Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction / Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ Mayakashi ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Bleach, or YuYu Hakusho, or any of the anime/manga characters.

Warnings: None

Reikai

 

Kagome sighed, carrying the heavy book that Nanao had asked her to get when she was in the human world. It was a rather large, leather-bound thing that looked more like a dictionary then a book.

“Captain Higurashi?”

Kagome turned around at the voice that preceded whoever was asking. Soon, a man with silver hair and pupil-less eyes formed, bowed.

“Umm… Chojiro Sasakibe, right? Yamamoto's Lieutenant?”

“Yes, Miss Higurashi,” he said, head bowed.

“Do you need me for something?”

“Captain-Commander Yamamoto has called for your presence, at once.”

“Alright, then… Could you do me a favor? Could you possibly get this book to Nanao Ise?”

“Uh… Sure,” he said, taking the book.

And then, Kagome was across the Seireitei and bowing before Captain Yamamoto.

“You called for me?” she asked, looking at the grizzled old man.

“Yes. You've been summoned.”

“I know… That's why I'm here,” she said, confused at the redundant statement.

“Not by me. The King of Soul Society, Enma wants your presence.”

At that, Kagome was simply speechless.

“And I don't know why you've been summoned, either, Kagome. Do try to use more than your usual level of tact in the presence of our king.”

Kagome pouted, though she knew he was right. She'd gained a sort of very blunt and open manner to her in the time she'd been a Captain.

“Alright, I'll at least try.”

Yamamoto nodded, and suddenly a Senkaimon unlike any Kagome had seen before appeared before her. Beyond it was a large expanse of pink, surrounding a massive castle.

“Well, then, get going. The King's Dimension won't stay open forever,” Yamamoto grouched.

Without a word, Kagome launched through the gate. And it shut the instant she was through.

She quickly entered the castle, and was thoroughly confused at its layout in mere minutes. After what seemed like hours, she finally ran into someone. Literally.

“Ow!” a high-pitched voice whined.

“S… Sorry,” Kagome grunted, pushing herself up.

“It was my fault! I wasn't looking where I was going!” a blue-haired woman said cheerfully.

Kagome stared at the woman, looking as though she were trying to solve a puzzle. Finally, the woman's cheerful demeanor vanished and she growled.

“Hey! Don't you know it's rude to stare at people!?”

“Uh… Sorry,” Kagome said, blushing. “It's just that…”

“What?”

“You've got the aura of a Shinigami… But you don't seem to have a sword, or magick, or anything like the rest…”

The woman blinked several times in confusion before glaring at her.

“And just who are you?”

“Kagome. Captain of the 5th Division, Kagome Higurashi. And you?”

The woman's eyes widened, and she took a step back.

“I'm sorry! How rude of me! I wasn't aware of who you were,” she said, bowing.

“Please don't do that. I hate being treated so formally,” Kagome groaned.

“Okay… My name's Botan. And I am a Shinigami… sort of. I went to the Shinigami Academy, but… well, I… I failed, miserably,” she said, eyes teary.

“I see…”

“But, I was in luck! Lord Koenma had a position open, so I became a Grim Reaper!”

“There's a difference?” Kagome asked, frowning in confusion.

“Well, sort of. Shinigami pass souls that are stuck onto the Soul Society. We Grim Reapers ferry souls of the dead, who aren't attached to anything.”

“I see…”

“Oh, I'm sorry! I have to go! My name's Botan, by the way!” she said before barreling past Kagome.

“Hey, wait! I need to know where I can find King Enma's chambers!” Kagome exclaimed, pulling the bubbly Grim Reaper up short.

“Really? Well, it's that way,” she said, pointing behind Kagome. “It's the large, ornate door on the right! Oh, and be formal! His temper's very bad! Well then… Bye!”

And she was gone…

 

The massive doors slowly opened, and Kagome entered with some reluctance. The energy she felt before even opening the door had been pretty overwhelming.

But all thoughts of the energy left her when she saw Enma himself. He was huge! He stood at least triple her height, with wire-framed glasses and a very bushy black beard covering the entire bottom of his face.

And, behind the glasses, his black eyes were focused on her like lasers.

“Who are you?”

Kagome was terrified of this monster, and she hadn't been scared in a long time, by anything.

“Ca… Captain… That is, I'm Gotei 13 5th Division Captain, Kagome Higurashi,” she stuttered, bowing.

“I see… Then you're the one that's breaking the secret. You'd better talk fast, or you won't be alive much longer,” he growled.

“Um… Secret? Talk? About what?”

“Oh, come now,” he said, frowning.

“No, really! I don't have a clue what it is that you're talking about, Lord Enma!”

“Really? Alright, I'll play this game for a short while. Tell me quickly why I shouldn't have you killed so that the Shinigami don't further inquire about the youkai.”

“I really… I'm not sure what you're asking me,” Kagome said, scared out of her wits.

“How is it that a Shinigami such as yourself knows of youkai? Even enough to inquire about them from your limited research?”

“Well… I've personally fought a large number of them.”

“Don't lie to me! There are no Shinigami old enough, besides Yamamoto, to have personally dealt with youkai. And he bows to me in keeping it all from you lot!”

