Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ A Well Too Deep ❯ Chapter 6 ( Chapter 6 )

Response to Reviewers:

Kooriya Yui: I apologize for the grammatical errors since that often annoys me when I'm reading other people's fanfiction. I try and edit them before publishing, but, having no one but myself to proofread them, I miss things. Feel free to point out where and what the mistakes were and I'll correct them.

Ko-Krama: Lol, aw the joys of coffee. I remember I chugged a Starbucks tall frappuccino once because I was running late for volleyball practice - I couldn't stay still or shut-up for anything. Don't worry about the trivia question…sometimes I think my logic only makes sense to me and probably defies a few laws of the known world, lol.

I was playing around with what exactly to have the taboo be for a long while. It probably isn't quite linear to the Yu Yu Hakusho plot, but it's my fanfiction, right? And so I thought I'd try something a little different.

Hedi Dracona: Nice username. As for Kurama, well you'll just have to find out.

What2callmyself: I mentioned the stag's dissipation a little bit in chapter 5, but I'll go into it in more detail this chapter with Koenma's dialogue. And it isn't that the gods are shunning love in general but rather the love between a human and a demon. Again, I'll try and clarify this in the below chapter.

Wiccaanimangagirlkagome: Wow that's quite the mouthful. Yes that question has already been answered (read the notes before chapter 5) and what you gave is the correct answer.

Other people that reviewed chapter 5:

Nasa Ow/d Maxwell

Remy2004

A big "thank you" to all that have read and enjoyed my story so far and an apology to all that have read and not enjoyed the story. I was overjoyed to find so many reviews only a day after I had first posted chapter 5. I write for myself, but it means a lot that others appreciate my work as well.

P.S. If you're still hanging in there, another hint for the Plague Army trivia question is:

Where does the name Morana come from?

These are just hints to help you answer the whole question, which is:

Why is Morana's fighting forced called the Plague Army?

You guys are sooo close!

Chapter Rating: PG (only baddy here is language)

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A Well Too Deep: Chapter 6

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Koenma paced the length the of the palace dock. The river's unnatural wind teased his teenage form's cape and hair. His shoulders were stiff and slightly hunched in agitation and his pacifier was bobbing at a furious pace. He was terrified both for and of his tantei team.

He didn't tell them - why didn't he tell them? He never tells them. Why doesn't he ever tell them? Because, he reasoned, they would respond to the situations differently and he needed their rawness. But now three of them might die! He'd nearly died when their papers landed on his desk: Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei's. The entire office had been sent into a flurry because of his panicked reaction. All of the best healers under his jurisdiction had been sent for - most were already well supplied with their own rooms in the palace, while the rest were being prepared. But there was nothing he could do until the tantei arrived. So where were they?

"Damnit…Botan hurry…."

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The boat veered off the main river and down a much narrower and clearer strip of water to the left. The sloshing sound of the water against the hull gained a more corporeal vibration. The gray mist began to lose its opacity, giving way to pink skies.

Yusuke and Botan sat is silence. Occasionally Botan used the ancient oar to steady their coarse, but for the majority of their journey she had sat in concentrated stillness. Yusuke had words to say but neither the energy to speak them nor people to speak them to. Hiei had quietly slumped over in unconsciousness a ways back. It was only then that Yusuke noticed that Hiei's jagan was uncovered and yet emitted no powerful aura. And a light spattering of dust covered Hiei's forehead that hadn't been there before.

Yusuke was scared. Never could he remember being sent on a mission with such dire results. And for once, he wasn't the one in danger of dying - no, just everyone else was. And all he could do was hope that they reached help in time. There was no one to pummel, no enemy he could defeat, at least not yet, that would make all this lethality go away. He could only sit here and wait.

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The swirling mists parted to reveal the approach of an ancient soul ferrier's boat. Koenma was so involved in his pacing and muttering that it took him a few moments to notice its appearance. When he did, he brought the whistle that had been dangling from his clenched hands to his lips and blew - hard. It was a signal to those within the palace of Botan's return. Almost immediately after, the heavy palace doors opened behind Koenma and the loud shuffling of many feet could be heard. A procession of ten ogres - four of who stayed behind to hold the massive doors open - and two healers exited the palace. It wouldn't be long now….

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Botan lowered the oar into the water on the side of the raft closest to the palace shore. She let it drag listlessly until the river branch carried them right before the dock then shoved it deeply into the silt only a couple feet below the surface. It was magick that held the boat in place rather than anything physical. The silt was no more solid than dust blown about by wind. The River Styx didn't have a bottom, only lower levels. Even after a person had drowned, their body would fall and fall until it had turned to nothing and their spirit would remain eternally trapped within the lower levels of the river.

Koenma was at Botan's side within moments, helping her out onto the floating platform that served as the dock. He was prepared for her weariness but not her anger. The Makai boat hadn't been used for millennia. It was a relic of the Meikai wars and required age, power, and control to maneuver. He had expected the drain it would have on Botan's energy and had even prepared a special wing of his office for her recovery only. (They had been forced to reintroduce the item because of the powerful barriers surrounding Morana's territory. It had been a last minute decision, as Koenma hadn't counted on Morana driving his tantei into her territory as a means to try and steal the pendant from them.) She was accepting his support, cradled within his embrace, but her eyes were furious points of lavender.

Her first tightly grasped Koenma's tunic. "Don't let them die," Botan spoke each word in an emphasized, angry whisper.

"I won't," Koenma said firmly.

