Chiaki had kissed her.
Miyako collapsed in a heap on the couch, all thoughts of catching kaitou gone from her mind.
Chiaki paid the admission price to the Tokyo Tower, pretending to drop his money as an excuse to bend over so he could shove one of his pins into the floor. People wouldn't notice it: he'd carefully placed a "don't see me" spell on all of his pins before coming. Then he handed the attendant 1000 yen and waited patiently as she handed him back his change.
The demon's presence hummed along his senses, and he was glad he hadn't had anything to eat all day (despite claiming Toudaiji-san's soup was wonderful), or else he would have been sick. The atmosphere was oppressive to someone with any sort of skill in magic. A simple banishment wouldn't work, he could tell immediately. The demon's evil permeated the foundation of the building, and the workers seemed to be drained and tired. They weren't possessed, but the demon was tapping into their energy.
He wandered around the lower observation deck, pretending to enjoy the view of Tokyo while he secretly planted his pins all over. His head hurt, and even though his activities hadn't caught the attention of the demon, the possibility worried him. He might have to become Sinbad, something he didn't want to do. He had enough energy to make the transformation, but he was running below his normal levels. If he tried to teleport now, should things go wrong, he'd end up in the same condition Maron was in.
After a suitable time on the first level, he took the elevator to the second level. The floor hummed beneath him with concealed energy, the energy that the demon had been draining. He hadn't found the person who had been possessed, and that worried him. A possibility started to nag at the corner of his mind, something dreadful he didn't want to consider.
On the second observation level the demon's presence was more intense. Damn powerful demon. Perhaps even one with a Name, though the very idea made him shiver. Going up against one of the Named was beyond his means. Kaitou Sinbad was powerful, but he was still only mortal. Even Kaitou Jeanne would have think twice about it- not that she would. Knowing her, she would plunge right in, rather than consider things. Then again, she probably didn't even have a clue exactly what a Named demon was. She was so certain of God's love for her, so sure that he would protect her.
He envied her faith. He stuck one of the pins into the wall beside the elevator and headed towards the center to take a seat.
Another wave of nausea assaulted him, worse then any he'd experienced before. Cold sweat beaded on his face, and his legs grew weak. Chiaki tried to advance, but was forced away.
Shit.
His instincts had been right. The demon was powerful, powerful enough to have earned itself a Name.
A few hours later he sat in the same park he had found Maron in the prior night, Access perched on right knee. The night air was slightly, chilly, but he didn't notice. He was cold on the inside- cold and hot at the same time. He wasn't his usual confident self. Chiaki was smart enough to recognize when something was beyond his capabilities, and a Named was certainly that.
He looked at Access Time, his eyes looking almost like the blue of his other self in the twilight. "It's not an ordinary demon, Access. This demon has a Name. A Checkmate won't work on him. I might be able to siphon off his power enough for someone else to finish the job, if I can find out what Name he claims as his own, but for that to work..."
"...you'll need Maron's help. Or should I say Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne."
Chiaki sighed. "More than that. This demon has a direct link to Hell. For it to be sealed, Jeanne and Sinbad must come into true being."
The kuroi tenshi's jaw dropped. "It's too soon..." he whispered.
"It has to be now. Have you noticed? I don't get noticeably older when I become Sinbad anymore. That means..." he trailed off, not wanting to voice it. It was a terrifying thought.
Access, though, knew that it had to be done. "That your final transformation will be very soon."
Chiaki's eyes were frightened. For once he seemed much younger than his seventeen years, and no trace of cockiness marred his expression. "And that means I'll die."
"Sinbad..." Access said, trying to express his sympathy.
"I'm scared," he whispered, burying his face in his hands. "I'm only seventeen. Why does it have to be me?"
Access Time stood up and floated backwards, then flickered, accessing a power he hadn't tried to invoke before. To Access' slight amazement, it worked. Slowly violet light enveloped him, and he took the form of a True Angel, an angel the size of a man. His dark feathers swept the floor as he took the human boy into his arms, hugging him tightly to offer comfort. "Because there is no one else. You know the truth, and that carries a hefty responsibility."
Chiaki was not fond of hugs for comfort, but Access was an angel, and his very nature made it soothing. He leaned into his guardian, feeling the press of the warm silk against his cheek as he buried his face against Access's shoulder. "It will be all right. Trust in God," Access said, his voice sounding more like an adult male's than a teenager.
"I don't trust in anyone, not even myself," Chiaki answered softly.
"Then trust in Jeanne. You love her, and to love is to trust."
"I do not!"
"Oh?" Access said.
"I don't!" Chiaki protested. "How can I love her? She's everything I'm not! She's naive and childish, unwilling to acknowledge reality! She accepts things without question, trusting whatever Fin Fish says without even bothering to think about it! She's my rival! I told you before- it's a game!"
Access Time pulled back enough so Chiaki could see his fanged grin. "I'll let you go on thinking that for now, but sooner or later, you'll have to be honest with yourself. The truth may be painful, but it is still the truth."
