PART XIV. "The Underground."

"If you don't want to be betrayed anymore, then start by doubting the person you want to doubt the least."

— Naoki Urasawa.

Kurama.

Yomi paused, ears twitching as he looked away from the screen. A small smirk grew on his face. Curious, a cold chill covered my clothed arms, prickling my skin.

"Your friend is funny, Kurama." His words bounced off the walls of the cold, steal room.

Yusuke? Why would he be coming to Yomi's territory? Unless…

"I know we didn't expect it to happen so soon, but do you think Raizen has died?"

"…Most likely."

Either that or Yusuke is putting some plan in action for Aiko. For his safety, I hoped it was the former. Despite being obstinate and dense about politics, Makai customs had been coming naturally to him, or so I'd heard. I shouldn't be too worried. Thus, it meant it was most likely Raizen's passing that pushed him to come to Yomi.

His intent? I had a few ideas… but Yusuke's approaches to any of the possibilities could be harmful.

"We'll see how this Urameshi character plays his hand." Yomi smiled to himself, eager for Yusuke to let his guard down so he could take his territory. He turned to the stout green youkai near the screen. "Youda, prepare some green tea and hors d'oeuvres for our fine guest."

Youda nodded and hurried out of the room. Yomi stood from his chair and headed to exit the room. "Gather your troops. Depending on what he says, I may order you to kill him. I'm counting on you, Kurama."

I watched him leave the room as I stayed seated, arms folded across my chest. The air in the room was still. One word from Yusuke may spark an all-out war. As much as I want to fight Yusuke, I wouldn't want it to be on those terms.

Mukuro should have gotten wind of Raizen's death, and should be on her way to Gandara now. With Hiei's help, she would surely know Yusuke is headed this way. Hiei's telepathy only reaches so far, meaning if she wanted to hear what was happening between the two…

I stood and made my way to the conference room Yusuke would be put in. A warm room on the lower level of the tower. It was painted a soft, traditional beige color with tatami mats. Outside the open shoji doors was a faux, creatively constructed garden.

Mukuro no doubt had spies in Gandara, with some likely even working under Yomi. The room should then… be bugged. I paused at the potted plant in the room and glanced to see a small, actual, bug at the base of the stem, blending into the dirt. I dared not touch it to find out if it was real and genetically modified, or well-crafted, for fear of tipping them off.

It shouldn't have video recording—Hiei was useful for that—and he wouldn't tell her I found the bug. Not if I left it alone…

This was my chance. Yomi would know Mukuro was listening.

The dirty, underhanded politics of Makai rivaled underground crime syndicates at times, which I found a form of dark humor in.

Jin and the others would be willing to side with Yusuke should something happen. Against me, them, Yusuke, and Yusuke's body guards, Yomi would have to expend at least a third of his energy to defeat us all. This would leave him weak for when Mukuro would undoubtedly strike, and he wouldn't have enough strength to win.

I could recuse myself of his subordinate and control, if Yusuke played his cards right. This was contingent upon Yusuke's plan… whatever it was.

"He moves fast, doesn't he?" Yomi's voice came from behind me.

I nodded.

"Let it be," Yomi said, leaving the room.

He wanted to control what information she would have, and would be even more cautious in his decision. Heading out the room, I began the hunt for Jin, and mentally prepared myself for every possibility Yusuke could throw at Yomi.

A revolution concocted in the span of less than twenty minutes? Of course, I could try.

Aiko.

"Where are you?" Minoru's voice was muffled under the heavy winds from outside the club. They blew into the speaker, making it difficult for him to understand anything I said.

"I'm in downtown Tohoku," I replied, lips centimeters away from the payphone receiver. Ever since my dad kicked me out I could only talk to Minoru and my mother when he was working overtime. My not living there anymore apparently allowed him to work less overtime. "How are you and Mom?"

"We're okay," Minoru said after a pause, having signed to her. "Mom wants to meet you for lunch one day."

"I'm still going to school." I felt myself smiling as a sharp sting stabbed my heart. "We can all meet on the weekends, maybe."

"Mom said we can try to think of something—" My attention was cut off. I immediately looked to find the source of the scream of rage that came behind me.

Natsume stormed out of the club's entrance, cell phone in her white-knuckled hand, with an expression I hadn't seen in a long time. Hayashi and Fukui trailed out after her. Fukui, with her usual tired expression, and Hayashi, with her air-head smile. Because nothing was more normal than Natsume blowing a fuse.

"Sounds good, Minoru," I tried, but Natsume looked ready to blow up on me. I had to hang up. "I'll call you again in a couple days, okay?"

