Chapter Text
"The point is to find out whether the attack was done out of malice towards the Sheathed, or if this was a random altercation between humans. But as you probably guessed, taking into accounts that both victim and assailants are aware of each other's powers, plus Hagiri's worrying background and powers... Things put him in a disadvantaged position."
Uh oh.
Of course. She should have seen this day coming, with Sarayashiki's lively and homely background that she so loved, serving as a peculiar accompaniment for her upcoming downfall. The irony.
Botan had been way too hopeful. All things considered, she hadn't excepted to find herself in this situation, not now at least. The idea of him finally taking notice of her pretty much ten weeks into the mission did not cross her mind. She thought she had been careful, that they took all the needed precautions, that everything was a success for once? But it only took one cat's purring, and everything's she's been working so hard on shattered. And her previous newfound pride and confidence, after being praised as a skilled element by her superiors, with it.
She gasped and stayed there frozen, perched on her oar with her breath caught in her throat. It seemed like time suspended the moment their eyes met. She did not dare make a move. She was too stunned to do so anyway, especially with his gun, a not so sinless companion of his everyday journeys, one she saw getting pointed at so many vile people, now aimed right at her.
In a way, she felt disgusted and hurt. Hurt that he would think to use it, or even threaten to, on her. That made her feel like she was no better than those who died at his hands.
A deafening and painful silence reigned between them, contrasting with the distant honking sounds of cars, laugher, and a few fights breaking here and there in other balconies of the area's buildings. There were no lights on inside his apartment, which made the delicate hue of the full moon the only source of light brightening his balcony. The biting cold wind rocked their figures, causing their hair to stick in all directions and the fabric of their clothes to flutter, the quiet sounds accentuating the thick tension and silence between them.
Hagiri was the one to break it.
"Well, well," He drawled out, his gun glinting as the moonlight reflected on its steel surface. "What do we have here?"
The grip she had around her oar tightened at the threatening edge in his voice, but she tried her best to keep her stance as calm and friendly as she could manage. After the recent events involving him, to make him mad would be a foolish move. And god knows where he was even at earlier, what or who could have angered him prior... She could still see the dark brown and red stains soaking his jeans despite the night's obscurity engulfing them.
A smell -faint but that she found nauseating- blood's metallic and dreadful stench, tickled her nose. Her face scrunched up and her throat constricted. Hagiri had come back that night limping. She was way too well-natured for her good, so of course, she got worried and struggled to beat the urge to check upon him. God knows how severe his wound might have been.
But maybe, she was not meant to get any closer.
She shuddered when his violet, sharp eyes narrowed dangerously at her. Her career as the gang's former assistant might have put her through a lot of delicate situations. But, there was something different about being left all by yourself at the mercy of someone whose intentions were as difficultly readable as if you were stuck trying to find your way out from a foggy pond during twilight. Not only that. He may have been a human, and usually, attacks may not have been able to get to her when she was in her spirit form. However, based on the recent developments and information she and Lord Koenma gathered, Sniper became strong enough to attain nontangible bodies if he put his heart and concentration to it. And this was bad news.
Hagiri Kaname was dangerous. Not that she did not already know...
A high-pitched meowing made Botan shift her attention to the side, at the one she believed had denounced her presence to its owner. She knew Chihiro should not be blamed nor held accountable for her predicament. To be quite honest, she had been playing with fire for some time and had started to let her guard down more than she should. Constantly petting and offering treats to the target's pet was an example.
The feline reacted when it felt her presence. But despite knowing this, she could not help the mixture of annoyance and betrayal plaguing her.
"What the..." Botan trailed off, the words written on the sheet she held shocking enough to deprive her of speech.
The reports were, to say the least, wild. She had to pause a few instances and go over the lines a couple more times just so she would be sure she read it right, that her mind was not playing tricks on her. "The assailant, Hagiri Kaname (21), has been found guilty of a violent assault on a protected individual, Oyama Junpei (28), in the evening of March 19th. The victim was left out cold for dead before being found by an officer from SDF's medical patrol team and rushed to one of our medical camps, where he received intensive care and healing.
After his life was deemed out of danger, he was moved to a hospital in Sarayashiki to pursue his full recovery.
