Dimension 98: Oh Shit, It's The Yama, And She's Kyuubey!!??
Eiki watched the gardener with a critical eye. The gardener had good form, and she was sturdy. Not to mention the fact that her primary colors were green; Eiki had spare green outfit that she wanted to get rid of. She knew for a fact that the gardener had a wish; all Eiki had to do was provoke the gardener to make that wish. Now, if only she could figure out how......
"Boooss.... Did ya find someone yeeeet??" Eiki looked up to see Komachi, her first contractee, scratching the back of her neck.
"I found a willing one, but... I'm not sure about whether or not to contract her. Her wish is a bit difficult to pull off."
"So, what's her wish?"
"..... To be called by her real name." Eiki sighed as she looked down on
China Hong Meiling, who was now doing stretches.
"Eh... That lazy gateguard? Isn't she really unreliable...?" Komachi was wide awake now, peering over the Yama's shoulder to see Meiling reflected in the mirror.
"You are generally unreliable in doing your job, yet you turned out to be a relatively good Hell Rider. No doubt with a little motivation, she'll be just a good.
"Actually, Komachi, I need you to go to her now. Call her by her nickname if you will. Maybe being called 'China' by the only working person as lazy as herself will motivate her to make her wish."
"Cruel boss, real cruel. I'm off!!" Komachi disappeared in a whirlwind of dust and smoke, leaving Eiki to cough and watch as Komachi appeared on the screen of her mirror. Eiki focused a small amount of will, and soon her mirror began emmitting sound.
"Yo, China!! How's life?!" called Komachi, waving her hand about in the air.
Meiling visibly slumped. "Ah, I'm fine, thank you Onozuka-san. I'm a little upset by the fact that Sakuya-san refuses to call me by my real name, no matter how much I plead. Ojousama, Imouto-sama, Patchy.... Even Koakuma and the fairies by the lake!!"
"Maaaa, sucks to be you China!! Ah, maybe you should make an earnest wish over a higanbana! I hear that it has the powers to grant selected wishes!"
China Meiling looked up at Komachi with an expression like that of a kicked puppy. "I'll be leaving now, so I'll see you when I see you!!"
Eiki released the energy trapped inside the mirror, letting it return to its original state. Not long after, Komachi materialized in the room.
"Howdit go boss? Did I do well?"
"Nice job Komachi. I suspect that she'll make her wish soon. For your effort, I'll excuse you most recent attempt to ditch work. Yes, that seems fair."
Eiki closed her eyes and tapped into her seemingly unlimited well of power. Seconds later, she heard what she wanted.
Please, please, from the bottom of my heart, make Yuyuko-sama stop eating people!!!Eiki's eyes widened. Before she could stop it, her power concentrated itself and shot off in the form of an invisible spear. Eiki groaned as she realized she had chosen the wrong gardener in the first place.
My senses must be getting weak. At any rate, I hope Saigyouji doesn't mind going on a diet.XXXXX
Youmu stopped sweeping. Myon had disappeared. Again. But Youmu couldn't feel the sharp, sudden pangs of pain that came with having your specteral half eaten. It was strange, really. If Yuyuko-sama hadn't eaten Myon then where had it go--
Myoooon!!Youmu turned her head towards the pile of leaves that she had meticulously swept. She shoved her hands into the pile and rummaged about, before tugging out Myon by its tail.
Youmu sighed in relief. "Oh Myon, I thought Yuyuko-sama had eaten you! Speaking of Yuyuko-sama, where is sh--"
"KYAAAAAAA!!!!!!!"
"Yuyuko-sama!!" In an instant, Youmu had dashed to where Yuyuko was. Yuyuko was lying on her side, her face twisted into a strange expression.
"Youmu... I just had an epiphany.... Why do I eat people, when I could just eat beef and pork and rice and such? It seems..... Youmu?"
"Yuyuko-sama?"
"Would you be as kind as to get me a beef rice bowl? Youmu?"
"As you wish, Yuyuko-sama." Youmu dashed off to the kitchen, a small smile beginning to creep onto her face.
Now Yuyuko-sama will stop eating Myon!!After Youmu had prepared a beef
barrel bowl and delivered it to Yuyuko, she began to stroll down the halls of the mansion, watching as other ghosts floated about. Just as Youmu was about to go to her room and polish her swords, a whirlwind of smoke and dust exploded in front of her.
Youmu drew her wakizashi and katana, coughing as Myon flailed about. "Who's there!?"
"Easy now there, half ghost. I'm just a simple shinigami, y'see? And I've got somethin' to tell ya, so calm down."
Komachi stepped foward, her usual outfit traded for a loose, black and white top and slacks under a tattered overcoat and worn black boots. Her sythe was slung on her back, and her hands were up in a gesture of peace.
"Anyways, I need you to come with me. Boss has somthin' important to say, and it ain't a lecture."
"If I refuse?"
"Then we've got a problem."
