Chapter 1
‘Thud! Thud!’
The sound of the Reikai Seal approving souls for processing rang monotonously through the office, as it had for the past eight hours. The bearer of the stamp worked furiously, focusing all of his concentration at the task at hand. He had long since forgotten about anything else; his only goal in life was getting through the huge stacks of papers that George had brought him.
The toddler didn’t pause in his movements as there was a hesitant knock on his door. “Go away! I’m busy!” he yelled, his tone conveying his immense irritation at being disturbed.
Despite his annoyed response, the door cracked open. “Koenma-sama?” A blue head popped in, a sweatdrop appearing as Botan observed her boss stamping away with feverish ardor. “Ano, Koenma-sama?”
“Nanda, Botan?” the toddler snapped, not skipping a beat.
“When was the last time you’ve taken a break? Or eaten, for that matter?” Botan asked, worriedly inspecting her superior. There were dark circles under Koenma’s eyes and a crease was etched between his brows. His pale skin was lighter than normal, as if he hadn’t seen daylight in a while – which, Botan realized, he hadn’t.
Thinking back, Botan kicked herself mentally. Koenma *had* been out of the sun for the past few days, eating only when George brought him food as the entire Reikai scrambled to process the influx of newly dead. Countless had died in the freak eruption, and the ferrygirls were still pulling twelve-hour shifts to bring in all the souls. Botan sighed. They were all exhausted, but at least there were others to take up the slack when someone faltered. Koenma had no one.
“Can’t remember,” Koenma said absently, already reaching for the next document. “Ask George.”
Botan’s eyes widened. “Koenma-sama!” she cried. “George-san was sent to the healers *hours* ago for exhaustion!”
“Hope he’s all right,” Koenma responded, eyes never leaving his task.
Years of working under the Reikai prince had made Botan respect the sometimes irresponsible godling’s dedication to his job. Her recent interactions with both him and his Reikai Tantei, however, had taught her that her boss wasn’t infallible. Botan frowned.
“Koenma-sama, why don’t you take a break? You look like you could use one,” she suggested, entering the office fully.
“Iya,” was the terse reply.
“Demo…”
“Too busy.”
The blue-haired ferrygirl huffed. If Koenma was going to be stubborn, so was she. Moving quickly around the desk, she scooped up the struggling toddler, wresting away the Seal and storing it in the secret compartment of Koenma’s desk. Ignoring her boss’s spluttered protests, Botan carried the indignantly squawking bundle out the door.
The oni along her path stopped to stare in wonder at the sight; the prince of the Reikai hauled off to bed by a ferrygirl. Botan caught a glimpse of George, who was returning to work after a session with the healers. “George-san!” she hailed the oni. The secretary’s head snapped around, his face contorting into a horrified expression as George saw whom Botan held.
“Botan-chan! Na-nani shiteru yo!?”
“I’m making Koenma-sama take a break,” Botan panted, struggling to keep her grip on the godling. “George-san, open the door, kudasai.”
“De-demo,” the poor oni stuttered, unsure of what to do.
“George!” Botan snapped, pink eyes flashing. “Koenma-sama has gone without a break for the past Enma-knows-how-long hours! If he pushes himself any farther, he’ll collapse! Then the Reikai will be twice as backlogged!” George still looked torn. Botan softened. “It’s not good for him,” she said quietly, for George’s ears only.
The oni nodded; as infuriating as the prince could be, George cared about him very much, and knew that Botan did so as well. He opened the doors to Koenma’s suite and allowed Botan to deposit the prince in the inner chamber.
“Botan! George! You two-!” Koenma’s high voice sounded from within and George cringed, beating a hasty retreat. Botan soon followed, slamming the doors shut. Summoning her oar, she ran the length through the two handles, effectively barring Koenma from escaping. Both oni and ferrygirl flinched from the sounds of the prince ranting.
“Koenma-sama,” Botan said
firmly, “We’re not letting you out of your room for another few hours or so,
so why don’t you get some rest? We’ll see you in a little
while.” Turning a deaf ear to Koenma’s curses and threats, Botan
dragged a gaping George away by the arm.
Inside his suite, Koenma scowled fruitlessly at the door, gnawing furiously on his pacifier. “I knew I shouldn’t have let her go on that Hawaii mission,” he muttered. “Sumireina was almost as bad an influence as Takemi.” He wandered through his rooms, pausing at a window before making his way back to his bedroom.
Already beginning to feel his
fatigue, Koenma nevertheless stubbornly fought against sleep, stifling his
yawns. It was the principle of the thing, after all. As one
threatened to split his jaw, Koenma finally surrendered to the inevitable.
Pulling the covers over his shoulders, his last words were, “That girl…”
Koenma strolled aimlessly through the garden, his mind worlds away. A burst of song made him glance up, spying a pretty blue bird in the branches of a tree. It’s colors brought to mind a certain ferrygirl’s hair – the same one who had ‘suggested’ quite insistently that he take a short break to unwind.