The same officer who had saved him had been alarmed by a peculiar change in the air and strong energy waves. She rushed to the place as soon as she could." she paused again, letting everything sink in before finishing with a voice drooping low, "There was no trace of Hagiri on the area. As of now, no justified motive has been found either."
Koenma Koenma hummed, but the deep-set frown never left his face. At a loss of words, Botan looked at him with an expression mirroring his before inquiring in a battered voice, "Has any sentence been decided?"
"We're not at a stage where we can pronounce definitive punishments yet since this case involves some... rather difficult technicalities to deal with."
She blinked, confused at his choice of words, "What do you mean? Haven't crimes against The Sheathed been taken seriously?"
When Sensui Shinobu and his partner, Itsuki, had decided to pick up Sakyo's plans to forcefully open a portal linking both demon and human worlds, the damages on the population had been immense. Even now, years later, the effects of their gruesome project had not disappeared and were still causing quite a bit of perturbation.
The main one was that several humans had been touched and developed strange powers in reaction to the demonic radiations. The regions of Kansai, Kantou, and Chuubu have counted the most cases in Japan so far. But the archipelago was just the peak of the iceberg as the whole continent had fallen victim to the phenomenon. Higher-ups among spirits had then taken it upon themselves to declare the radiated individuals as "protected" and placed them under the Spirit World's protection. Which, of course, meant that any malicious targeting of said "protected" group would result in immediate consequences on the assailants.
It seemed like an honorable move on paper, as preventing any trafficking, like what had happened years prior with demons, was a motive higher up stressed a lot. But by doing this, spirits had hoped for a few things in return: run tests for future research, which details were kept under wraps, and contract these humans for missions and other types of jobs they could not bother with.
These protected individuals had been divided into classes based on level, power types, and rarity. They earned themselves the name of The Sheathed. An odd name, Botan thought at first, but one that made sense. They were a force to be reckoned with, one the Spirit World intended to use in dire moments to support their own military forces. But most of them were still highly vulnerable.
While the notion of unique groups of humans to protect was not widely known yet, any spirit working in close cases with the SDF and the prince had to be educated on the subject.
Until now, there has not been any instance of a severe attack on The Sheathed. At least not to that extent.
"Yes, they have. But the situation is rather delicate," Koenma shifted in his seat, smoothing his outfit with one hand before his eyes fell on the sheet of paper laying on his desk. Noticing his sudden interest in the item, Botan took a few steps closer to peek at what it was about, as he continued, "Hagiri is also part of a protected group. So that's a violent crime between two people we have the guard of. Not only that, but he's an oddball himself." He sighed, bringing a hand up to rub his temple while the other played with the paper's edge. "Some, here, wanted to bring up demons into the mix and ditch part of the responsibility on them."
She halted her attempts, tearing up her eyes from the paper, and looked at him back in disbelief. "I fail to see how this would fall under their responsibility, my lord?"
That was unbelievable. Was now any tragedy eligible to be placed upon the demon world's bill? The King's admission to his wrongdoings was supposed to mend things between the two realms, but most spirits' behavior and opinions on demons stayed unchanged. And it started to look like a witch hunt to her.
Koenma bit on his pacifier and winced. A nervous habit of his. "Remember the team's last report after they defeated Sensui's team? All of them were interesting cases as far as their powers went... but a couple of them, including Hagiri, stood out for a particular reason." He met her confused gaze, "Do you remember what it was?"
She frowned, staring back at her boss in concentration as she brought her index finger to her chin pensively. "It's been so long... I don't think-" Her eyes flew wide as realization flooded on her like an iced water bucket. She let her hand fall to her side, "He uses demon energy." That came more as a statement than her awaiting confirmation.
He nodded to her.
"How does that make any sense?" she asked with evident vexation as her fists trembled.
"As a matter of fact, he's one out of only five documented cases so far... A rare case among The Sheathed. Oyama was deemed interesting for his usage of spiritual energy in a quite similar fashion to Kuroko Sanada. He was regarded as a potential spirit detective, not that I agreed with the decision. He had a questionable track record from my standards, but... You understand now why things are rather complicated."
The mention of "questionable" piqued her interest for a bit, but not enough to take her mind off the previous declaration.
