The Tablet

Chapter 2: Boredom... is in the Eye of the Beholder

       “Can I go yet?” Yusuke asked, bored.

       “Shhh.” Itani was leaning close over an ancient stone tablet, studying it intensely.  “I think I’ve almost got it.”  She whispered.

       He rolled his eyes and tilted back his chair.  This was so boring.  What was grandma’s point here?  After all, he had two jobs; he didn’t have time to sit around doing nothing.  He was the Spirit Detective, but he also worked for a local gaming company.  Someone had to put food on the table, and it certainly wasn’t his mother.

       She sat back with a sigh.  “Never mind.  I lost it.”  She glanced at the clock.  “You want some lunch?  We can come back after.”

       Yusuke jumped to his feet, eager to escape if only for a short time.  “Lunch!”

       Itani nearly rolled her eyes.

       “Let’s go then.”

***

       “Ahhhhh!” Yusuke stretched exaggeratedly before plopping into a chair.  “Free at last!” he eyed Itani surreptitiously as he said this, trying to see if it would get a rise out of her.

       It didn’t.

       She laughed and chucked a napkin at him, “You’re such a baby.” She teased.

       “Who are you calling a baby?  I know you aren’t talking to me.” He pretended to be upset.

       “Mmm… right, must have been talking to that guy behind you.” She replied.

       Yusuke gave her a lopsided grin.  She was fun, when she wasn’t buried in a book.

       They settled into a companionable silence, watching the people pass be the sidewalk.  This was a popular café, right on the corner of a fairly busy street, so there were plenty of people to watch.  Yusuke smirked as a teen boy tried to be smooth and slip his arm around the girl he was walking with.  That yawn and stretch was the oldest trick in the book and every girl on earth could see right through it.  But the girl must have liked the boy because she didn’t pound him.  Of course, Keiko had done nothing but pound him and she had definitely liked him. At least, that’s what she said.  They had been an official couple for several years now.

       Suddenly Yusuke sat up with interest.

       “Kurama!” he waved at the passing redhead.

       Kurama smiled in recognition and Yusuke waved him over.  He wanted to hear what Kurama’s contact had said, but he realized he couldn’t exactly ask outright in front of Itani. She didn’t know about the whole Spirit Detective thing.

       “Hello, Yusuke. Itani.” Kurama gave a polite nod.  “May I join you?” his eyes focused on Itani.

       “Why don’t you ask me?” Yusuke muttered darkly.

       Kurama, who had excellent ears, heard him, “because you motioned me over.  I assumed you wanted my company.”

       “Stupid fox.” Yusuke grumbled, but he was grinning.  Itani arched a brow, wondering at the apparent nickname, but she shrugged.  It wasn’t any of her business really.

       “Why not.” She said, responding to his earlier question.

       “Thank you.” Kurama sank into a chair between them.

       “So, how’d it go?” Yusuke asked casually.  Kurama understood what he was referring to.

       He sighed, “Not so well.  I didn’t learn anything I didn’t already know.”

       “Oh.” Yusuke was clearly disappointed.  Often a meeting with one of Kurama’s contacts meant a new case, and he was dying to get off the hook on this whole tablet thing.

       Kurama suppressed a knowing smile, “I’m sorry, Yusuke.”

       “Yeah, well, grandma should be happy at least.”

       Kurama nodded, “Yes.” His eyes sparkled with amusement at the downcast look on Yusuke’s face.  And then he turned to their companion, “Speaking of which,” he smiled at Itani, “how is your project going?”

       “Actually, I found something interesting this morning.” She said, already becoming excited, as she always was when discussing her studies.  Especially when the other party was actually interested as Kurama seemed to be.

       “Really?”

       Yusuke groaned, he could tell where this was going.  Thankfully the waiter had just brought their food to the table, though Itani hadn’t even noticed.  Sullenly he started to eat his sandwich, struggling to block Itani’s voice out.

       “Yes, you see, the tablet is covered in an ancient and unknown script and we’ve been trying to decipher it by comparing it to other ancient languages. We’ve made decent progress in relating it to various religious scripts and characters, but this morning I found something strange.” She was now moving her hands as she spoke, her eyes sparkling, face lit, glowing with excitement.  Kurama found himself enjoying her happiness.  He also caught himself thinking about how attractive it made her.  Not that she hadn’t been attractive before, but now she was breath taking. It was hard not to get caught up in her excitement, but he somehow managed to maintain his calm, yet interested, demeanor.

       “How so?” he inquired.

       She grinned, “Part of the tablet has harsher carvings than the rest.  As though it was written by a different hand.”

       His brows knit together, “Strange, I understood that this was a sacred artifact.  For such a task to change hands in the middle…”

       She nodded, “It could be of significance, for ancient people generally considered it to be somewhat of a risk to undertake a religious recording.  For two scribes to be living in one place and both be willing to accept such a task…” she paused, “Somehow that has to be important.  What could have happened to the first scribe?  Did it have something to do with the tablet itself?”

