This chapter will be about Rika and Pana's connection with Yoji after they found him while helping his chakrams in a flame demon form. I named Yoji's demon weapon partner Ifrit, the name used from Final Fantasy series.

Chapter 20: Connections

Somewhere in the bamboo forest, Yoji was laying on the ground unconscious. He began to open his eyes as he regained his strength. He stood up, noticing that he was in a different place.

"A bamboo forest?"

After he woke up, he noticed that Yume, Rika, and Pana disappeared and knew that the whirlwind separated him from the girls. He looked around the forest with bamboo trees and began to call for them.

"Yume! Rika! Pana! Where are you?"

But there was reply from either of them. He suddenly knew that he can't protect Yume when he got separated from her. He gripped his hand, knowing that he failed to save her back then.

Before he found himself in the bamboo forest, he got caught by the whirlwind along with the girls. Somehow, he got separated from Rika and Pana. He knew that he and the others can't escape from the whirlwind. He saw Yume unconscious on the other side of the whirlwind. He went towards her as he tries to save her. He reached his hand to hers. However, the wind force was too strong and pushed Yoji away from her. After he can't save Yume, he got unconscious and was sent to the bamboo forest of the Akumu no Kuni.

Remembering what happened, Yoji knew that he have to find Yume and her friends although he can't protect her right now due to the separation from them.

All the sudden, he noticed that his chakrams were somehow missing as he checked something from his waist.

"My chakrams, they're gone." Yoji noticed.

He knew that his chakrams got lost from the whirlwind for some reasons. However, despite losing his chakrams, he knew that his chakrams will find him for sure. He began to search for his chakrams and the girls.

Three years ago before his defection from Inyogakure, Yoji became surprised when he first met the flame demon after his chakrams transformed itself. His two masters never knew that he can summon his demon.

"I never knew you can summon a demon," said Seirin.

"Well, I didn't summon a demon with a Kuchiyose no Jutsu. My chakrams transformed all by itself," Yoji explained.

"Yes, it's true. The Kuchiyose no Jutsu is only used with blood and a contract from any summoning animal." Shaolin mentioned.

The chakrams in a form of the flame demon licked Yoji's face, much to his suprise. Seirin laughed after seeing his apprentice got licked.

"It looks like that it likes you."

Shaolin realized that this demon needs a name.

"Yoji, although this demon has a good relationship with you, how about a name?" she convinced Yoji.

Yoji never knew that the demon needs a name for the first place after the transformation from his red and silver chakrams. He tried to think of a name.

"A name? Hm?"

Thinking a name for the flame demon, he realized that he have a name for the demon.

"How about Ifrit?"

"Ifrit?" Seirin replied.

All the sudden, the flame demon heard the name Ifrit and growled in content.

"I think it likes that name you came up with," Shaolin complied.

"So you like that name?" he asked the demon.

It nodded.

"Hope you like it, Ifrit." he smiled.

After reminiscing his first time with his chakrams in a form of the flame demon, he knew that Ifrit will find him.

"Ifrit. You better find me no what happens to me," he hoped as he told his chakrams with a form of the demon to find him.

He kept searching until he finds Ifrit and Yume with Rika and Pana in the bamboo forest.

Meanwhile, Rika and Pan kept searching for Yoji and Yume while helping Ifrit to find his master.

"Hm... They're not here somehow." said Rika.

"We'll find them. Don't worry," Pana cheered Ifrit up by patting its head.

It nodded in agreement.

All the sudden, two shadows ambushed them, much to Rika and Pana's shock.

"What?" shocked Rika. "Shadows?"

As they encountered the shadows, two of them transformed into two figures, Seiichi and Kuta. Rika and Pana shocked as they knew the appearances.

"Seiichi?"

"Kuta?"

Ifrit growled in a reject, telling the two girls that they are not Seiichi and Kuta, but an imitations of them.

"You mean those are not Seiichi and Kuta?" Rika replied.

"That means these shadow-like monsters are the Akuma Akumu Ayumu-san mentioned," Pana stated.

"I guess we have no choice, but to fight them!"

Rika began to fight Seiichi with her ninja tools while Pana started fighting Kuta with her taijutsu. While they fought the two Akuma Akumu, Ifrit noticed more of them appeared.

"More of them?"

As the Akuma Akumu came to attack Rika and Pana, Ifrit summoned a fireball at them. Knowing the Akuma Akumu kept appearing, the flame demon attacked them from coming towards Rika and Pana.

"Thanks," thanked Rika as Ifrit stopped the Akuma Akumu from coming close to her and Pana.

Ifrit kept attacking the Akuma Akumu as more shadows kept appearing. Rika defeated the imitation of Seiichi with her ninja tools and Pana defeated the imitation of Kuta with her signature technique, Mekuraken no Kuro Ryu. The two Inyo kunoichi began to help Ifrit to defeat the Akuma Akumu. However, as they defeated the Akuma Akumu, the shadows kept appearing.

"There's no end to this!" exclaimed Pana.

"What should we do then?" Rika asked.

All the sudden, flames from out of nowhere appeared and attacked the Akuma Akumu. Burned with flames, the shadows faded away as they disappeared. Rika and Pana noticed that the shadows are suddenly burned in flames and disappeared. After noticing there are no more of the Akuma Akumu appear, someone came before the two Inyo kunoichi and the flame demon.

"Ifrit!"

Ifrit heard the familiar voice and turned around as he saw Yoji. He went towards him and realized that his master was okay. He licked Yoji in a happy mood after finding him with the help of Rika and Pana.