"Oyama's endurance is impressive. Though, he didn't last long against Hagiri's blows. Which makes me wonder just how dangerous Sniper would be if he were to push his abilities to their maximum..." He pondered, his eyes not leaving the paper, "His growth in only four years is frightening, and that's without-"
"I don't get it." she cut him off.
He looks up then, waiting for more explanation from her. Though, he did not seem the least surprised at her reaction and words.
"And is this reason enough to blame them for his doings?" she sat down stiffly across from him, agitated, "He's still a human acting on his own will. He's not related in any way, form, nor shape to the demon world."
Koenma hummed in understanding. He knew where she was coming from. She was concerned for her dear friends who went through so many prejudices throughout the years, and more often than not, by spirits themselves. But despite the profound sympathy he felt, she had to understand things were not always black and white. Nor was this matter easy to deal with. "Well, he acted on demons' behalf during the Sensui rebellion. That and his powers are reason enough."
At the shocked look she shot at him due to his dismissal, he quickly added. "For the Council anyway. That's how they see things."
"B...But he didn't care about Chapter Black! Didn't he say it himself? He did all of this for his own enjoyment. He just wanted to get rid of other humans because he thought himself much better than them. He's... He's-"
"Botan." The mixture of pity and finality in the prince's eyes made her stop.
Botan sank in her chair. "And I'm supposed to sit here, listening to you rave about how strong that... Sniper is!" She thought it laughable how polite she still found herself being even when despicable people were the object of her misery. Hagiri Kaname did not deserve an ounce of courtesy. At least not from her.
I hate him. That thought slid easily in her head, to the point she found it frightening.
Her friends already had a hard time getting accepted and praised for their accomplishments and selfless actions. And now, he was potentially causing trouble to all of them by not giving up on his violent, brutal ways. Memories flashed to when he tried to kill her back when he was still working with Sensui. She had not retained any ill-feeling at that time because she genuinely thought he had changed for the best since that one day. However, it seemed like she was way too optimistic.
Despite all of this, whispers kept nagging at the back of her head. What if he had a valid reason? Was it fair to blame thousands of years of discrimination from her people on a mere human?
Botan was not one to condone killing and violence by any means, but she also knew the Spirit World was quick to condemn and assume things based on their own established hatred of certain races.
"I'm sorry," she brought her arms around herself, "I let myself get carried away by... emotions."
Koenma's eyes softened as he saw her stand up and start to pace around the room, her focus empty. "It's fine. These aren't easy news to process."
When he received no response from her, he cleared up his throat loudly to get her attention. "As I told you before," he said, inwardly sighing of relief when his voice managed to tear her off her inner turmoil, "There's been no sentence pronounced. And we collectively ended up agreeing it would be for the best if we studied the reasons behind his actions. While keeping him in close surveillance for some time."
"Would the Council take into account personal motives?" she was floored at the revelation.
He rubbed his chin pensively, looking over the papers on his desk again, "I pressed the decision myself after looking at the SDF's recent reports regarding the Sheathed. Ever since Sensui Seven's dissolution, it has been his first time acting out of line -as in attacking an undeserving civilian. It would have been easier to punish if it was a habitual behavior."
Botan blinked at the emphasis on 'underserving,' narrowing her eyes at her boss, who now seemed to avoid eye contact. Koenma was obviously keeping things from her again. Did that mean Hagiri Kaname was killing for a living? However, she decided to curb her curiosity for the time being -interrogations can be kept for later.
"So there's something that pushed him to do so?" She asked.
He nodded. "I spoke to the SDF's head, Shunjun, and we have an idea of what it could be."
She approached once again, looking definitely more serene than before, "As I understand, you'll have him under surveillance from now on, right? I imagine you already know how things will pan out."
"We thought stationing someone who could be seen as non-threatening and who could easily blend into the mass would be for the best," he said, now eyeing her in a way she did not particularly like.
She narrowed her eyes, taking a step back as she wrung her hands uncomfortably. "I have a bad feeling about this."
"Botan," he implored in a desperate tone, "I'm as perturbed as you are by the current circumstances. That's why leaving the matter entirely to the Council isn't in our best interest... Please."
