My stomach churns and my heart aches at the conversation that will soon follow. Yukina may have suspected, but I…don't want…I…am just delaying the inevitable. I watch Kazuma open the door to their home, and I follow him inside. Botan follows in my steps, dressed in a black undershirt, blue jeans, and a thin silk and velvet jacket with red, blue, gold, and white floral patterns, unzipped, the bag that Kazuma looted from Russia currently around her right shoulder.

We enter without saying a word, and I find Yukina, dressed in a pink shirt and these grey shorts that stretch over her knees, and Shizuru, dressed in a short-sleeved black shirt and dark blue jeans, seated on the same couch that I slept on the day she was abducted by that bastard Toguro. The moment that set this chain of events in motion…no. This was, maybe, some parts maybe were inevitable the moment I was thrown off that cliffside as an infant, but some parts…oh what evil I have wrought!

I lock eyes with my sister, and she appears to study my face, to see the confirmation of the horror that I committed. She slowly rises from the couch, her lips quivering in anguish that the wound will have to be reopened. I force myself to speak "It was…Shigure confirmed it. He did this, he…who am I lying?! I did it, it was by my hand and I will have to…live with myself for that…I…sister…" Yukina's arms shake, and she mutters "So he…he was indeed our father…Anujra…was our father…" I speak "Is…he is, always will…sister…I saw them." Her sorrowful glare turns to one mixed with confusion, and she speaks "You…saw…who did you…?" I fall to my knees in both grief and rapture upon the living room floor, and I speak "They spoke with me. I saw father. I saw mother. Lucretia. They spoke with me." As if my words do not do justice as to what I saw, what I experienced, I shout "They spoke with me!"

Yukina leans over, falls to her knees, and embraces me, and I hear the sound of bouncing tear stones. "What…what did they say?!" she speaks as if gasping for air. "Little, but they showed everything, and I understood. I…it's over. The Koorime's prophecy has been fulfilled. We…closed that chapter of our lives." I feel her body shudder, and she breaks her embrace to look into my eyes. She mutters "It's…over?" I mutter "No more imikos. Never again. Never again will that village commit the horror that we endured. We made sure of it." I once again find myself fighting the urge to cry.

She grasps my shoulder, and I find my vocabulary too limited to describe her expression, the blend of sorrow, elation, rage, relief. She suddenly pauses, and after a few seconds, she asks "We?" Kazuma suddenly speaks "Yeah. We. We did what…what had to be done. Rui was the first, she…she pretty much begged us to do it. Tullia. The elders. The adults. The…the…the kids. Everyone." Yukina glares wide-eyed, taken aback, and suddenly covers her mouth. She speaks "No…no…Kazuma oh my God not you! I…it was our burden to bear, Hiei and I! You…" Kazuma sighs and replies "Everything I own, you own. And it goes the other way too. That's what family means to me. That's what you and Hiei mean to me. I couldn't let…you…two…suffer for doing it alone."

Kazuma suddenly sheds tears of his own. He himself falls to his knees, and he wraps his arms around us both. And he speaks "I'd go through the lowest levels of hell for you two. Both of you. And Shizuru. Botan. Yusuke. Kurama. I'd trade every damn yen I own, every shirt on my back, every drop of my sweat and blood, if it's for the people I love. So yeah, there was no damn way I was going to let you two suffer through this alone. Because I'm not so stupid to not know the scarring that what we did does to the soul. Just…remember, Hiei said it himself. Anujra and Lucretia are out there somewhere, and they love you two, and they always will. And I'm going to make sure that this family will never suffer like before, never ever again. And if one more asshole, if one more Tullia, or Shigure, or Toguro, or Darya, or Mukuro, lays one damn finger on this family again, then I will strike back as if I'm a punishment from God!"

I close my eyes and feel his arms, Yukina's arms, embracing me, each other. Kazuma shouts "Get in this too sis, and you too Botan." More arms join us, and I shed a single tear, secure in the knowledge that I am surrounded by family. That I am loved.

Shizuru speaks "Easy there everyone, it's over. Cry if you all want to but you all don't need to." Yukina speaks "No, it's just starting. This is when we start to live. Hiei…I already forgiven you for what you did, but please, please stay with us. Please don't run off by yourself again, all alone in some tree or some cave in demon world." I quickly answer "No…never again. Home is here…with you all. I understand that, and I understand that I will not be a danger to you all. That I belong here, with you. Yukina, Kazuma, Botan, Shizuru. Thank you. All I ever wanted was a family." "You always had one you dummy," my sister chastises, and I smile weakly and wipe another tear from my left eye.

As if out of jealousy, Kazuma's aged cat suddenly leaps on Yukina's head, causing her to shriek in shock. The cat bounces off her head as we all break into laughter and merriment, Botan, Kazuma, and Shizuru all rising to their feet. Botan speaks "Eikichi certainly likes to do that." Eikichi the cat approaches Yukina and rolls onto its back. Well, 'her' back, I can clearly tell now. Forgiving the sudden ambush, my sister rubs the cat's belly as the cat opens her mouth and yawns.

I seat down by her side and cautiously reach out for the cat. Kazuma notices this and speaks "Don't worry, she's not going to bite you or anything." Yukina turns to me, and motions me over. I extend my hand and rub Eikichi's belly. Shizuru speaks "Just a heads up Hiei, you got like a minute of that before she starts going stir crazy and scratches everything." I nod to show I heard her, and I reach up higher along her chest, gently rubbing her skin, and Eikichi suddenly leans over and begins to lick my fingers. This…feels nice. I…I am sorry I threatened you last time, the day Yukina was abducted. I…I am sorry Eikichi.

Botan mutters "Hiei rubbing Eikichi's belly, I think I've seen it all now." I ignore her comment and keep my attention on Eikichi. Suddenly, as prophesized, she begins kicking and pawing away at air, rolls around, returns to standing on her fours, and scurries away, satisfied that she received sufficient attention. Kazuma speaks "You a cat person too?" I reply "I actually visited the Ueno Zoo Gardens at times and observed the fauna there. After-hours, when the staff already departed. I observed and interacted with the Sumatran tigers, as well as other beasts. Most were rather agitated at my presence so I simply kept my distance. These cats appear to be smaller versions of those tigers. I…actually wonder if I can maintain some of the fauna back in my apartment."

Shizuru laughs and speaks "Oh boy, what do you have in mind?" I rub the back of my head and speak "I understand that these 'bear' creatures are too large for my apartment, I'm no fool, as fascinating as I find them to be, so similar to the urzines back in the Alaric. But…would a crocodile be inappropriate? A smaller one. Or perhaps this 'python' creature?"

They all laugh, giving sufficient answer to my question. Kazuma shouts "Oh you ain't bringing any snakes or crocs near Eikichi!" I reply "I am now assuming they would be considered predators in relation to cats." Shizuru shouts "You think?" I smile, slightly embarrassed, and speak "Fair enough. The Ueno Zoo is always near anyway." Yukina looks to me, smiles, and says "You glow like a new person now. Happy, and no longer scared of yourself, no longer acting like you are danger to everyone around you." Her words sink in, and I wordlessly smile and nod. If this is what it means to cast off the chains that I shackled myself with, then this I can endure. No, more than endure. Rejoice.

Kazuma suddenly speaks "By the way, I got a call yesterday from Yana. He and his wife can't make it to the Pride Fighting Championship event in Saitama this Saturday. So I agreed to buy their tickets off them. I got two spare ones, on top of the two I got for Yukina and I, good seats. So…Hiei? Want to come along? It's that martial arts event that you saw on television back in that Russian apartment. They even have Josh Barnett and Mirko Filipovic on the card." I reply "Uh, sure, thank you. How much do I owe?" Kazuma replies "Don't worry about it. So, Shizuru?" Shizuru grimaces slightly and replies "Eh, I promised Keiko I'd help her this weekend with some stuff she's been researching. Is Shinya Aoki or Takanori Gomi on the card? Or Fedor?"

