Fourteenth
Chapter
Emotional
Hijacking
UTTER
PANDEMONIUM BROKE out. Questions poured out from every mouth but none was
answered. Before much time has passed, however, the silent giant figure in the
shadows behind them cleared his throat.
"Fine,"
said the king. "You have my leave to have the flower examined. As for the
letter, I leave it to you to decide if you wish to share a private-"
"I
do," interrupted Koenma. "If it's for her well being."
"Well,
it's your choice. But not your mother's diary. It is her private thoughts and
feelings. She has a right to keep it personal. In fact, you shouldn't have read
it my presumptuous son."
"Are you
afraid it'll spill your secrets?"
"What does
it have that makes it crucial to the investigation?"
"A
lot."
Enma shook his
head. "Very well," he said. "The rest of you may leave. I have to
teach little junior here his lessons."
The courtiers
forced laugher from their dry throats nervously. They shuffled out of the room
quickly enough, leaving father and son alone.
"I'm
right," taunted Koenma. "You really are trying to prevent your reeking
smell from seeping out of its hiding place. Is all these worth Reikai?"
"Whatever
my actions are, I do it on the best interest of you, Reikai and your
mother."
At the mention
of his mother, Koenma suddenly lost his cool. His eyebrows collided fiercely,
forming a vertical crease on his forehead.
"How dare
you load your aged mouth with such falsehoods! Do you really hate my mother so
much that you desecrate her eternal peace with such lies?"
"Silence!"
thundered Enma. "Do not presume to much on my good nature."
"I shall
not be silenced!" Koenma shouted back. "I have been denied of even a
single memory of my mother and if this is the only chance I get to protect her
misused forgotten name, so be it!"
Enma, stoic and
stiff, glanced at the timepiece on the adjacent wall. "I believe you still
have work to do and little time to waste on such trivial matters," he
remarked rather coldly.
Koenma felt
himself teeter to madness in his amazement. He couldn't believe his own father
is this callous. This only intensified the anger and bitterness he felt when he
first found out the truth from his mother's diary. The restraint he managed to
build after the first storm of his emotions subsided snapped easily.
"You
monstrous fiend," he growled. "You vile manipulative creature!"
He began
hyperventilating, the vessels on his temple fiercely standing out as green
streaks. Enma remained unaffected, not even with this. He ignored his son like a
child throwing a tantrum.
"Don't you
feel at least remotely remorseful of what you've done?!" Koenma screamed
out, pain evident in voice. "Don't you understand!?! You're the one
who destroyed her. You killed HER!" Koenma fell on his knees, overwhelmed
by the sudden rush of his emotions. His fists pounded on the marble floor
impotently, letting his rage flow in some safe direction. "Do you
understand?" His voice dropped down to a sobbing whisper. "You killed
my mother."
The king merely
watched impassively as Koenma poured all his anger into the floor. Soon, the
prince's strength ebbed and he finally stopped. He sat on his haunches, panting
slightly.
"So all
these years…" he said smirking almost maniacally. "being her son,
you hated me, as well. And I see you're using the same method you used on her. I
am your new slave, her replacement. I'm doing everything she had to do. I'm
bearing all the bitterness and anger you had against her for things that was not
her fault. You killed her with slave labor and your selfish cruelty. Just like
what you're doing with me now."
"Regret is
a worthless emotion," said Enma, quietly. "It'll be useless and wrong
for me to dwell on my past sins. I have a country to run and I can't be bothered
by guilt and nostalgia."
"Past
sins?" Koenma laughed, a laugh that will send shards of ice in any human
ear and heart. "What about your sins against me?" He made a gesture of
frustration, clawing at his head. "Why the hell did you attempt to marry me
to my own sister?"
"I never
meant for you two to get married."
"Then,
what are really trying to do to me, dammit?!?" Koenma demanded
incredulously, punctuating his question with a vicious tug on his now unruly
hair. "Need I remind you that it's life you're playing with? Her life. MY
life! Why do you love inflicting so much pain on me? I don't mind the labor. I
don't mind physical pain, but I'm fed up with all the emotional pain!"
"True,"
said Enma. "And you survived them all."
