He could still hear the sound of screams ringing in his ears when the body had been discovered. The crowd gathered at the cemetery was moderate in size, complete with family and peers dressed in formal funeral attire. Kurama was among the group of students that had chosen to come and pay additional respects to the deceased, and had set a rose upon the casket just before its final descent beneath the ground. Though the tears had flowed freely at Meiko’s wake a couple days ago, the mood had not changed since then. Family and friends still wept, with many of them approaching Meiko’s parents and offering some words of comfort—if any—that they could possibly offer. Consoling them was a meaningful thing to do, but it would not take the pain away, and they had to have known that just as much as the parents did. 

The attendees had said all that they desired to say. Wiping away tears and leaving in groups, Kurama was one of the last to finally peel his eyes away from the new grave and return home. He was there to pay respects to a fellow classmate, and that should have been the end of it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. Meiko was a stable young woman with a bright future ahead of her. It didn’t take a man with an IQ above 200 to see that this was both tragic and sudden, and as unfounded as it appeared to be. Never did the question of “why?” be as fitting as it does at this very moment. Why? What had been so hard about her life that Meiko believed taking her life was the only logical answer, when past engagements with her only showed a bright and meaningful young lady?

With a downcast head, Kurama had left the grass of the cemetery and made for home. The funeral should have been the end of things, but in his mind this suicide was too random for him to overlook. Just a couple weeks prior another boy, Anabe, had chosen to take his life in the boy’s bathroom. He had attended that funeral as well and was just as unable to see the boy committing suicide, just as he was unable to see Meiko doing the same. Educational pressure was a possibility that staff and parents had both considered. However, their grades reflected that of a strong work ethic. They weren’t bad kids—if anything they were both upstanding and didn’t cause problems for anyone else. 

It would have continued to eat at him on the way home were it not for the arrival of an old friend. He had heard the footsteps deliberately heading for him, and had only raised his head before the last possible moment. Kurama’s tense expression was raised, as was his mood, into something much more pleasant despite his color-bleak attire. [color=9e0039][b]“Oh, Botan,”[/b][/color] he returned her smile with one of his own.[color=9e0039][b] “Yes, it is strange to encounter you here of all places.” [/b][/color]

Botan just happening to pass by a cemetery at the same time he was leaving one wasn’t likely to be coincidence. As one who ferried souls to the next world, she was more intimate with death than she appeared. Sometimes it was hard to believe she was one of many grim reapers across the world with a demeanor as pleasant as hers. He followed her gaze just behind him at what remained of the funeral service and his expression fell again, then faced forward again in time to follow her gesture of walking beside her. She didn’t waste any time commenting on the funeral, specifically mentioning Meiko by name. 

So, she did know. Then again, how could she not given her profession?

[color=9e0039][b]“There was a lot of pain involved, but I think the presence of her peers helped ease this for their parents, at least a little,”[/b][/color] Kurama replied, facing forward rather than down towards the ground. With Botan’s presence he could speak with someone who understood how strange the circumstances were surrounding the recent suicide. With her next question, Kurama had begun to suspect that this meeting was definitely leading to something more. He looked at her from the corner of his eye.[color=9e0039][b] “We studied together once or twice in the past but nothing more than that. She was a good person—as was Anabe.”[/b][/color]

He had thrown the mention of the first student in quickly to slow Botan down from any further speech.[color=9e0039] [b]“Pardon my being blunt Botan, but do you know anything about what’s happened? A suicide two weeks ago, and a suicide last Friday. Since that day, I’ve begun to wonder if this is more than just the pressures of the educational system.”[/b][/color] Kurama understood very little; with Botan’s arrival he could ask her questions only she might have the answer to. Being closely tied to Koenma, and having the ability to speak with the deceased, meant that Botan had access to information he did not have readily available. 

[color=9e0039][b]“Did Meiko say anything to you about what happened when you helped her move on?”[/b][/color]