Kazuma replies "Nah, I heard Aoki and Gomi are fighting at the November card in Yokohama though. I can look into getting us tickets for that. Fedor has a date with Mark Coleman in the October event in Los Angeles, so that's a bit harder to get tickets for. The one this Saturday does have Mirko Cro Cop, Minotauro Nogueira, Barnett, Shogun Rua, Wanderlei Silva. Big name card." Shizuru shakes her head and replies "Eh, I don't want to go back on my promise, and I saw all of them live already and don't care too much about them. Wanderlei is just a hook windmill anyway. Let me know about the Yokohama card, I really want to see Gomi live again."

Kazuma replies "Alright, will do. So…Botan? I know you're really busy with the grim reaper stuff…but want to come along?" Botan smiles and looks taken aback, and replies "Oh…uh…yes, that would be nice. I will ask Koenma for time off. Thank you Kazuma! I haven't seen an event live since we all went to that show in Saitama back in 2004." Kazuma laughs and says "That was the Wanderlei Silva/Rampage Jackson rematch. A lot of the people from that event are actually fighting on Saturday, so you'll recognize a lot of the names." After a pause, he continues "Great! We got plans for Saturday. I'm also thinking about maybe all of us, and Yusuke and Keiko and Kurama, we all have a nice brunch here in Tokyo before the show on Saturday." Shizuru rolls her eyes and speaks "Let me guess, a Brazilian steakhouse?"

As I approach the blue training mats, I suddenly feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn and find Kensuke, bald, mostly, clean shaven, wearing his black Brazilian jiujitsu gi and his brown belt. He speaks "Hey Shuichi, Kenji called in sick again. We need you to teach the white belts for the morning class again." I say "Very well, I will think of something." I would imagine they would not be too pleased to see me. I adjust my blue gi and my purple belt, and step inside the office to grab a black graphite pen. So what should I teach for today's class, then? One takedown or takedown defense, and one submission, pass, or submission defense. Hm, everyone enjoys the osotogari for its ease. Perhaps the sukui nage? Or the uchi mata with an ankle pick? And for the submission portion? Triangle choke defense? Armbar drills from the back? Perhaps the baseball bat choke from side control.

I enter the section of the gym for the white belt classes, bowing as I step on the blue mats. I hear a few muffled groans, less than thrilled that Shuichi Minamino is going to teach this class. Groan all you want, conditioning is important. As my students stand up from the mats, I speak "Form five lines." I look around, smile, and see a new and very familiar face. As he promised he would.

Yusuke, wearing his white gi and brand new white belt, stands behind Taiga, a two-stripe white belt. They don't realize how good my hearing is, aside from Yusuke. I hear Taiga whisper "Oh great, we got Shuichi today. Lucky you for your first day." The sarcasm is palpable. I approach the three-stripe white belt Saeko, first in her line, and speak "Good morning." She bows, hands me her attendance card, and replies "Good morning, sensei." I approach the student behind her, an unfamiliar white belt with a single stripe. I repeat my greetings and he mimics Saeko. In the corner of my ear, I hear Taiga whisper "Get ready for Shuichi's warm-up of death. Guy makes us do like eighty pushups and even burpees before we even start the lesson."

Eventually finding my way to Taiga, I smile and speak "Good morning." He hands me his attendance card and speaks "Good morning sensei." I am currently fighting the urge to 'accidentally' misplace Taiga's card. Turning toward Yusuke, I speak "Good morning." He actually bows and says "Good morning sensei." I can see him holding back the urge to laugh, which in itself causes me to struggling not to laugh in response. I collect his attendance card and make my way to the end of the last line of students.

Collecting the last of the attendance cards, I walk up to and stand by the front wall and shout "Very well! Jogging!" I begin to methodically review each attendance card, finding the box with the corresponding date…today is September 10th, right? Yes, yes it is. We have that visit to the Brazilian steakhouse after this, which Kuwabara organized. There we go, that is seven attendance cards. Around a dozen more to go. I shout "High knees!" The white belts proceed to jog and shoot their knees up in the air at the same time. I continue checking off the attendance cards, feel a sufficient amount of time has passed, and shout "Touch your heels!" They now jog and touch the back of their heels as they make their laps around the mats. I overhear Saeko and Taiga talking about the Pride Fighting Championship event later today. I recall that Kuwabara is going to that, along with Yukina, Hiei, and Botan.

I shout "Ten pushups, everyone count!" They all stop in their tracks and do their pushups more or less in cadence but with varying quality in form. I shout "LOUDER!" "Seven! Eight! Nine! Ten!" They stand up and I shout "Resume jogging!" I find Yusuke's blank attendance card and smirk to myself as I check off his first box. Checking off the remaining cards, I shout "Ten more pushups, count them!" This time they count with more enthusiasm, seems everyone has woken up. "Resume jogging!" I shout. I glance at the clock, hmm, running a bit longer than I would have preferred. I think I will skip the strafing laps and have them go directly into the front rolls and the shrimping drills.

I think I know what I want to teach for today's class. Double leg takedowns into side control, and baseball bat chokes from side control. I shout "Very well, form one line! Two sets of front rolls and then two sets of shrimping drills!"

Been almost a week since everything went down in Arrapka. Since I scalped that asshole Mithradata. Going to head back to Tourin in a couple of days for the funerals. Seitei, Touou, Kujo, Natsume. Kaito's funeral was yesterday. His wife opted for cremation, since an open casket wasn't possible. I'm guessing it will be the same for the other four. Zinaida can't even get a damn funeral. Kurama told me that he planted some flowers by her soon-to-be-condemned house, all he could do without getting the police interested.

That is the difference between this 'case' with Mithradata and his assholes, and the cases back when I was a kid. The funerals. There weren't any back then, except for Raizen, and everyone saw it coming anyway. Now, I'm almost thirty, and six people I know have croaked within a couple of weeks. Maybe we were just all so damn lucky back then. We all came out alive, and when we didn't, we just came back to life better than ever. Guess our luck can't run forever.

Supaku and Mareecha are still missing, along with a shitload of undercover tiger demons. Enki isn't sure how many of the missing tiger demons were the beyond-the-barrier guys, and how many were people that felt they had to defect with them anyway. Last I spoke with Enki, he's been juggling with not pissing everyone off and playing secret police in finding any of the lower level guys that stayed in Tourin. Things are still quiet with Mukuro and Yomi. The shit Kuwabara and Hiei told us about Mukuro, and the Koorime, and what Hiei saw. That Mukuro turned into some kiddie-raping and torturing lunatic and tried to have Kuwabara and Hiei kill each other, that ring-face Shigure did what he did to Hiei's father, that Hiei tried to off himself, how Kuwabara and Hiei wiped out the ice people.

He's like a different person. Kuwabara too. In their own ways. Hiei's coming off a lot less cagey now, and he's actually letting people see him smile sometimes. Despite all the fucked up things that happened to him in the past two weeks. Kuwabara's been, I don't know, on edge at times? Jumpy? It's hard to describe. Maybe all the stuff this past couple of weeks been getting to him, maybe it's having that plus his work. Lucky me, my old workplace got totally trashed…

I'm wearing a dark green collared t-shirt, dark grey jeans, and have my forest green Puma track jacket hanging over my chair, seated at the Brazilian steakhouse with everyone for a group brunch I guess. Kurama is seated on my left, wearing a grey undershirt and an unbuttoned thin red and black floral jacket, along with dark blue jeans. Shizuru is seated on the short end of the table, perpendicularly to the left of Kurama, wearing a sleeveless red shirt and blue jeans. Perpendicularly to her left and across from Kurama, Kuwabara is seated, wearing a sky blue sweater with these orange and red patterns that look like they came from a Persian rug. He's got a plain black baseball cap to cover-up his messed up hair.