"Mom asked if you're safe," he hurried.

"I am. Don't worry," I waited for his short reply before saying goodbye. I hung up as Natsume reached me to scream loud enough to puncture my ear drums.

"I hate those bottom-feeding little critters!" she screamed, slamming Nokia cell phone into the metal phone booth's casing repeatedly before throwing it into the club's brick wall. The phone remained only slightly scathed as it dropped to the ground, leaving a small dent in the stone wall. "They fucking—they're—I can't believe them! They think they're so fucking smart!"

"What happened?" I asked, watching Hayashi bend at the knee to pick up her phone and dust it off. I wondered if it was the same one I threw out of the window and onto the freeway that night. Doubtful, but it definitely would have survived every car running over it. "New batch?"

"No, your precious little ex-spirit detective went off and decided he wanted to create a tournament in Makai!" Her face was brightening to a shade of red comparable to her strapless dress.

I made a sour face to hide my surprise. Yusuke came through already?! "My precious?"

"Fucker decided he wanted to make it a competition? Fuck if I know. He basically scheduled it for when we're holding the dark tournament. The audacity!"

"I don't get it," I hummed, adjusting my purple halter top's straps as I moved to Hayashi to inspect the phone. Yeah, a scratch. "We won't lose that many youkai attending, will we?"

"Of course we will!" she screamed in my face. Flecks of spit missed me by centimeters. "Of all the years for those fucking vermin to pull this. We're so close! We're so close, I'm going to fucking—" She snatched the phone from my hand and began again beating the payphone's metal casing with it again. The blows to the casing were beginning to fall in sync with the faint beat I could hear from the club underground.

"Close to what?" I didn't bother stopping her from creating a scene as people walked by and stared. I looked to Hayashi or Fukui.

Fukui shrugged and looked back to the bouncer at the entrance, wondering if he was going to come over and stop us. Hayashi kept her calm smile and shook her head at me.

"The whole reason we're even doing this, you fucking retard." She turned on me after chucking her phone into the dark alley we stood in front of. "Haven't you figured it out?" She stepped up to me, finger pointing to her temple. "The talismans, picking them up illegally, all of it."

"N…No. I haven't. I thought it was to get rid of them—"

"Akane," Hayashi called calmly, and Natsume gritted her teeth.

"How else do you think we keep this barrier up?" she spat.

"No, I know that but—"

"Then what else is there to not get?!" She clenched her fists. "That's such a large source for the entire year—we're so fucking close. We projected the fucking numbers and we're so close. This year could have been the breakthrough!"

"Akane." Hayashi was sterner now.

"They would have been enough to get us to—"

"Akane!" Hayashi raised her voice for the first time.

Everyone paused, surprised, and turned to the normally soft-spoken blonde with a variety of expressions.

"Sorry. Whatever." Natsume sucked her tongue and turned on her heels, heading back to the club's entrance.

"What was that?" I pushed towards Hayashi now. If I could enrage Natsume again, then maybe she'd flip out and scream it at me.

"Sorry, Aiko. It's clearance, is all." She gave me an apologetic smile. "Natsume could have gotten in a lot of trouble had she let that out. You're not a part of the organization, so it's not something we can share."

I glanced to Fukui, but said nothing as Hayashi turned to follow Natsume. Fukui shook her head at me, a look of shared confusion on her face, before following the blonde. I headed after her, heels scraping against the cold concrete below.

The bouncer let us back in with a nod, and the music grew as we descended the dimly lit stairwell to the underground. The room held a red overcast from the dim lights above, a stylistic choice to pair with the black and grey décor.

"Eighties hour" had begun, and choice city-pop tunes were hand-selected by the DJ to get everyone grooving on the dancefloor. Hayashi had taken Natsume's hand to lead her on the floor, moving her hips to Yomashita Tetsuro's 'Ride on Time', coaxing the brunette to follow her movements.

I scanned the floor for Fukui, who was of course at the bar praying her fake identification wouldn't get her in handcuffs. I strolled up next to her and leaned my back against the counter.

"Make it two, I guess," she called to the bartender, who eventually came over to card me.

"What was that about?" I asked as the bartender disappeared to prep our mixed drinks. I kept my eyes on the other two girls on the floor.

They were in sync, dancing freely to the soul bouncing around the air, pressed against each other unabashedly. I watched the way Natsume was comfortable in her movements, as if she'd done this her whole life, while Hayashi seemed to savor every second to be free.

It had crossed my mind before, noticing how unconventional these three girls were. It didn't hit me until I watched two of them dancing together tonight. Sneaking in with fake identification, underage drinking, and the complete lack of sensitivity for their own culture at times… I stared down at my feet in thought, clad in three inch heels.

