Tour Guide to the Underworld - Chapter 1: The good, the bad and the queer

[yoru-no-hikaru.livejournal.com]

Pairing: KinKi Kids
Characters: to be revealed later
Rating: PG-15
Disclaimer: Don't own the JE boys (duh!), but OCs are mine and I created the story
Setting: AU
Warnings: Basically, it's creepy
Multi-Chapter


Notes: Well, I just had this done already. Please be a bit more patient about the other series update. I'm working on it. This just came to me so easily. Ah, if you're waiting for Tsuyoshi... please be a bit more patient about that too. m(__)m   Ah, I only proof-read this three times. I hope it doesn't have too many mistakes and/or word repeats. ^^"


Intro: So, someone's gonna die. Which role does Koichi play in that? His presence at the scene is definitely important. Learn all about his nature - and how he'll pass it on to someone else too.

“Okay, let me get this straight… So, you’re telling me that you’re the angel of death and that you have come to get me because I’m going to die here?”

The girl eyed Koichi carefully through wary eyes, tensed up and ready to run at any moment.

“No,” Koichi replied with a smile. “I am definitely no angel and neither am I death. I don’t kill anyone. I’m just… a delivery boy. I’m sent out to collect spirits and bring them to their assigned destination. It is true, though, that you are going to die.”

“When?” the girl asked, horror-stricken, then shook her head wildly, like she was thinking she must go mad to engage in this conversation as though it were serious.

Koichi’s expression changed a bit. He still looked sympathetic, but a bit more tensed up.

“It’s no good, asking questions,” he replied.

“But… you said you’re not going to kill me,” the girl analysed. “And you’re telling me this. What if I just… I don’t know, call a cab now? Or… I have someone pick me up? Or, can’t you…” Her expression changed, from shaken to determined. “Please, whatever you want. Anything, anything, really.” Her outburst was harsh, but it hardly hit Koichi – that kind of thing happened. “I promise I’ll give you… anything.”

“I can’t do anything,” Koichi replied. “I can neither kill, nor save you.”

“Then I’ll find someone else,” she decided.

“If you tell someone that a strange spirit is following you until you decease, what do you think they’re gonna do?” Koichi asked, raising a brow.

“You… you’d deny it?” the girl asked, sounding desperate.

Koichi merely shook his head. “They won’t even see me. Neither see, nor hear. You are the only person here, who can see me. You’re already detaching from the lower level.”

The girl shook her head like mad, neglecting the fact that she was indeed powerless.

“As for calling a taxi, or finding someone to pick you up,” Koichi continued, “it won’t change the situation for the better. I don’t know how it’s gonna happen. I’m never told. All I do is stand there and wait for it to happen. So, for all I know someone might rob and stab you in this street. Or, if you decide you want to take a different road, you might get hit by a car. Maybe your taxi-driver will rape and kill you… I just don’t know.”

The girl bit her lip, trying to hold in her tears. Then she took a deep breath, facing Koichi again.

“I still think you’re just a lunatic,” she told him. “But well, I guess I’ll know soon enough.”

“I’ve never been anywhere longer than two hours,” Koichi answered.

“Well, then, Koichi,” the girl said, a determined smile on her face, “don’t leave me. Stay by my side, please.”

“Of course,” Koichi nodded.

And so they set out down the street, walking in silence. After some time the girl spoke up again.

“Does it hurt?” she asked timidly.

“It’s no good, asking questions,” Koichi replied simply.

“But… I want to know at least that,” she muttered.

“Oh, yes? Do you think you’d feel better if I told you that you’re gonna be in incredible pain?”

The girl shrunk back a bit at that.

“Just saying,” Koichi shrugged. “Try not to think about it too much.”

“That’s easy for you to say,” the girl said desperately. “It doesn’t concern you, after all.”

“I’ve died many times,” Koichi told her. “So I know very well what I’m talking about. I understand, though, that it’s aggravating. That’s why I’m here. Of course, it’s difficult, for a first time.”

“First time?” the girl blinked.

