Disclaimer: T T Must I be reminded every time? ::many answers of "YES!" are received:: … - -;

A/N: No time for a real author's note today. Gonna head to my aunt's house in a bit for a New year's party. :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!

And now, ch3... Enjoy!

Awakening Spirits

By Lisa Bako (aka "Pegacorn")

Chapter 3: The Mission Revealed!

Standing there, in the principal's office, he waited. Thinking; calculating the current situation.

When asked if it would be possible for him to show a new student around the school, Kurama had accepted, but he could not help but wonder, just what they would be like… He hadn't even been told their name; only that they were male and from America. Apparently, this was the main reason he'd been asked to show him around. Kurama was the top student in school, with straight A's in his English class. It was uncertain as to how well this transfer student would be able to speak Japanese, so he might need help in that area. He would be attending here, at Meiou Private Academy, starting today, and would need to be toured around the school for a bit that morning.

Kurama had been excused from class, of course; the principal had notified his first period teacher, so there was no problem. Now, all that was left to do was wait for this transfer student to arrive…

Just as he swept a hand through his long, red locks, a knock sounded upon the door, before the knob was turned.

In stepped someone he would not have expected. Waist-length, blond hair swayed behind him as he closed the door with a click, casting a quick glance at the red-head, before approaching the secretary's desk.

"Um…excuse me, miss…" He caught her attention, making her look up at him from the computer in front of her.

"Yes?"

"I'm…uh, here to…see the principal…" His voice shook with nerves, but in perfect --albeit slightly accented-- Japanese, none-the-less.

Could this be the new student? Kurama wondered…

If so, then it appeared his acting as translator would not be so needed after all.

The secretary seemed to catch the shakiness in the boy's tone just as well as Kurama had, for she smiled in a comforting way. "Oh, you must be the new student, am I correct?" He nodded in answer. "Principal Takenaka is expecting you --go right in." She gestured to the door opposite the first one he'd come through.

Glancing at the brown oak door-- "Arigato." --he strode towards it, before knocking, receiving a muffled "Enter", and disappearing into the office behind it.

---

Stopping just outside the door Keiko had directed him to, marked as the principal's office, Reiki's heart began to race. The butterflies in his stomach began to flutter intensely, causing him to become even more aware of how nerve-wracking this situation was.

New country, new city, new school…new friends. The full weight hadn't truly hit him until a few minutes ago, when he'd walked through the main door.

Ignoring the many students that were now milling past him to get to class, the blonde took in a breath, before opening the office door.

Closing it silently behind him, he took in his surroundings briefly, absently noting how much quieter it was in here than out in the hallway. The perfect place to sort through one's thoughts. But there was no time for that.

Catching a glance of a red-haired…someone --he didn't know whether to refer to the individual as male or female; their hair was almost as long as his!--, he approached the secretary's desk silently --all the while feeling the green orbs of the red-head set on the back of his skull, adding to his already hefty load of uneasiness-- as he conversed with the lady sitting behind the desk, getting directions to go through the door on the left. The door that led to the principal's office.

Thanking her, he made his way over to it, knocking lightly, almost wishing this "Principal Takenaka" wouldn't hear it, but receiving the response to enter, and so did so, shutting the only exit behind him. And thus, cutting off those calculating green eyes that had been boring holes into his head a moment ago.

Well, that was one less thing to worry about… Unfortunately--

The graying-brown-haired middle-aged man looked up from whatever paperwork he'd been going over to gaze at Reiki.

--that just meant he'd have to deal with something worse…

There went those butterflies again… If he'd known how tension-raising this would be, then he would've skipped breakfast…

Finally, the old guy spoke. "Ah, you must be Kaze-san." Waving his hand in front of him, he continued, "Please, sit down." before gazing back down at the folder full of papers in front of him.

Taking note of the pair of chairs placed in front of the desk, Reiki sat down stiffly on one of them --placing his bag on the floor beside him--, resting a hand on each arm.

As the principal looked up again, he noticed the unyielding death grip the boy seemed to have placed on the chair. "Relax, son. There's no need to be nervous." The blonde's hold loosened considerably, but his grip was not removed. This satisfied Takenaka enough, anyway, as he lifted the folder for the teen to see.

