Chapter 3

Yuusuke shrugged, "I fetched some groceries for Keiko," gesturing at the brown paper bag he was carrying. He turned to him, "Lemme’ guess. Some guy stole your cat again and you need someone to beat him up because you can’t". Of course that infuriated Kuwabara that led him to rise into a series of ranting about his bravery and heroic deeds all the way to the block of Keiko’s house. Yuusuke sighed, "You must be pretty bored with your life to conjure these illusions," he commented.

"Actually I am. Koenma hasn’t really been giving us some meaty assignments to sink our teeth into. I actually feel regretful I had to ditch the Makai tournament for that good for nothing…" he stopped when Yuusuke’s last words finally sank into him. "Why you little shrimp…" he was about to conk Yuusuke on the head when he stopped, "We’re here," he said opening the door to the ramen house. Kuwabara immediately flashed a toothy smile at Keiko when she came out of the kitchen.

"What took you so long?" Keiko asked taking the bags from Yuusuke’s arm. Yuusuke cast a sideways glance at his companion and Keiko understood. "Ohayou, Kuwabara-san," she said cheerfully. However, Kuwabara didn’t seem to hear her greetings, as he was busy hovering over the food in the ramen house. Yuusuke, on the other hand, chose one of the booths and settled comfortably on it. All that walking made him tired and sleepy. It was but ten in the morning and the ramen house had just opened and thus, pretty empty.

Keiko left the bags in the kitchen and went to the booth where Yuusuke, and apparently a hungry Kuwabara, was settled. "This is the best frigging food I’ve ever tasted. You cook good, Keiko," he said in between mouthfuls of Katsudon. Keiko smiled at him patiently, "You’ve been eating here for the past five years Kazuma-san and you have yet to change your compliments. But thank you anyway," she said. She glanced at Yuusuke, whose eyes were closed, his hands clasped behind his head.

Keiko cleared her throat, "Koenma dropped by an hour ago," she said casually. Yuusuke’s eyes shot open, immediately awakened by the little bomb she dropped on him. Kuwabara, who has been drinking, sputtered some soda on the table. Keiko gave him a stern look, "Gomen Keiko-chan, gomen. I was just surprised… did you say Koenma?" he asked. Keiko nodded. "With the pacifier and all?" he asked again and Keiko affirmed his question.

"Koenma? Isn’t it Botan’s job to inform us if we have an assignment?" he asked thoughtfully. "Maybe Botan took some leave or resigned altogether. Who would want to do her job anyway?" he responded. Keiko and Yuusuke ignored Kuwabara’s babbling, "Anyway, he told me he was going up to Genkai’s temple where he’s supposed to meet all of us there," she said. "Must be pretty important if Koenma himself is summoning us," he paused and regarded the pretty, brown-haired girl beside him. "Wait a minute," he said peering at Keiko’s eyes, "are you sure he said, ‘us’?" he asked suspiciously.

Keiko smiled sheepishly at him, "No. But life’s been getting too normal and routine around here," she said. Yuusuke flashed her a knowing smile, "I thought you’d never want to see me getting into these fights anymore?" he asked triumphantly. "Well, you can’t actually expect me to stay here and wait for you to get back, again, do you?" she challenged, referring to the time before the Makai tournament. That pretty much silenced Yuusuke’s objections.

"Wow! We’re going to Genkai’s temple? I now have a perfect excuse for seeing Yukina-chan," Kuwabara said gleefully. "I thought you go there thrice a week?" Keiko asked. Kuwabara nodded, "I do. But each time I have to think of some clever excuse…hey, what are you laughing about?" he demanded. Yuusuke struggled to pause his guffaws, "You? A clever excuse?" then he burst out laughing some more. Kuwabara made a gesture that he was about to hit the laughing Yuusuke but Keiko intervened. Knowing full too well the consequences the ramen house will have to suffer. "Why don’t you get your sister and we’ll meet you at the front steps of the temple?" she suggested earnestly.