Currently in his older, bishounen form, the prince rolled his neck and shoulders, feeling muscles and tendons start to ease. As much as he disliked admitting it, Koenma knew that Botan was right; these short breaks did him worlds of good.
Pausing by a fountain, Koenma stared into the clear water. It was rather nice, he mused, to have someone who cared enough to come and tell him to take better care of himself, but at the same time understood how he felt about his job.
Shoving his hands deep into his pockets, Koenma sucked pensively on his pacifier. It was a comfort to know that Botan considered him a friend now, at least, though she would never consider –
Golden brown eyes narrowed at his reflection. “I’m too young to even consider that,” he muttered. “Then again – I’m too old for her.” In the fountain, his image laughed mockingly at him. /Coward/, it jeered. /Fool, not telling her how you feel./
Koenma dug his hands deeper into his pockets, one of them brushing against something round and smooth. Curious, the prince withdrew the object, a penny, if memory served him correctly. He studied the coin, recalling from an obscure memory that foreign ningen would often toss coins like this into fountains and make a wish.
Shrugging, Koenma tossed the penny into the fountain, dispersing his reflection. After all, what did he have to lose? As he watched the coin fall to the bottom, Koenma made his request. /I wish for love…/
* * *
"Mou! I don't know what to do!" Botan glared fiercely at her bright green drink, stirring the eye-burning mixture before taking a sip. "He'd rather work himself to into the ground than take a rest! Not even a god can keep up the pace he's been setting for long."
Her two companions shared a long glance. The blond, her emerald eyes dancing with humor, smiled. "So you've taken it upon yourself to make sure Koenma-sama lives to see the next century, hai?" She laughed lightly. "Ganbatte, Botan-chan."
"Sumireina-chan!" Botan stared in astonishment at the blond youko. "H-how?"
"Did she know?" Third woman put in. The part-time Reikai troubleshooter grinned. "You can't keep something like that quiet for long, Botan - 'specially if you drag Koenma kicking and screaming through the halls of the Reikai."
Botan blushed. "I - I didn't - not really…"
Takemi lifted a brow. "Oh? That's not how *I* heard it." Tongue in cheek, she recited, "'And then Botan-chan bundled up the prince and hauled him out of his office.' Given Koenma's err… *volatile* temper, the 'kicking and screaming' part was probably close to the mark." Takemi idly stirred her own neon green beverage. "It just goes to show how much you care about him, Botan, and Koenma knows it - why do you think he's allowed you to chase him out of his office so many times? He's not stupid. A little blockheaded sometimes, but not stupid."
"'Kemi-chan!" Scandalized, both Sumi and Botan stared at their companion. "You can't say such things about Koenma-sama!" Sumi said weakly; to talk so familiarly about the god of death!
Takemi flicked back a strand of brown hair, an amused expression on her face. "It's a well-known fact that I have a problem with authority figures…most people associated with Kurama do. It counts for adopted siblings and blood brothers as well. Koenma understands that I have my quirks, and as long as I do my job, he'll put up with them." She grinned unrepentantly, her features lighting up. "He has to."
"D - demo, to call Koenma-sama - " Botan beegan.
"He's a bright young man, and Koenma knows that I address everyone in much the same way I talk to him. Kurama never did bother to teach me proper forms of address. He was too busy trying to teach me how to pick a lock."
Sumi perked up at that, emerald eyes sparking with interest. "Honto? Kurama-kun taught you? We learned from the best, Suren-niichan, Kurama-kun, and I." The youko launched into a lively discussion with the sister of her childhood friend, trading horror stories about the kitsune they both held dear.
Botan was content to sit and listen, sipping at her drink as she let her friends' conversation wash over her like a balm. It had been a while since she'd last had enough time to get together with the other two. The blue-haired ferrygirl took the opportunity to look closely at the other women whom she had forged a surprising friendship with, given the differences in their personalities.
First, there was Sumireina, a youko vixen nearly as old as Kurama. A beautiful mane of sun-streaked blond hair, paired with emerald eyes that sparkled and skin lightly tanned to a golden hue made her stunning. Tragedy and experience had tempered her character, and yet her eyes remained clear. Botan was constantly astonished at how resilient the youko was; the death of her twin, not once, but twice, had not broken her, or diminished her ability to find joy in her life.
Compared to Sumi, Takemi's shoulder-length brown hair and gold-flecked brown eyes seemed plain. When she smiled however, 'Kemi's eyes lit up and the youkai would practically glow from the vivacious force of her personality - if she allowed herself to let her wallls down. A thief-turned-Reikai troubleshooter, 'Kemi had trained under the best, going so far as to spy on classes in the Ningenkai to keep up with the times. Having seen much of the darker side of reality herself, Botan could understand why 'Kemi had so many barriers between her and the world. Sometimes, it just hurt too much when one was able to feel.
So lost was she in her own musings, Botan took a moment to realize that Sumi was calling her name. "Botan-chan? Daijoubu?" The youko's eyes were dark with worry.
"Eh? Ah, hai!" Botan snapped back to reality. There would be time fore such serious thoughts later. Now was the time to enjoy life.