Note: When I put down 'Hecate' it means she is wearing her Priestess mantle; when I put down 'Konoe', she's in normal form.

Chapter 21: The Parallel Mirror

As Hecate, along with Margery carrying Ogata and Wilhelmina bearing Chigusa in a large basket of ribbons, landed on the yard of the mansion, Yuji, Kantaro, Shana, Ike and Tanaka came out to meet them. Only Satou remained in the Haridan room, watching for any new developments in their enemy's plan.

Upon touchdown, Yuji and Shana embraced Chigusa.

"Mom, you're safe!" Yuji said with tears in his eyes. He had tried to look composed since the whole incident began, but deep down, he was afraid that his mother and the baby within her would have been lost, or worse; but now, he was very relieved.

"Whoa, Yu-chan, don't squeeze too tight now. Don't forget, I'm still pregnant," Chigusa said while she returned their hugs. She then greeted Kantaro happily.

"It's thanks to Yoshida-san we got a chance to be rescued," said Ogata as she embraced Tanaka. "She made up the plan to distract the Denizen guarding us. But none of us expected that there would be a barrier that would block out our rescuers."

"How did the barrier disappear?" Shana asked.

"I'm not sure, but it must have happened when the Denizen died," Ogata replied.

"You killed a Denizen?!" Yuji exclaimed.

"No, a tiger did," said Ogata.

"A... tiger?" said Shana.

"But where is Yoshida-san now?" Ike asked with urgency.

"The shapeshifter has her," Chigusa answered.

"They're probably on their way to the meeting place," said Kantaro.

"Then let's get there before them," Shana said.

"I don't think that's possible," Satou said as he came out of the mansion to join the reunion.

"Several more tripwires and nets appeared on the Haridan, and there's also a barrier over the school," he continued. "I think it's only going to let humans and Mystes through."

"And if any of us set off the tripwires, there may be disastrous results," Hecate said.

"So what do we do now?" Ike asked.

"We should locate the Denizens hidden around the city and destroy them," said Wilhelmina. "In doing so, we will be able to rid ourselves of the tripwires and maybe even the barrier."

"But by the time we're done with that, our enemy would have arrived at the meeting place," said Shana.

"I would rather give in to a ransom than risk the city, Yoshida-san or your lives," Yuji said. "And I don't want anything worse to come out in triggering any traps."

"And how do you expect us to find what we can't even see on the Haridan?" Satou asked.

The Specialist of Everything produced the ring Ogata had found earlier.

"This might help," she said.

"That looks like Hecate's Ember Case Hougu," Shana said.

"But it seems a little different," said Yuji.

"Bal Masque may have created another version of the Ember Case that they could mass-produce," Hecate said. "That way, they could send their agents here undetected."

"But how will this help us find the Denizens?" Kantaro asked.

"In our last battle, we had acquired a Hougu that allows us to detect the locations of other Hougus," Wilhelmina explained.

"Spoils of war," said Tiamat.

Wilhelmina led the group inside the mansion and up to the Haridan room. There, she took out a compass from the Hougu storage closet and laid it down on the center of the Haridan. This compass was the Treasure Hunter Hougu once possessed by the late Cerus, an associate of Neftier who had died in a battle against Shana.

"I did some research on this Hougu and discovered that, when used with the Haridan, it can pinpoint the exact coordinates of several Hougus at once," Wilhelmina said as she raised one hand over the compass, and held the bronze ring in the other. "If this Ember Case ring is truly mass-produced, we will be able to find the others along with their holders."

The Specialist of Everything directed the Treasure Hunter to seek out the other rings. In a moment, several yellow lines branched out from the compass and pointed out several Torches.

"If I'm not mistaken, those Torches are Denizens with a disguised presence," said Margery. "Ironic that what's supposed to be hiding those idiots is what's giving them away."

"So all we have to do is kill them all," Shana said.

"What are we waiting for?" Yuji said as he was about to leave the room.

"Yuji, you stay here," Shana said. "Bal Masque is targeting you specifically."

"We'll handle this, so don't worry," said Hecate.

"Just guide us with the Haridan and everything will be fine," Margery said as she opened a window to fly out through.

With that, the three Flame Haze and Hecate took off from the mansion in separate directions.

SYHCKWMSTO

Many hours had passed when all of the tripwires scattered throughout the city had vanished. However, the barrier still remained over the school, and Kazumi and her doppelganger were already waiting inside.

The Flame Haze and Hecate returned to the mansion unscathed. Each carried a considerable amount of the mass-produced Ember Case. Upon their arrival, Chigusa brewed some tea and made a small meal.