To his left, Yukina, wearing a pink shirt and a gold necklace with a sapphire dangling at the end. To her left, Hiei, wearing a grey V-neck shirt, an unbuttoned grayish blue denim jacket, and a big orange bandage that's covering up his Jagan eye slit. Seated perpendicularly to his left, and across from Shizuru, Botan glances at the drink menu, wearing a black undershirt, blue jeans, and an unzipped thin silk and velvet jacket with blue, gold, red, and white floral patterns. Lastly, sitting to my right, across from Hiei, Keiko also stares at her drink menu, wearing a sleeveless black shirt and short grey jeans, her leather bag hanging from the back of her chair. She's keeping that yellow visor on, as the hair around her scar hasn't grown back enough yet.

Kurama breaks the silence "So, today my BJJ gym received a new pupil, and I was tasked with covering for one of the black belts again." Kuwabara asks "Ah really? Cool." Kurama continues "It was Yusuke actually." I speak "Yeah, it's me. Say, you got a bit of a rep for being big on conditioning and drilling. Not exactly a serious workout for me, though." Kurama laughs a bit and says "If I put Taiga and the others through the same regiment you went through with Genkai alone, they would likely call the police." Keiko suddenly blurts out "Yeah, well is there a damn reason those ninja jackets are so expensive?!" Yeah, Keiko had to pay for the uniform and a spare since I…well, I'm closer to broke than not. I speak "Hey, it's a buy one get one free deal they had going." Keiko shouts "Eleven thousand yen?! What's so damn special about them and why do ya need two?!" Kurama answers her "It's a special fabric, and the gym has a brand to maintain. Also, I would not allow anyone, including Yusuke, to roll on the mats with an unwashed gi. That is how ringworm and staph infection outbreaks occur."

Shizuru rolls her eyes and speaks "We're at a restaurant, so can we not talk about dirty laundry and staph infections? Please?" Kurama nods at her and I wave my hand a bit to show I'll drop it. Botan suddenly asks "Hmm, what is a cachaça? And what is a caipirinha?" Yukina replies "Oh, the first thing is this rum-like alcohol, and the second thing is the cocktail they put it in. They taste like mojitos, and they're really good. Kazuma and I like them." Botan nods in understanding, and then asks "So, are we all doing the unlimited meat courses…or?" Kuwabara speaks "Whatever you want, no pressure. It's all good." Botan smiles and replies "Alright, because I think I will instead go for the salmon with this…chimichurri sauce? What is that?" Shizuru groans and speaks "You just had to get him started on that green sauce again." Hiei speaks "It's not bad, but I prefer a different blend." Kuwabara replies "Oh yeah I tried what they pass for sauce in the Alaric. Tasted like crushed aspirin and cough syrup." Shizuru groans and shouts "Bro! C'mon! Are you trying to ruin my appetite?!"

Keiko sighs and says "I'm with Botan, I'm going fish for today too. This Chilean seabass looking pretty good to me." Kuwabara asks "Alright, who ain't going for the churrasco all-you-can eat course? Just Keiko and Botan? Kurama, you good with the all-you-can eat?" Kurama nods and speaks "Oh certainly, I prepared myself for today." "Good, got it. So, you may already know…me, Yukina, Hiei, and Botan are heading to see the mixed martial arts Pride event in Saitama after this. I'm the designated driver for today, so no one buy me any drinks. If you do, Kurama will drink them anyway." A few laughs and Kurama speaks "Hey, Kuwabara! I certainly take offense. I mean, you are correct, but still!" I speak "Hey, I'll take designated driver duty for us other four. My liver needs a break anyway. So, we just ordering cocktails and beer or should we get a few bottles for the table?"

Keiko quickly speaks "One bottle of sake for sure. I'm eying this Hakkaisan daiginjo, unless anyone got any complaints? At this point I'd even go for cup sake." Let me guess, because it kinda has your name on it? Kurama speaks "Just one beer for me. Asahi." I smile at him and say "…bullshit." Kurama sneers at me a bit and says "Oh, is that a challenge, Yusuke? We will see to that!" I speak "Ah huh, a thousand yen says you don't stop at one beer." Keiko groans and asks "Do ya even have a thousand yen?" I go a bit red in the face and say "I still have some of the money saved from my old job…I think." "He says 'I think'," Shizuru replies, laughing a bit.

Kuwabara says "Alright, so one bottle of the Yukimoro daiginjo sake for Keiko, Kurama's going to settle for a beer, Yusuke and I are staying dry, Yukina wants a cocktail. Botan, you good with a cocktail?" Botan nods and says "Yeah, I think I will try this caipirinha drink." Kuwabara turns to Hiei and asks "And you?" Hiei replies "I'm fine sharing the bottle of sake with Keiko." Keiko replies "Works for me, thanks." She doesn't sound pissed at Hiei, despite now remembering how he kidnapped her all those years ago and held her hostage…so I'll take that as a good sign that she ain't planning to stab him in the eyes or something. She claps her hands and suddenly says "Alright, if that settles all the good stuff, I'm off to raid the buffet."

"What?! What ya all looking at?!" Keiko shouts, as we all stare at her and her giant mountain of green olives. Like she literally just scarfed down her glass of water and is using the empty glass to hold the olive pits. I watch her mow down three of them and toss the pits into the glass. She speaks "These are pretty damn good, hey did they take our orders yet?" I say "Uh…yeah, I ordered you the seabass." "Thanks. Want?" she offers. I reply "Uh, I'll pass." Yeah, that happened. She tosses a few more pits into the glass as the waiter brings in our drinks.

Sipping on my lemonade, think they put too much ice in it, I watch as an East Asian guy in a chef attire brings over a…woo, that looks good. A slab of ribs on a wooden board, smells so damn good. He speaks in accented Japanese "We have pork ribs. Who wants some?" Keiko speaks "Costelinha de porco? Onde diabos está meu peixe?" What?! The waiter glares at her uncomfortably and replies "Nossas desculpas. Vou verificar com o chef." We are all just staring at Keiko like she has three heads. She replies "Tu pensaria que um peixe estaria pronto primeiro!" The waiter replies "Minhas sinceras desculpas. Permita-me servir primeiro as costelinha." Keiko waves him off and says "Ya, ya. Eu vou esperar."

We just stare in silence as the waiter cuts into the rack of pork ribs, at least aside from Hiei, who is instead humming at the ribs all excited. He motions at the waiter, who drops a couple ribs onto his plate with a pair of tongs. The waiter turns back to Keiko and speaks in actual Japanese again "Your Portuguese is good. I'm sorry, I was just taken aback. It did not sound like the Brazilian Portuguese that I speak at home. If you don't mind me asking, are you from Europe? Lisboa? It's practically without any accent." Keiko, who's been chewing on an olive this whole time, takes the pit out and tosses it into the glass, saying "Eh, it's a long story. Don't want to hold up everyone." The waiter replies "Very good," and proceeds to slice up more ribs. Handing them out to everyone except Shizuru, who passed on it, we watch the waiter turn around and walk away. Almost far enough away, there we go…I ask "Okay, what the hell?"

