Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Faux Pas ❯ Chapter 2

Faux Pas - Chapter Two

 

 

Sensui wasn't aware of exactly how much time had passed since he had closed his eyes, but when he opened them it was getting ever darker. The shade of the trees, combined with the growing twilight, did nothing for his vision and so he closed his eyes once more. He had spent an undeterminable amount of time sorting through his garbled memories and at last he had hit the root of the problem.

 

Some time back before his actual death, he had lost his mind. Gone completely and utterly insane, that is, if one defined insane as gaining a multiple personality disorder.

 

His insanity was not one of continuous fits of raving lunacy one normally associated with the word. His was more of a quiet, festering seed in his mind that had been implanted at the time of entering the Black Black Club's headquarters and slowly budded into something more. It grew and fully bloomed after he had stolen and watched the Black Chapter. Near the end, it had spread its spores throughout five of the seven, though they had not all successfully grown into the fruition of an all-consuming madness. Seeing all the horrible things humans were capable of had finally caused something inside him to snap. Rather than ravings, it was demonstrated in his almost eerie cunning and elaborate planning. He supposed Kazuya was the physical manifestation of all his madness, seeing as how that particular part of him had no problems in the ranting and raving department.

 

It no longer mattered because he couldn't feel Kazuya. It was unusually quiet in his head and the only explanation was that they were gone. Kazuya, Minoru, Naru, all of them… gone.

 

He supposed that the major reason he was having such difficulty processing the matters leading to his current situation was a result of having seven different memories suddenly melded into one.

 

Going solely on assumption, Sensui guessed that at his time of death his other personalities had merely ceased to exist. It was strange without the racket that had normally encompassed his mind as the struggle for control commenced. That wasn't necessarily as bad as it sounded; on most occasions whichever personality was best suited for a task would take control and deal with it to the best of their ability, and switch off when necessary. As usual, Kazuya was the exception to the rule. If he wanted something done his way, he was apt to use brute force to take over the situation.

 

Still, rather than feeling an absence within him, he felt complete. Whole. It was as though he had never formed other personalities to begin with. All that remained were his memories of the way things were. With this new information coming from only a single perspective within his mind, he could go through his mental checklist and try to figure out what was happening.

 

Firstly - he was dead.

 

Secondly - his whole elaborate scheme to open up the hole to the Demon World and ultimately meet his end by a stronger demon had worked out perfectly. He had died by Urameshi's hand (or some variation of it. He recalled the boy arguing with him about who exactly was responsible for the final blow) and had presumably been taken away by Itsuki as had been part of the original plan. His last will, per say.

 

Thirdly - he had spent an unknown amount of time in the shadow void under Itsuki's protection and was (or had been) free from any Spirit World intervention.

 

Question. Why was his soul here? Wherever `here' was?

 

Probable answers. Itsuki had for some reason or another released his soul. He doubted if the demon had done it willingly. Itsuki had been with him before, during, and after his madness. The demon was loyal and devoted to the core and, more so, he was a friend. A partner. So that led him to his next question. Why? As far as he knew there was no way the void could be penetrated or destroyed.

 

In short, his years of planning, his calculated decisions, his manipulations, his maneuvering of his pawns to just the right areas on the board in order to achieve his goals had come to this. There would be no peaceful ending in oblivion for him. It seemed that in reality there were no happy endings. Without a doubt Koenma would have him hunted down like some common prey animal and brought to the Spirit World to stand trial for his crimes. Koenma was, after all, a man with a job to do. Sensui knew this well; he could relate. All he had to look forward to now was hell.

 

All caused by one single miscalculation within his plans.

 

Who would have thought such an error could cause such repercussions?

 

There were options, as there always were. He could run, trying to outwit and outlast Koenma for all eternity. But what sort of sad excuse for an existence would that be? No, this was beyond him now.

 

With no hope of outrunning his fate, he resigned himself to simply wait. He would be found, he was sure of that. It was only a matter of whether it would be Itsuki or Koenma who found him first.

 

* * *

 

Koenma's mood was getting steadily worse as the day wore on. There was still no sign of Sensui, and Itsuki had yet to arrive. That wasn't the end of it, oh no. It seemed that when the junior lord of hell had a bad day, it was a really bad day.

 

In something that was too convenient to be coincidence, reports had been coming in on a strange demon popping up randomly throughout Mushiori City. No one had gotten a direct fix on it yet, nor any useful description; he only knew that there was a malicious demon present and that was potential trouble. So far its victims had all been of the infrastructural kind, but how long was that likely to last?

 

He was in the middle of pacing out his frustrations when there was a knock at the door. Its echo effect throughout the room caused Koenma to stop and turn as it swung open, revealing a slightly frazzled looking Jorge.

 

“Have you found anything?” he more or less demanded of his assistant.

 

“It's Itsuki,” the ogre said. “He's just arrived.”

 

Koenma nodded in satisfaction. “Bring him in then.” Jorge nodded and disappeared from sight. Koenma used the time to assume a position by his desk, unconsciously standing up straighter to increase his height. He waited. The seconds passed by and his impatience began building towards irritation. It took less time than it actually seemed before Itsuki was led in.

