Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Her Spirit ❯ Surprise ( Chapter 2 )

Koenma was pacing around his room nervously- again. I would be too if it were allowed. The power flux from patient 5-4-0 last night had everyone on edge. It had been a four year comatose state, and for someone to suddenly have unidentified power fluxes had been unheard of, but then patient 5-4-0 had always been an odd one.

.x.

`Oh, shit! Dad's going to catch wind of this soon. I don't know how to handle it!' Koenma's pacing caught the edge of a Manila folder hanging off his desk; the papers of patient 5-4-0 were strewn about the floor.

Koenma muttered to himself as he picked up the papers, glancing at each sheet for a clue. “Injured at fifteen…went into coma, spending seven months in a normal ningen hospital…spirit energy flare…moved to Reikai hospital, has power fluxes every night almost exactly on schedule…never showed potential before…lived on a shrine…and DAMNIT!”

Koenma drew his finger to his mouth to suck on the blood. `Stupid paper…' He thought darkly. Blowing his hair out of his eyes, he shifted into his teenage form. It was much easier to relax and sulk while still maintaining some form of dignity when you had intimidation and size backing you.

Draping himself lethargically over his chair he braced his head on one hand and settled for a long internal debate.

…

It was only a few minutes later when he `huph'ed and seemed to throw himself up out of his chair. His strides were purposeful and not a few servants and ogres in the halls dodged his form.

Arriving at the Reikai Hospital, he marched over to the nurse's desk and impatiently tapped his fingers. The nurse ignored him still and was watching out the window, craning her neck from side to side as if searching for something she knew should be there.

Koenma fumed and was about to make a statement to grab her attention when the nurse abruptly opened the window and seemed to peer at some point, head sticking more than a foot out of the building.

Curious, Koenma too looked out. A car was pulling up to the hospital and a young boy was just coming out.

“Souta! You should listen…”

“No!” The boy shouted to the driver, a middle aged woman with short cropped hair. “She's going to come back! I know she will, she made me promises and she always keeps her promises.”

The woman seemed to wilt. “Souta, she doesn't have to come back to us. She might be happy where she is…”

“No! She told me! Shut up Mom!”

“Souta!” Now the woman was angry. “Get back in the car now! I'm taking you home. Until you show me and Jii-chan some respect you won't come here! She'll not wake up…”

“You can't make me!” The boy yelled with tears in his eyes. He turned and ran up the steps into the building, and the nurse turned expectantly to the doors, but she happened to spot Koenma.

“Eep!” She jumped.

“It's so nice of you to notice me.” Koenma drawled lazily before he turned to watch the doors. The nurse glanced cautiously at him; he could see it with his peripheral vision. It made him smirk inwardly; it was nice to know that he had something of a reputation.

The boy walked into the hall, straight past the nurse's desk. It seemed he came here enough that he didn't need to ask for directions. There looked to be a black cloud around him, and the tear tracks on his cheeks were being hastily wiped off with his jacket sleeve.

The nurse was looking at him sympathetically, and when he glanced at the two of them, the boy seemed to get more irate. Koenma glared at the nurse, `Since when did we have dimwits on the staff? This is a Reikai hospital, where patients are dangerous if you unnerve them, even if you do it unknowingly.'

The boy stopped before a room and took a deep breath, his hand resting on the handle. The air around the boy shifted, creating a shimmer of effect before vanishing. He went into the room, and he closed the door.

Koenma turned to the nurse, who had a dazed expression of pity on her face. “Now will you be of aid?”

She blushed into reality and went about the desk to shuffle papers around. `She's probably trying to look busy.' Clearing her throat and fighting her blush she looked up to him. `Finally.'

.x.

(“Kagome?”)

.x.

“Yes sire?” She managed out. It ended in a squeak.

Koenma sighed. “I'm looking for patient number,” he glanced at the folder in his hands, “5-4-0.”

.x.

(The figure turned its head and smiled at the boy. )

.x.

The nurse's eyes widened. “This is about last night, isn't it?” She leaned forward conspiratorially. “That was a freaky experience, even for the Reikai. She seemed to go into her normal fit, sir, and then bam! All the aids were blasted into the walls. There's rumor going around that she's been cursed.”

“Just take me to her.” Koenma growled out, interrupting her before she could start even more pretentious gossiping. Cowed, the nurse aid turned to point at the door the boy just walked into.

.x.

“KAGOME!” A shout came from the room.