"I... "
"They'll do what they can to prove their point, as erroneous as it is. They may not mind Hagiri's other actions, but they're still riled up about the Oyama case."
"And the SDF?"
"They'd see his every move as a threat because of their training. The SDF is way too cutthroat. And chances are they might lose a bit of faith in my judgment if they-"
Botan did not let him finish, and to his surprise, took her decision sooner than he expected. She looked straight at him, a newfound motivation glittering in her eyes. "I'll do it."
That was how she found herself in this situation.
Her stationing process in the human world had been relatively smooth and uneventful for the mission. Koenma had initially arranged for her to get homed in a place not far from Hagiri's current apartment complex. But it turned out to be inconvenient as she was barely able to monitor any of his moves and activities as soon as he entered the shelter of his building. So it had been decided a few days later that she will move in a few doors away. On the same floor. With the biggest of care, of course.
Then, they thought they could try pushing their luck a bit more. And she was now his neighbor next door. That was probably the most reckless move they have ever done, but Koenma was confident in their brand-new gadgets. Notably in that perfume that helped conceal down her outlandish aura. They noticed while having her turn into a human that no matter what, her energy print still stayed quite... inhumane. There were no doubts someone as spiritually aware as Hagiri would sense her presence if she were anywhere near him.
But surprisingly, she was able to stay very low-key. She was unsure if she had been overly cautious or a better spy than they imagined, but it seemed like he did not yet catch on to the special operation. Which she was beyond relieved for. She would not lie and say that she did not have any doubts about the mission's success at first. However, things were going well. For the most part.
Although, she had to make up a few lies to explain her more frequent visits to the gang and why they'd bump into her downtown at random times of the day. Or why she was adamant about keeping her whereabouts secret. Funnily enough, that was the hardest part. She could not lie to her friends for too long because the guilt would eventually get to her, and some of them were... too keen and observant. Eventually, she revealed some details to Shizuru and Kurama, whom she thought could advise her in dire situations, as they were the wisest. Plus, they'd keep shut about it and probably not act on whims.
Unlike Yusuke and Kuwabara. She relished in their concern, but their hot-headedness would jeopardize her mission.
Yukina knew too since Koenma secretly contracted her for some gigs. Though, Botan had no idea what any of these were about. She had a hunch Hiei already figured her out, but he did not really care much about her business to bug her about it or check on her wellbeing. That was one of the only times she was relieved the fire demon did not hold her so dearly. They met a few times, exchanged a few... awkward words... and one-sided threats. The usual. But she noted he had acted less mean to her than he used to.
Most of the mission showed itself to be... all right? In a way that she did not feel like her life was threatened at all. It was to the point she ended up finding the whole process quite enjoyable and fascinating. Not that she liked snooping on people... But she had learned a few things.
Botan had to admit she was terrified, and irritated by the sight of him at first. As much as she wanted to reassure Koenma, she could not suppress those mixed feelings she had towards Hagiri. However, following the man during his everyday life proved itself to be a surprising experience.
One of the first and most pleasant surprises she noticed about him was his fondness for small animals—especially cats. In fact, he had one. A beautiful female with cream colored fur. Botan was not sure about the breed but it looked clean and healthy. Even the name was beautiful: Chihiro. Botan had made it a habit of approaching her whenever she was roaming around the neighborhood and had gained the cat's trust in no time. It was amusing that such a scary guy would share his life with a lovely companion such as Chihiro.
Ever since he came back to Sarayashiki, he frequently went out at night or in the early hours of the morning. That was when he went to 'work'.
Besides the weekends, during which he preferred spending his whole day roaming around town.
After a few weeks and some more reports from Koenma's part, she started to understand what his jobs gravitated around.
Taking down... a few 'deserving' civilians. Suppose she had to make a parallel with her boss' own choice of words. Or like she heard Hagiri say... cleaning. Not the most morally grounded career choices, but she assumed they were helpful to society to some extent. But that was not like she had any say in it, nor any rights to feel perturbed. That kind of activity had been around for so long... It was not the opinion of a grim reaper with roughly a decade of experience that was going to make a difference. It did not seem alarming enough that it would prompt the Spirit World to burry their nose further in the case either. Barbaric, in their own words still, but meaningless. People needed to die one way or another. Though, she found it a tad bit ironic. They had her survey him day and night, yet they felt like prying more would be pushing boundaries.