"What are
you talking about?" Koenma asked wearily.
"All those
suffering made you stronger."
Koenma said
nothing.
"Am I
right?"
Koenma gritted
his teeth. "Fine," he grounded out. "Forget about me. I don't
care about me. But know this. I'll never forgive you for what you did to
my mother. "
"I accept
that." Enma shook his head almost ruefully. "You are so like her.
Responsible, righteous, idealistic but…"
"But she
wasn't tough enough to stand you. "
"Ah, she
was at first but then her resistance died away."
Koenma snorted
"No one can ever live with you without losing their individuality. You
treat people like objects, things to play with according to your whims. No one
is tough enough to stand against your tyrannical iron will. "
"Apparently,
you are. But it wasn't only me she had to contest. Same is true now."
"I'm ready
for anything." Koenma rose and awaited the next batch of news. What with
all he found out that day, he was sure he couldn't be shocked by anything else.
"You are
right," began Enma. "Your mother's diary does tell much of what is
happening now. Those documents were to be destroyed back then. She salvaged what
she could. You can find the rest of them in the archives. They are being studied
as of now. You may consult the research team, if you wish."
"So one of
my brothers, Ieyasu or Atsumori, is the Heir of Doom. Which one?"
"We don't
know. It's impossible to know."
Koenma shook
his head in dread. "You knew this was bound to happen. Why didn't you do
something earlier?"
"As you
have read in diary, (I presume you have), it was a problem of refusal of
acceptance."
"I see. So
what happens now?"
"The
information your mother provided in her account is rather insufficient. We were
able to stop her from prying effectively."
"How?"
"Contrary
to what she thinks, it was I who asked the doctor to convince her not to
work." There was a sad edge to his voice. "And I did care."
Koenma said
nothing.
"Anyway,"
he continued. "The Heir of Doom is actually a reincarnation of Doom
himself. Doom is now a wandering spirit for he was denied the chance of
reincarnation. A child with the right combination of genes gives him an
opportunity to be born. However, he is only "squatting" in the child's
body, which means the child has two spirits sharing it thus giving him a double
personality. That's why it's difficult to detect the real Heir of Doom. Doom can
relinquish control of the body anytime he wishes but leaves no trace of his
presence whatsoever."
"So my
brother is still in there," said Koenma.
"Yes. If
you kill the body, you'd be killing both Doom and your brother."
"How do we
solve this?"
"The Heir
of Althea is the only one who can stop him. We don't exactly now what is to be
done but the key is he must not have her."
"Do we
have time to search for her? Are we capable of finding her?"
"The Heir
of Althea is a descendant of Althea herself and may or may not be her
reincarnation. As far as we know, the heir shall exorcise the demon out of the
victim. To do so she shall make a sacrifice but what sacrifice we do not know.
When the spirit of Doom leaves the Heir of Doom, your brother shall be able to
gain control of his body again."
"Who is
she?"
Enma's voice
became barely audible and very serious. "We didn't have to search for long.
Her identity is none of your concern right now."
"Well…"
Koenma sighed. He knew it was useless to try coaxing an answer from his stubborn
father. "What of Botan?"
"What
about the ferry girl?"
"Well,
what's the point of detaining her? I mean, everybody's a suspect anyway. They
can't take her as a political prisoner."
"Hmmm…."
Koenma looked
suspicious. "I'm getting the feeling I'm not being told of everything I'm
suppose to know."
"You
really care about her, don't you?"
"Yes,"
replied his son very firmly.
"About the
girl… The troop taking her to the capital of Makai had been intercepted by a
group of warriors."
"She's
been kidnapped?" asked Koenma sharply.
"It
appears so."
"Well?"
"Well,
what?"
Koenma sighed.
"Fine, I'll get her myself."
Enma raised an
eyebrow. "Are you aware this course of action may lead to a confrontation
with the Heir of Doom?"
"All the
better. It will be futile to send out soldiers to detain him.
Even in this house, we do not know who is the foe, which is the pawn. I'm
the only one capable of stopping him as of now. I'm of the royal line after all
and is therefore immune of the hex."
The prince
turned to leave.