All the nurses and aids came running, afraid for the safety of a boy that had grown on them because of the care he took of his comatose sister. Koenma and the aid from the desk arrived before everyone else, and they threw open the door.

The brunette was on the bed weeping. `Is she gone?' But the boy was smiling, when he nuzzled his face into the woman's stomach it was presented, encased in his joyous tears. The woman herself was smiling gently, albeit wryly, at the young boy and was slowly rubbing his back in comforting circles.

She braced herself to sit up, and she lifted the boy to look at his face. `She should be weak! It's been four years since she's moved!' Koenma gawked.

.x.

Souta was sniffling and chanting her name, over and over and over. Afraid this was a dream. `I knew it! I knew it! Oh Kami, I have my sister back!' He was holding her hand and touching her face, delighting in the play of muscles beneath her fingers. `She is awake!'

She placed her free hand over his and leaned in close, until their foreheads were touching. “I'm here, and I am not leaving.” He closed his eyes to stem the flow of tears laughing brokenly in his joy. “Souta, I promised you, now cease your tears.”

`She's talking different now…but she's back! O, Kami she's back.' Souta hugged her close, his face between her neck and shoulder.

She sat up straighter, pulling the young boy into her lap and hugging him as he curled into her form. When he was just sniffling and wiping his eyes, and radiating contentment she addressed the rest of them. “Now, could someone tell me exactly where I am?”

.x.

The dense nurse aid stepped forward as Koenma watched quietly from his position. “You are in the Reikai hospital; you've been here for three and a half years, in a coma for over four. You should let him go. You need to regain your strength.” The aid moved to take the boy from the female ignoring a warning look and some wary nurses.

The boy cowered into the woman, clutching her hospital gown sleeves. “You will not touch my otouto,” stated a strong voice.

All the nurses backed a few paces away from the irate female.

Koenma himself was hard put to stay in his place. The demi-god prince of Reikai would never show such weakness to a female, even one such as patient 5-4-0.

He cleared his throat and gestured for the nurses to leave. Tense as they did, they all cast worried glances to the boy in the patient's arms. A doctor glanced in to check on the patient and the commotion, but he quickly left as well. The patient was irate and the prince was in a superior mood.

Oh, shit.

“Inform his father.”

.x.

“You will need to release the child.”

`Child?' Souta bristled in his sisters arms.

“You will address my brother with respect. You will also explain why you are here.” She glared at the prince,

Souta glanced up at the intruder. `I just got my sister back and this pompous ass is making her mad.' He scowled at the demigod, not really caring that he held prestige and power. “Do you have a problem?”

Koenma only spared him a glance. “Your power flares, every day slightly after six 0'clock. You were a containment problem. I had just arrived to check on your recent shift in power when the boy arrived.” He sent a withering glare at Souta. “I will need to talk to you and discuss any possible reasons for the flares.”

Souta glanced up at his sister, she was not leaving him. He turned to glare at the demigod. “You can question her later.”

Koenma gaped.

“I need to tell Okaa-san and Jii-chan. They'll need to talk to her, family gets first priority in the Higurashi house.”

“You'd do well to remember that.” She concluded for her brother. `Yoshi! My sister's back!' Koenma left the room to contact the family.

Souta grinned up at Kagome. “Welcome home.” She turned her smile back at him, the one he used to see every morning when she woke him up. “You will tell me what you went through, ne? I think it was probably a very cool adventure!”

She just smiled indulgently, before it turned mischievous. “You would never guess.”

…

It was only a half hour before their mother and grandfather walked in, a dazed look of confusion marring their normally peaceful features. Souta grinned mockingly at them; the harsh words of the argument that extended form their house all the way to the hospital ringing through his head.

`Take this. She's awake, and she's back. She kept her promise to me.'

It was a stilted conversation, and the air was tense with the awkward souls of the once close family. Finally, the elders decided to just accept that Kagome was awake as fact and leave.

Kagome's eyes were solemn as she watched them go, and Souta didn't know what to think about that face. “Have I changed that much Souta-kun?”

He startled and looked his sister in the eye. She looked lost, not a little confused, and she had a longing there. “If you have it doesn't matter.” She glanced at him in surprise. “You're my sister. That's what I want you to be and that's what you'll always be.” `No matter whom we are.'

