Just the Two of Us
Chapter Four: Breaking the Rules
"Should I repeat my question?" Koenma said when Botan kept her head bowed, not knowing what to say. "When, where, and how did you learn to cook Makai Suimono?"
She refused to answer. She never was good at lying; she knew that if she dared answer she will give herself away.
"Very well, you don't need to answer for I already know."
Botan saw the toddler reach for the remote control and clicked, and she gasped when the Spirit World monitor opened– there it was, a recorded scene from the Horizon, of one of the days when she and Kurama served Makai Suimono for the children.
"I never expected this from you," Koenma said, accusingly. When Botan still didn't say anything, he continued, "Maybe I've been too lenient with you. I've given you more freedom than anyone else working for me. From the very start of your stay here, I considered you a friend. I thought you could be trusted…"
Yes, from her very first day in Reikai, Koenma had treated her as a friend. Many were curious as to why, but even she doesn't really know any reason. Maybe they just liked each other from the start. Already, she was feeling guilty. "I… I'm sorry."
"You should be. Do you know how many rules you have broken?"
"Uh… ten," she answered, and bit her lip.
Koenma frowned more. "Ten… ten," he repeated, getting angrier. His face was now red, and Botan can only tremble. She had never seen him this angry before. "You knew exactly how many rules you were breaking, and you still went on with all of this! What were you thinking?!"
Before she could offer more apologies, Koenma clicked the remote control once again. On the screen is a recording of what seems to be a meeting held in Koenma's office. To her surprise, Eina was there, hiding behind a large man, as if scared of the young ruler.
"Recognize someone?" Koenma asked.
"That's Eina… and Chief Masaru…" She had only seen Eina's father a few times, but the official-looking clothes of the Chief made him easy to recognize. Masaru was co-founder and earliest leader of the SDF, but has just recently expressed intent to resign. Until the end of the year however, he will perform his duty as chief.
"It's him alright. Apparently, Eina had been begging their servants for a suimono. Naturally, they were alerted; where else would a child born and raised in Reikai hear about a food served only in Makai? From an outsider, of course.
He clicked again, raising the volume this time.
The meeting seems to be about to end, as Koenma, the chief, and his cohorts were all standing.
"I assume you already understand what we want," Masaru's voice was firm when he said this, not taking notice of Eina who's clinging to him. "The council expects this employee of yours to be punished for endangering our children's lives, bringing them to that place without protection… I want you to check on this girl's involvement with that demon. There's something fishy going on and I and smell it. If I wasn't busy I would personally see to that, but you know that I don't have the time. So I expect your prompt action in regards to this…"
To that, Koenma nodded. "As always, you can expect that I will look into this and rest assured we will not let off the one responsible for this issue."
"As you have heard in our previous discussion," Koenma stated, obviously calmer now, "I cannot just let you off with what you did. You knew very well the rules and regulations when you started to work for us… You knew that your students are not ordinary citizens of Reikai; they are sons and daughters of high officials. And yet you still went on sneaking out with your wards, thus endangering them from being abducted by demons."
Botan still could not find anything to say. She knew what she did was wrong.
"I want you to know that before I called you here today, I looked through the tapes and tried to find anything I can use to defend you, but it is clear as day that you did all these at your own will. You have even allowed a demon to threaten our own…" He sighed. "Well, Botan, do you have anything to say in your defense?"
She cleared her throat, trying to find anything to say, but not really trying to defend herself. "I… I know what I did was wrong and I'm really sorry that I gave you a problem… I'm ready to face my punishment for this."
Koenma stared at her for a while, and without a word stamped the paper he was holding. "As you may have already expected, you are immediately relieved of your duty as teacher and guardian for the students of the Reikai Kindergarten. Also, you are hereby sentenced to five years of solitary confinement in the basement of Reikai palace."
She could not believe what she heard. "Five years? But…"
Koenma shook his head. "I'm sorry. This is lightest punishment I could find for the nature of your offense. This may seem harsh to you, but it is the shortest term the council would approve of."
"I understand," she said. But up to the time she was sent to the solitary cell in the basement, she is still not sure if she does.
It was just a relief when Botan first saw the confinement room and realized that it was not as bad as she expected it to be.