Kuwabara paused hesitantly, "Okay. I’m sure she’s also eager to see Yukina-chan," he regarded Yuusuke with open hostility, "You are one lucky son-of-a…" But Keiko cut him off before he could finish his sentence, "Oi, I will not permit that kind of language here," she said sternly. Yuusuke was smiling smugly, "Gomen, Keiko-san. I’ll be going ahead," he said after a final glare at Yuusuke.

That was precisely what Kurama thought and frankly, was worried about. He was initially a bit disappointed that Botan didn’t come down to him personally to inform him of this gathering. It’s been a long time since he last saw the deity and curiosity seem to get the better of him on Botan’s whereabouts. Not for anything, but he was pretty eager to be updated on what his long-time friend been up to all this time. He flinched inwardly at the word that occurred to him. He gave himself a mental shake, reminding himself that he was over that small infatuation he had over the deity. She’s a friend just as she’ll always be, he told himself firmly.

They went inside Genkai’s familiar abode. As always, it had a settling feeling of peace and harmony enclosed within its walls. "I see someone’s already beat you up to your intentions, Kazuma-san," Keiko said, nodding towards the small room with a wide open window that allowed them full view of the pretty green-haired Koorime and the cloaked figure she prepared some tea for. "Hiei! What’s that shrimp doing here?" Kuwabara exclaimed angrily. Yuusuke had an unsettling pit in his stomach. Kurama’s anxiety also increased over the purpose of this meeting. Koenma managed to stray the proud and stubborn fire demon from his chores in the Makai, this must be something big.

Soon the five of them joined Hiei in the room and Yukina poured tea for everyone. "It’s nice to see you again Yukina-chan," Kuwabara said, smiling at Yukina. Yukina smiled back at him, "Yes. It’s nice to see you too Kazuma-san". At that instant, Hiei was about to unsheath his katana when Kurama cleared his throat, "I don’t think that would be a very wise idea at the moment," he said telepathically, amused at Hiei’s protective inclinations towards Yukina. "What do you know at being wise kitsune?" Hiei retorted back.

Kurama didn’t answer as Genkai emerged from the door with a teenage Koenma behind him. "I see everyone’s here," Genkai observed, eyeing Keiko and Suzuki questioningly. Genkai sat on the head of the table while Koenma chose to remain standing. "Oi Koenma! What’s this big secret you have for us? Wait, don’t tell me. I know," Yuusuke said boisterously, "You and Botan finally decided to tie the knot! I knew it! I was right all along".

The girls turned excitedly to Koenma, "Is it true? Is this why Botan’s not here? Is it a secret?" Yukina asked eagerly. Hiei remained passive about the small commotion Yuusuke’s presumption was bringing. Kurama, on the other hand, remained silent. He didn’t like the presumption Yuusuke dropped there, though he knew it wasn’t what the meeting was about. Baka, he muttered inwardly. "Hn," Hiei said a knowing look in his amber eyes.

Koenma and Genkai’s expression didn’t change and it silenced the group after a while. "We’re still not sure how serious the matter at hand is, what we know is that the possibility exists," the Reikai prince said cryptically, ignoring whatever has transpired in the previous exchange of words in the group. The excitement has died down and in its place was Koenma’s eerily serious voice.

Yuusuke gave him a lost look that prodded Koenma to explain. "Before the existence of the three realms, there were only two: Ningenkai and Harikai. Needless to say, Harikai was the forerunner of the Makai and Reikai. During that time, there was no need to divide the Makai and Reikai as there was only one kind of spirit then: the good ones. Basically, the spirits of the dead from Ningenkai co-inhabited the resident youkai of Harikai,"

Koenma turned to the group, "However, as the natural way of things goes, some of the good turned to bad and switched their preference from harmony to absolute power. They started to devour the small ki from the spirits of the dead ningen, storing them up until the level of their power increased. Unsatisfied, they eventually turned to their fellow youkai to store up more ki and feed on their greed. Soon, Harikai was plagued with wars and most villages and regions of the Harikai were destroyed. Certain tribes vanished at being defeated while the others, chose to be one of the greedy pack than suffer the consequences". Koenma paused briefly looking at the two youkai in the table. Hiei, as he expected, seemed disinterested and looked bored. Kurama, on the other hand, met his gaze and he saw the wariness in those deep-set emerald eyes. He hesitated at first, then went on with the story.

