Third
Chapter
Charon's
Counterpart
AN UNIDENTIFIED
FLYING object swept down the horizon and down into the heart of Tokyo (?).
That's not entirely accurate, though. It swerved to the residential area and
disappeared into a dark alley.
Change, just
like everything else in Ningenkai, is fast paced during this century, These
changes actually made travelling to and from Ningenkai more perilous for the
ferry girls. Now they need to worry about avoiding various heavier-than-air
flying machines, not choking on the thick smog blanketing the cities, and of
course, trying not to get too close to the towering skyscrapers.
Well, it does
happen once in a while when a group of office workers get diagnosed with mass
psychosis for claiming to see a kimono-garbed individual astride a paddle,
hovering outside the glass window of their office some 20 floors above the
ground. All right, so it's rarely "mass". Only a very limited number
of people can see her and her colleagues. That is, her former colleagues.
Botan couldn't
hide the fact that she was, and still is, a little surprised and disappointed
when the master relieved her of her old occupation. After all, she did work with
the best of her abilities ( fine, it does seem substandard at times) despite her
measly salary and the delayed overtime pay. She was, at first, a bit mad at
Koenma, too, for what happened. She was aware that more often than not she was a
bumble brained ferry girl but the least Koenma could have done was too tell her
personally instead of sending his petrifying father. Then she realized that the
possibility of her childish supervisor just ordering the
Enma-sama was slim. Besides, Koenma is practically allergic to Masago. Why would
he send her to the Yoshio palace? So she didn't bother to scold her Koenma-sama,
especially after she realized it was actually like being promoted instead of
otherwise.
She's quite
right and she got her proof when Koenma came a couple of days later apologizing
his head off. She assured him the best she could that he didn't need to
apologize at all since the sweet smiling face of Miss Masago was certainly a
great improvement over the chubby pouting face of a toddler. They fooled around
for a while then after patching up the best they could the havoc they had
stirred, Koenma left and returned to the cluttered, claustrophobia-inducing
office of his. And that's when she was hit by the reality of her loss.
Botan became
rather glum from then on. Miss Masago may be an angel while Koenma-sama is an
imp but her old master is her good friend after all and they do have fun times
together. It's not that they play around in the office all day but she knew she
wouldn't be able to see much of her old chum after that. Koenma is forbidden to
see her personally but if he can hang around Miss Masago then she'll be able to
see him, too. Of course, you can't count on him doing that, prejudiced as he is
against her.
In the end, she
became rather depressed. If only he didn't came, she wouldn't have realized how
much she'll miss him. At least, she could have waited in peace until Enma-sama
finally intervenes and forces him to marry Masago. Then he would no longer be
stopped from socializing with her.
So now she's no
longer using her day off to prod her "kid brother" to take a break
from his backbreaking toil. Now, she has more time to bond with Keiko and the
others here in Ningenkai, just like now. She's heading to the Urameshi's
restaurant. How glad she is they didn't take her oar away from her!
Botan landed
smoothly in the alley. She dusted off her blue jeans and pink sweater after
taking off the coat she was wearing. She strolled out into the broad daylight,
trying to look less conspicuous than she really is.
She hung her
coat on one of her arms. The temperature can get extremely chilly nowadays. It's
only early November, but of course, things are much different when you're flying
in the air at warp speed.
It was still
early. Her appointment with Keiko is at 9:00 but it was merely a quarter past
eight. She decided to go earlier, having been always accused of being a
slowpoke. I guess, I can go easy now, she thought.
She strolled
down the familiar streets of the Ningen city she grew to love over the years of
working in it. She cherishes a great number of memories from this place; happy,
sad, horrid, exciting, painful, bittersweet. Others were long forgotten at the
passing of time, but others are imprinted on her mind forever. Even so, not all
of them are delicious. Some made her heart ache mildly, others made her
momentarily afraid as she relieved the terrifying experiences in her
imagination.
But she loved
them all; the cocky grin of Yusuke, the silly leer of Kuwabara, the wise
expression of Kurama, the chiding frown of Genkai-obasan, the tough manly
swagger of Shizuru as she beat up her brother, the expressive eyes of Keiko
peering at her, the soft, almost melancholic voice of Yukina, and even the
cranky scowl of Hiei. And, of course, there's her master's face watching her
curiously with those mysterious golden brown peepers. There are times, silent
moments, when she's able to gaze back into those without getting self-conscious
or embarrassed. At such times, she manages to have a glimpse of the soul inside
the moody Prince of Reikai: the eyes, they emanated sadness.
She notices
that even though he's super touchy, too busy or strained with concentration. He
also is a lonely soul, just like some of the spirits she used to ferry around.