She seemed to hear the unspoken promise and she smiled at him. As she pulled him close to rest near her side he couldn't think of a spot he wanted to be in more. After all, being near his sister was like walking into the sunrise after a dark night: it was warming and energizing, yet it carried an underlying sense of peace, a serene acceptance of the balance and cycle of life in its eternity that made you relax and bask in the joy yourself. `And my sister is my sun.'

As she held his hand a grin slowly made its way onto his face. It was time for a story.

“Long ago, when man and beast….”

.x.

Koenma scowled in his office, folding his hands with his elbows on his desk to rest his weary head. `The impertinence of that family! They should show some form of respect!' He glanced at the clock impatiently.

“Where are my detectives?!”

“Hold ya horses. We're here. No need to have a temper tantrum.” Koenma twitched; there was only one person who could irritate him with his first few sentences. It was just his luck that said person was leader of his Spirit Detectives: Yusuke Urameshi.

“Hurry up and get in.” Koenma snapped.

“What seems to be the trouble?” Ah yes, the mediator: Kurama or better known in the human world as Shuichi Minamino.

Koenma sighed and rubbed his temples, he could already feel the headache. “I need two of you to accompany me.”

“Accompany you? Where to?” That was the muscle: Kazuma Kuwabara.

A sigh. “Just give me whoever will be best at dealing with a child and a mystery.” God I'm getting old if I can't at least act like the boss…'

Kurama seemed to perk up at the word mystery. Heaven only knows how much of his curiosity he absorbed from the fox. “What kind of - mystery - is this?”

“A case kind, now hurry up.”

“Hn. I will not bother myself to baby-sit a child.” So he was present. The forbidden child: Hiei…just Hiei.

Yusuke snorted. “We'd both scare any kid. Kuwabara should go with Kurama. They won't bite the kid's head off at least.”

Koenma sighed in satisfaction. Part one accomplished with little difficulty. Now how would the Higurashis react? “Then you two may leave. I need to discuss the …intricacies of this case.”

They left without much grumbling, and Koenma had to wonder what was keeping their attention off a mystery they would usually pry into… `Well at least Yusuke would.'

Kurama was watching him attentively, he got a small bit of pride that at least one of his subordinates respected him. “The mystery?” Koenma deflated; of course it was about the mystery.

Kuwabara just watched silently, he seemed to be deep in contemplation of some sort. `It's a miracle…' Koenma thought dryly before he cleared his throat. “I have a patient - number 5-4-0 - and one family member, her younger brother, who need to be questioned. I also need them observed while their talking, search for untruths and fallacies. I feel that at least the woman will be hiding something.”

Kurama tilted his head in scrutiny. “Why do you feel this?”

“They were very unforthcoming on my last encounter.” He shook his head, `Very unforthcoming…and very impertinent.'

Kurama's eyes gleamed with knowledge he was probably going over. He always seemed to pry details out of a conversation, ones that no one else would notice.

Kuwabara smiled gently at the portal that was opening, and at their questioning looks he grinned even more. “I think this is going to be fun.”

`Those words take on an ominous tone.'

.x.

They walked down the hall, passing a group of nurses all chatting excitedly in the corridor. As they passed they fell into hushed silence, making Kuwabara wonder just exactly what was going on. Nonetheless, when kids were involved, their boss was probably blowing something way out of proportion.

He glanced at Kurama and grinned. He was in puzzle-bane mode: Kuwabara liked to call him that when he got this exact look about him. His eyes would brighten even in their narrowed state, his brow would furrow slightly, and his fingers would always play with the band on his left middle finger.

Silently encouraged, he focused at the door they were nearing, it was open slightly and he could here the sounds of life.

“…the priestess was a beautiful woman, cold in that beauty yes- but beautiful nonetheless. She did love the prince, but fate had desired a different outcome. Cursed with her eternal suffering, her soul lay in hate and despair until-” the story abruptly cut off.

Koenma opened the door, and the trio found the two occupants of the room staring directly at them.

“What are you doing back?” The boy questioned spitefully.

Koenma cleared his throat. “You'll answer my questions now.”

The boy was about to protest before the female gently quieted him. A gleam was in her eye and Kuwabara had to take another glance. With the gleam in her eye and her impossibly long hair she looked exactly like a picture in one of his mythology books. Looking at Kurama proved futile as he was absorbed in examining the boy.

The female smiled mischievously and settled into her pillows. A grand sweeping gesture was made with her hands, indicating the seats to the left of the bed. “Ask away.”

Ooh yes, the game was on.