Keiko shrugs her shoulders and replies "What? I'm getting annoyed that my fish is taking too long." Botan leans closer and asks "When did you learn such fluent Portuguese? Koenma mentioned that you were suddenly able to speak words in foreign languages after…that happened." Keiko grabs another olive off her olive mountain says "Yea, I think that's the reason why. I grabbed a few books on learning Portuguese from the library and it's coming to me like muscle memory. It's so freaky, like it's a piece of cake for me. I can speak it and kinda read it, going to work on that some more before I try writing."

Hiei is already halfway done with his pork ribs, when another East Asian waiter comes over with bowls of rice and black beans. Shizuru reaches over and gets a spoonful of rice to add to her plate, while Kurama uses a steak knife to cut and break in half one of his pork rib bones, the one that he picked clean already. As the waiter leaves, Hiei asks "Kurama, what animal is this again?" Kurama replies "Pig, a smaller, domesticated variant of the swine found in the Alaric." "Is the bone marrow edible for these as well?" "I personally enjoy it." Hiei shrugs his shoulders, finishes the rest of his second pork rib, and then snaps the bone in half with his hands. He uses his steak knife to dig into one of the bone pieces, trying to crack it open like a nut. I ask "There's stuff in those bones? News to me." Keiko suddenly says "Hey, if ya sneak me some of the pork ribs, I'll trade ya some of my bass. When it finally arrives." Kuwabara overhears us and says "Hey, just be careful if you do that. They got good eyes here and will quietly add another all-you-can eat charge to the bill if they catch someone sharing."

The waiter that Keiko spoke Portuguese with now arrives with her fish, along with Botan's dish. He places Botan's plate on the table, salmon with asparagus, this green spread, and capers. He then reaches over and places Keiko's bass on her side of the table, which comes with potatoes and asparagus. Keiko takes out another olive pit from her mouth and says "Brigada." The waiter bows and says "Obrigado, visse. Peço desculpas pela espera." I mumble to myself "So weird." Shizuru says "What? Her knowing Portuguese after a week of practice, or the olive pits in the glass?" Keiko sneers and says "Hey, I can throw them at ya from here!"

After a couple of meat plates make their rounds through us, and a couple of drinks get put in us, I hear Hiei speak "If you wish, I can create a distraction and you, Keiko and Botan, may take a few pieces from my plate." Kurama speaks "Oh, expanding on your criminal resume? First forgery, now this." Kuwabara says "Hey, not so loud." Kurama frowns and replies "Oh, certainly. We are simply discussing a new script for a play we are laboring on. Everything I have just muttered is fiction. I have never met any of these people before until today." I laugh and say "And I thought I was the smartass of this group."

Yukina looks behind her and sees a waiter holding a tray of…stuff wrapped in I think bacon. The waiter approaches us and speaks "Frango enrolado com bacon. Bacon-wrapped chicken." Hiei speaks "I will have four." "Me two," Yukina adds. We literally clean out the tray, myself getting the last three of them. I take a bite and, oh damn it's stuffed with melted cheese! Kurama speaks "My favorite so far, absolutely delicious." Shizuru adds "Big fan of these too. It's a tie between these and the lamb chops."

Hiei looks behind him and speaks "When you see the signal, take them quickly." Heh? He suddenly teleports to the buffet, grabs a plate, teleports to just outside the restrooms, and I hear a ceramic plate shatter. Everyone turns their attention to the bathrooms, and Hiei quickly teleports back to his seat. I look at his plate and notice that he now has only two of the bacon chickens, and that Keiko and Botan are currently chewing on something big in their mouths.

Botan swallows first and says "Wow, they are very good. And thank you Hiei!" Keiko swallows hers next and starts slicing off a decent-sized piece of her fish. She says "Yeah, that was a good one. Here." She drops the piece of bass on Hiei's plate, and Botan does the same with her salmon. Keiko turns to Kuwabara and says "So, they don't got a problem with us fish people giving ya meat people stuff from our plates, eh?" Kuwabara says "Nah, you're good. Nice one there, Hiei." Yukina takes one of the four pieces on her plate and drops it on Hiei's plate, saying "There, now we both have an equal amount." I see Hiei smile and say "Yukina, you leave me indebted, and now I must steal something from the kitchen to properly compensate you." Keiko laughs and says "Hey, if ya do, try and grab one of their cakes."

I take a final bite out of my last lamb chop and watch Hiei pour more sake from the white bottle into his glass. Kurama gets out of his seat and walks toward the buffet. Keiko swallows a piece of asparagus and says "So Yusuke told me ya tricked Kuwabara into giving ya a lot of money." Kuwabara growls and says "Hey Urameshi! He didn't fool me or anything!" Shizuru speaks "Oh I'm pretty sure he did. Now how much did your bank lend him? What he goes by now? Shinpei Misawa? Around five million yen he got from you guys?" Kuwabara says "Minus the collateral so….four and three-quarters of a million." Shizuru sighs and says "Yeah, so Hiei, do you have any idea on what to do with that whole…loan? Like…pay it back so he doesn't lose his job when his boss figures out the application was a fake?" Hiei replies "I told him, I will find a solution. I assure you I have no desire to see him ousted from such an esteemed trade."

As Kurama returns to his seat with a plate full of those fried cheese bread pastries, I say "Oh, if he's going to get sacked, it's going to be because of all that time he spends sleeping in his car, ahaha!" Kuwabara shouts "Hey, that's not true! I only…sometimes do that…" Yukina darts him a dirty look and says "If you are going to goof off at work, you could at least ask if I need something from the grocery." Kuwabara says "Oh I'm sorry Yukina, I only do that once in a blue moon." Keiko speaks "That wasn't cool Yusuke. Ya wouldn't like it if I aired some dirty laundry, and oh damn I got plenty to share." Hey! I say "Look, I'm just joking around here Keiko, no need to go for the throat like that." Keiko puts her right finger to her chin and says "Hmm, there was that time when ya left our bag full of laundry in a KFC by the Shibuya post office on Miyamasu Zaka." I say "Nah, I don't think we need to go into that." Kurama speaks "Oh, I beg to differ. I think we must delve deeper into such a fascinating tale." Kuwabara is smirking at me as I wait for Keiko to embarrass me in front of everyone. Fine, I get the message, I'll keep my big mouth shut.

We finished the feast, and damn what a feast it's been. Hiei himself is like a living garbage disposal, never seen him eat like that before. It's nice though, real nice. First time we're all together, and I mean all of us, in a long ass time. Hope the next time won't take so many years to happen. With Hiei now being more 'earth' bound, I think we won't have to wait too long. A waiter drops off the bill and…yeah. Kuwabara himself is staring at the bill and is probably relieved at the least that it was all-you-can-eat, because he, Yukina, and Hiei probably ate together as much meat as you can get from a grown-ass cow. Inspecting it, he starts counting to himself, and then says "Yeah, Hiei's sneaky thing worked out." He shrugs his shoulders and tosses his credit card onto the bill. I…can't really drop my credit card on that kind of bill, because then it will be soon coming out of Keiko. Kuwabara looks at me and says "Don't even think about it. You got us the airline tickets." Kurama speaks "In that case, allow me." He throws his own credit card on top of Kuwabara's.

Like it's some comedy sketch, I see Hiei, the one guy probably more broke than me, who has a giant loan he needs to pay back to the guy two seats away from him, reach into his pockets. Kuwabara asks "And what do you think you are doing?" Hiei replies "We are all performing some strange human ritual, yes?" Heh? He takes out…his…PASMO card. The card he uses to get on the train. He places the card on the pile like he's the King of the Cards. I start laughing, along with Kurama, Shizuru, and Keiko. Kuwabara speaks "Hiei, I have a feeling they ain't going to accept that."