"Can you believe how many weak Denizens were hiding out in the city?" Margery said as she took a bottle of beer from her personal liquor cabinet.

"I don't think they were weak initially," said Hecate. "From what I felt from our enemies, the Ember Cases they wore had been limiting them. Although they were still able to set up trap spells."

"But why is the barrier still over the school?" Shana asked. "All the Denizens are dead, so why is it still around?"

"Could the mimic be the one who had cast it?" Wilhelmina suggested.

"I don't think so," said Satou. "The barrier seems pretty strong, and the shapeshifter doesn't seem to be emitting any power."

"Could the caster possibly be outside the city?" said Kantaro.

"It's possible, but we should have found him by now," Shana said.

"What if he's using an upgraded version of the Ember Case, one that is powerful enough to cloak itself even from the Treasure Hunter, or even a spell that doesn't allow his presence to be sensed?" said Yuji.

"That is also possible," said Wilhelmina. "But finding such a target would be far too difficult, and we only have a few hours until the appointed meeting time."

Yuji sighed. "I guess there's no other choice then," he said.

Shana spoke with a worried tone. "Yuji, you're not thinking of…?"

"Yes, I am," Yuji said.

SHYMWKSHY

It was fifteen munuites before 11:00 at night, and as Yuji passed through the barrier and leaped over the closed school gate, Shana, Hecate and the rest of the group watched him on the Wandering Heart Hougu. At the center of the wide school yard between the gate and the school building itself, Gemini Kazumi and the original Kazumi waited beside each other.

"They look a lot like identical twins," Margery commented.

"I see you came, albeit a liitle early," Gemini Kazumi said with an evil grin. She beckoned to Yuji. "Just come here and stand still, then everything will be fine."

"No, run away Sakai-kun," Kazumi pleaded. "Forget about me!"

Gemini Kazumi took out a short knife and held it close to the original Kazumi's neck.

"Forget about it, he cares for you far too much to do that," she said calmly. "I'm sure you know already."

"Please, just let her go," Yuji said as he came closer with his hands up.

When he was close enough, Gemini Kazumi suddenly pushed the real Kazumi away and slammed her hand into the Yuji's face. While the doppelganger glowed very brightly as she changed form, Yuji felt something strange yet powerful pass into him. Both yelled in agony as power and unknown spell codes poured into one another, respectively.

The group watched the transformation take place though the Wandering Heart, which began to crack since it was meant to observe only one Yuji. The projection of Yuji's sight from the crystal Hougu then split into two.

When it was all over Yuji found himself face to face with... himself.

"Finally, I've become the Ultimate Demon Mystes!" Gemini yelled triumphantly. Without warning, he punched the astonished Yuji hard in the chest, blowing him back all the way to the school gate. The metal gate smashed open on impact.

"Who- who are you?" Yuji asked as he recovered.

"I'm not really sure, I've been so many people for so long I think I've forgotten," the doppelganger replied. "But I know that right now, I am Gemini Yuji! The Demon Mystes to end all Demon Mystes!"

Hecate gasped heavily as she stepped back from the Wandering Heart's visual projection in shock.

"Hecate, what's up?" Shana asked.

"Why didn't any of you tell me that was Gemini?" Hecate said, shock and fear lingering in her tone.

"You didn't really ask," Ogata said.

"Is something wrong?" asked Chigusa.

Hecate nodded.

"Of all doppelgangers and shapeshifters, Gemini, the Mystes of the Parallel Mirror, is the most dangerous," she said.

"I take it you know much about this Gemini," said Alastor.

"The Parallel Mirror was a Hougu created a long time ago, and quickly found its way into the hands of Bal Masque," the Priestess began. "However, it was too unstable to use normally, and we, the Trinity of Bal Masque, figured that it might work properly if used by a Mystes. We picked a young, down-on-his-luck actor and turned him into a Mystes, permanently placing the Mirror in him. We tested him on Sydonay, and not only did he copy his form, but his powers, Hougus and memories as well. We then tested his mimicking power again on another member of Bal Masque, one that was a master of many different martial arts. It produced the same results, yet while he lost Sydonay's power and Hougus, he still kept his memories and fighting skills."

"As Gemini copied more and more Denizens and Crimson Lords, he began to lose his sanity," Hecate continued. "He soon became the most infamous member of Bal Masque. And when he copied and defeated Sabrac, that's when we decided that he was far too dangerous to keep, but we could not destroy him. However, in a last effort, I had managed to seal him in his own Hougu."