"If you do I'll never for-"

"I know…neither will I. Now sleep." Her body collapsed bonelessly into him and she unwillingly drifted into unconsciousness at his command. He slipped one of his arms beneath the crook of her knees and carried her, bridal style, into the palace.

Kurama, Hiei, and Kuwabara had all been fitted onto stretchers and were transported inside by the large ogres. The healers were giving rapid instructions as to where each patient should be brought then they ran ahead to inform those waiting inside of the situation.

Yusuke slipped into pace with Koenma. They both silently agreed to postpone their "discussion" until everyone had been attended to.

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"Alright Koenma. Now do you want to tell me what the Hell is going on here?" Yusuke was livid.

Koenma sighed, resting his forehead upon his just-closed office doors. He didn't respond for a full minute during which Yusuke had the unusual sense to stay quiet. Koenma didn't know how to answer that question: where to start, where to end, what to include. He needed the moment to find the peace of mind to begin. He took a deep breath before turning around and facing his prized detective.

"About the pendant, Morana, or your team mates?"

"All of it."

Koenma sighed again. "The pendant is one of a set of 24. Each one houses the essence of a spiritually significant creature. And each represents one hour in a day. The energy is released every complete Makai solar eclipse (roughly every three-hundred years), but to sustain that much imprisoned spirit requires an unimaginably vast amount of energy from the "real" plane in exchange. That, if my healers are correct, is how Kurama was injured. I'm extremely shocked that he isn't dead. I don't know of anyone else whose survived being such a sacrifice. Even so, he's terribly weakened. And there is still the possibility that his body could simply shut down from the strain." Koenma held up a hand to stay Yusuke's almost interruption.

"What is released during this solar phenomenon, however, isn't a spirit but unfettered power. It runs rampant with no regard for anything.

"Hiei tried to see through the pitch of the Makai dark with his jagan, but the beast overwhelmed the jagan eye and shattered it. Hiei will be fine as soon as his jagan can be repaired." Koenma failed to mention how skin-boilingly painful the whole ordeal was for Hiei, and that more than a few souls were needed for a successful restoration of the jagan.

"The energy fades come the first rays of sunlight."

"What does Morana have to do with any of this? Who is she?"

"I'm getting to that!" Koenma snapped. "Morana is…an insane child. She's almost unmatched in the demon world when it comes to manipulating spiritual energy. She created the entire Plague army that was chasing you with just a thought. Easily an upper S-class demon, I would never have sent you into the middle of her affairs had it not been of the utmost importance." Koenma paused, seeming to consider his next words, "You see, when all of the pendants are properly inserted into the Tower of Aton on the day of an eclipse, the tower condenses the power into a single surge of darkness.

"One by itself is the brightest light. Together they create the thickest dark.

"Morana hoped to merge that power with herself. But after two centuries of searching, she only had 23 of the 24. And because of how the power works, this is wonderful news. But Kurama must survive for us to be able to fully utilize this streak of disguised good fortune. I want to discuss this with him before I tell any of you more."

"Why didn't you tell us this before you gave us the mission?" Yusuke wasn't quite sure how to digest all of that information. His safest option was the simplest and most trustworthily clichéd.

"What would you have done if you knew back then during the eclipse what you do now?"

"I could've been the one or we could've shared -" Yusuke didn't know what he would have done. He likely would have tried to take the brunt of the pendent upon himself but found his teammates stepping up to share the burden. That would've been a good idea, right? "Never mind. It doesn't matter! The point is we would have had the option to -"

"Shut up!"

"What?"

"For once in your life, just shut up! `If' is irrelevant!" Koenma roughly rubbed his eyes with the tips of his fingers. "I'm…I'm sorry…. I am sorry for putting you four through all of this. But, that aside, it worked. When Kurama regains his strength, you four actually stand a chance against Morana because you didn't know any better then."

Yusuke stood stunned. Beyond the very uncharacteristic apology, Koenma had exerted authority. And Yusuke had felt something swell in those moments that left no doubt that Koenma could actually backup his angry outburst. It wasn't any sort of battle aura or even an eruption of spiritual power. But it had definitely been…intimidating, a word Yusuke would have never used to describe Koenma before now. It had demanded respect and adherence. And Yusuke couldn't find his usual desire to rebel against all forms of authority and repression in the face of that thing. He wasn't afraid of Koenma. But something in that last statement had given light to another side of Koenma. And, for some reason, Yusuke now respected him…at least for now.

Koenma crossed the room to his desk, stopping halfway to rest a hand upon Yusuke's shoulder, "Go get some sleep. You need it. You'll be notified as soon as there is anything to notify you about." He proceeded to sit down at his desk and begin summoning various servants and messengers to his aid. He paid no more attention to Yusuke and the boy turned to let himself out of the room. Then memories hit him and turned back around.

"Kuwabara?"

"Is receiving intensive healing. Nearly lethal, though they were, his injuries were merely physical. He will recover."

Yusuke nodded and left. He couldn't bring himself to thank the toddler for repairing the damage he caused. As he walked down the long hallways thinking just this, Yusuke realized that he hadn't seen Koenma in his toddler form the entire mission.

`Just what is going on?' he wondered.

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I felt like giving a different spin on Koenma in this story. Whaddya'll think?

Botan's eyes are lavender in the movie Poltergeist Report, but in some pictures they look brown. So which are they? Also, I spelled Botan's name "Boton" in the previous chapter, but it seems so minor a problem that I'm not going to bother fixing that just yet, especially since I've seen it spelled both ways (kind of like "Keiko" and "Keyko" I suppose).