 

On either side of the demon was a member of the Special Defense Team, steering him with a hand on his upper arm. If he was at all shook up he didn't show it. Impassively, the demon merely stared straight ahead. He didn't even seem that angry. Of course, Koenma never had been able to read Itsuki as he had his partner. There was really no telling what thoughts were currently running through the demon's head.

 

He was halted halfway across the room while the guards on either side of him looked to Koenma for instructions.

 

“You may go.”

 

The two shared a look and the one on the right nodded reluctantly. “We'll be just outside if you need us.” With that, they departed from the room.

 

Koenma looked over the demon as the door closed once more. He was much thinner than the last time they had crossed paths, but otherwise unchanged. His arms had risen from his sides as soon as he was unhanded and had crossed in front of his chest. Normally one would relate the action with an unconscious form of defense or challenge, but who really knew with Itsuki? It may have just been an instinctive reaction. Koenma's eyes rose to Itsuki's face, where a single golden eye stared back at him.

 

“Did you feel I was such a threat that you had to change into your adult form?” Itsuki asked, one fine green eyebrow rising.

 

For a moment, he was too surprised to reply. That hadn't been what he was expecting. “No,” Koenma replied after a short pause. “I've been able to maintain this form constantly for two hundred years now.” He saw, briefly, a flicker of something pass through Itsuki's one functioning eye. “You don't know how long you've been eluding outside interference,” Koenma said slowly, watching Itsuki for a further reaction. It was a question, and yet at the same time, he knew it was true. “It's been seven hundred and thirty-two years.”

 

Itsuki said nothing.

 

“Don't you think that's long enough?” Koenma asked quietly.

 

“It will never be long enough,” was the demon's reply.

 

There was really no proper way to respond to that, Koenma found. Instead, he tried to make the demon see reason. “Perhaps not, but it's a bit too late to change things. You're here now, and it's time you were sentenced. Your previous service record will counterbalance some of your offences, and your punishment will be reasonable. You have nothing to lose, Itsuki, so please tell me where Shinobu is.”

 

Itsuki's eye closed and when he spoke his voice was remorseful. “I do not know.”

 

Koenma sighed. Really, what had he expected? For the demon to just willingly hand Sensui over? It was a nice thought, but completely out of the question. “There's no need to hide anything.”

 

“I am not,” Itsuki countered. The eye half opened and gazed defiantly at the figure before him. “However, if I did know where he was, I would not tell you. He wished to remain free of this place, to not have his soul judged by you. Respect that. Just because you want to speak with him, seeking solace for your past mistakes, that is no reason to make him suffer.”

 

Golden-brown eyes widened in shock. Somewhere inside him, a spark of anger began to grow. Even if it were the truth, did Itsuki have any right to make it as though he were the only one in the wrong?

 

“I seem to have got it right on,” Itsuki continued. “You have not changed at all. You are still as selfish as you always were. It does not matter whose life you interfere with, as long as it suits your own needs.” At this, the demon walked forward until he was directly before the stunned demi-god. “It is that attitude that cost Shinobu his mind.”

 

Koenma's teeth ground together in an effort to control the sudden burst of emotion throughout his body. The spark of anger had changed to a flame and was threatening to grow. He couldn't afford to be goaded by the demon. The important thing was to locate Sensui and take things from there. Even as he told himself that they were only words, words said in spite, knowing that they were true made it so much worse. It stung.

 

Itsuki was striking much too close to home. Koenma had spoken the absolute truth in the Irima cave during the entire tunnel fiasco - he was willing to go to hell with Sensui to pay for his own past mistakes. The detective had been his responsibility and he had failed in his duty towards him. Sensui may have wished to be free, but Koenma would speak to him before steps would be taken towards that. And, he admitted to himself, the chances of Sensui coming away completely clean were not likely. There were so many things the former detective had done that were severe offenses, met with extended terms in hell…

 

But all that could be dealt with when

(if)

Sensui was found.

 

Which was precisely why he had to convince Itsuki to help him, despite how impossible the task seemed.

 

“Understand me, Itsuki. It is in his best interest that he be brought here as quickly as possible to receive his sentence. Drawing things out will only lead to more suffering on his behalf.”

 

Itsuki's remaining golden eye narrowed once more. The simple move spoke volumes, conveying the defiance Koenma was growing thoroughly tired of.

 

“No, understand me, little death. Stay away from Shinobu. I will not tell you again.”

 

For a moment, he contemplated threatening the demon with charges of more severe sentencing. Only for a moment. Not only would that sort of blackmail go against the kind of justice system he stood for, but it would not do any good. He knew Itsuki well enough to know that he would never willingly betray Sensui. On some level, he understood Itsuki's wishes perfectly. Still, he couldn't just let Sensui walk away from everything with no repercussions.

 

At last he said, “You know I can't do that, Itsuki. He broke the laws, and almost destroyed the Human World in the process. It's not just me that knows this, but my father as well. Shinobu's soul will be sentenced, and believe me when I say it will be infinitely better if I'm the one to carry that out rather than my father.”