"Unbelievable," said Wilhelmina. "He defeated Sabrac."

"The first and only being to have ever done so singlehandedly, although he was fatigued by the end of the duel."

"But he has to have some sort of weakness, right?" Shana asked.

"Yes," Hecate replied, "he possesses the weakness of the person he copied, and he has two limitations: he cannot copy Flame Haze, since their Existence is burned away and their life is supported by a Crimson Lord which he can't make contact with, and he can no longer transform once he copies another Mystes."

"So he'll stay like Yu-chan forever?" Chigusa asked.

"Unless we can defeat him," Hecate said.

"Guys, Sakai looks like he's gonna fight," Satou said.

The group watched as Yuji stood up again.

"Whatever you have, Sakai Yuji, I have too," said Gemini, "your Hougus, your memories, your powers, your skills and even your impressive wits! And add a little martial arts prowess to that. You cannot hope to defeat me."

"Run while you can Yoshida-san," Yuji said to Kazumi. The girl quickly obeyed and ran past him as she went through the broken gate.

The two Mystes stepped closer to each other but still kept their distance. They stood still, watching each other as the tension was building. A random paper flier drifted with the wind between them.

"Fuzetsu," Yuji muttered as the entire school grounds became enveloped in a crimson dome. The flier stopped in midair.

Suddenly, both fired an Aster beam at one another as they ran forward. Both beams were evaded. The two leaped at each other at the same time, summoned their Blutsaugers and slashed. The blades connected. The next second there was a powerful explosion that knocked both wielders back a long distance from each other.

The two Mystes picked themselves up.

"Looks like we won't be getting anywhere using this," Gemini said, referring to the swords. He put away the blade as Yuji did the same.

"It's a good thing Shana taught me a bit of kung fu," Yuji muttered.

"You idiot! A bit of kung fu won't save you from this enemy!" Shana yelled as she watched. "We have to help him!"

"The barrier's still in the way," said Satou.

"Then help find the caster, and quick!" Shana demanded as she flew out the window. "I'll go pick up Kazumi."

"I'm coming with you," said Hecate as she followed.

Back at the school grounds, Yuji and Gemini set their fighting stances. They built the tension between them again, waiting for the other to give in and unleash the Killing Intent.

"You know, once I've destroyed you, I'll destroy the rest of this city," Gemini taunted. "I bet you don't have the balls to stop me. After all, it's always been Shana who's been doing the saving. And you know that someday, she's going to suffer because of you're weakness."

That did it. Yuji rushed in and swung his fist at Gemini, who easily brushed off the attack. The doppelganger then locked onto Yuji's arm and slammed his other fist several times on his stomach before striking his foe with his knee. As Yuji stepped back and tried to recover, Gemini kicked him again in the gut, causing him to bend over in pain. Gemini then delivered an axe kick on Yuji's head, sending his face to the floor. Without mercy, Gemini picked up his opponent's head then slammed it to the floor again.

"I'm amazed he's not bleeding yet," said Ogata as she watched.

"A Demon Mystes is a being more like a Denizen than a human," said Margery, "their wounds spill out fire instead of blood."

Gemini raised his leg to bring down another axe kick while Yuji still lay on the ground.

"This little fight was over before it even started," Gemini said. "To be honest, I was hoping for a better fight from you than what I got from Sabrac. You couldn't imagine how disappointed I am right now. Good bye, Sakai Yuji."

"No!" Yuji yelled as he slammed his hands hard on the floor, cracking the concrete and sending his upper body flying upward. The momentum then developed into a backflip, and as Yuji's hands touched the floor again, he thrust his feet into Gemini's chin.

While Gemini was stunned, Yuji came back on his feet and delivered several punches to his enemy's face, followed by a strong uppercut which made Gemini lose balance. Using the momentum from his last punch, Yuji executed a reverse roundhouse kick that struck Gemini in the head and sent him sprawling.

As Gemini recovered, Yuji made some distance between them.

"This fight has just begun Gemini," said the Mystes of the Reiji Maigo coldly.

Gemini just grinned.

In the blink of an eye the distance between the two Mystes closed. Gemini delivered two cross punches, both of which were dodged. Yuji then countered with a shovel hook punch to Gemini's gut then struck him down again with a hammer fist to the head.

Yuji tried to kick at Gemini while he still lay on the floor, but his enemy evaded the attack by rolling to the side. Gemini then executed a butterfly kick aimed for Yuji's head. The Mystes of the Reiji Maigo simply ducked and swept his enemy off his feet with a kick as he landed. As his foe fell to the ground again, Yuji kicked him hard and sent him crashing into the school's front door.