His hazel-green eyes gained a look of recognition, as he noticed the name written on the front. It was…

"You're records." The older man confirmed his thoughts. Flipping through them, "I've been looking through them for a bit. And I must say…" He trailed off for a moment, causing the youth to become apprehensive of what would be said next.

'"I must say" what? What do you say?? Bad? Good? Something???' The suspense was obviously getting to him…

"I'm quite impressed." The principal looked up with a smile.

Reiki just gaped at him. "…What…?"

"I said I'm impressed. You're grades from your old school are quite remarkable. Not many students can pull off maintaining an average quite so high in the beginning of the year. Even those who do not participate in after-school activities often have trouble doing so."

He could not help but feel a great deal lighter after hearing that. Had the principal --the highest power in a school-- just complimented him? Him? Reiki?? If Takenaka-san was awed by his grades now, then he would really be in shock later, because --as he'd said-- those grades were from the start of the year. Only a month's worth of marks. And in the opening of each new school year, Reiki was at his laziest. His grades were at their lowest. The principal really was in for a shocker…

---

Reemerging from Takenaka-san's office, Reiki glanced down at the sheet he had been handed, examining the classes it listed.

His schedule…

It would be a meager challenge to memorize it --his memory was fairly sharp. What was the problem, though…

…was he had no clue if getting to each of these classes on time would be a difficult task or not, nor did he know how to identify what floor each took place on... At his old school, it was the way the room number was listed that told a student how to find the destination. The first number of the three digits was what indicated which of the three floors it was on.

But, with these rooms… There were labeled with letters, as well as numbers. How the heck did that work?? Did "A" mean first floor, and "B" mean second…? If so, then he guessed it made sense. But why not just use all numbers? He mentally shrugged. 'Oh well;…doesn't matter, really…'

What did matter was that he get toured around the school, as the principal had arranged.

He wasn't too sure whether he wanted to or not, but Takenaka had insisted he get toured around the building, anyway.

May as well go with it…

Reiki had been told that there would be a student waiting in the office who would show him around. A certain Minamino Shuichi.

Was that who the red-head was…?

Sure enough, they were still there, leaning against the wall, and --he just noticed-- clad in…a magenta outfit?? Was that the school uniform?? Then…he'd be wearing… Oh, what fun…

---

Kurama caught the sound of the door on the left reopening, and turned to see the blond step back through it. He was holding a paper in his hand, currently examining its contents. No doubt his schedule. Judging by the look of his eyes --Kurama was a bit surprised at their being hazel-green, but did not show it--, he was milling something about in his head.

Perhaps trying to figure out where each of the rooms were? The tour would help in that area.

Finally looking up, he seemed to notice what Kurama was wearing --no doubt becoming aware that that was what male students had to wear, if the suppressed disgust on his face was anything to go by. It was quite amusing, really, seeing people's reactions to that bit of information. Was it really that hard to believe that the uniforms were magenta…?

The corner of the new student's mouth was beginning to twitch in his constraint of a grimace.

…Guess so.

No time was left to dwell on that, though, as Principal Takenaka stepped through the door as well. "Shuichi…" The blond seemed to leap a foot in the air out of surprise. Amusedly, Kurama could've sworn he'd heard the boy's heart skip a beat.

Takenaka continued, undaunted, "This is Kaze Reiki. The new transfer student we've been expecting. So, if you could just show him around the school, and maybe take him to his class…" He let his words trail off, not needing to continue.

"Of course, Takenaka-san." He slightly bowed his head, politely.

The principal nodded back, before reentering his office and shutting the door.

So the new student's name was Kaze Reiki, eh? Quite an unusual name, "spirit energy"… Kurama briefly wondered how he'd come to have that name, before stepping forward and introducing himself.

---

Hmm…there sure were a lot of clouds in the sky… Maybe it would rain later… There seemed to be a lot of birds chirping, too… That breeze sure felt nice… And it got the loose hairs out of his eyes…

Based on how interesting those mundane things were right now, Yusuke could only come to one conclusion…

'Damn it, I'm bored!' Sitting up from where he'd been lying on the pavement of the school roof, he ran a hand through his slicked-back hair, fighting back a yawn. And to think, he'd skipped class (Japanese history. He mentally shuddered.) only to avoid a situation like this, and what happened? He got bored anyway.