Kagome was now beyond confused, but she was starting to get angry.

“Why am I here, really, Lord Enma? If you'd wanted me dead, I get the feeling that my existence would suddenly be forgotten by anyone that I was ever involved with.”

That seemed to amuse Enma, as he smirked. But Kagome realized with a shudder it wasn't a nice smirk, at all.

“You're very astute, Captain Higurashi. You're going to explain to me why it is that you know about youkai.”

“And if my explanation's not to your liking?” Kagome asked, pushing herself to her feet.

“I think we both know the answer, so don't get cute, Shinigami,” he growled.

“Have you ever heard of the Shikon no Tama?”

“Of course,” Enma growled.

“Good. It'll save me some time. I was the jewel's guardian.”

At that, he bellowed in laughter.

“You!? You're such a tiny little thing! How could you possibly be the guardian of such a powerful thing?”

“Because I was the reincarnation of its previous guardian,” Kagome practically growled. “I wasn't born a Shinigami, I just came back as one when I died. I was originally a miko, and I've still got the powers to prove it.”

“Oh? And how did this all come to pass?” Enma asked, seeming to mock her with every word that came from his obnoxious mouth.

“On my fifteenth birthday, I got sucked through the Bone Eater's Well by Mistress Centipede. She was an old demon, but thankfully not very strong. And the jewel broke, then, and me and my companions roamed Feudal Japan trying to collect all of the shards. So, that is how I know about youkai,” Kagome concluded.

“I see… As I understand it, Shinigami don't remember their lives before dying. How is it that you do?”

“I came back in an unusual way… It's hard to explain. But the reason I was killed was a particularly evil hanyo. I think the hatred of him and the importance of my mission kept me tethered. And… voila! I came back as a Shinigami.”

“I see… Very well, Kagome Higurashi. I have heard enough… I will give you a forewarning, up front, Shinigami. If I find out that anything we discuss in these chambers has been leaked, in any way, I will have you assassinated. Make no mistake, we both know that I mean what I say.”

“Fair enough,” Kagome said, her pulse hammering at her chest.

“The Reikai has kept the youkais' continued existence from the Soul Society. We even came up with some random statistics for nosy people like you.”

“Uh… why the hell would you do that?” Kagome asked, truly confused.

“We let the Soul Society believe Hollows are the only remaining demons. There's a good reason why we do it.”

“What is it?” she asked, letting her curiosity get the better of her.

“Oh, it's simple. Even if they're dead, the Shinigami are still beings that were once human. As such, you're all imperfect creatures.”

“Thanks for that,” Kagome said, smirking.

“You lot like to believe you're the only important ones in the afterlife. And the Shinigami probably wouldn't react well to the fact that there are actually four worlds.”

“Four?” Kagome asked, eyes wide. “I thought there was just the three…”

“500 years ago, the world was split into three different dimensions. They are the Reikai, Ningenkai, and Makai. Reikai is like a `waiting area' of sorts, for the dead who move on to Heaven or Hell. Soul Society is pretty close to the Christian Purgatory.”

“Huh… That's all fascinating… Why are you telling me?” Kagome asked, frowning.

“Several reasons. You won't tell anyone, for one. And, as you said, you weren't born a Shinigami. There's also the fact that you had a personal hand in the creation of the split.”

“Me… I… What?” Kagome asked, thoroughly shocked.

“You didn't think I called you here without already knowing of you, did you? I've heard of you, Shikon Miko Kagome Higurashi. I keep an eye and ear everywhere on you people.”

“I… really, I didn't-”

“You wished on the jewel. Even I cannot guess as to what the wish was. But the world split very close to the time you made that wish. This is just a guess, but something as powerful as the Shikon cannot simply not exist. As such, I believe that its power instead dispersed and the world split as a sort of accidental coincidence.”

“But… How… I wished for it to not exist.”

“You see my point.”

Kagome suddenly became infuriated when another realization came to her mind.

“Wait a minute! If you already knew all that about me, why'd you make me sweat so much!?”

“Because stories are only good as gossip, until they're confirmed. And I needed to know what kind of person you are. I don't accept failure. And people who can be completely honest even when under the threat of death generally don't fail me.”

“I see… I don't know what kind of research you've done, but do you want to know a fun fact, Lord Enma?”

“What?”

“I hate mind games. I get the idea, but I hate being lied to, myself.”

“I see… That's good. But don't mistake me. I don't accept disrespect.”

And Kagome lost her bravado, with such speed that it was almost physically painful.

“Of course. Forgive my disrespect, Lord Enma,” she said, bowing deeply.

“Before you invoke my wrath, I'm done. From here on, you will still be a Shinigami. However, you will also join my son's group, the Spirit Detectives, as they're the only beings I will tolerate knowing of youkai's continued existence.”

“Uh…”

“You're dismissed. And keep in mind what I said about what we've discussed here. My son's office is near the castle's entrance. So… go!”

And, without another word, Kagome bolted…

 

 

A/N:

There's the newest! I never realized how much of a mouthful a complete introduction of a Captain was until now! As always, be sure to tell me what you think of my story!