Gemini stood up again. "I'm going to enjoy killing you, Sakai Yuji," he said.

Yuji, composed as ever, took a stance and beckoned to him wordlessly

Gemini dashed towards Yuji. He shot his fist towards Yuji's face as the gap between them closed again. Yuji caught the punch, but Gemini just brushed his hand away and kicked him in the chest, stunning him. The doppelganger then proceeded to bring down a rain of punches on his enemy's upper body before striking him in the face and finishing with a twist kick. The weakened Mystes lost balance and stumbled.

Yuji barely had time to recover as Gemini picked up his legs and leaped high into the air. The doppelganger spun around at the peak of the jump, still holding his foe's legs, then threw him straight down. Yuji quickly reacted and shot a silver chain from his hand, which grappled onto the doppelganger's foot. So, as Yuji fell, he pulled his opponent down with him.

The two crashed into the pavement. Picking themselves up, they locked onto each other and began to wrestle. After a while, Gemini managed to break free and strike Yuji hard in the chest, knocking him back. Gemini leaped forward as Yuji recovered, but the Mystes managed to dodge and kicked his enemy in the side before delivering a powerful punch that sent Gemini flying to a wall.

Gemini recovered in midair and managed to land his feet on the wall. He rebounded and shot straight at Yuji with both fists forward. Yuji, however, caught both hands and threw him to the side. Gemini landed on his feet.

"Let's stop this child's play," said the Mystes of the Parallel Mirror as he summoned several silver chains from his back. "Time to get serious!"

He sent the chains towards Yuji, who deflected them by launching small silver fireballs. Yuji then wrapped a single thick chain around all of Gemini's and slammed them to the ground. Gemini jumped forward and Yuji dodged. However, as he landed, Gemini fired an Aster beam, from a back kick.

Yuji did not see it coming, and the beam knocked him back. Recovering, Yuji put his hands on the ground. Gemini, assuming that Yuji was going to send chains or Aster beams up to him from below the ground, jumped to a backflip.

Yuji had just faked it, however, and leaped as soon as Gemini was airborne. He delivered a flying kick to a surprised Gemini.

"You live up to your reputation, Sakai Yuji," said Gemini. "I didn't expect that, but then I should have, right?"

"I know how my own mind works," Yuji replied.

"And so you think in a way you normally wouldn't," Gemini said. "But then, you normally think that way, don't you? Thinking out of the box."

Gemini came forward and kicked at Yuji, who caught the foot and twisted it. Gemini, however, managed to develop the counterattack into a butterfly kick and struck Yuji in the face.

While Yuji was stunned, Gemini landed a series of blows on him and kicked him into a wall. Yuji was still dazed from the brutal attack when Gemini summoned two thick silver chains from his hands. With these chains, he mercilessly whipped his enemy with consecutive lashes.

Suddenly, the chains were cut. Yuji had barely managed to get up and slice the chains with Blutsauger.

"This is gonna be a long fight," said Gemini, as he summoned his Blutsauger.

YGSHKYG

As the battle between the two Mystes raged on, a man with gray hair, finely dressed in a purple suit, stood over a cliff outside the city. On his finger was a gold ring, a special Ember Case.

"Zis war zeems to be getting more and more interesting, no?" the man said to his two cronies, dressed like knights in full armor, with a French accent. "How I wish I could join, but alas, zis ring will not permit me to move in a Fuzetsu."

"Let me put you out of your misery," a voice said behind him.

The man turned around to see Okami Hebito beside his car, a Mustang, with an ordinary halberd in his hand.

"It's been a long time, Fortune's Favorite, Orgue" said Hebito, flicking away a cigarette butt.

"And just who are you?" Orgue asked.

"Doesn't matter, you'll be dead in a few moments anyway," Hebito said confidently.

Orgue laughed loudly then suddenly stopped.

"Kill him," he said to his cronies, who were actually Rinne.

The knight Rinne drew their brodswords, but Hebito parried their attacks. One of the Rinne thrusted its weapon, but Hebito evaded it and chopped its helmet off with the blade of his halberd. As soon as it was beheaded, the Rinne turned into a lifeless suit of armor and broke apart before burning away.

The other Rinne quickly suffered the same fate as Hebito dispatched it by slicing though the armor's weak point at the waist.

"Any more toys for me to play with?" Hebito said to Orgue.

"Whoever you are, you have seriously irked me," Orgue said as he drew a rapier. "My blade, Silk Lightning, will send 100,000 volts of electricity through your body."

