Author's note - big thank you to Graphospasm for the review and eighteenyearsago for favoriting this story :D And another shout out of thanks to everyone who's read the story, regardless of review, favoriting, or story alerting! I hope you enjoy this next chapter, even if it's a little short... And please, if you have the time, tell me what you think. thanks :D
Chapter 2:
the Turtle, the Tiger, the Dragon, and the Phoenix
Kikume let out a heavy, defeated sigh and closed her eyes.
Even with Ayame and Hikari helping her whenever they had time, Kikume still hadn't found the solution to getting her body back. They'd gone through twenty rows together but still came up with nothing. Kikume was starting to feel depressed. What if there was no answer? What if this was her fate and nothing she did would change that?
Kikume sighed again as she lied on her back while floating over Demon World on her oar – not really noticing the red sky, the black, ominous clouds, or the wild vegetation and landmarks that were unique to this hellish world. She'd seen them every day of her existence and had grown bored of them years ago. But the sky in Human world… now that was something Kikume knew she could never get bored of.
The thought of blue skies, white clouds, and colorful birds gliding across the sky had Kikume's heart clench with yearning. How she wanted to ride her oar through the vast, blue sky and see the world! She'd fly all day and all night – for she heard that not only was the starry night sky a wonder to behold but the beauty of cities illuminated in light was supposedly breathtaking!
What I wouldn't give to live a normal human life, thought Kikume. Even though she wouldn't be able to ride an oar, there was still much to be gained. She would grow up, go to school, make life-long girlfriends, date cute guys, and (hopefully) one day marry and have kids – justlike the main character, Emi, in Kikume's favorite drama, Stay By Me.
"Man, how I wish I could trade places with Emi for just one day!" she exclaimed longingly, reaching her arms up to the sky as if she could just grasp her dream life. But everything she wanted was not only a world away but a lifetime ago. Fifteen years had gone by… and Kami only knows how much things have changed in Human World.
Most of what Kikume knew about humans came from the drama, Stay By Me. Botan had introduced her to it after Kikume's first month as Chief Pilot of the River Acheron. The grim reaper had been trying to cheer Kikume up and it had worked, a little too well, actually. Kikume was instantly hooked on the drama. She'd begged Botan to bring back more episodes every time the reaper went to the Human World, despite it being an outdated drama that probably ended years ago.
Kikume would have gone to get the episodes herself but, unfortunately, she was forbidden to ever enter the Human World. Koenma had explained that her place was in Demon World and there was no one who could substitute for her even if she wanted to take a day off. And lucky for Koenma, grim reapers couldn't get sick or Kikume would've feigned every sickness known to the three worlds and ditched work to spend her time in the Human World.
Kikume envied the other reapers. While they got to ferry peaceful souls she was stuck with ugly, annoying, and often stupid demons who couldn't even tell they were dead half the time. They'd even assaulted her on multiple occassions. That had really ticked her off. She did not appreciate idiocy, especially when she already had to deal with it on a daily basis. Any extra amount resulted in her immediately dragging the fool through the Acheron mercilessly. Koenma could scold her all he wanted but he couldn't fire her so Kikume wasn't afraid of him or any of his "consequences" he often threatened her with.
Screw Demon World and screw this job. If I was human, I'd be in high school right now… probably dating the boy that I would one day marry or something…
Kikume sighed with longing as she began to daydream about the life she could have had.
I wonder what kind of family I would have had… a mom and dad for sure and maybe a few siblings? It'd be nice to have a sister… but then again, between Botan, Ayame, and Hikari, I think I've had my fair share of sisterly love to last my a thousand lifetimes. Maybe a brother or maybe being an only child is the best way to go…
Truth was, Kikume never got to see what became of her would-be family and her stolen body. She'd been snatched back to Spirit World and had never been given a chance to go back and see for herself what became of everyone else. She supposed it was good thing. If she saw what kind of life she could have had, it'd probably fuel her desire and anger even more, and then she'd turn into some malevolent evil spirit thing, which would force Koenma to vanquish her and cast her into space. And that would be an even worse type of existence than the hell she was already living through.
I hate this… I hate my life. Hell, I didn't even have a childhood. The second I got my "body" Spirit World started shoving crap down my throat about ferrying souls and stuff… What utter bullshit!
Suddenly, Kikume's pocket watch chimed.
She dug through her kimono and pulled it out, opening it and checking the time.
The clock read five o'clock.
Kikume sighed and stuffed the damn machine back into her robes. She then sat up grudgingly and mounted her oar.
Back to work…
oo00oo000oo00oo
Now this was an interesting bunch, thought Kikume as she surveyed her newest charges. A dragon, a tiger, a bird, and a tortoise – well, that was how she saw them anyways. Ironic how the four demons matched up with the four symbols of the Chinese constellation…
Kikume floated down to where the group was hovering above a desolate gray castle and pulled out her black notebook. She then cleared her voice to get their attention and said, "Okay, when I call your name please sound off. Genbu?"
The rock, turtle-like demon blinked his beady little eyes stupidly and grunted, "Uh, here?"
"Byakko?"
The giant white tiger demon crossed his thick arms and growled. "Yeah, what?" he snapped, swishing his tail irritably.
She ignored his question and moved on. "Seiryu?"
A scaly, blue-skinned demon with short black hair and goatee shot her hostile, cold look in response to his name. She took that as a "here" and put a check next to his name.