 

Itsuki scoffed. “It is not that you `can't', it is that you will not. Besides, if your father knew Shinobu was free, he would have taken care of the matter already.”

 

Koenma sighed. Itsuki was right, of course. It would be better to just lay everything he knew out in the open, and hope that the demon would reciprocate. “You're right. No proof has shown up that Shinobu's soul is in any of the three worlds. You're my best chance at finding out what happened to him.”

 

Itsuki's left hand ghosted across his chest, settling atop his scar. He rubbed gently, and frowned. “You have no right to be so familiar with him after the trouble you have caused.”

 

On the contrary. Koenma felt he had every right to be familiar with Sensui. After all, he had known him longer than Itsuki, had found him when he was young and confused and had helped him understand why the demonic creatures pursued such a small child. It was he who would have

(should have)

remained close to his detective, had Itsuki not come into Sensui's life.

 

What was the use of arguing? They were wasting valuable time on petty squabbles. If only the demon would realize that!

 

“Very well. I will ask you again. For the sake of Sensui, will you tell me where he is?”

 

“It is true that I do not know where he is,” Itsuki replied after a moment of hesitation. “He should have remained in the void if I was to die.” The demon's frown deepened. “As my soul was suppose to.” He continued on, as though to himself. “Perhaps it collapsed on my death and reformed on a spiritual plane…”

 

No expert on what that entailed, Koenma prompted him. “What would that mean for Sensui?”

 

“It is possible that his spirit remained in the void as it transferred over. Though it is likely he would have been expelled the same way that I was,” the demon confessed. “However, there would be no way to pinpoint the exact location of where he would have come out. The void is vast, and his soul was free to wander it as he pleased. It would also be impossible to determine what world he would be occupying.” Here, Itsuki's hand fell away from his scar and dropped to his side. His body shifted slightly, this time in a way Koenma was positive was a form of challenge. “If I had known where to find him, neither of us would be here. I would have made sure of it.”

 

“I have no doubt,” Koenma said, walking around the side of his desk, and sitting in the chair. “It does not change the fact that you are here though, and presumably so is Sensui.” At this, he leaned forward, studying the demon. “Will you help me to find him?”

 

“No,” was the demon's reply.

 

Koenma nodded his head. It was not unexpected. However, if Itsuki was unwilling to help his cause, then their conversation was over. He picked up Itsuki's processing form, as well as his stamp. “You're making a mistake,” the demi-god told him quietly, before raising his voice. “Itsuki, you are charged with the opening of the tunnel connecting the Human and Demon Worlds and, in doing so, endangering the entire human race. Due to your previous service to the Spirit World, you will receive a reduced sentence of one hundred years in hell. Do you understand the charges and consequences?”

 

“Yes.”

 

A slender hand grasped the stamp reading `hell' and lowered it over the form. Before it could touch down, Itsuki interrupted.

 

“Wait.”

 

Golden-brown eyes met with gold. Koenma's hand wavered.

 

“I ask that you relay all of Shinobu's charges to my file. If his soul is out there and you find him, then you will have no grounds on which to hold him.”

 

Koenma hesitated. It would be the easy way out; to leave the demon with the rap and allow Sensui to walk away. A means to the end for the peace he so wished to make with the former detective.

 

But it wasn't right.

 

“Sensui may have been one of my detectives, but it doesn't change the fact that what he did goes against everything he previously fought for. He had a commitment, a duty, and in abandoning that, he earned this fate himself.”

 

“Not alone,” Itsuki corrected. “You helped earn him this fate. You sent him into that hell, knowing full well what was happening there. It is your fault but you are helpless to change the past.” The demon stepped closer, placing his hands on the desk and leaning down so that his scarred face was mere inches away from Koenma's. “But you can change the future and take steps to make this right. Grant a dead man his last wish, to finally be at peace. Just leave him alone.” Softly, Itsuki added, “You owe him that much.”

 

“Do you fully understand what you're asking me to do?” Koenma asked, needing to focus on something, anything, other than the constricting in his chest. He knew he had lost. Because, the simple truth of it was, he did owe Sensui that much. “Sensui annihilated the members of the Black Black Club. Humans. If you take that upon yourself, the charge to any demon who kills a human is-“

 

“I am aware,” Itsuki interrupted.

 

Reluctantly, Koenma nodded. Itsuki drew back from the desk, seemingly satisfied. “Then in addition to your previous charges, you are now found guilty of seizing the Black Chapter, classified property of the Spirit World. You are also found guilty of killing members of the Black Black Club, as well as destroying the Demon World barrier.

 

“With your new charges against humanity, your term will be extended indefinitely. Do you understand the charges and the consequences?”

 

“Yes,” Itsuki said, just barely loud enough for Koenma's ears to catch.

 

The stamp lowered, and made an audible `smack' against the paper. When the stamp was lifted, the bright red lettering for `Hell' stood out boldly across Itsuki's name.

 

It didn't make anything right, but Koenma though it could be a start in the right direction.