I was always similar to them, I suppose. Disgust churned my stomach. I wondered where I went wrong in my life to end up on their radar. Had I always been a delinquent?

"I have an idea, but I'm not exactly given clearance for it. So it's all a guess," she replied, eyeing the bottles of name brand alcohol displayed behind the counter in decoration. I glanced over to her. "I think it has something to do with when Ami and Akane do their weird ritual like twice a year."

"Ritual?" I asked as a pair of crystal white drinks were set in front of her.

"I think I have an idea what it is, but I'm not allowed to join it. So I'm not sure," she said, picking hers up and sliding mine towards me.

I tested the sour drink, and found myself liking the lemon flavor. It hid the alcohol surprisingly well.

"Whenever Ami and Akane do the weird ritual, a new batch of talismans are brought in for the dealership," she continued.

The talismans…

"I always wondered if there was another reason they were storing that ki, the souls," I mumbled, sucking the liquor through the straw faster than I should have been.

"There's always a quota every year, you know," she said. "She just mentioned it. How many we have to kill… at least, that's what I assumed. Maybe it has to do with the souls instead. I don't know what else the quota could be."

Each soul would have a different amount of energy to it, so it would be different than just having a body count…

"Assuming that has anything to do with what she was popping off about…" I finished my drink and set it aside.

"I think so…" She began listing off what we already knew. "A quota, and the bodies are burned and not accounted for, so that must mean it has to do with souls."

All this time I had thought they were hiding the souls from Reikai, to prevent evil spirits from lingering, to avoid any further hassle… Was there actually another use for the souls? What could they do with souls?

"The talismans keep the souls… what are they doing with them?" I asked.

She shook her head. "I don't know… I never thought about it before… I figured they were hiding them from Reikai."

"Suzume knows a lot about talismans. She was talking about them before," I mentioned, tugging at my clutch's strap around my shoulder. "I can call her… Cover for me?"

"Sure. Ah—" Fukui glanced over her shoulder to see Natsume sashaying over, feet in sync with another eighties hit. Hisono Harumi's 'Sportsmen', I noticed, recognizing the cute flute-like melody.

Natsume grabbed both of our wrists and dragged us on the dancefloor to join them. She let go of our wrists to bounce to the beat, laughing loudly as she exclaimed, "I hate this song!"

Alcohol loosened me up, letting me dance horribly, unashamed. I watched the brunette dancing, not a care in the world. How much had she drank?

I closed in on her, dancing close, speaking into her ear over the music. "What's our quota?"

She didn't respond, only continued dancing. Her eyes were closed, she was fully immersed in the city pop blaring through the speakers above. My body continued moving to the beat; I wondered if I should try again.

"Souls," she replied, sneaking up behind me. I looked over my shoulder to her as she continued dancing.

Fukui was right.

"Not bodies?" I asked, grabbing her wrists to bring her closer. She moved towards me with ease, happily bouncing to the new song, by Junko Onohashi.

"The key is in the energy." She smiled, her eyes still shut, relaxed. "The bodies aren't needed… it's the ki we want."

A chill ran down my back, numbing my legs. I fumbled to force myself to keep moving. "Then… the torture…"

She laughed, and then put a single finger to her lips, to shush me. We could have put them all in a gas chamber to get their ki, but the torturing was all about fun for them.

She was pulled away by the blonde, who likely knew I was milking her for answers. The drunken brunette was screaming the telephone number in the song, and Hayashi was eyeing me curiously.

"Can you come with me to the bathroom?" Fukui asked, stepping between us.

"…Yeah." I kept my gaze on the blonde as I backed away, following Fukui.

We weaved through the dancefloor until we reached the wall, and followed it until we found the restrooms. The music muffled when we closed the door behind us, and I hurried into a stall to dig through my clutch. I dialed for Suzume, and she picked up after about half a minute.

She sounded groggy; her face in pain from the compact's bright light in her dark room. "Yes?"

"Hey, Suzume…" I whispered. "I can't talk for long, but can you do me a favor? Tell me what you know about soul keeping. In talismans."

She hummed—maybe groaned—in thought. "It is an old practice used to transfer souls to another body, without Reikai's help. This was especially useful for people who were waiting for a body that was fresh."

"So a bunch of talismans sucking up victims' souls in the dealership—"

"No," she cut me off. "One talisman only. If there are many talismans, the soul could be split into all of them. It would then be impossible to transfer that soul to another body—you could never piece the soul together again that way. It is lost forever."

They're definitely not using it to hide souls from Reikai then…

The bathroom door opened. I held my breath and a finger to my lips for Suzume to stay quiet.