It always troubled her cheerful self when she sees him so tense, so rigid, and
so… lifeless. She feels as if it's her fault, as if she's failing him. Is that
why she made it her personal task to befriend him? Perhaps. All the same, it
makes her so happy to see him relax and let go of himself once in a while. And
it happens mostly here in Ningenkai. In Reikai, it's hard to move. There are too
many watchful, criticizing eyes. They stifle him. They almost make his birthmark
a stigma, a curse.
Botan almost
laughed aloud as a boy did a double take and crashed against a by-stander. She
could hardly blame him, though sky blue hair like hers occur quite rarely here,
even with the great assortment of hair dyes available. Of course, there are
practically no human being with that kind of hair color that's natural unless
dyed with those strong destructive chemicals she'll never let her hair touch.
Perhaps, they're all amazed at how pretty her hair is despite being supposedly
color treated. {Clairol commercial ad in TV. ^_^;}
She began
looking around the buildings she passed. Most of them are places she had already
been to once or twice before. She giggled at the sight of the dental clinic. She
remembered the livid expression of Keiko as she determinedly dragged her
then-fiancé to have his aching tooth checked up.
Then, there's
the sport shop where they bought Yukina's first swimsuit. Kuwabara's and Hiei's
crimson faces were absolutely picturesque, as the former blushed in adoration
while the latter fumed in indignant rage. Though funny, it wasn't exactly a
comfortable thought for Botan. Hiei threatened to mince her if the clothing she
gives to Yukina becomes any skimpier.
Ah, there's the
arcade! Yusuke and Kuwabara once talked her into tagging along with them. She
was awful at most of what she tried to play and the other two rubbed it in just
to annoy her. But it was so fun she dragged Koenma with her soon after. He was
quite lucky at some video games, beating her by just thumping furiously at the
buttons and jerking the joystick here and there. But she got even later. Oh,
yes. She could just die laughing as she remembered him trying the Dance
Revolution, his long lanky legs caught in a tangle. The expression on his red
flustered face as he tried to comprehend the dizzying mass of arrows moving
across the screen was totally priceless. Botan burst out laughing.
A few people
turned their heads to stare at her. She continued to giggle to herself but
managed to stop after using much effort. After a while, her eyes and thoughts
wandered again.
There's that
theater! Kurama once treated all the girls for an opera there. Botan thought it
was all too thumpingly formal (but admits she liked it). Yukina, on the
otherhand was very much enchanted. It was so good seeing the sweet mint-haired
girl happy so Botan convinced Kuwabara to accompany them to the next show. She
also included Koenma since she figured he'd be more at home in those fancy
places. (It's such a thrill seeing her boss in formal clothes. Well, it is quite
hard imagining him as a toddler when he's such a stunning gentleman in a
tuxedo.) Another reason is that she didn't have enough cash to pay for all their
tickets, and she did manage to blackmail the hapless prince into paying for
everything, even dinner.
Besides, she'll
probably get left out from those two lovebirds. All did go well despite that.
That is, except from the time an old lady mistook them for a couple. Both of
them reddened in embarrassment. Koenma had begun to explain that they were just
chaperons for Yukina and Kuwabara, but Botan's unusual logic got the better of
her.
"Oh no,
ma'am!" she had said, fondly snuggling closer to the hyperventilating
Koenma. "This is my boss."
And her master
practically melted on the spot.
Now in the
present, Botan fumed at herself, her face as bright as a ripe tomato. How
could you say that, you baka?
She demanded of herself. You sounded like
some secretary fooling around with your boss. No wonder Koenma-sama wouldn't
speak all the way home. She turned even redder. In fact, she was blushing so
much that a kid approached her.
"Hey
lady," he said. "You're so cold, your whole face is frostbitten. Why
don't you wear that coat? My mama said you'd get a cold if you don't."
Botan snapped
out of it and managed to reassure the child that she was fine. He trotted off
and entered the ice cream parlor. Botan followed him with her eyes.
The ice cream
parlor is one of the gang's favorite hangout place, aside from Keiko's place. Of
course, she and Koenma go there sometimes, too. But this wasn't the parlor
wherein he first complained about having to marry Miss Masago. That's in Reikai
and it's really more expensive there than here.
She walked on
and soon caught sight of a bar. It was the first one she ever got into (not
counting the one she entered trying to prod Atsuko to kiss Yusuke to life),
which is, according to Kurama, one of the classiest place around. She went there
for a nightcap but didn't drink anything other than a glass of iced tea and
tried some tonic water although she was far from being a minor. Who was she with
then? Oh right. She was with Koenma again.