I am seated behind Kazuma, who's steering the driving wheel as we go along the two-lane highway, a big overpass right above us, trees on the right, and a tall wall on our left. My brother is seated to the left of me, staring out the window. Botan is seated in front of him and to the left of Kazuma, tapping her fingers against her jeans, as the radio plays 'Planetarium' by Ai Otsuka.

I speak "So, Hiei, it must feel a bit weird to go to a martial arts event that you aren't participating in." Hiei turns to look at me and says "Oh, I wouldn't say so. We actually made arrangements, during the flight to Russia, to watch a boxing event together in November." Kazuma says "Oh yeah. Pacquiao versus Morales, the trilogy match. Hey Hiei, you really missed out on some craziness in Atlantic City three years ago. I took everyone to the Gatti versus Ward trilogy match." You mean the vacation where there were homeless and drunk idiots everywhere and I almost froze off Shizuru's hand, on purpose?

Hiei says "Oh, I saw that match on television, a replay of it. Was that you with the orange hair on the broadcast? And you too, Yukina? And Kurama as well? I thought I was imagining things." I speak "No, that was us. Also Shizuru and Yusuke and Keiko." Hiei says "Perhaps I should come along next time a major event is staged in this…Atlantic City." Kazuma says "Oh, you really don't want too. That place was…interesting." If my brother would have went along to that place called New Jersey all those years ago, he would have probably burned the boardwalk down. Which might not be that bad a thing, really. Botan asks "Hmm, something happened there?" Finding my chance to get some revenge, I speak "Oh nothing, just Kurama and Shizuru did drugs and had their clothes thrown out the window by a crazy woman from Montreal. Oh, and a hobo then stole their clothes and masturbated."

Hiei just looks at me in confusion as Botan starts laughing. She speaks "Oh my, that…I need to ask them about what happened at my next opportunity." Please do so, I really hope you make them feel very embarrassed. Hiei speaks "So, it appears Kurama has engaged in degeneracy since the last demon world tournament." I speak "Oh it was bad, they were so stupid during that vacation. It all started when they found a way to steal cocktails from a casino and it just got worse from there." Kazuma adds "Oh, and Yusuke peed in a trashcan on the casino floor, in front of everyone, and got thrown out by security. Keiko almost killed him." Botan laughs and speaks "Now that is what happens when you don't have me along to keep everyone well behaved."

The conversation dies down for a bit, and I think we…yes, we just passed the Arakawa River. Going along Route 5 of the Shuto Expressway. "Shit!" Kazuma suddenly jerks on the wheel, and our car cuts a bit into the other lane. Someone honks their horn, and Botan asks "Are you okay Kazuma?" He replies "Sorry, sorry guys, just, thought I saw something." My brother removes his bandage and opens his Jagan eye, looking around. He speaks "I don't see anything nor anyone threatening in our vicinity." Kazuma says "Don't worry about it, just, maybe the sun got into my eyes or something." Botan speaks "Sun? It's mostly cloudy." "Don't worry about it," Kazuma replies, smiling and increasing the volume on the radio.

Botan speaks "If you want, I can be designated driver for the drive back." "Look, Botan, I'm fine, it just…nothing, don't worry about it." "The offer stands. I will watch my alcohol intake, don't worry." "Like I said, don't worry about it." Hiei gives me a confused look and closes his Jagan eye, putting the bandage back over it. A motorcyclist suddenly zips past us and Kazuma suddenly decelerates the car a bit, causing me and Hiei to jerk into the back seats. Hiei groans "Is this normal for human driving?" Kazuma says "Sorry guys, that guy just…caught me off guard, don't worry guys. Don't worry." Botan speaks "Hiei, when we get into the stadium, please steal Kazuma's car keys at your first opportunity. I will be driving us back home." Kazuma says "Okay, fine, fine. You win Botan."

After a pause, Hiei speaks "So…Kazuma…I have been looking into voting registration for the 2007 elections." Botan laughs and says "Oh my, Hiei is showing interest in local politics." I say "It's okay Hiei, I'll help you with the voter registration." Hiei replies "Good, I look forward to showing my support for respectable and honest men such as our governor Shintaro Ishihara." Oh great, my brother is already becoming a political fanatic. At least he isn't becoming like those extreme nationalists with those annoying vans and their random loud broadcasts about immigrants. Kazuma laughs and says "Sure, the guy that put in a new tax that caused layoffs in the banking industry, same industry I work in? And who used taxpayer money to set up a bank that is basically in competition with my job, and which okays loans to people that shouldn't have gotten one…like…er…I guess you?" Hiei looks at Kazuma with a blank expression and says "I do not understand what you just said. Are these things good?" I try not to laugh.

Kazuma replies "Yeah sure, why not? So, you going to join Governor Ishihara in killing all the crows in Tokyo?" Hiei speaks "If we do that first, do you think we will then reconquer Korea? I have been wondering if I could pledge my sword to the Japanese Self-Defense Force prior to the invasion." So I spoke too soon about my brother not being an extreme nationalist. And he probably has lived in Japan for barely a year too, and who knows how much of that time was spent like a hermit in Genkai's compound anyway? Kazuma mutters "Oh for fuck's sake man…Hiei, newest member of the Nippon Kaigi. Hey, if I come into your apartment again and find that you made a weird shrine to Inejiro Asanuma's assassination, I'm going to be sad and a little freaked out." Hiei stares blankly and asks "Who is that?" Kazuma shakes his head and replies "Forget I said anything."

Kazuma parks the car on the roof of a lot near the stadium, and I spot a group of people, two of them wearing Pride FC t-shirts, walking behind our car and toward the stairs. Kazuma steps out first and…oh God. A bunch of crows just pooped on the windshield, with Kazuma using the car door to shield himself from the poop spray. The crows fly away, and my husband turns back to Hiei and says "Yeah, I'll help you with the voter registration thing too."

Alright, adding him to the list. Daisaku Kuze. Dojima Family lieutenant. Was killed in a prison riot weeks after the 1975 yakuza yacht shootout in Minato by the Rainbow Bridge, after he got arrested along with this guy…Keiji Shibusawa. Sitting on the floor in Genkai's compound, I look back at Shizuru sitting on a futon a few meters away, with a cigarette in her mouth. I knock ash off my own cigarette into my ashtray and flip back a few pages on my new book. 'History of the Kanto and Kansai Yakuza, Conflict Between the Tojo and the Omi'. Dry read and pretty much had to be chewed through censors to get published, mostly a catalog and arrest record compiled from public records and newspaper clippings. Good enough for me.

I look back at my list of names to look up, scribbled on a notepad. Sohei Dojima, confirmed dead. Tsukasa Sagawa. Homare Nishitani, confirmed dead, who I'm completely convinced is now Yusuke, reincarnated or something. Masaru Sera, confirmed dead. Shintaro Kazuma, confirmed dead. Kazuma Kiryu. Hiroki Awano. Daisaku Kuze, confirmed dead. Keiji Shibusawa. Wait, here is a name. Taiga Saejima. Why is this name speaking to me? Says he's serving time for eighteen counts of murder after a raid on this Ueno Seiwa clan. I circle his name, don't know why. It just speaks to me for some reason, like I really should know it. Taking a drag on my cig, I look back at the TV, local news, people talking about Shinzo Abe's upcoming inauguration. Going to switch to see the opening day of the Aki basho in half an hour. Let's go Asashoryu! Going to be tough, Hakuho is gunning to get that yokozuna promotion. He can wait, ha! After that, we'll tune in to the Pride Fighting Championship show and try to find Kuwabara and the others in the crowd.

