Chapter 3

"So you say one of the demons turned his left arm into a sword?" asked Giles. He was pacing back and forth across his living room with a book in his hand. Buffy, Willow, Xander, sat on his couch.

"Yeah. Oh, but it did this hand-claspy thing before that, and the air took on this weird feeling." Buffy clasped her hands together in front of her, like the demon had the night before. "And did I mention that he was huge? I've never seen a demon that big before, except for the mayor."

"Wait, this guy wasn't ascended, was he?" Xander fidgeted back and forth in his armchair.

"Doesn't seem likely," said Giles. He set down the book he was looking at on his coffee table, then turned and began rifling through his bookcase.

"Oh, and Spike said they were Japanese," added Buffy.

Giles looked up at her, startled. "What?" He was very pale. Buffy decided he needed to get outside a little more.

"Spike said they were Japanese, and I think I heard them speaking Japanese. Two of them sort of looked like Manga characters."

"Translate?" asked Giles in reference to the "Manga characters" comment.

"Probably male, but with long purple hair and feminine features," said Buffy. She had already described the other two demons, but so far they'd focused on the one she'd fought.

"Oh, I see. Well, that changes things considerably," he went upstairs, in all likelihood to consult another bookcase.

"Does it matter if they're Japanese?" asked Xander. "Buffy will beat them anyway, right?"

Willow shrugged, and Buffy considered what he said. "I don't know. This guy was super powerful, he laughed off my attacks."

"Got it," said Giles, as he came back down the stairs, an open book in his hand. "All three are Yokai,"

"Yok-what?" asked Buffy.

Giles looked a little sheepish when he clarified, "Japanese demons." He then continued, "Fighting them might be difficult. They augment their physical powers with something called 'yoki' or 'demon energy.' It says here," Giles looked down at his book, "that this can make them stronger as it does in the case of vampires, but in the cases of higher class demons, the demon may learn to harness his energy for use in special techniques, either offensive or defensive in character," Giles looked up again. "I'd say your friend last night used his energy to create a sword," looking once more at his book, he continued, "The most powerful demons are also capable of using their energy to conceal themselves in a less conspicuous human form when traveling Ningenkai," he looked up, "Ningenkai being earth as opposed to hell."

"So you mean the demon I fought was probably the least powerful of the three because it didn't look human like the others?"

"Probably," Giles said the word quietly. He took his glasses off, produced a handkerchief from his pocket, and began to clean the lenses."I think we should find out what they were looking for. You said they were digging in a grave? Do you know who's?" He put his glasses back on.

"No, I didn't exactly get the chance to find out."

"We can go check it out," said Willow.

"No, it's too dangerous," said Buffy. "I'll go."

"I thought we settled this with Adam," said Xander. "We're stronger together."

"Alright, alright. We'll check out the tomb today, and I'll patrol tonight," said Buffy.

"And I'll see what else I kind find on Yokai," said Giles. "The Watcher's Council had a speaker on them once, but I'll admit, that was quite a long time ago," he smiled, "And the Council didn't like the presenter's attitude, so they asked her to leave before she got a chance to share much."

"I think I'll brush up on my Japanese," said Willow. "I haven't practiced since High School. Or maybe I'll just find a translation spell."

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A/N - I will undoubtedly write/update more quickly if I know there are people reading and enjoying the story. :D

revised again 2/20/09. Minor edits.