It was actually neat, with only the necessary furniture provided. But she found the basement so boring. There was really nothing to do. She wished she was sentenced to do community service instead.
It's only been one and a half weeks, and already she felt like it had been years.
She loved the outdoors so much, she missed being outside and free… She missed the children, she missed her friends, and she missed having someone to talk to. Here, there is only Koenma. For the tenth night in a row, he's spending the night outside her room.
Like the previous nights, he stood by the door, watching her as she tried to concentrate with what she was reading, occasionally trying to make conversation. She appreciated his company, knowing that he is busy and the short rest he has, he chose to spend with her.
Mournfully, she closed the book, finally giving up. She can't concentrate. She dropped the book at the small dresser beside the door, and looked hopelessly at Koenma.
"Well, so you like this guy, huh?" he asked, out of the blue.
"Wha—? Of course I don't!" she blurted out. She didn't expect that sort of question from him. Especially when he is in his teenage form, when she thinks he looks more serious.
"You don't need to lie to me," he said casually, as if they were just talking about the weather. "When I watched the tapes from the Horizon, I saw the two of you share a kiss… "
"It was nothing!" She lied.
"Nothing, huh?" Koenma teased, knowing for a fact that she was lying. She never was good at it. "Well, are you sure about that?"
"Yes, I'm sure!" she insisted, feeling her face burn in embarrassment.
"Okay then." To her surprise, Koenma rested his arm against the wall, trapping her in place.
"Koenma-sama, what are you…"
Before she finished what she was about to say, Koenma's hands cupped the side of her face. Her eyes widened when his face inched towards her. Immediately, she tried to push him away, thinking that he intended to kiss her.
She didn't need to. Koenma pulled away, laughing so hard.
"You should've seen the look in your face!"
"That wasn't funny!" she shouted, mortified. "What did you do that for?" she asked. She was sure he doesn't like her that way, but what is he doing?
"I'm just thinking…" he answered, raising an eyebrow, "that stunt was kinda similar to what he did… and you offered no resistance. That tells me something," he smiled triumphantly.
She was speechless for a while, thinking of what he said. When she had the courage to look up at him, she saw that he was still suppressing a giggle. "Oh, just…" she blew air, and stared at her feet. "Just leave me alone!"
"Of course. We're just about to leave."
It took her a full minute to grasp what he said. Surprised, she looked at him, her eyes questioning.
He offered her a hand and said, "Let's go. You're not meant for this kind of place."
"What are you saying?" she asked, doubtful not of his intentions but with his plan.
Koenma did not answer. Instead, he looked at the door.
Botan gasped when she saw who had just arrived. It was Kurama.
"He was saying that you're escaping this place with us," Kurama explained.
She looked back to Koenma, who was nodding. "I don't understand. You sent me here."
"I sure did."
"Then why are you letting me go?"
"Because… well, you know that I like you—as a friend," he immediately added with a mildly amused tone because Kurama gave him a cold stare, "And I didn't want to send you here in the first place. But you also know that I'm bound to our laws and I cannot afford to make enemies by disregarding the Chief's request."
"How did you get here?" she asked Kurama. Leaving Reikai would be a hundred times easier than trying to get there.
"Your friend here instructed Toshi to fetch me. We're leaving the same way."
"Don't worry, I've got it all covered." Koenma assured her.
She stared at him, not knowing what to say. "Koenma-sama… what about you? What if they learned I'm missing? You're going to be in trouble!"
"Come on," Koenma said, "I'll worry about that later. As for now, I think they wouldn't notice. That's why I really had to send you down here, to make it look believable. You know that almost every event here is recorded right?" he explained.
She frowned at that. "Yes. What about this place? How do we know we're not being taped right now?"
He smiled. "The basement is part of the secure area, alright. But only the main hallways have security cameras—"
"Then how are we going to leave without passing by the main hallways?"
He did not answer. Instead, he raised his hand, made an imaginary circle, and Botan was surprised when the shape started to form. It was like an oval mirror, and it was glowing.
"Well? Hop in," Koenma instructed. "We're going to the Village of Peace."
To be continued. Thank you for reading :)
Have a Merry Christmas, everyone! :D
~Justine – 25th of December 2009, 12:00 midnight at my office work area ;)