"Right well, that just leaves Suzaku then..."
At the last demon's name, the first three demons turned to glare hatefully at the most pretty-boyish of the bunch. The demon had wild orange hair and two long bangs that were fiery red. His face was really charming and he looked more like a youthful teenager with crazy dyed hair– he was definitely the best looking of the bunch.
Suzaku was sitting with his legs crossed in midair and arms on folded across his chest as he returned the other three's glares with one equally as fierce and probably twice as menacing.
"Well? What do you three want?" he snapped.
"I should crush you to death, you bastard!" yelled Genbu. "How dare you use me like that?"
"Yeah, I thought we were allies!" snarled Byakko.
Suzaku rolled his fiery orange eyes, ran a hand through his hair, and flicked it back like a prince. "Oh, please. You three were nothing but weaklings. I am the strongest of the Four Saint Beasts, which is why I am the leader. And as the leader I can do whatever I want. You were nothing but pawns to me."
"Well, if you're so powerful why are you dead as well?" countered Seiryu. "Hmphf. It seems to me you weren't as strong as you think if a human could defeat you so easily."
"What was that?" snarled Suzaku. He leaped forward and grabbed Seiryu by the front of his tunic. "Are you calling me weak, you insolent fish?"
"Of course he is. You're dead. Obviously someone stronger beat you," snarled Byakko.
"Take a look at yourself, you stupid ball of fur! You're dead too!" snapped Suzaku.
"Well that's because Seiryu killed me!" Byakko cast a venomous glare at the blue demon.
Seiryu smirked. "You were weak and a disgrace. I had no choice but to eradicate you before you ruined our image."
"What image?" snarled Byakko. "We're all dead!"
"Uh, hey guys?" interrupted Kikume. "As much as I find your bickering entertaining, I have a really busy schedule today and I don't have time for you four to be hanging around, so can we just get going already?"
Confusion appeared on the four demons' faces as they turned to face her again and Kikume sighed, exasperated.
Why do I have to keep introducing myself to demons that I won't ever see again? It's so pointless!
"My name's Kikume and, as the Chief Pilot of the River Acheron, I'll be taking you four to Spirit World. Koenma has a bone to pick with you guys – especially you, Suzaku, so let's not keep the big man waiting, okay?"
Suzaku huffed, blowing his two long bangs out of his face. "Spirit World… Feh. I can't believe I have to face them right after they defeated me and ruined my plans. How embarrassing!" he wailed.
"Yeah, yeah, save it for Koenma. I personally don't give a damn about your little troupe's image. Now grab hold of my oar or I will leave you behind," said Kikume impatiently.
She took off as soon as she felt the weight on the back of her oar increase and didn't look back to see if they had a firm grip or not. She just shot up into the sky and headed straight for Spirit World.
"Hey, you crazy bitch! Stop going so fast!" shouted Suzaku.
"Oh, shut up! Stupid, obnoxious, pretty-boy demon," grumbled Kikume as they flew over the Acheron. "If he says one more word, I swear I'll –"
"Gah! You're flying too close to the water! I'm getting sprayed!" complained Suzaku. "The leader of the Four Saint Beast cannot look like a wet ragdoll when he goes to meet the ruler of Spirit World. Don't you know anything about saving face?"
"No but thanks for the idea! One soaked, ragdoll demon coming right up!"
Kikume aimed her oar straight down at the river, dragging the four demons with her. They yelled with fright as she headed for the silver, grey water at breakneck speed, but honestly, those demons needed to give her some credit. She'd been piloting the Acheron for fifteen years now. Like hell she'd actually lose control of her oar, even with the currents running as wildly as they were today.
Kikume leveled out at the last second. Her sandal lightly skimmed the surface of the river while her passengers were dragged head-first through the rough currents. She could hear their shouts of pain that spirits always experienced whenever they came in contact with the Acheron. The demons sounded like they were in excruciating pain and it was music to her ears.
Kikume sighed and rolled her eyes. "Wimps..."
The Acheron was the river of pain – a very intimidating river that few reapers dare pilot. Kikume didn't mind the river itself – it was actually a lot of fun to surf on its wild currents, pitting her reflexes against the ominous, mighty river – she just hated her job; but it gave her an excuse to mess with the demon souls she ferried when they annoyed her. And since she was the only pilot, she could technically do whatever she wanted with the souls. However, no matter how many times she threatened to let the Acheron sweep away a demon's soul if they, for some reason, let go of her oar, Kikume had never actually carried out that threat. Her slate was clean and her record was spotless, which was something she was proud of.
Hah! Take that, Koenma!
As the Gates of Judgment drew near, Kikume finally rose higher into the sky, pulling the Four Saint Beasts out of the Acheron. The demons were drenched from head to toe and gasping for air, relieved to be out of that watery hell. All of them were visibly trembling and when she playfully dipped her oar down again, they practically scrambled on top of one another – trying to put as much distance between them and the grey river as possible.
Kikume giggled at their comical behavior as she pulled up again, higher into the sky.
"You're an evil bitch," snarled Suzaku, glaring up at her with black hatred.
Kikume shrugged. "Live with it, demon. I'm the only reaper for Demon World so you better hope the next time you're reborn, Spirit World had decided to hire some more reapers to help me out. Otherwise this evil bitch will be dragging you through the Acheron again and again every time you die."
Man if looks could kill… but Suzaku did nothing more than growl and mutter curses under his breath.
"Bitch..."