Youmu shivered slightly. Komachi rarely made threats, and rarely broke out of her slow, lazy drawl. Something was happening, and Youmu wanted no part of it. But at the same time, The half-ghost couldn't ignore something like this. It was too suspicious, too strange.... So, the choice was clear. Even as that thought crossed her mind, her chest tightened, and Youmu coughed on reflex, liftin her hand to cover her mouth, dropping her wakizashi in the process. But then something even stranger than a serious Komachi occured.
Youmu couldn't stop coughing. She hacked and chocked as
something made its way up her throat from her chest, and with a final cough, the thing dislodged itself and fell into her hand. It was a stone shogi piece, in a light silver color that Youmu found mesmerising. Carved in the center was Myon, or at least its outline. It was cold and pulsating slightly, but Youmu fould it far from repelant. The glow caused by the pulsing was quite pretty.
"Ah, boss was right!! It really does look like a shogi piece. To tell you the truth, I always thought that it looked more like a chibi Rod of Remorse." Komachi shifted and pushed the overcoat aside to reveal a similar item strapped to her stomach. Komachi's stone shogi piece was black, and it had a coin outlined in red at the center. It glowed slightly, and Youmu could distinctly tell that it was pulsating.
"Wh-What are these?" Youmu stared at the thing in her hand.
"Those are our Setters. It's sorta like... A generator if you will. Oh, you wouldn't know what that is. So I'll just have to give ya a manual explanaion I guess. You see, you made a wish over a higanbana, didn't you? Well, we; and when I saw we I mean boss, granted that wish. In return, you have to serve boss for a while, until you pay off your wish's worth. So we give you these, the Setters, which draw power from the elements around you, and all the energy that gets gathered is stored in there. You can also put energy in there, your own energy or otherwise. And you see, the Setters fuel our transformed selves, which basically means we get cool outfits and our powers get more aggressive. Ya followin'?"
Youmu nodded slowly. "But what does the Yama want with me?"
"Didn't I already say it? You made a wish, and she needs to collect payment for that wish. So you comin' peacefully, or do I have to force you?"
Youmu gripped her Setter. Almost as if by its own violition, her finger traced the Myon carving. The air around Youmu rippled, and Youmu found herself in an entirely different outfit. She was wearing a dark green silk vest over a short sleeved gray dress shirt. The gardener found her legs encased in a mildly form-fitting pair of navy pants. She had a pale yellow ascot. She looked for her swords, before reaching behond her neck and feeking an unfamiliar hilt. The half-ghost drew the swords; they were essentially the same swords, but the hilts had been modified slightly. The
katana's guard was longer on one side and the hilt was distinctly of European origin. The wakizashi's hilt on the other hand, was unchanged, if not a little longer. She tightened her grip on the swords.
"I believe that you'll have to make me. I do not wish to leave Yuyuko-sama for any period of time. For her sake and the sake of society."
"That's... I really do wonder what kind of view you've got of yer boss...." Komachi had wielded her sythe in the time it had taken for Youmu to transform. "Fine, let's go. I'll make boss proud and get a day off!!"
Youmu charged, dashing until she was just one foot away from the shinigami, and stabbed her katana through the wooden planks, using the sword's hilt as a pivot and back-flipping high into the air. She unhesitatingly used her wakizashi to perform a backwards stab, but her sword met no resistance. Youmu turned and looked around. There was no one there; it was as though no one had ever been there.
"Looking for me?" Komachi reached up from the shadow she had teleported into and gripped Youmu's ankles, before dragging her in. Youmu felt a strange sensation similar to being pulled through semi-liquid jelly, and closed her eyes. She regretted it. The air rushed by her at speeds Youmu didn't know were possible, an her heart leapt to her throat. Suddenly, it all stopped, and Youmu opened her eyes.
They were in someone's living quarters. It was filled with stall stacks of paper, and a large wooden desk lay in the center of the room. It was in front of this desk that Youmu found herself in front of. The back of the large leather chair was facing the shinigami and gardener. The chair whirled aroumd, and Youmu found herself facing the Yama.
"Nice work, Komachi. Very nice job. I'll talk to you later. For now, leave me and Ms. Konpaku alone."
"You got it boss."
XXXXX
Komachi left the room, grinning to herself. Konpaku was in for one hell of a time. Komachi thought back to when she was first initiated. Then her grin grew. It was, quite memorably the only lecture that Komachi had ever fully listened
to.
Komachi walked away for a nap near the Sanzu.
Welcome to the gang Konpaku; welcome to the gang.Komachi pulled a pair of sunglasses from her shirt and put them on. "Yeah..... Looks like she's.... Got a lot to learn."
When she reached the river, Komachi put her arms behind her head and began snoozing, the sunglasses blocking the sun and allowing her to get some well-deserved rest.
XXXXX
Ugh, this is what happens when I try to be serious. By the way, Mr. Rabi, it's no problem. Just keep reviewing. I'm having too much fun to be discouraged!!
I hate the italicizing style. I have to retype.... And retype.... Oh yeah, if you're wondering what Youmu and Komachi looks like (my ability to describe stuff is sucky) then send me a message or something. If not, just ask here and I'll tell ya.