Koichi nodded. “It’s you first time, dying,” he explained. “I’m a collector. I collect souls that just left their first body. They are scared and they easily get lost, because they don’t know where to go. Thus we collect them and bring them where they’re meant to be.”

“And… then?”

Koichi was just about to answer when the girl’s phone rang.

“It’s time,” Koichi said, stopping their walk.

She blinked at him.

“Your last interaction with the world you know,” Kochi explained. “Whoever is on the other end of that call will hear your last words.”

The girl bit her lip, then grabbed for her phone and quickly picked up.

“Oh… hey… yeah, been a while… er, no, I was… meeting? Now, you mean?” She gave Koichi a quizzical look, but he merely shrugged. “I… I’d love to,” she finally stated. “Sadly… I’m afraid I can’t… I can’t really leave here… it’s complicated,” finally tears started to spill from her eyes, “but, believe me, if I could, I’d be so happy to see you. I… I’ve missed you all this while. I… sure, next time, then… bye.”

Then she hung up, sobbing slightly.

“Who was it?”

“My sister,” she answered. “We haven’t seen each other in a while. We don’t live in the same city, you see. She’s here for a visit.”

Koichi merely nodded.

“And now?” the girl asked.

The second later two dark figures came running around the corner.

“Stop, stop, you filthy bastard!” one of them shouted.

The other ran even harder.

The man who had shouted stopped in his tracks and pulled a gun. He fired five times into the dark of the road. The third bullet hit… and the girl dropped to the floor.

Dead.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

“Hey,” Koichi said as the girl stood next to him, looking down upon her dead body.

“This is… creepy,” she decided. “I still look like myself, though.”

“It’s the only form you can remember,” Koichi explained. “You’re gonna change – later.”

“What is going to happen now?” she asked warily.

Koichi gave her a cheeky smile.

“I know,” she said, rolling her eyes, “no good, asking questions.”

“Shall we go?” Koichi suggested.

“Where are you taking me?”

“Finally a question I can answer,” Koichi said merrily, pulling out a book and checking the address.” Er… Shibuya.”

The girl blinked. “Eh?”

Koichi blinked at her. “What?”

“Shibuya?”

Koichi grinned. “You thought I’d take you to some spooky door and lead you to the underworld.” When the girl merely kept looking at him he laughed slightly, shaking his head. “Why is it that people always think there are several “worlds” that are not connected?” he asked, sounding amused. “Isn’t it much more probable that if higher forces exist, you simply don’t see them?”

“So… we’re not actually going anywhere?” the girl asked.

“I told you… Shibuya. I have the exact address in here,” he stated, clapping his book shut. “But no, we’re not escaping into another world, a secret place, where everything is different from what you know.”

“You… are taking me there?”

“Yeah, my car’s just around the corner,” Koichi said, gesturing into the according direction.

“But… you said before that you didn’t know whether it would happen here,” the girl analysed.

“And I didn’t,” Koichi answered. “You still have to learn… that taking a turn on my level is different from what you might be used to. While still in the same world, different rules apply. Like, if we turn left right there and take on the stream, we’ll get straight to… well, my car.”

Deciding that thinking about it wouldn’t help, the girl simply followed Koichi. As soon as they had walked around the corner, she stopped.

“How…” she gasped, “how did we get here? It’s… miles from where we started.”

“On the lower level, yes, it is. On this level it’s shorter.”

“But how?”

“Do you really want to know?” Koichi asked.

“Well, you haven’t answered a lot of my questions tonight,” the girl said pointedly.

“I can’t help it,” Koichi pouted. “I’m the one who never gets meaningful information.”

“What do you mean?” the girl asked.

Koichi looked intensely at her. “Did it hurt?” he asked. “Dying?”

At first she blinked, then she thought about it. Then she blinked again. She sighed, shaking her head.

“I…”

“…don’t remember,” Koichi finished the sentence. “It’s what everybody says. Most of your memory from your old life is already gone. Memory is a physical thing. If there’s no brain, there’s no memory. Only little things will stick with you and make you stronger. So that you can be reborn.”

“I’ll be reborn?” the girl asked, eyes growing wide.