Hebito just yawned. "Enough with the chit-chat, let's fight already," he said.

"As you wish," Orgue said as he lunged forward.

The blades touched, but no electricity passed through the halberd because of its wooden shaft. Orgue cut with his blade. Hebito parried the attack and countered, but Orgue managed to evade. Orgue lunged again and slashed swiftly. Hebito did his best to prevent the blade from touching his body, but Orgue suddenly slashed at the joint of the blade and cut it off the halberd.

The two stepped back.

"I am one of the finest swordsmen in Bal Masque, a Crimson Lord, you cannot beat me," Orgue boasted.

"Blah, blah, blah," Hebito said mockingly. "I was just getting warmed up!"

Hebito jumped forward and caught the gloating Crimson Lord off guard. He struck him on the shoulder with one end of the shaft, which was now a staff, then struck him in the chest with the other end.

Orgue barely recovered and struck at Hebito with his rapier. Hebito blocked and parried every strike, however, and countered again. This time, the counterattack hit Orgue in the chest.

"Come on, I don't have all night. Stop trying to hit me, and hit me!" Hebito taunted.

Orgue thrusted his rapier at his foe's face in wild fury. Hebito evaded it, letting it pass an inch away from his head. He then tripped Orgue with one end of his staff. As Orgue fell to the ground, Hebito slammed the wooden shaft down on his body and gave him a single strong kick.

Orgue rolled over from the force of the blow. He weakly picked himself up again and angrily pulled out an old single-shot pistol.

"Using underhand tactics," Hebito said calmly, "as expected of Fortune's Favorite. Ironic, isn't it, that good fortune favors you as much as bad fortune picks on you? And so you resort to cheating. Now tell me, what are you trying to prove by using that little pea shooter?"

"P-pea shooter?" Orgue said, boiling with anger. "Bold words for zomeone who is about to have his head blown off! Zis is ze original Trigger Happy, my best creation if you don't count its improved descendant."

Hebito shrugged. "A pea shooter's a pea shooter no matter what it's called," Hebito said, still with much composure. "Especially so if you know its weakness."

Orgue fired the pistol. The bullet, built from compacted Power of Existence, was blocked by one end of Hebito's staff and broke apart on impact without leaving so much as a mark on the wooden pole.

Before Orgue could prepare another shot, Hebito struck him in the gut with the butt of his staff. Orgue winced in pain. Hebito then beat him with several blows from his wooden pole. The last blow in his combination attack was a strong downward strike that floored the Crimson Lord.

"That pea shooter can't penetrate anything not tied to Power of Existence," Hebito said, stepping on his foe's head.

"Just who do you zink you are?!" Orgue said with a tone full of hate.

"Just a teacher who simply cares too much for a couple of his students," Hebito replied, taking his foot off Orgue's head and stepping back.

Orgue tried to stand up again. But before he could, Hebito shifted both hands to one end of his staff, whirled around and struck him fully in the face with so much force that the pole cracked. The sheer strength of the attack caused Orgue to flip over.

"I'll remember this," the overwhelmed Crimson Lord said before teleporting away with what little power he had left.

"Pitiful," Hebito said as he tossed the wooden pole in his hands away. He looked over to Misaki City.

"I leave the rest to you, Flaming-Haired Blazing-Eyed Hunter Shana," he said.

OSOSOSOS

"Kazumi! Are you alright?" Shana asked as she landed by her friend and love rival, who was catching her breath on a sidewalk a small distance away from the school.

"Yuji and Gemini are still fighting," Yoshida said.

"The Fuzetsu is still up, but it seems the barrier has vanished," Hecate said, landing beside Shana

Shana looked towards the school. "So it is," she said.

"What do you think happened?" Hecate asked.

"I don't know, but now's our chance to get in and help Yuji!" Shana said, taking off. Hecate followed behind, carrying Kazumi.

When they had arrived at the school grounds, they found two Yuji's locked in intense combat. Both had used up plenty of Power of Existence and were black and blue all over. Around them, the place was in ruins.

"Which one is the real Yuji?" Shana asked Hecate.

"I don't know," Hecate said. "Since Gemini's transformation, my link with the real Yuji has become weak."

"What do we do," Yoshida asked.

"We stop them both," Shana said.

The two Yuji's charged at each other. Suddenly, a barrier caged each of them. They looked around and saw that it was Hecate who had cast the spell.

"Take them back to the mansion," Shana said. "We're not letting either of them die until we know which one the real Yuji is."

Note: By this time, I'm sure you've figured out who Okami Hebito really is.