I hear Shizuru walk over to me, and I hear her say "What's this? A shit list?" Not yet, and only for no more than five of them. Moving my cig into my right hand, I reply "Just a few names I want ya to help me look up. Can ya access their tax records back at ya work? If ya can get pictures or something, that be great. I'd take anything, past addresses, businesses they owned. Just need some crap that can help me find a pic of them or something." Shizuru squats down and knocks ash off her cigarette into my ashtray. She says "If they got Tokyo records, I can try, just have to be careful. They know when people access these records on the computers, they have ways to log access attempts now. And if their records are from Osaka or Kobe or anywhere else, you're shit out of luck. Hey…that name, Sagawa, think I seen that name on the news."

Yusuke and Kurama step back into the compound. They had to use today as their chance to fix the roofing. That annoying hammering was getting on my damn nerves. At least they finally stopped a few minutes ago, almost gave me a damn headache. I shout "Hey, make yaselves useful and get me a cup sake from the fridge!" Kurama puffs his cheeks and nods at Yusuke, who turns and goes for the fridge. He asks "You need anything Shizuru?" "I'm good for now, maybe I'll grab a beer later," she replies. I flip forward a few pages, something caught my eye about the crazy shit in 75. Newspaper articles, tabloid shit, talking about an Omi mole in the Tojo clan. Huh, I start looking into this.

I feel a tap on my shoulder, and I turn and see Shizuru pointing at the TV. It's a…holy shit it's him. The guy I saw in my vision, near death experience, whatever that was. Except he's looking older. The TV is showing reporters hounding him, the guy dressed in a beige pinstripe suit, a white undershirt, and a red tie, his hair grayer than it used to be. I look at the headline. 'Tsukasa Sagawa. Alleged Fifth Chairman of the Tojo Clan'. Wait, something…something doesn't sound right about that. I shout "Hey, that's one of the guys that I saw in that…thing after Mithradata shot me. Sagawa! He's my old boss! The guy the old me was managing cabaret for!" Yusuke, with a cup of Ozeki sake in one hand and a bottle of Sapporo beer in the other, turns to look at the TV, and says "That guy? He looks like a retarded chimp." Retarded chimp?

Braindead chimpanzee. Nishitani called him a braindead chimpanzee.

I go back to my book, and I find another name. Confirmed deceased in 75. I write down. Circle it. Twice. Three times. Shizuru leans over and asks "Huh? What's this name you found? Goro Majima?"

I missed this place, the Saitama Super Arena. Best seats I ever managed to get my hands on here, almost as good as the seats for Gatti/Ward III. We're in row ten and facing the right side of the entrance ramp. Usually we've been sitting on the second level or opposite the ramps in the back of the first level. Hiei is seated between some random dude on his left and Yukina on his right. I am seated to the right of Yukina, and Botan is seated to the right of me, with some random lady seated to the right of Botan. The big screen over the entrance ramp is currently advertising local judo, BJJ, boxing, and Muay Thai gyms. A giant blue hand pointing to the sky hovers over the four-sided ring. Hiei asks "So the people from the replay I watched back in Russia are fighting today?"

I reply "I looked back and I think that was a compilation of fights, not a replay, and probably was to hype this event. But yeah, Mirko Cro Cop, Nakamura, and Barnett are here. Also, you gonna check out Wanderlei Silva, my favorite guy in this sport. He's this Brazilian dude that never stops swinging and stomping on guys' heads, so damn fun to watch." Hiei smirks and says "You do realize you can annihilate him with a flick of your finger." Well, yeah. I say "Sure, but hey, don't ruin the fun in this. Plus, you also going to see the former heavyweight champ Minotauro Nogueira for the first time. He survived a freaking piledriver from Bob Sapp! And Shogun Rua is pretty cool too, and won the grand prix tournament last year. I think he might fight for the belt soon, though he ain't getting past my guy Wanderlei!"

They suddenly play an advertisement for the ALIH, and give a big spotlight for the Seibu Prince Rabbits. Hiei suddenly stands up, and stares at the big screen. Like, really glued to it. Yukina gives Hiei a strange look, and I ask "What's up?" He turns to me and asks "You humans play jääkiekko too?!" Heh? I ask "What? Don't even know what you just said, but that's ice hockey. Yeah, some people play it. I don't really care for it, and it's not that big here in Japan." Hiei, his mouth open like he is shocked, says "The bandits that raised me in northern Alaric, in Savonimaapera…we would occasionally play games on the frozen ice. Seven versus seven. We would play with a small rock and with slightly bent wooden sticks. I was the 'vaeltaja'. The…rover, I believe the position is called. My agility caused fits for the opposing teams, and I would move from end to end faster than any other, sometimes practically teleporting to block the rock from sailing past the maalivahti. The…goaltender I believe it would be called in Japanese. Those games were…some of the few good memories I have of my childhood."

Wow. I…I say "Hey, I think you can catch games on your TV. And I think the best leagues are either that American and Canadian league or that league in Russia, I don't really pay much attention to that sport. I can come over to your place and see if you got the channel for those games, maybe see about adding that channel to your TV package if you don't have it." Hiei smiles and says "T-thank you Kazuma. That…that would be nice, yes! Thank you!"

The lights dim, and Botan says "Oh, it's starting." The giant screen starts playing a cartoon 'Street Fighter' rip-off with the Pride logo and name thrown around randomly, with some generic heavy metal music playing. And there we go, the cartoon ends with a graphic that says 'Pride GP 2006 Final Round Open-Weight'. And now they are hyping up the fighters. They show 'Representing the United States: Josh Barnett'. Show him tapping out Mark Hunt, loud cheers break out. 'Representing Croatia: Mirko Cro-Cop'. They show Mirko Filipovic kicking the crap out of Hidehiko Yoshida. Many cheers again. I think I see Hiei clapping a bit. Guess he found his favorite guy to watch. 'Representing Brazil: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira'. Some highlights for him, a lot of cheering. 'Representing Brazil: Wanderlei Silva'. Woo! I shout and cheer with the crowd, loudest cheer so far. More highlights, a few more graphics…and now I'm hearing the drums and I'm feeling the goosebumps.

Yukina says "Oh the opening song is so catchy." Two announcers, one guy in Japanese, one lady in English with this very high pitched voice, shout out welcomes, and a series of fireworks and pyro-stuff shoot out from the ramp, while the drums and violin music play throughout the arena. They start announcing the fight card.

"FROM BRRRRRAZIL, EVANGELISTA CYBORG…VERSUS…FROM JAPAN…YUUUUUSUKE NIHSIJIMA!" Hiei laughs and speaks "So they have their own Yusuke here too?" I say "Yeah but he's not really good at this sort of thing. Was a pretty damn good boxer, but he ain't doing so well with the mixed martial arts stuff." The fighters walk out and down the ramp one by one.

"FROM JAPAN…YOSHIHIRO 'KISSSS' NAKAO!" Oh damn I forgot he is on the card. Hiei asks "Why is he called 'Kiss'?" Immediately getting into the big questions. I reply "It's because he fought this American guy at Dynamite, forgot the American's name…Nakao kissed the American on the lips before the fight started and the American just knocked him out with one punch. Some of the funniest shit I ever seen." Botan laughs at the stupidity of the whole thing, while Hiei stares at Nakao for a bit, and then says "I have so many questions. First one…WHY?!" Nakao walks out down the ramp and even has a t-shirt that has the word 'KISS' on it, which gets laughs from some of the people in my section.

More walkouts. Getting to big name guys real soon.