Flopping back on ground with a defeated sigh, he crossed his arms behind his head, giving in to the oncoming drowsiness.

What he wouldn't give for a good old-fashioned street brawl right about now--

"Yo!"

"Ack!" He sat up with a start, gazing around frantically, trying to find the disturbance.

"Up here."

Yusuke brought his gaze a few feet higher, only to see…

"Koenma?!"

Indeed, it was the pint-sized prince of Reikai, dressed in his outfit of a long-sleeved blue shirt with a pink sash --matching the large hat bearing the "JR" emblem on the rim--, brown pants, and pacifier stuck in his mouth. His black-booted feet were…not touching the ground… In fact…he appeared to hovering a few feet in the air.

"What the heck are you doing here, Toddler?!"

"Nice to see you, too, Yusuke," was his flat response. "And I thought you were going to stop calling me that…" He added pointedly.

The teen snorted, crossing his arms smugly. "Heh. Fat chance at that."

Cue eyebrow twitch.

Then, something seemed to dawn on Yusuke. "Hold up." Pointing accusingly, "Don't tell me you're here to give me my latest mission!"

"Glad to know you're sharp enough to figure that out on your own." With a pop and a puff of smoke (causing Yusuke to choke briefly), there stood an older version of the spirit world ruler, with the "JR" written on his forehead --with pacifier still in place, if it may be noted--, only…

Yusuke blinked. "You're dressed in the school uniform…?"

"Thought I'd blend in."

Giving his "boss" a strange look, "Riiiight," he slowly got to his feet --not liking the thought of having to "look up to" the Reikai ruler--, while brushing gravel off the back of his clothes. "Isn't that more of Botan's thing?" He wondered aloud, stretching his stiff muscles.

The teenage Koenma shrugged. "So it is. Anyway, Yusuke, there are much more important matters to discuss…" His face suddenly took on a more serious expression. "Your mission, for example."

Yusuke paused in his ministrations, having his full attention caught by the humorless edge in that tone.

"Recently, Spirit World intelligence has been picking up strange readings. Readings coming from this city…" His voice grew grave. "Readings…of demon energy."

Those words hit Yusuke like a shock of lightning, but he managed to keep his cool. "So you're saying there're a bunch of demons on the loose?"

His answer was a negative head shake. "Not necessarily… I only said we've been picking up readings of demon energy. Not that there have been demon sightings."

He rolled his eyes, sarcasm dripping off his tongue. "Well, yea, 'cause that makes sense!"

Koenma flattened his eyes at the youth. "This is serious, Yusuke. It is important we find out what the cause of this is, before it gets worse…"

Well, that seemed to hint that some unpleasant times would be ahead…

"Just how bad is it?"

"Well… So far, we've only been detecting faint flickers here and there. No exact location has been pinpointed."

"Then, couldn't it just be Hiei?" He brought up a good point. The fire demon was usually found (only when he felt like being seen, though) flitting around the city --quite literally--, having been put on parole after his first encounter with Yusuke.

Koenma considered the teen's implication. "While that could be a possibility under different circumstances," --A head shake.-- "no. We've been able to track Hiei's movements every now and then --however briefly-- and it is quite clear that this energy is definitely not his."

This sparked a realization. "…So the city really is being overrun with demons…"

"While that hasn't yet been established…" The Reikai ruler closed his eyes with a sigh, a frown marring his features. "I'm afraid it's beginning to look that way…"

Frowning, too,-- 'Well…' --Yusuke turned his gaze skyward as some birds flew by overhead.-- 'So much for being bored…'

---

He can say that again! XD
Damn, this chapter is really long! Over 2,000 words... And I wanted to extend the section with Kurama and Reiki, too... ::swirly eyes:: Ehhh... Only reason I didn't is cuz I couldn't figure out how to continue.. - -;
But, anyway... On to the review responses, before I run out of time!

-Mihi-kun: The plot will reveal itself soon; don't worry about that... :)

-Danah: Yay, you reviewed! All I can say is this... All will be revealed with time. In other words..."You'll find out later." ;) As for Reiki being feminine...::snicker:: X) All for the sake of future torture... >:) Cuz it's freakin funny! XD Heheh!

Well, thas all.
Once again, happy new year! :D

-Peg (now it's off to my aunt's house where I will pig out on all the food my dad ordered for the party! X) )-