Koenma offered some limits be put for her safety. Unless Hagiri was attacking or targeting someone in the open, what he did once he was away from civilization was not supposed to be her business.
She had heard whims about the surveillance missions for the other Sensui Seven. It seemed to go well. To her surprise, they were not living any questionable life nor taking part in malicious activities. But then again, none of them were like the guy she had to keep an eye on. None of them almost killed someone higher-ups from her realm fancied. Just thinking about it used to make her shudder in pure dread.
Aside from all of that, once he was in the safety of his neighborhood... He did not seem so bad? His social skills were not the best, but he had successfully attracted affection, be it from that older woman living downstairs or from the grocery store owner.
And yet...
She flinched as Hagiri's voice tore her off from her musings, a rude reminder of her predicament. "Hey, I believe I asked you a question."
"I..." She started before trying as best as she could to gulp down the fear in her voice, "Well...It's quite a long story, actually." Stay calm. She remembered that one of the tricks when facing a particularly dangerous opponent was to pretend not to be scared. Even though she was, albeit figuratively, pissing her pants at the moment.
His eyes narrowed at the nervous laugh that followed her pathetic attempt at playing it cool, and he straightened his arm that had previously relaxed, still aiming right at her. "Make it short. And hurry."
Oh, how she wished she could explain the whole thing in the most concise way possible. But Botan knew talking and babbling endlessly, especially in stressful situations, was her forte, the biggest flaw she had always wished to correct. However, this was one of the instances where it seemed impossible to make it short. There were too many things to cover: Koenma's orders, his doings... Wait a minute.
Suddenly, a realization hit her. That was her chance. Maybe babbling could save her this time around? Or at least, it could give her enough time to send a signal for help. Assuming things get out of control.
As discreetly as she could, she retrieved her communication compact from her obi and flipped it open at her lower side, thankful for the darkness and the overflowing fabric of her kimono that helped to shield her hand from view. She ran her index on the keyboard's surface to find the emergency button that would immediately establish a connection with Lord Koenma. If she could just... put the device in listening mode or something, the prince would know of her current whereabouts and send help if things went sour.
Sweat was trickling down her forehead at the fear she might drop the gadget at any moment and ruin her only way to get out of this situation "S...Such audacity you have there! Questioning my presence in the human world!" She did mean for it to come as confident, but the waver in her voice made her inwardly cringe.
He raised an eyebrow at her, either confused or intrigued, at her sudden outburst. "My pardon, why must your majesty be here?"
She did not miss the heavy sarcasm dripping from his voice, but brushed it off, continuing with her made up -and not so unbelievable- explanation. "What business would a grim reaper have here if it's not ferrying souls? I mean, the living world would be pretty packed up with ghosts if we weren't around!" That's right. She could make him believe she was there to ferry souls, and... looking at his bloodied appearance, she had a feeling there were a few souls to take care of tonight.
The thought made bile rise her throat. Oh god, what did she get herself into... She almost added a 'You should thank us!' but stopped herself right in time. Let's not push my luck too far.
Botan was not sure if taking the charade that far and being this bold was a good idea, but she still had a bit of hope that he would not go as far as harm her. Even with no compassion whatsoever, no one was dumb enough to attack a symbol of death from all things. Right?
And she did not want things to get spoiled now. Not after she had seen what kind of kindness he was able to show. Not after she finally managed to persuade the Council to give him a chance...
But then again, the image of him trying to shot her was not particularly friendly...
"Uhm, yet I don't see anything or anyone with you?" He asked. But she could tell there was no genuine curiosity in his tone.
By nervous reflex, she made to rub the back of her neck but stilled in fright when she had almost raised the hand in which she was clutching her communication compact. "Oh... That's."
Thankfully, he did not seem to notice as he went on. "You must be very quick at work. I'm curious, though. Why would you fly this close?" He gestured to the surroundings with his gun, illustrating his point. "I mean, I'm pretty much alive, and so are the neighbors."