"FROM BRRRRRAZIL…MAURICIO SHOGUN!" There he is, lifting his hands in the air as he walks down the ramp. Huge round of cheers from the whole stadium. "FROM THE NETHERLANDS…ALISTAIR OVEREEEEEEM! FROM BRRRRRAZIL…RICAAARRRRRDO ARONA!" They walk down the ramp, then comes the Russians. There is Fedor's hairier brother Aleksander, and Sergei Kharitonov follows after him in a red shirt. Only a matter of seconds now…

"FROM BRRRRRAZIL…WANDERLEI SILLLLLVA!" Whole stadium is shouting so loud that we can barely even hear the announcers. He walks down the ramp pumping his arms, and I yell "DESTROY HIM WANDERLEI! LET'S FUCKING GO!" Yukina laughs and says "Are you going to end up hoarse from screaming again?" She turns to Botan and says "Every time, he can barely speak the next day." Botan says "Oh I remember, nice to see some things haven't changed. So who is the bald man fighting today?"

"FROM CROAAAATIA…MIIIIRRRKO…CRRRRRO COP!" Mirko Cro Cop walks down the ramp in a black and white Pride tracksuit jacket, getting almost as many cheers as Wanderlei, and suddenly Hiei shouts "ANNIHILATE THAT BALD FOOL!" Oh really Hiei?! Hiei darts a satisfied smirk at me as Yukina and Botan laugh at Hiei's cheering. I say "Oh that ain't going to happen Hiei! They don't call Wanderlei the 'Axe-Murderer' for nothing!" Heh…the…the…Axe…Murderer.

They announce Barnett and Minotauro and the two walk down the ramp. More cheering, the lights dim, and I can see the fighters walking back up the ramp. I ask "So, does anyone want something from the concession stands?" Yukina says "No, I am fine for now, thanks!" Hiei says "If they have any beer, I would have a bottle." I turn to Botan in the darkness and ask "So, how about you?" She says "Don't you remember that I am the designated driver?" Yeah, I remember that now. Yeah, so what would I want?

"Perhaps some tea?! With milk, sugar, honey?! Or by itself?! Black tea?! Green tea?!" I watch Darya Morozova's bloody head shout from the big screen. I look down at the ramp. The lights flash…and the ramp is full of the dead Koorime. Twisted, broken bodies. Missing limbs. Axes and swords wedged in their heads. Dark birds pecking at their half-eaten eyeballs. The old. The young. I sigh and rub my eyes, and they're gone. Again. I say "Alright, I'll go grab some beers. Be back." I make my way out of my section and up the stairs.

Exiting the bathroom stall, I wait in line for a sink. There we go…sink opened up. I walk up to it and get to washing my hands. Pretty hot water. Soap. Scrub. Sighing. I walk up to the paper towel dispenser. I pull down on the paper towel…half torn and no more left. Damnit. I look at my reflection in the metal dispenser. I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

"You asshole…you're making this fun," I say, holding my lead pipe, walking ankle deep in nasty water, along the sewer tunnel, a bright light shining behind me. Facing the young punk across from me, the punk on his knees. I say "I'll let in you in on a little something." I walk a few steps closer, and say "This game, it's not like boxing. The man who gets beat down isn't the loser. The guy who can't tough it out to the end, he's the one who loses. Eh? Don't ya think?" I stare at the punk and watch him try to get up to his feet, holding his right forearm, looks a bit broken.

I take off my sunglasses, throw them away, and continue "In this life, there are no KOs. I'll tell you what, Kiryu. To me, a finger or two don't mean shit. Having Awano or Shibusawa beat me to the captain's spot? Couldn't give a fuck. As long as I'm alive, I'll keep getting back up for more. Which is why you…a half-ass like you's the one thing I can't stand. Now DIE, YOU LITTLE SHIT!"

I blink, and a random guy in a Seibu Lions baseball cap is sitting on the floor of the bathroom, scared shitless. I'm…holding the metallic paper towel dispenser in my hand…I…look around and…I ripped it off the wall. The guys in the bathroom are all freaked out, like they can't say anything. The guy on the ground screams "Please stop! I'm not Kiryu! I don't even know anyone with that name!"

Shit.

I throw the dispenser away, hear it clang on the floor, look at the guys, look at everyone. I say "None of you saw anything. If anyone asks, some fat bald guy with a beard did this." "Okay, okay!" the guy on the ground says. The other guys just nod, like they're frozen. I stare into their eyes, make them know I am trying to remember their faces. Shaking my head, I walk out of the bathroom, a few of the random guys stepping aside to let me pass.

The mixed martial arts event has just concluded and we did not spot Kuwabara and company on the broadcast. Yusuke and I are currently lightly tossing stones at a tree, testing our accuracy in near darkness, the only light emitting from Genkai's compound behind us and a few stone braziers around the perimeter of the compound. I watch Yusuke exhale smoke from his cigarette. I speak "So, as I said, only one beer." Yusuke tosses a rock that bounces off a small branch and says "One beer at the steakhouse, one beer over here. Now I may have failed math back at school, but I think that adds up to two. I don't know, Mr. College Degree, is my math good?" "If you need a thousand yen that badly, you only need to ask." "Hey Kurama, that ain't cool. I ain't begging, I'm just playing ref." "Now, you did not specify how long the wager would last. So, the best I can do without reducing you to a beggar is make the bet void."

Yusuke tosses a rock and replies "You know Kurama, you can be a real pain in the ass sometimes." I speak "Careful with that phrasing, unless you want Hiei to accidentally interpret that literally." He snickers at my quip, and I toss a rock of my own, striking the tip of a short branch high in the tree. "Nice shot," Yusuke says "and yeah, I want to be a fly on the wall to see Hiei try to human here. Did Kuwabara tell you that on the flight from Russia, he got pissed with airport security and ran through the carry-on X-ray machine?" Really? That is hilarious. I reply "No but I will certainly inquire at the next possible opportunity."

A short pause, interrupted only by Yusuke's exhales of cigarette smoke and our small stones bouncing off the trees. Yusuke suddenly says "So, coming back to Tourin soon. For the funerals. Hate it so much." "Loss is a part of life, much more so during times of war. I know that all too well." Sighing, I speak "I had an opportunity to possibly stage an escape, but it was deemed too risky, and I instead used astral projection to investigate the destruction of Arrapka, and to attempt to eavesdrop on Mithradata, Supaku, and Mareecha. Of course, they spoke in a foreign language that I did not know, and all I was able to determine was that he suffered a severe wound that required stitching. Information I could have gleamed if I simply waited for them to drag us to the execution block where…Natsume and Touou were killed. I…I had a spare rose whip seed that I idiotically should have maneuvered into a safe location prior to astral projection, but instead I held in my hand. Which spilled out when they dragged my unconscious body toward the execution block."

Yusuke pauses for some time, and then says "Good thing you did that. I saw the shape you were in. The shape Kokou was in. All that beating he took from everyone, and the guy still gave me one of the toughest damn fights of my life. And that was after Hiei and Kuwabara got their licks in too, and after all his friends freaked out and ran off. So yeah, as much as I hate how he took our friends away from us, I'm relieved that I don't have to go to your funeral too. Don't…don't blame yourself. If you think I shouldn't blame myself for what happened to Kaito, then you shouldn't blame yourself for what happened to Natsume and Touou. It was Mithradata. And Supaku. And Mareecha. One down. Two to go."

Well spoken, once again. I reply "Thank you, Yusuke." "Don't thank me for speaking the truth." I smile and toss another rock, this one missing the tree by a meter. Yusuke replies "Airmailed that one. Write that one down as a wild pitch." Ha! I reply "I would like to attribute it to the second-hand inhalation." Yusuke darts a glance at his cigarette and speaks "What? This thing? I wish it can do that. Hey fox boy, since your so good with plants, think you could grow me some weed here? I'm thinking of a whole field of the Buddha grass. Don't think that's what Genkai had in mind when she willed us the compound, but hey, she can call me a dimwit in Spirit World when it's my time for however long she'd want."

