2. Chapter 2 (1/2)
be careful what you summon
chapter 2
"koenma, sir, i've
ought genkai," the bubbly, blue haired, grim reaper bounded into the office with all the excited joy one shouldn't expect from death. she gestured to the small elderly woman with the faded pink hair, following just behind her.
as genkai entered, koenma laid his stamper down and pushed the piles of paper he had been working on toward the edge of his desk, careful not to mix the small 'finished pile' with the much larger 'unfinished pile'. finally, a valid excuse to avoid the paper work again.
"thank you, botan," the prince said, through his pacifier. "you may go." he remembered the actual dismissal this time. his employees were very nosy and prone to gossip, so he had to constantly remind himself not to talk about vital matters in their presence. not that botan wasn't trustworthy, and he would likely discuss everything with her later anyways, but no need to feed the rumor mill before he even knew what was going on, himself.
after the door closed behind the ferry girl, koenma addressed the older woman. "it's good to see you genkai. it's been awhile. how have you been?"
"i've been good, and as much as i enjoy the pleasantries, i know you didn't ask me to come just to inquire about my health." genkai stood before koenma, arms crossed, patiently waiting on the explanation why she had been dragged from her temple by a harried botan.
"well, i'm glad to hear you're doing well," koenma said, ignoring the displeasure radiating from her. "to get straight to the point," he went on as if that were his plan the whole time, "i have a bit of a dilemma here."
"that's nothing new. why call me about it? isn't that what you have your tantei for?" although she was irritated at being interrupted from her days duties, she knew that koenma would not have asked for her unless it was urgent.
"this is a little different." koenma opened a drawer in his desk and began shuffling through it. after a few seconds he pulled forth a manilla folder, peeking inside to make sure that he grabbed the right one. when he was satisfied that it was the correct folder containing the right document, and not his expense reports, he handed it to her.
genkai gave koenma a searching look before turning her attention to the folder and papers within it. as she read along her eye
ows knitted together in a frown. when she got to the end her mouth had set into a grim expression. things definitely didn't bode well.
"i see what you mean." setting the folder back on the desk she refolded her arms and stood there in deep thought. there was no doubt in her mind about the involvement of wizards. the report was well detailed. it made reference to five previous events of the same nature all taking place within the same general area. this, combined with the intelligence she had gathered through her reputable sources, suggested something foul was in the works.
"so, what are your thoughts, genkai?" koenma asked, hoping for some valuable insight. although he had fell out of touch with most of the happenings concerning wizards, he knew that she kept up-to-date on such matters.
"definitely wizards." was her short reply.
"yes, i gathered as much." koenma rolled his eyes at her answer, to which she then smirked back. "is there anything else you can tell me? i know you still keep tabs on them. have any of your contacts told you anything?"
genkai shifted her eyes away from the toddler in a rather uncharacteristic show of embarrassment. "yes, well, the thing is, my information doesn't come so much from contacts than from sources. but very reliable sources." she made sure to put as much emphasis into her words as possible. she couldn't have the little baby doubting her wisdom despite the fact he was hundreds of years older than she.
koenma eyed her suspiciously. "and what is that suppose to mean, exactly?"
genkai let out a defeated sigh. "honestly, i haven't spoken to a witch or wizard in almost sixteen years. not since that last fiasco. they're a bullheaded bunch of fools who don't listen to reason, and so i cut ties with them....mostly."
"what?!" koenma gaped. "i was depending on you for the latest scoop on things. please tell me that 'mostly' means you still have something useful for me?" he said a bit hopefully. his days had not been
ight lately and so he was depending on her to shine some light on things.
"don't piss in your pampers, jr., i believe i have an idea about what's going on." koenma's eyes lit up at her words, despite his vexation over her disrespect. "just because i prefer not to waste my
eath with those clowns anymore doesn't mean i don't keep myself in the loop. i've kept my subscriptions to the daily prophet and the quibbler active all these years and they keep me well informed."
"the quibbler?" koenma was rather surprised by this. "i never pegged you for reading tabloids." he would have thought such nonsense to be below her.
genkai smirked at his puzzled expression. "you'd be amazed at the amount of accurate information they publish. if only that xeno-whatever that fools name is- would just pull his head from his ass and quit with all that conspiracy crap, it would be a respectable paper. after all, they did write about voldemort's return before it was officially announced."
"voldemort?" that name sounded familiar to koenma, but he couldn't remember where he'd heard it. "i know that name from somewhere."
genkai smirked. "don't tell me the great koenma has forgotten the man who caused him such a headache fifteen years ago. the loads of paper work, the over-worked ferry girls....the spankings." she was, rather sadistically, enjoying the look of sheer panic that began to spread across the toddlers features. "ring any bells?"
"tom riddle." koenma managed to grind out between his teeth and his pacifier, which amazingly had yet to be sawed in half, despite the clenched grip he had on it.
how could he forget? the man had systematically terrorized, not only the wizard community, but the muggles in much of europe, as well. he had desperately wanted to send in a team then, but had stubbornly, and against his own judgment, kept to his word.
"that's what happens when you let wizards push you around, koenma," genkai said, giving him a look mixed with sympathy and reproach. "i still think you should have gotten involved, then maybe none of this would be happening."
"that's easy for you to say!" his previous anxiety now replaced by indignation. "you're not charged with trying to keep peace between the three worlds. as a leader, that means making tough decisions, even if i don't agree with them. i had made an agreement with the wizards and their minister of magic to stay out of their affairs, and i stuck to it." koenma ended his mini tirade with a huff and a scowl.