She passes a
few other places, growing increasingly forlorn as she realized that she's been
to almost each and everyone of them with her old boss. But who else would she go
with? Yusuke and Keiko are too busy building the foundations for their future
family. The same could be applied to Yukina and Kuwabara, and even for Shizuru.
Kurama doesn't have a family to support but he's super busy with his business.
Genkai is much to old to go gallivanting about, but she's cool for a nice and
quite tea ceremony. Hiei is definitely out of the question.
All the same,
she was quite bothered that everything reminded her of Koenma. She pondered over
the question, still walking along dreamily as if in a trance. Her thinking was
cut short when…
BANG!!!
"OUCH!"
she yelped as her whole head reverberated with the impact. Her forehead smarted
as she rubbed the red portion that smacked against the pole where the street
sign hung. Only then did she realize that she already passed the ramen shop.
"Idiot!"
she cursed herself. "That's what you get for thinking salacious
thoughts."
Off she ran to
the store.
KEIKO LOOKED UP
from the accounting she was doing when the chimes tinkled.
"Good
morning, Botan," she greeted
brightly, rising from the stool she was perched on. "You're quite punctual
today."
"Punctual?"
a voice roared from the interior. "Botan's here already?"
"Hello to
you too, Keiko," Botan answered. She went to her friend and sat on the seat
she was offered. She rubbed the swollen bump on her forehead.
"Ooh,
nasty little bruise," said Keiko, pulling Botan's hand from it. "What
happened?"
"I
collided with a sign," muttered Botan.
"A little
ice would be good. Hey, Yusuke! Get some ice, will you? Please!"
"Yeah,
sure," he answered.
Keiko turned
back to Botan. "I think you were still half-asleep."
"I was
thinking too much." Botan grinned. "See? I told you it's
unhealthy."
Yusuke appeared
carrying a bowl containing ice.
"Hiya,
Botan," he said. "What's up? Is your clock broken or something? You're
twenty minutes early."
Botan didn't
answer. She took the ice wrapped in a cloth Keiko gave her and pressed it
against her head.
"You
didn't have to be so early, Botan," continued Yusuke. "We know you're
very busy, especially with that workaholic baby as your boss. What did you do
anyway, bash your head on the bed post?"
"I bashed
my head on a post, alright," she answered. "A sign post."
"You
weren't able to tag Koenma along?"
Botan shook her
head. "Sorry. I'm not allowed to see him. Besides, I don't work for him
anymore. I'm the lady-in-waiting of his fiancée."
"Fiancée?"
repeated Yusuke.
"But why
are you forbidden to see him?" followed up Keiko.
Botan grinned.
"Not really."
"Which
question are you answering?"
"Both.
Koenma-sama hasn't agreed to marry Miss Masago yet. Enma-sama agreed to give him
time to get to know her better but decided to displace me anyway from the
office. He thought I was the reason why Koenma-sama didn't even want to visit
Miss Masago."
""Well,"
queried Yusuke. "Aren't you?"
Botan stared at
him, straining to see if he was by chance kidding. He is perfectly serious.
"Yeah,"
piped in Keiko. "Koenma is pretty much taken by you."
Botan reddened.
"No," she said, groping for words. "He's just too prejudiced
against Miss Masago. All right, yes, I'm partially the reason. I guess, he's so
used to crazy old me that he's afraid to befriend the sane aristocrat people
more like himself."
Yusuke was
satisfied by her answer and thereby lost interest. "Ok. So what are we
waiting for? This better be good, Botan. I'm leaving Angel in charge and she's
just new."
"I didn't
know you cook."
"Well, I
do. Don't change the subject."
"Come on,
Yusuke. It's just once in while we could get together. I mean, for the first
time ever, I managed to hunt down and convince Hiei to come and join us without
Kurama's or Yukina's help."
Keiko, however,
was unable to go past the Koenma subject. "I don't believe you Botan,"
she said out of the blue.
"Huh? What
do you mean?"
"Are you
sure that's just the reason why Koenma didn't even want to get along with this
girl?"
"Well…
He's upset because he's father's trying to "run his life" again so I
guess he's just rebelling a bit."
"Perhaps."
Keiko finally said. She decided she
won't get the answers she wanted with Yusuke hanging about, grinning
frivolously. "Let's go then."
"Where
will we meet the others?" asked Yusuke.
"At the
station," said Botan. "Genkai-obasan is waiting for us at her home, of
course. Kuwabara picked up his sister from the airport this morning so Yukina
should be with Kurama and maybe Hiei."
"You got
everything ready, huh?"
"Of
course."