I am absolutely amazed that I got this out on time, much less early! And plus, it's longer than any of the other chapters so far, so I hope you like it!
The room was silent. The three psychologists, Koenma, Botan, Kurama, and George, Koenma's faithful ogre assistant.
"You mean to tell me that she did this in seven hours?" Koenma said incredulously.
"Yep," said the youngest psychologist, leaning back in his chair and whistling appreciatively.
"Are there any records of her being an artist or in clubs or something?" Botan asked in a hushed voice.
"Not that we know of. We've been able to find records of her Jr. High and High School years, but none of them so much as included a single art class. Her home didn't have anything on the walls, not even pictures. When we searched her room we didn't even find so much as a colored pencil. As far as we can tell, this is the first time she's ever drawn, much less used pastels…" he concluded, unsatisfied as he searched for the answer.
"But that's impossible," One of the other psychologists said in wonder and disbelief.
"Not if she's a genius," Kurama spoke up. "Think about it. It's not as if Van Gogh or Da Vinci ever had lessons. This isn't necessarily anything more than an artistic gift."
"The changes of that being realized right after we apprehend her are highly improbable. Not to mention the odds of her as a normal human being having that level of talent to begin with," said one of the other psychologists.
"But it's not impossible," Kurama continued. "What is there to say that this is more than just natural talent?"
"Well, nothing so far," the younger psychologist admitted.
"Then we must be forced to assume," Kurama concluded, "that she hasn't shown any activity or potential outside of a normal human being's."
"Yes, but the chances…" The oldest psychologist trailed off lamely, mumbling to himself as if he were trying to figure out a word puzzle.
The door clicked open and three figures came in, one of them whispering as loudly as he normally spoke.
"Sorry, we couldn't find the room!"
An irritated pulse mark appeared on the side of Koenma's head and he shouted at the three. "What are you three doing here? I only asked Kurama to come!"
"Oh, no wonder Kurama ditched us in the hallway," Kuwabara said thoughtfully, the pieces falling into place for him.
"We thought we could help," Yusuke said innocently. "That and we wanted to know what was up," He muttered, grinning.
"Don't you have more important things to do?" Koenma berated Yusuke.
"Nope, not a thing in the world," he grinned.
"Wow, hey, did you paint this picture?" Kuwabara said, pointing at the first psychologist.
He jumped, startled out of his reverie by Kuwabara's question. "Of course not," he said, laughing. "If I did, trust me, I wouldn't be in this dead-end job!" He seemed to catch himself as the room stiffened and Koenma stared. "Er, no offense, bossman." He said, looking guiltily at Koenma.
"Mmm," Koenma said noncommittally.
The young man adjusted his glasses and shuffled some papers, trying to dispel the awkwardness that filled the room. Much younger than the other two psychologists in the room, it was obvious that he had recently graduated from school. He was disheveled, as if his alarm clock hadn't gone off on time that morning. The nametag bearing his name, Bryce Key, was askew, bringing only more attention to the fact that his button-up shirt was wrinkled and his tie had been tied wrong. Much too thin, His snow-white skin stretched much too thinly over much-too-visible collarbones and gaunt face. Midnight black unkempt hair and dark eyes were a start contrast to the rest of his appearance, except for the dark circles under his eyes and slight sign of stubble along his jaw. His messy hair especially accented his "Einstein" appearance as he told Kuwabara about the portrait.
"No, I didn't do this. That girl you guys kidnapped—"Koenma coughed conspicuously at his choice of words. "…Er, I mean, apprehended," he glanced at the name on the file he was holding. "Rio. She drew this in four hours yesterday. First time she had ever used any kind of art supply, far as we can tell. Seems impossible, doesn't it?" He slipped in, trying to get Kuwabara to agree with his hypothesis unknowingly.
Yusuke ignored Bryce, yawning and putting his hands behind his head while walking forward and leaning close to the screen to examine the blond man's face.
"Hey, Kuwabara. C'mere. Look at him." He pointed to the blond man.
"What about him?"
"Well…Doesn't he look familiar?"
Kuwabara leaned in closer and inspected the screen. The tension in the room thickened until it was almost palpable. "Yeah, he kinda looks like that guy…"
"What guy?" Koenma said the excitement audible in his voice.
"Iunno. Dun remember exactly where I saw him," he said. "But he definitely looks like a guy I've seen." He finished lamely.
"I hadn't considered the possibility of this being a vision," Bryce muttered, the obvious answer taking him by surprise. "Had either of you considered it?" he asked, looking at the other two psychologists.
Both men, significantly older seemed slightly disgruntled with their younger coworker, but neither one of them nodded in response to his question.
"You can't be sure until you identify them," Kurama reminded the group, extremely reluctant to agree to the possibility that Rio had inhuman powers. "It could be a coincidence that this man looks like a real person."
"You, spirit detective," Bryce pointed at Yusuke. "Who does he look like? How much does he look like him?"
"I never heard his name," Yusuke said thoughtfully. "But…See this?" He pointed to a tiny white scar on the corner of the blond man's jaw, near his ear. "The guy I'm thinking of had one of those. Although his hair was longer," Yusuke admitted. "I think I may have seen him at some minor bust a while back that Koenma assigned me to…I can't say for sure, though."
"So, this girl has visions? Does she see the future or the past, I wonder? This could be very beneficial to me…" Koenma said to himself, already contemplating the possibilities.
"Koenma sir!" Botan said, reprovingly. "She's not property," her scandalized expression reflected the feelings of many in the room.
"Oh, yes, of course not, Botan, what gave you such a silly notion?" He laughed while patting her on the head.