       Kurama leaned back slightly, considering this. “Has Genka told you what she hopes to gain from this endeavor?”

       Itani shook her head, face clouding slightly, “No.  I don’t think she has any idea what we’ll find.  But she seems to have a sense that it is of great importance.” 

       “I wonder…” he trailed off thoughtfully; clearly something was weighing heavily on his mind, but when he spoke again it was in a lighter tone.  At first Yusuke even hoped he might brooch a new subject, but he did not.  “You said you’ve had some luck associating the script with other ancient religious texts.  May I ask which ones?  Any I might recognize?”

       She chuckled, “I doubt it.”

       He arched a brow with a half smile, “You might be surprised.”

       Yusuke endured their conversation in tortured silence for about five minutes more and then he growled loudly enough that they stopped talking to look at him.

       “Something wrong, Yusuke?” Itani asked with some concern.

       “Yeah, you two and this stupid project of Grandma’s.” he stood up abruptly.  “Let’s go Itani.”

       Itani arched a brow curiously, wondering what had gotten into him, but she exchanged goodbyes with Kurama and followed the disgruntled man out of the café back toward the temple.  Yusuke shoved his hands in his pockets and grumbled under his breath as he walked.  If he was going to have to hear about it, he may as well be serving his time.  At least if they were at the temple Grandma would count it…

***

       “This is boring.”

       Itani didn’t even look up, but continued to peer intently at the tablet before her.  She had been in that same position since they had returned from lunch more than an hour ago.  Yusuke was certain her back would be upset with her tomorrow.

       “Be quiet Yusuke.” She scolded, “You can’t leave until I finish this.”

       He rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair.  He drummed his fingers on his knees a few times, then he tipped his chair back on just two legs and let it fall back down to all four with a loud thud.  The noise echoed through the quiet room, but Itani didn’t react.  Evidently she was ignoring him.

       Yusuke sighed and crossed his arms.  “You’re never going to find anything.” He groused, “This is a big, fat, stupid, waste of time and I’m going to get grandma for doing this to me.”  If Itani heard him she gave no outward indication.  She leaned forward a bit and blew softly on the tablet.

       “What is this?” she seemed to be speaking to herself, but her tone caused Yusuke to move closer and peer at the tablet as well.  He saw nothing but the same old squiggles.

       “What’s what?” he asked crossly.

       She pulled a magnifying glass out of her bag and focused it on the lower left corner of the tablet.

       “These markings are different.” She explained.

       Yusuke snorted, “If you say so.”

       She shook her head, “See,” she pointed at the magnified image.  “These carvings are harsher, deeper, more defined, they were definitely made by a different person than the rest, perhaps even at another time.  There is also a slight variation in the actual character style.”

       Yusuke still didn’t see much difference, but he was willing to concede that she likely knew what she was talking about.  However, he failed to see the significance.

       “So,” he shrugged.

       Itani looked up at him, eyes wide with surprise, “So?” she repeated, slightly indignant, “That could be very important.  It could mean they were written at a much later date or by an entirely different set of people.”

       Yusuke leaned over and looked once more.  “Wasn’t that what you were talking about with Kurama at lunch?  That part was different?” he asked absently.

       Itani nodded, “But at that point I didn’t realize the magnitude of the discrepancy.  At most I thought perhaps two scribes had shared the task of carving the characters - unusual, but not unheard of.  But this, this is completely different, and far more significant.  If it was indeed written at a later date, it could be some sort of, I don’t know, maybe an explanation, or observation of how what the tablet said applied at that later date.  Or it might indicate some sort of special significance and so it was set apart from the rest.  It could even be some sort of religious or historical phrase.” Her eyes filled with excitement. “I really don’t know… yet, but I intend to find out.”

       Yusuke groaned, dreading the thought of several more hours of this.  Fortunately he was spared for the afternoon by the beeping of an alarm.

       Itani glanced up at the clock, she didn’t wear a watch while working because of the delicate nature of the items she handled, and frowned.

       “But not today, I have class,” she made a face, “This will just have to wait until tomorrow.”

       Yusuke breathed a sigh of relief, earning a glare from his companion.

       “What?” he asked crossly.

       Itani shook her head.  Carefully she wrapped the tablet back in its soft leather cloth and tied it closed.  She picked it up and placed it in the wall safe.

       “What mysteries do you hold?” she wondered quietly, running her fingers over it once more before locking it up.

       “Goodbye, Yusuke,” she turned around, but he was already gone.  She laughed gently, wondering why Genkai had asked him to do this when he was so clearly not suited to the task.  And why he had agreed when he so clearly hated it.  Grabbing her bag she headed for the university on foot.