I glanced to the floor to see the shadows, waiting for Fukui's voice to signal out one of the girls.

"What do you want?" Fukui seemed taken back, hesitant.

I turned my sight back on the compact's screen and nodded to Suzume. She remained calm, unblinking, as I shut the compact. I pressed the lever on the toilet with the bottom of my shoe and waited for it to finish flushing before exiting the stall.

Hayashi stood at one of the sinks, usual smile gone from her lips. A strange calmness replaced it, eyes unwaveringly following me as I made my way to the sink next to her.

"You sure she's alright out there by herself?" I asked, not bothering to look at her as I rinsed my hands.

I moved to find the paper towel dispenser, but her hands snaked their way to my face. They cupped my cheeks gently, guiding my gaze to land on her. I stared at her, shoulders tensing.

"I never did see why Akane let you follow her around like a stray cat that got fed," she began. "But I see what she sees, the persona that attracted her. You were moldable, something she could play with as she saw fit."

My eyes flickered to Fukui, who was tenser than I was, and back to Hayashi, whose oddly serene face hadn't changed even slightly.

"But someone got to you first, didn't they?" she asked. I refrained from swallowing the lump in my throat. "That's why you're a lost cause."

My mouth worked faster than my head. "Then why does she keep me around, if I can't be what she wants?"

"Because you're not a threat, not against Reikai." A smirk played on her lips, sending chills down my spine at the sight. "As long as you stay out of Akane's way, I don't care what you dig up. But I'll warn you, whatever you find can kill you."

Her hands slid from my face and rested at her side. Our eyes held stares for a moment, and I racked my brain on what to do. She didn't know who I was working for, or even that I was working for anyone, but she knew I was up to something.

How much did she know?

The club's music became louder as she opened the door to leave the bathroom, and dulled back to a steady, faraway beat as it closed behind her.

I had to act faster…

What was I going to do now?

Fukui.

"It seems that sign-ups for the Makai Tournament will begin next week."

I hated going to these things. Bordering on alcoholism meant I wasn't experiencing much of a hangover from last night, but somehow these old men's voices were doing the trick on my temples. I dug in my small purse for another aspirin and popped a few in my mouth to dry swallow. I didn't have to go to any of these meetings. I only ever went because it was expected of me. I used to feel out of place, and in a way, I still did. There were plenty of meetings I wasn't allowed to attend, but unfortunately, this was one of them.

"It seems Raizen's successor wants to start it as soon as possible," Mr. Matsumoto continued. "If we're lucky, it will be over by the time the Dark Tournament is held."

Miss Yasuhira chimed in. "Every brute in that realm will be attending so long as they can lift a finger to fight. So we need to find out how the tournament is being structured. They must not intend to keep it going for months..."

"It's rumored an entire building is under construction for it, so that will take time as well." I stopped paying attention to who was speaking at this point.

I refrained from leaning my chin in my hand and letting out a sigh. I wanted to go home to sleep. The cold white and grey interior design of the meeting room was dull to me, boring me to sleep, reinforcing the black and white views of both myself and them. A skewed idea of justice, of rightness, plagued their minds. I wondered if they hated youkai, or if they genuinely thought what they were doing was right. It was an individual variation; as I knew for Akane, it was both.

"There's no way we can lure them back to our realm either, during that time. There's no incentive to give them."

This was not all I'd ever known, unlike some of the people in this room. My father worked his way up the Reikai's Barrier Regulations and Enforcement ladder to end up sitting in the laps of Natsume, Kentaro and Hayashi, Kouhei. And then, in grade school, I was introduced to their daughters.

"Of course, we can always use our old-fashioned method..."

My father always believed what he was doing was right, not that he hated them. But, with thought, I suppose we could only enact these atrocious behaviors on someone we hated, someone we thought was lesser than us. My father continuously reassured me that it was not the case for him. As if instilling that in my head mattered for some reason, as both of us were forced to publicly display contempt.

This was especially so when my father forced me to be with Ami and Akane. Better relations with his bosses' daughters ensured his favor under their gazes. A business tactic to suck up to his superiors, where I was the pawn. But, I was making friends, what could have possibly been the harm?

Akane, herself. And Ami, who was so loyal to Akane that she'd gouge out her own eyes if it meant Akane could use them for something as simple as playing ping-pong. They never did enjoy me, but put up with me out of courtesy and possibly pity.