"This almost makes it a sure thing. Koenma, I'll need Yusuke's case files to look into. I need to find out where he may have seen him, so that I might possibly track him down. I'll need you two," He looked towards the other psychologists, "to keep an eye on her and research any clairvoyant, psychic or seer-like behavior."
"I knew there was a reason I promoted you to head of department, Dr Key!" Koenma patted Bryce on the shoulder.
"Uh…Thank you, sir." Bryce said, uncomfortably aware of the glares of his coworkers.
The room emptied quickly, George informing Koenma that he was late for a meeting with his father, the two older psychologists eager to be rid of his presence, and the spirit detectives with Botan, having nothing more to do in the room. Only Kurama hung back, wanting to speak with Bryce alone.
Bryce was already looking over Rio's case file, oblivious to Kurama's continued presence.
"Ahem," Kurama coughed politely to catch his attention.
Bryce jumped, uttering a startled yelp and falling out of his chair simultaneously. Picking himself up from the floor, he asked "Yes? Can I help you?"
As he watched the young man dust himself off, Kurama took a deep breath. "I want to see her," he said, looking Bryce straight in the eye.
"Access to patients under surveillance is strictly prohibited, it could compromise the resear—"
"Please! She doesn't have any idea why she's here or what she's done, and she deserves to know at least something," Kurama said, unexpectedly going for an emotional argument, rather than a cold, rational one.
"Protocol states that—"
"Forget protocol! This is a horrible job, and the rules are useless! Don't you care that this girl is being held captive?"
Kurama's last comment had obviously hit its mark, because Bryce fell back into his chair, and didn't speak for several moments.
"I…Can't help you," Bryce said slowly. "But if the camera were to malfunction between, say, four-ten and four-thirty this afternoon and the electrified lock was to disengage…And I just happened not to notice that until four-thirty, well, then that's just lost data, isn't it? It'd be a real shame." He said, looking up at Kurama, grinning. "I hate my job. People are not test subjects or animals to observe. I expect you to repay this favor someday."
"You have my word and the word of a kitsune," Kurama said seriously.
"Hah, the word of a fox is useless. I'll take yours, though. Now, get out, I have work to do." He shooed Kurama out of the observation room without a backwards glance.
"Why are you leaving me? What did I do? You said—"
"Forget what I said! I'm in this for me and me alone!" The words echoed.
"Don't…Don't leave! I have to have you, I love you!" he choked on a sob.
"Well, that's too bad, because he loves me." She said, pulling her lover close to her.
"No! You're lying! You have to be! I know you would never do this to me…" Uncertainty crept into his voice.
The echoes of the words were now blending into a voice made of many.
"What once was will be again, but only if you chose the wrong path."
Rio wanted to call out, to ask who those voices were, and what the echo meant, but something was pressing against her mouth. The more she fought to speak, the harder she was pressed down. It was almost suffocating…
A gasp issued from Rio as she sat up, drenched in a cold sweat. Both hands clambered at the one over her mouth, but her eyes followed up its arm to see the owner.
"You," Rio said lowly, spitting the word out with as much dislike as possible. Then she leapt at him, hands reaching for his throat. He caught her hands, but couldn't stop her from screaming at him. "You BASTARD son of a HARLOT!" How dare you bring me here against my will! I'm going to rip you to shre—" her screams were abruptly cut off by him pressing her face to his shoulder, muffling the insults while his other arm kept her pressed to hi so she couldn't retaliate with a viselike grip.
"Please don't be so loud," he spoke quickly, his words hissing oddly as he said them through his teeth. "They might discover me here, and that would be very bad for both of us. You have every right to hate me," he said. "I lied and tricked you into trusting me, and then I used it against you. I know it was horrible of me, but I have to try and make it right. Please, hear me out."
The rage clouding Rio's mind slowly started to settle and clear as Kurama spoke. Pressed to his shoulder, she could smell his scent mingling with the smell of roses. It had a calming effect, and Rio ceased to struggle, contenting herself to hear him out.
Heartened by her lack of struggle, he continued. "You're in a place called Spirit World. It's not on earth. You were placed here under observation because they think you might not be human."
Rio made muffled protests to what was obviously a bunch of bull, but Kurama continued.
"Most of the people here aren't human. How do you think you drew all of that yesterday? Do you draw often?" He seemed to wait for a response, or maybe to let it soak in. "No? Is that normal? You could be a master artist with skills like that. They think that's a vision. Do you know why you drew that, or who they are? Do you have dreams that tell you things? Nobody knows what you are, but everybody wants to find out." He finished.
Rio was limp in Kurama's arms, having no fight left in her after the draining series of questions that she had no answer to. She had thought he was just crazy at first, but his unrelenting questions made her wonder. How had she drawn that? Why had she drawn that? She remembered feeling like the drawing was its own creation, not her creation. Why was all this happening to her? Tears of frustration budded under her eyelids and rolled down her cheeks, leaving dark stains on his shirt. She sniffled.
"Shh, shh…" Kurama said comfortingly, stroking the back of her head while his grip lessened and became more comforting as he sat on the side of her bed. "There's nothing to cry about, I'll get you out of this…I promise," he added, pulling back to look her in the tear-stained eyes. "I promise you," he said again.
Conflicting emotions rose from deep within her, telling her to do opposite things.
Trust him! Yelled one.
He betrayed you once, he could do it again! Yelled another.
He came to see you! He knows what he did wrong; he wants to get you out of here!
"I hate you," she said, her voice cracking so much that she could barely speak. "I hate you for putting me here," she cracked. "But if you can get me out you might be able to start making it up to me."
His hands that were still around her waist tightened, and for a split second she thought he was going to pull her close once again. Instead, he looked her in the eye, whispering "I won't fail." He released her quickly and headed for the door. "Speak of this to no one," he said, glancing back at her only once before closing the door behind him.