"These power-hungry youkai have eventually taken particular interest of the hermits in the mountains who were the keepers of the balance in Harikai and Ningenkai. The utmost oracle that time was a certain Fukihiro and was very powerful. Seeing that the now equally powerful greedy youkai has taken notice of their village, Fukihiro summoned all the hermits and convened to combine their ki to create a protector of their village. While the hermits are peace-loving creatures, they have tremendous powers that they have acquired from their forebears and mastered while they were cloistered from the rest of the realm. However, their powers were not meant and could not bring forth pain or suffering and so, they couldn't defend themselves. Fukihiro gathered the most powerful of these hermits and cast a spell that allowed him to gather all their powers. The oracle allowed the tremendous amount of ki to be harbored inside a receptacle in the form of a warrior."

Koenma turned to Yuusuke, "I know what your thinking, and yes, the warrior is a hundred-fold more powerful than an S-class youkai like you," Yuusuke smirked but the cold seriousness in Koenma’s voice told him it’s better to keep his comments to himself. "Of course the warrior single-handedly defeated the greedy youkai. But the battle between them released so much energy that Harikai was torn into two, into what we know now as the Makai and the Reikai. As I said before, the hermits are harmonious creatures and they did not wish to keep the warrior in existence with them for long. He was, after all, only intended by the hermits to restore the balance in the Harikai which will only be disrupted further by his existence."

"Fukihiro and the hermits sealed the warrior into a void, wherein he can only be released by a hermit himself. Whoever releases the warrior shall be the warrior’s and the tremendous ki he bears’ master. The warrior, no matter how powerful he is, will fall as a servant to the hermit who releases him. Which means, he could be ordered to destroy or worse, be ordered to transfer his ki to his master," Koenma said finally. "It's like the Arabian Nights gone into hell-mode," Shizuru commented.

"Wait a minute, does this mean you and Botan are not getting married?" Kuwabara asked suddenly. The question earned him a kick in the shin from Yuusuke and a smirk from Hiei. Koenma looked unfazed. "Are you telling us that one of the hermits have gone berserk and decided that he wanted to release the warrior from the void and…" Yuusuke was saying when Kurama cut in. "No, that’s not what Koenma is trying to tell us. The hermits have long ceased to exist from the mountains of Makai," he said. Yuusuke frowned, "Does this mean you’ve been pulling our leg all the time and you were just trying to catch attention?’ he asked.

Kurama lay a steady eye on Koenma, as though daring him to say the danger they were facing. "Kurama’s right, the hermits have long gone extinct for some unknown reason. But the reports that came in the Reikai showed that the hermit blood still exists in the present time." It was now Kurama’s turn to look confused, "How was that possible? I thought the hermits intermarried among themselves?" he asked. Koenma nodded, "Yes, but apparently, there are some hermits who have gone astray from the tradition and managed to marry and bear children out of their tribe."

Suzuki blew a cloud of smoke, "How much of the tribe’s blood exist as of present time?" she asked, she’s already growing impatient of Koenma’s course of the story. "According to our investigation, only one creature still exist and bear the hermits’ blood in… actually, that’s the problem. Whether the hermit is male, female, youkai, ningen or whatever, is still undetermined," Koenma stated. Both Yuusuke and Kuwabara looked confused, "Uh, can we go over the whole thing again?" Kuwabara asked.

"What are you worried about Koenma? Why would a hermit want to unleash the warrior?" Yuusuke asked. "The hermit may or may not want to unleash the warrior, but that is immaterial if someone else wants to release the warrior and use the hermit to do so. I think, our mission lies on finding the hermit and exhausting all means to keep him or her from being used as an instrument or using his or her powers, on his or her own free will, to release the warrior," Kurama explained patiently.