"Need I
remind you that you are also the Prince of Reikai, heir to the throne? You have
an obligation to fulfill and therefore has no right to gamble your life so
rashly."
"Then I'm
abdicating," Koenma said coolly, starting to walk away. "One of my
brothers can take my place. They're both older than I am anyway. Atsumori's
actually the rightful heir. I only hold the title because I'm a legitimate child
and he's not."
"Have care
on your decision. It's un retractable."
"I have
made up my mind." He stopped and turned around. "Is there anything
else I need?"
Enma had his
back turned from his son. He didn't say anything.
Koenma sighed,
then left. The door gently clicked shut behind him.
"Good
luck, child," murmured Enma. That was all. If he was distraught by the
hatred of his son, worried about the pending danger or remorseful of his
paternal shortcomings, he certainly didn't show it.
After a few
moments of reflective silence, a voice spoke up from the giant's side.
"Master,"
it said. "Are you letting him go just like that?"
It was the SWAT
team leader. He had not left the when the others did and had therefore witnessed
everything.
"Yes. It's
his choice."
"What will
happen now?"
"We will
wait."
Silence.
"Besides,"
continued Enma. "This is also one of the last wishes of my deceased unhappy
wife. She wanted her child to have control of his life… unlike us.
But…"
"Sir?"
"He won't
be able to… not as king."
IF YOU HAPPEN
to be in Reikai sitting cozily in someone's den in front of a blazing fireplace
and cradling a mug of hot chocolate, you'll surely appreciate the romantic view
of winter offered by the window. However, if you're trudging outside on
thin-soled shoes and semi-formal autumn clothes, surrounded by miles and miles
of freshly fallen snow, you wouldn't enjoy it that much.
Masago pulled
at the drawstrings of her hood and snuggled the best she could within the folds
of her light fur coat. She stopped momentarily on top of the hill she just
scaled, trying to catch her breath. She sighed, futilely shielding her eyes from
the steady fall of snowflakes. Things would have been easier if she was riding
on a horse, or at least wearing something warmer.
Couldn't be helped, Masago thought. How could anyone know it would snow this
early? Besides, she couldn't afford to go back to the stables. She could have
been caught and stopped.
She surveyed
her surroundings with the inexperienced eyes of a jaded princess new to the
outside world. Her heart sank as she saw the never-ending whiteness as far as
she can see, stretching in all directions, broken only once in a while by bare
haggard-looking trees. She was completely disoriented.
"Oh
dear," she murmured worriedly. "I can't distinguish which direction
leads to the location of the portal leading to Makai. If only the weather would
cooperate a bit!"
She started
inching her way down the hillside, clutching at the bits of dead roots
protruding along the almost vertical wall of ice-covered terrain. Then suddenly,
she stifled a scream as the slippery slush gave way under her feet, sending her
sliding down the incline and on to the foot of the hill.
Masago groaned,
feeling sore in several places around her body. She tried to stand, failed and
collapsed to her original position.
"Oh, I'm
so sorry, Botan," she whimpered, starting to cry. "I'm just too weak
and stupid for this."
"Very
stupid apparently," said a voice. "I never thought you could even be
stupider than Botan the Brainless Waif."
Masago cleared
the snow that has built up upon her face and her hair, which has come undone
during her fall. She rubbed at her blurry eyes, straining to see the speaker.
She saw a tall man in a long black trench coat of leather. He was leaning
towards her, offering his hands to her, an eyebrow raised chidingly.
"Koenma-sama!"
exclaimed Masago half in disbelief.
"Point
one, how do you expect to travel in this weather?" Koenma asked as he
helped her up. "Point two, do you expect to reach Makai on foot? Point
three, do you honestly believe you can have Botan released by yourself? Point
four, do you even know where she is?"
"No."
Masago winced at the short tirade. "I was praying for help."
"Koenma
the Great One just answered your prayers," he announced smugly.
"Well…"
She brushed the midnight shawl away from her face. "I was hoping for
someone better, like Botan's friends in Ningenkai but I suppose-" She shook
her head. "You'll do, you'll do."
"Oh, yeah
that is sooo funny, Masago."