“I’ll never understand why people are shocked by this,” Koichi sighed. “And no, you’re not gonna be reborn, if I don’t take you there in time. So, get into the car already.”

Koichi opened the door to a very neat black convertible, getting inside. The girl took a deep breath and quickly moved into the co-driver’s seat. Silence spread between them again. It was strange. Even though her hair was flying, she didn’t feel the wind. She wondered about that, fingering her strands.

“That is part of the memory you keep,” Koichi explained. “It’s life experience. Wind won’t do anything to your hair in this state, but you remember how it’s supposed to work and so that’s how it appears to you.”

“Oh,” the girl answered shortly. Not wanting to fall into silence again, she kept on talking. “So… how long have you been doing this? Collecting souls?”

“A while,” Koichi stated. “About 5 average lives, I’d say.”

“Wow, that’s… quite a while,” the girl answered.

Koichi merely nodded.

“And… do you like it?”

Koichi looked at her as though she’d asked him if he liked drowning puppies.

“I mean,” she tried again, licking her lips, “why are you doing it?”

“If we don’t collect the spirits, they’ll get lost and bad things are gonna happen to them,” Koichi explained. “It’s always tough to tell someone that they’re about to die. The lethally sick are rather easy jobs, though, because they’ve known for a while and prepared themselves. They are the most pleasant. Well, altogether, I’m doing an important job, so it’s okay.” He finally smiled again. “Some of the people I meet even tell me they’re happy they got to meet me. That’s nice.”

The girl nodded. The rest of the way they spent in silence again, but a rather calm one. Once or twice she observed this guy who had taken her into his car. He was quite a sight. Not too tall and rather slender, but sinewy and with a very attractive face. His hair did not fly in the wind, but it was neatly framing his face.

“We’re here,” Koichi finally stated.

He pulled the car over and turned it off. After getting out he waited for the girl to follow.

“Here’s one of our main quarters,” Koichi explained.

“In the middle of Shibuya?” the girl asked, astounded. “In this mall?”

Koichi merely nodded, leading the way. They got into the building and headed straight for the elevator. As the doors opened and many people strolled in and others out, Koichi and the girl got in as well. On the wall there was the usual row of floor buttons. But now, next to that, there was another one, labelled with letters. Koichi pressed the “D” button and then they started to move up.

“Is this always here?” the girl asked.

“Of course,” Koichi stated. “They just don’t see it. They don’t see you anymore either.”

“Eh? Really?” The girl took a look around.

“They have no idea we’re here.”

“But, the moment we stop on our floor…” the girl mused.

“They won’t feel it,” Koichi assured her. “Ah, we’re here.”

The doors opened, they got out and then the elevator closed again, moving on. The girl just shook her head in disbelief.

“Ah, Koichi-kun,” a young man greeted Koichi merrily from behind a huge desk. “You’re here. And you are…” he said to the girl, then checked his notes, before finishing, “Aoi Meisa. Pleasure meeting you, we’ve been expecting you.”

“Well, this is where we part,” Koichi told Meisa.

“But…” she mumbled, sounding insecure. “Can’t you come with me and…”

“Never worry,” Koichi assured her. “Kato-kun is doing a great job. Never lost a soul to this day. Trust him, you’ll be fine. I wish you a good next life.”

“T-thank you,” she said awkwardly. Just when Koichi made to turn after nodding at her respectfully, she spoke up once more. “Koichi?”

“Hm?”

“I… I’m glad I got to meet you.”

Koichi smiled. “Me too. Good luck.”

She smiled back at him and nodded.

“Ah, Koichi-kun, Nagase-san wants to see you.”

“Eh?” Koichi blinked. “Why?”

Kato just shrugged. “He just said `don’t let him escape´.”

Koichi merely rolled his eyes.

“Fine, then,” he stated and made his way to the main office.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

“Shizurei shimasu,” Koichi said politely upon stepping into the room.

The next second he jumped back slightly, eyes growing wide. A red-haired woman was all but crawling over the table, apparently intending to strangle Nagase.

“Please, calm down,” Nagase tried to reason. “I’m terribly sorry this happened. I’m assuring you, such a mistake hasn’t occurred since…”

“What do I care about further incidents?!” the woman shrieked. “56? 56? 56?!?!?!?!??!”