Genkai, who has been silent all throughout Koenma’s narration spoke, "I know that all of you must be eager to fight yet again. But lest we forget the trouble the situation at hand will cause the three realms if what we theorized happens." She looked at Yuusuke pointedly then to Keiko who looked troubled and yet, kept her peace throughout the discourse. "What will happen to the three realms if the warrior is released Koenma?" Yukina asked, her face worry-stricken. Without a flicker of emotion, Koenma answered, "Then Makai, Reikai and Ningenkai will have to bow and surrender to the wishes of the warrior’s master, be it the hermit or the holder of the hermit."

Kuwabara, on the other hand, still looked confused, "I still don’t get it. It’s so confusing." "Hn. Stupid ningen," Hiei said out loud. Kuwabara was infuriated and was about to dare Hiei for a fight when Yukina laid a gentle hand on his arm, "Don’t worry Kazuma-san, I’ll explain everything to you." Kuwabara settled down and Yukina’s brother had an ill-concealed frown on his face. Kurama stifled a laugh by clearing his throat.

"I’m sorry if I sound like some uncaring ditz, but where’s Botan, Koenma? Shouldn’t she be here, rather, shouldn’t she be the one telling us this?" Suzuki asked, pulling a fresh stick of cigarette from her purse. Koenma threw his red cape over his shoulder, "She’s performing her final duties with another Rei Kai investigator. Don’t worry, you’ll see her soon since she’s just acting as a substitute for a deity that has gone for a break."

"So what are we supposed to do now?" Yuusuke asked. "As of now, nothing. We’ll still have to wait for the reports to come in, probably by the end of the week. If it happens that the hermit descendant is either male or female, we have to find him or her and make sure he or she is one of us. That is, assuming he or she hasn’t chosen or been forced to take one," Koenma said. Yuusuke smiled, "It has been a while since I last fired my rei gun," he said, pointing his forefinger out to the open window. Hiei smiled silently, his job in the Makai hasn’t been as thrilling as his past adventures with the Rei Kai Tantei, though he’ll never admit it. The fresh surge of excitement over a good fight made him pray for the worse.

Kurama’s still unsure on how he should feel about the situation. On one end, he wanted the assignment not to exist. He’s already content with his life. He works part-time for his stepfather and does well in his study in the university. He lives independently in the house he used to live in with Shiori… he kinda liked living normal for a change. But if the assignment ensued, he knew he couldn’t just desert the team. Besides, what life will he come back to if they fail in their assignment? The youko in him was getting a bit restless and the surge of excitement that flowed within Hiei coursed through him as well. Kuwabara couldn’t care any less, he was too lost in the beautiful Koorime beside him.

Genkai stood up from the head of the table and without a word turned for the door. "Genkai-basaan, where are you going?" Yuusuke called out. Genkai halted, and said without turning, "I think the matter’s been settled for now. We can’t just sit here all day and breathe. I have to water my plants," then she walked out of the room. "Wait for me, Genkai-basaan," Yukina called out as she gathered the cups of tea. She turned to Kuwabara, "Perhaps I can explain the story to you some other time, Kazuma-san," then with a slight bow, she followed the elderly woman.

Yuusuke looked around and found that Hiei had gone somewhere and so did Koenma. He stretched his legs, "I don’t know about you but I think I’d like to hang around here for a while. Heck, I feel like one round of those video games with Genkai," he said. Keiko frowned at him, knowing full well that the promised help in the ramen house is forgotten. She got up, "I’m going home, what about you Suzuki? Shuuichi?" she asked. Kurama shook his head, "I still have to finish my classes, I’ll have to pass Keiko-san," Keiko turned to Suzuki, "Sure, but I have to pick something from the grocery".

"Okay. Kuwa-chan are you coming?" Keiko asked, already on her way out. "Hai. I remember I have to bring the cat to the vet. Oi, Yuusuke, didn’t you promise Keiko to help her with the ramen house?" Kuwabara reminded. Keiko anticipated his answer, somehow she’s already come to accept Yuusuke for all his faults, not expecting him to change for the better.

Yuusuke was about to groan and complain when Kurama elbowed him on the chest, eyeing him warily. "Oh, yeah! Oi, Keiko, why didn’t you remind me?" Yuusuke caught up with the surprised Keiko and put an arm around her, "Besides," he patted his stomach, "Lunch is in an hour". And with that, Keiko managed a smiled.

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