Perhaps my growing self-hatred throughout the years was turned outwards towards youkai. Unlike them, though, I didn't believe in the message we stood by—whatever it was. I never did learn what it was. I was a blind follower, doing only what I was told because I was told it was right. My upbringing didn't excuse anything I'd done or endorsed, even if it had been taught to me from a young age. It made me wonder about everyone in this room. How their hatred and delusional ideas of justice were born, I pondered.

"Any thoughts, little Hitomi?" Miss Yasuhira called on me.

I opened my eyes and straightened my posture in my seat. It wasn't often they asked for my opinion, unless it was to belittle me or further instill how I was an outsider. My father sitting pretty in the head of a district's lap meant nothing to other district heads. After all, they were still above him.

I closed my eyes again and crossed my arms across my chest, leaning back in my chair. "I'm not sure. Maybe we can find out the schedule, and delay the Dark Tournament until after this one finishes. It wouldn't necessarily be suspicious to do so since the island's arena is under construction. Plus, it would allow us a revenue still."

There was silence. I opened my eyes to see their expressions to gauge their thoughts. The group of business men and women clad in expensive black suits around the large, oval table seemed to be taking it into consideration. Had none of them thought of that? It was so simple.

"It is possible, if the underground wanted to comply," Matsumoto cleared his throat awkwardly. We referred to the criminal syndicate that worked with Reikai in holding the Dark Tournament as 'the underground.' It was, of course, run by human criminals. And, of course, money was their incentive to agree without asking why Reikai made a contract with them. "It's likely they'll want to renegotiate this year's contract in order to comply. I'm sure they have a stake in Makai's tournament as well."

If Aiko hung out with Raizen's successor—that goody-two-shoes detective—then they wouldn't be in it.

"Let's take a brief recess," he continued. "Contact the underground, and see what they'd be willing to accommodate—if anything." He then sent a glance my way. The bright sun from the bay window on the wall sent a striking glare across his glasses. He nodded. "Thank you for offering the suggestion, Fukui."

I nodded and spoke quietly. "It was no problem."

As everyone filed out of the room quietly, soon only my trio remained. Akane stretched her torso, lifting her arms above her head, and then looked to me with a toothy grin.

"Nice thinking on your feet there," she laughed. "Even I could tell you were falling asleep."

"Seems I was the only one thinking at all," I pointed out, as she stood from her seat.

"Yeah, that offer seemed pretty obvious," she yawned as she walked past me to reach the door. "Guess he wanted to throw you a bone. Careful, you may have to end up putting out."

She left the room, and all who remained with me was Ami. We sat in silence, and I debated going to the bathroom. I stood, and as I passed by her chair, she spoke to me.

"Who is she working with?" she asked, quietly.

Without turning around to face her, I answered truthfully. "I don't know."

"What does she think she can do?"

I scoffed. "She thinks she can do a lot, but she probably can't do much… Have you told Akane?"

"I see no reason," she replied. "Not if she's not a threat. Reikai can easily get rid of her anyway, even with her sudden increase in reiki. I wouldn't want to bother Akane with something so trivial. Besides, it would be better for her if Akane didn't know—Akane would give her a much harsher death than Reikai would."

I glanced over my shoulder to her. "Fair enough."

She was standing behind me, and I almost jumped out of my skin as I turned around to face her. "Are you in on it?"

Hayashi never got like this—I'd only seen her face like this, like it was last night… I couldn't remember. It was eerie, sending a shiver down my spine. I always knew Hayashi had a façade of happiness, naivety—everyone here had their own persona. It was necessary to get through the day, sometimes.

"She asked me for information," I replied, meeting her cold gaze with my own wary one. "And I told her the truth—I didn't have clearance for anything she wanted to know."

"What really happened that night with the guard?" she cocked her head to the side, and I froze.

"He didn't attempt to rape her." My mouth worked faster than my head, and I was screaming at myself to stop. "She had a freak out, because he flirted with her."

A taupe brown eyebrow rose. "She killed him because he flirted with her?"

"Cornered her," I continued. "She just kept repeating that he was too close to her after I found her."

She hummed and looked off to the side. "She killed him, huh? One of our trained officers?" I stayed quiet, heart pounding in my throat, as her arms crossed over her chest. A look of realization dawned on her, her eyes widened slightly. "Girl A…"

She walked past me, headed towards the door.

"Girl A?" I asked, turning to follow her.

"It's nothing," she replied, pausing in her stride but not looking back at me. "Tell her to stop sticking her nose into our politics, or I'll have her reported."

She left the room, and I stood in the cold air alone. I ran over the conversation we had in my head, over and over, until the memories didn't make sense anymore. I hesitated in reaching for my compact, but I knew I wouldn't be able to touch it until I could get away from the two of them. My heart pounded in my chest, loud and strong in the quiet room.