“Well… I’m afraid someone messed up the lines on the keyboard…”

“But this is not acceptable,” the woman continued to roar. “56 is very different from 86.”

“I know that,” Nagase said, trying to keep his posture. “Look, I understand you’re upset. Unfortunately, you died already. But I’ll book the remaining 30 years on to your next life, okay? Again, I can only apologise.”

Koichi shook his head. This guy was a complete mess. Really. How he ever got the post was beyond him. He was far more than unsuited.

“Ah, Koichi,” Nagase finally greeted him, apparently happy to see him and to get a chance to escape that situation. “Take her to the guide-line section. As a bonus for the inconvenience, she can choose a special attribute.”

“Offering wealth and prosperity again?” Koichi grinned as he approached.

“Oh, shut it,” Nagase pouted.

“How dare you simply hand me down like this?” the woman raged.

“I’m very sorry about him,” Koichi cut in, smiling apologetically. “Please don’t hate him for being… clueless. His own last life has been so long ago, he doesn’t understand… To him, your next life is merely the blink of an eye. If even that much. But the attributes are cool. It’s a real privilege. You’ll get to choose certain circumstances of your life. Like, whether you’ll be rich, or famous, or something.”

At that the woman considered. “Well…” she smiled at Koichi. “They should place you behind this desk,” she told him. “A charming young man, who can explain so well.”

“Mah, it’s nothing,” Koichi waved her off. “Now go, quickly.”

The woman nodded and followed one of the assistants out and into the following room.

“Thanks,” Nagase grumbled.

“Never worry about it,” Koichi waved him off. “Although I really think you’ll never learn it.”

Nagase sighed. “It’s tough.”

“You cut her life short by 30 years?” Koichi asked amusedly.

“Hey, everybody can make a mistake once in a while,” Nagase defended himself.

“I’m sure it’s gonna be okay,” Koichi assured him. “Now, onto other matters. You wanted to see me.”

“Ah, yes,” Nagase nodded, a happy smile coming to his face again. “Nishikido-kun, come please.”

A young man stepped forward. Not much taller than Koichi, deep black hair, neatly cut, very slim figure, but still masculine.

“This is Nishikido,” Nagase introduced the young man. “He’s starting today. I’ll leave him in your care.”

Koichi merely nodded. “Hi, I’m Koichi.”

“Nishikido,” the man introduced himself once more, bowing slightly.

Koichi smiled. “I think I’m gonna like you.”

“I thought so,” Nagase grinned.

“Yeah, you know all about my preferences,” Koichi joked. “Although he’s a bit short.”

“Hey, I’m taller than you,” the man opposed.

“Nishikido,” Koichi said slowly, “you might want to make a good impression on your first day?”

“Er… yeah.” the other replied, blushing slightly.

“Good. Now, full name?”

“Nishikido Ryo.”

“Very well, then, Nishikido Ryo. Starting today you’ll be in training under my supervision. Most important to me are that you’re punctual and study outside your books too. Long working hours are something you should also get used to. Is that okay?”

“Of course,” Ryo said, bowing again.

“Very well, then, Nishikido. I’ll show you around a bit. This is one of the quarters where I work a lot. Come on. Bye-bye, Tomo-baby,” he waved at Nagase.

“Mou, Koichi!” Nagase shouted, blushing furiously.

Koichi chuckled lightly.

“Isn’t it an offence to talk like this to superiors?” Ryo asked, sounding worried.

“He is in no way my superior,” Koichi explains. “His desk is merely on another floor. He knows that too.”

“But still…” Ryo mumbled.

“I guess it’s because we’ve been friends for such a long time now,” Koichi continued. “He knows I’m just teasing – although he’s really unfit for the job.”

“Then why does he do it?” Ryo asked.

“He got assigned and took the opportunity to stop collecting. You’ll find that it’s not always a pleasant job. Although it can be very… fulfilling. I’ll show you now where our assignments come in.”

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Ryo fidgeted nervously with his fingers. He was sitting in Koichi’s car, heading for his first collecting assignment.