She relaxed a bit at the weapon not being aimed at her anymore, but her anxiety rose again when she realized he did not seem to buy her excuse—truth enough to his words, no accident, no death at the horizon. And no soul wandering around. She felt dumb.
"I was just... p-patrolling in the area. Yeah! I felt something off, but it turned out to be nothing in the end." She started to move away from the gate slowly, with an unsure -supposed to be polite- smile adorning her lips. "Maybe, I should get going-"
"Was it your doom you felt?" He cut her off.
She blinked, asking a stupid. "Huh?"
Hagiri pulled the slide of his pistol back, seemingly performing a press check. So wait... He held her up at gunpoint, quite literally, all this time without even being sure it was loaded? Botan felt like letting herself fall off her oar.
"Tell me," He continued, ignoring her confusion, "Would it be possible for a grim reaper to ferry itself on the other side?"
"I-I'm...not sure."
Such a lovely conversion that's rolling right there, she thought. Until the realization of what was going on smacked her right in the face. Her eyes flew open as she understood, too late, the implications behind his words.
A smirk drew itself on his face as he noticed her expression falling apart, and he raised his weapon towards her once again. "Let's verify, then."
He left her no time to prepare, as the shot instantly exploded as soon as a red beam appeared at the end of the barrel.
Bang.
The only thing Botan managed to do was to shut her eyes down, bracing herself, with her heart caught in her throat, for a pain she only heard of from the dead.
However, despite the loud sound reverberating in the air, nothing came.
After a little while, she hesitantly opened one eye, then the other, and started to frantically feel herself with both hands to make sure she was still in one piece. "I'm... okay?"
But she did not have time to celebrate or relish anymore in her relief because as soon as she peered back at Hagiri, she caught the sight of his gun starting to glow red again, and he fired a second time.
"Yikes!" She yelped and messily guided herself on the side, avoiding the other bullet just in time. The nontangible ray of red raced right by her, missing her figure by a few inches before it vanished in the air as it did not hit any intended mark. Was he not aiming at her?
In a panic, she looked down at neighbors in their balconies and the few passersby walking by the apartment complex. No one looked concerned? Then it came to her.
Demon energy bullets.
Because of her nature, she heard the detonation loud and clear. But what he projected was not nearly audible nor visible enough for normal humans' hearing and sight. She saw Chihiro's ears slightly twitch, but even animals' advanced senses could not pick up on that kind.
Botan bit her bottom lip and turned her attention stiffly back to Hagiri, who put away his weapon on a small table and was now fumbling with something else. Her face flushed in aggravation. "Hey! This counts as an assault against an official of the Spirit World! If Lo-Wait... Is that...?" She trailed off when she noticed the familiar shiny and circular purple device sitting on his palm. That can't be- Now that she thought about it, she had felt a slight pressure on her left hand earlier after he fired the first time. "Give it back!"
He smirked and sent the object flying in the air in a taunting manner before catching it again with a firm grip. "The color aside, it looks pretty cool. I don't think I will."
"Please?" She tried again, experimentally drawing closer before she stopped short in her tracks when he redirected his menacing glare at her.
"Then, tell me what's bringing you here. Surely, it's not to babysit any of your friends again. And I don't think I need to tell you no one would buy your babbling from earlier."
"That's..." her heart sank. There seemed to be no way out.
"You're a smart girl. With no way to call for help, I'm sure you know what would be the best for you at the moment."
"I can't tell you." With the last bits of resolve left in her, she crossed her arms over her chest, trying to seem unshakable and confident, but her expression screamed all the contrary: confusion, indecisiveness. She made herself into such easy prey, and it was only a matter of time before he lost his patience and harmed her for real.
But his following words served to replace her dread with indignation as he cocked his head to the side and said, in his condescending tone. "Unless being a voyeur is your secret past time? Quite surprising, I must say. I thought Urameshi and his friends were uptight on values."
The way her pale face turned so quickly to crimson told him he hit a nerve. Furious, she flew closer to him, not caring of the possible threat he presented anymore.
Now, she had the certainty he would not shoot her. It was like the faith she had in him, that he previously shattered, was starting to mend itself back into a whole piece.
He was still dangerous. But not the monster he wanted her to believe he was.
No monster would fit what she saw of him these past ten weeks.