"Good thing I came just in time. If I didn't save you, I don't know what will happen to you," said Yoji, patting Ifrit.

"I'm glad you're happy now." Rika complied.

"Come to think of it. Ifrit, right? That's your name?" Pana wondered, asking Ifrit about the name.

The flame demon nodded.

"Well, at least you found your summoning partner, Yoji-san." Rika stated.

Yoji realized that Rika and Pana thought that Ifrit was his summoning animal. He knew that Ifrit was his chakrams in the form of the demon with flames of fire.

"Huh? What are you talking about? Ifrit isn't a summoning animal," he explained.

Rika noticed that Ifrit wasn't a summon after all as she became confused about the flamed demon.

"What do you mean? This fella isn't a summon?" she asked.

"I'll show you," Yoji replied. "Ifrit."

Ifrit nodded as it began to tranform back into his origanl form, Yoji's red and silver chakrams. Yoji caught the chakrams and surprised Rika and Pana.

"I summon him by using my chakrams. Whenever I'm in trouble and even losing these weapons, Ifrit transforms all by itself and finds me no matter what."

Yoji commanded Ifrit to transform into a flame demon once again.

"So he's not the summon all the time." asked Rika

"Of course not. If Ifrit's a summoning animal, I'd perform the Kuchiyose no Jutsu," explained Yoji.

"I guess Ifrit is kinda special." Pana stated.

"Yeah, you're right. He's special."

Yoji wondered why Ifrit was with Rika and Pana all the time while he was trying for them even Yume.

"Hey, was Ifrit with you two all the time?" he asked.

Rika and Pana noticed about Ifrit who saved them from the whirlwind after got serparated from Yoji and Yume.

"Yeah. He saved us from the whirlwind back then and we thought that you summoned it to rescue us." Pana answered.

Confused, Yoji didn't remember that Pana mentioned that he summoned Ifrit to save her and Rika from the whirlwind. He knew that he lost his chakrams after he regained his consciousness and got separated from Yume and her two teammates.

"Huh? I didn't summon Ifrit to save you two. I don't remember that."

"Wait, you mean you didn't summon him?" implied Rika.

"Not before my chakrams wasn't around my waist back then."

"But how did that happened?"

Ifrit tried to explain Yoji about why he saved Rika and Pana from the whirlwind. The older red-haired boy listened to his flame demon and began to understand why.

Rika began to wonder what was Ifrit explaining to Yoji and asked him, "What did Ifrit told you?"

"He told that he transformed by itself to save you two after he got separated from me as well while he was in the orignal form of my chakrams," he explained.

"What? It got separated from you?"

"When I found myself in this place, I realized that my chakrams wasn't with me just now. So I have to find Ifrit and you two."

Rika noticed that Yume is somewhere in the Akumu no Kuni and wasn't with Yoji after the separation.

"If you found us, then what about Yume?" she asked, worried about her. "Is she with you?"

Yoji knew that Yume wasn't with him all along while finding Rika and Pana, who were with Ifrit, the chakrams in the demon form.

"Sorry, I didn't think she's with me now," he answered. "I tried to save Yume, but I failed."

"I guess it's up to us to find Yume right now." Pana suggested.

"Yeah! We need to find her before anything happens to her!" agreed Rika.

Yoji commanded Ifrit to turned back to the orignal form and it transformed again into the chakrams once more. After Ifrit returned back to the orignal form, he caught the chakrams and put back around his waist. Before they were about to find Yume, he began to wonder what Ifrit told about Rika and Pana.

Thinking about the two kunoichi, he began to ask them, "Hey, before we start looking for Yume, Ifrit told me about you two. Are you two related to Seirin-shisho and Shaolin-shisho?"

The two kunoichi surprised when Yoji asked them that they were related to Seirin and Shaolin.

"Huh! You know tou-chan and Shaolin-san?" surprised Rika.

Yoji nodded. "My chakrams saved you two because of the relationship with them."

"If you know Rika's tou-san and Shaolin, that means you're an Inyo shinobi." Pana stated.

"I was... after they disappeared from their long-term missions."

"You were? Why?" asked Rika.

"Three years ago, I learned that my two shishos disappeared when the Inyokage-sama told me. I wanted to find them, but he won't let me. So I left Inyogakure. After I heard that they returned from Yume, I don't know what to do."

Rika didn't realize that Yoji left Inyo because of her chichiue and Pana's guardian's disappearance. She began to realize that he might come back to Inyo with them once they reunited with the others and Yume.

"Hey, how about you could come with us once we find Yume and the others? When we'll return to Inyo, you'll see them again," she explained to him.

Yoji never realized that he might come with Yume and her friends to return to Inyo even to see his two masters. However, he became unsure.

"Are you really sure? That I might see Seirin-shisho and Shaolin-shisho again?"

"Of course, you're the Inyo shinobi after all." Rika answered.

"I guess you're right." Yoji smiled.

"But first, we need to find Yume and the others who got separated before we met you," Pana explained.

"That's right! Let's go!" Rika agreed.

They began to search for Yume in the bamboo forest after Yoji reunited with his chakrams. While searching for Yume, he still became unsure about going back to Inyo although he was still the puppet leader and the eighth nightmare of the Seven Shinobi of Nightmares.

"If I go with them, everything will change, right?" he wondered.

Despite worrying about being the puppet leader and the eighth nightmare, he became positive that he will see his two masters again after he left Inyo three years ago.