“No need to be nervous,” Koichi assured him. “It’s a rather easy job.”

“I’ve never watched someone dying,” Ryo mumbled. “Well – not that I could recall it.”

Koichi nodded. “I understand. But you will see soon that it’s really not that much of a big deal. It’s really just natural and nothing like gruesome, or the like.”

Ryo nodded back, feeling a bit relieved. “Thank you,” he answered. “And sorry for troubling you so.”

“It’s never easy going to your first job,” Koichi answered. “But as I said, this will be rather smooth. It’s an old man, he’s already waiting for us. Secluded area too.” A longer silence spread between them, before Koichi continued. “Have you seen the transformation area?”

The younger man nodded. “Yes, it’s quite amazing.”

“Always remember,” Koichi impressed on him, “that if we don’t set out to collect these spirits, they’ll most likely never get to be there. No matter if you get into ugly situations – a lost soul will have to suffer much more.”

“What… what happens to lost souls?” Ryo asked.

“You don’t know?” Koichi asked, sounding surprised. “I would have thought they’d give you at least some introduction. Well, a good opportunity to use your book. Open it and try to find out what it says.”

Ryo fumbled around for his book. Once he grabbed it, he flipped through the index, trying to find a section that might be good.

“Timing…?” Ryo read, frowning.

He opened the book on the according page and started to read.

“The timing is most important for collecting a soul. If it is not picked up in time, it will flee the scene of death and get lost. Many things can happen to it. Most likely it will dissolve within a matter of two days at most.”

“That can also happen even if you get to the scene on time,” Koichi explained. “Sometimes the spirits get too scared and they simply run off. If you can’t follow, the soul gets lost. The energy it collected will go to living creatures in the area, because the spirit cannot hold onto it. So, the energy will flow apart and go into whatever’s there – trees, flowers, animals, and also humans. It will fall apart in bits.”

“That sounds nasty,” Ryo said, reading on. “If two spirits should happen to find each other, they can decide to melt. A melted soul cannot be transformed, since it’s deformed.”

“That is really nasty,” Koichi stated. “Sometimes spirits will decide to melt together in their desperation when they feel that they’re dissolving. Once they are connected like this, they’re lost to us. Neither can they ever truly become one spirit. The several parts just don’t connect.”

“But then what happens to them?” Ryo asked.

“They keep melting with other spirits until they reach the next level,” the older one explained.

“You can reach the next level like that?” Ryo asked, surprised.

Koichi nodded. “They’re gonna be disturbed creatures, though. Because the several parts are still slightly loose – they get to be paranoid, schizophrenic, bodily distorted…”

“Oh my god…”

Once more Koichi nodded. “So you see, it’s important we collect them and bring them where they’re supposed to be. Once this is done for the first time, the spirits remember much more easily and usually don’t need any more assistance to find their way on their own.” He licked his lips slightly, musing. “But then…”

“Yes?” Ryo asked.

“Well, there are also things that are not in your book,” Koichi stated sternly. “Like the hunters…”

“I’ve heard about them,” Ryo said hastily. “They steal spirits and swallow them, using them to increase their own strength.”

“That’s right,” Koichi confirmed.

“But… won’t there be similar problems as with melting spirits?” Ryo wanted to know.

This time Koichi shook his head. “When you’re on the second level, you can bend the spirit to fit your body. It’s still strictly forbidden to disturb the circle of life.”

“I know,” Ryo muttered. “It’s just really weird. I mean, why would you steal a spirit for that? It’s not like you’ll never move on to the next level, if you don’t. There is no such thing, right?”

“No,” Koichi confirmed. “No matter how long it might take, you will inevitably move on. As for a hunter’s motivation… I have absolutely no idea.”

“Hm…”

“We’re here,” Koichi suddenly stated, parking the car at the side of the road.

“Okay,” Ryo said, bracing himself. “Here we go.”

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Done. :D  Again, no Tsu. T_T  Ah, those who know my other stories might probably already have a hunch on where I'll bring him in. ^_~  Well, wait and see. ^^ Thanks a lot to all who read this! <3

Prologue

Chapter 2