I dart an annoyed look and reply "I am not going to help you grow marijuana." "What? Not strong enough for you? Alright, we can grow cocaine too or whatever plant it comes from. Or did what happened in Atlantic City turn you off from that forever?" Erk! I reply "Now Yusuke, if you would not needle me too much about that extremely embarrassing day and night in the summer of 2003, I would make you aware that Arrapka and the Satrapy of Zagroush in general serves a demon variant of hashish with absolutely no restrictions from local authorities."

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?! THEY HAVE HASHISH THERE AND NO ONE EVER TOLD ME?!" I resist the urge to laugh and reply "They were likely concerned that you would dissolve your brain into molten jelly. Yomi would not have been as impressed. Amusingly enough, Chu and I visited a tavern that served such a narcotic the day of Mithradata's attack. The second-hand smoke rather irritated my eyes." "So you got to enjoy some contact high and I had to smell Enki's horse's farts for a few hours. Ain't you so lucky. Well when we come back to Tourin, you're going to show me that hashish bar you went to and I'm going to order myself a pipe." Sure that would…oh God what has my big mouth done?! With luck that Rakshasa belly dancer would no longer be in the city after the battle but…if not…well done Kurama. Inspiring work! I mumble "Err, sure, we can…see about that when the option arises."

Mercifully, Keiko and her newly uncovered Osaka-ben arrives and shouts "Hey, what ya sacks of shits doing?! Can't hear myself think with that damn noise!" Yusuke turns around, knocks ash off his cigarette, and says "Hey, no problem, we'll take it easy with the rocks." Keiko stands between us, cracks her fingers, and stares at the pile of rocks between us. She speaks "Ya using those? No wonder it got so damn annoying. Which tree?" Yusuke points at the tree with his cigarette. He speaks "Go ahead, knock yourself out." She replies "Oh I got a different kind of knocking in mind."

Focusing her attention on the tree, she gestures with her right hand and makes the shape…of a gun? Hm? Yusuke speaks "Hah, really?! You're supposed to shout 'SPIRIT GUN'! You know, for dramatic effect." She ignores Yusuke and extends her right arm, curling her right thumb slightly, as if adjusting the sights on a rifle. I…can feel…something. Yusuke takes a step back, and mutters "No way." Keiko closes her left eye. And I watch in slight shock, as a beam of red energy shoots out of her right eye and through one of the thicker branches, shooting the branch off and causing it to thud on the forest ground.

Cackling like a hyena, Keiko stretches her arms over her head, bends her back, and suddenly yawns. A satisfied look on her face, she speaks "Well, I'm beat. Gonna catch the sumo highlight show on the TV. Have fun with ya rocks." She turns around and snickers maniacally as she returns to the compound. Turning my attention back to Yusuke, I find his mouth slightly agape. He regains his tongue and tries to speak. "Huh," is all that he can muster out.

I smell another source of smoke. I turn, and find that a small fire is growing slowly in the forest. Yusuke speaks "Yeah I see it too. I'll go grab a bucket and some water before Kano from Mortal Kombat burns the whole forest down."

My black tea is a touch too sweet today. I should tell Yuda that the cooks are adding too much honey again. Oh well, I can still tolerate this. Seated, I indulge in another sip and listen to my son kick his football around with his servants, in the courtyard outside my study. My Shura is growing up fast. As a father, I would say that he's growing up too fast. Too eager to rise to my level. Slow down, few demons are afforded a childhood of such luxury. Enjoy these precious moments, for they will become scant once you join me in this aggravating world of politics and court intrigue.

It's quite amusing really…excellent shot Shura! Upper right corner, I clearly heard the ball strike the corner of the crossbar, the netting stretching from the impact of the ball. What was I thinking to myself? Oh yes…it's quite amusing…I had Shura 'created' from cloned material and rapidly grown in a laboratory, first as nothing more than leverage to ensure I would have support in hypothetical invasion of Tourin upon Raizen's demise, and then as leverage for the first demon world tournament. Almost immediately, as if something stirred inside me, I came to see him as the son he is. And now a part of me aches that neither of us will experience the years of him being an infant. A toddler. I curse myself that I robbed both of us of those years, in my haste to increase my odds of winning a war. Of winning a ridiculous martial arts tournament. I will…never hold him as a baby.

Perhaps I will hold his children in my hands, one day. I'm not particularly old for my species.

Perhaps one day. The thought makes me smile. Myself as a grandfather. Within a few decades, that could easily happen! More reason to ensure my position remains unchallenged and my authority remains absolute. I have more to protect than the realm. I have my legacy, my dynasty…him. I should not dot on him however, not make it apparent. For he is fiercely independent, and I would never dare to stifle that.

I smell Yuda approaching from the hallway, hear his footsteps. The heel of his right leather loafer will come off within a few weeks if he does not have a cobbler see to it. I hear him open the door and knock once. I reply "You do know I can detect you from afar. Knocking is not necessary." Yuda speaks "My apologies Lord Yomi, force of habit. I bring reports from our scouts in Tourin." Hmm? The incident with that now famous Mithradata? The words of his speech on the walls of Arrapka have already spread to every corner of this level of demon world. Many whispers of excitement. Intrigue as to what my response would be. I have mulled it over for days. I think I have a preliminary answer, I will just first hear what Yuda has to report.

Yuda speaks "Lord Yomi, we have reports that King Enki has entreated with King Yama, about Spirit World returning some conquered territory back to Tourin." Hm? I ask "Entreated? Or demanded?" I hear Yuda's breathing, remains steady, his heart rate remains consistent. He speaks "They did not indicate that it was more than a preliminary request." Hm, interesting. I speak "Close the door."

Waiting for Yuda to do just that, I pause, to formulate my thoughts into words, and speak "Initiate preliminary dialogue with Enki. Send condolences to Enki and Kokou in regard to the friends they lost. Send a wreath for each of the four officers that were killed. Nothing too elaborate so as to outshine, but make the wreaths worthy of someone of equivalent stature in Gandara. Have Amabie sent as the chief envoy along with the wreaths, and entrust her with assigning any other diplomats for the mission. Tell her to compile a list of names for the diplomatic mission and have it brought to me for final approval."

I pause once again, contemplate, yes, this will do. I speak "Her objective for the mission is to reopen dialogue with Tourin. Make it clear that she has no authority to enter into any binding treaties. This is simply to defrost relations between our two kingdoms. Once she returns, we will send further missions from there, depending on her report." Yuda's heart rate rises slightly, and he speaks "Very well my Lord, I will relay your request. Is there anything else?" "Yes Yuda. Please notify the kitchen staff that they have been adding too much honey in my tea again. Also, your right shoe will soon fall apart if you do not have it repaired. I would estimate that you will have a month, at most, before the heel detaches."

His heart rate rises very slightly. He speaks "Absolutely Lord Yomi. I will let the staff know. And my apologies for my poor footwear." I stifle a laugh and speak "Oh, no need to apologize. I am just politely letting you know. That is all. You are relieved." "Thank you, my Lord," Yuda replies, turning to leave. As he approaches the door, I speak "One more thing Yuda." He turns and stops, his heart rate remaining consistent. "Yes, Lord Yomi?" Yuda inquires.

I lean forward in my chair, as my son misses a slide tackle on the ball carrier. I speak "Anyone in Gandara who considers Mithradata and this potential invasion force from beyond the Seliyan, anyone who considers them to be friends that will knock King Yama off his perch, they are idiots." His heart rate remains consistent. I continue "These foreign invaders pose a threat greater than anything this region experienced for quite a while, not since the Kitsunes first invaded all those centuries prior. Furthermore, the fact that these Rakshasas from beyond the barrier were able to infiltrate Tourin's aristocracy centuries ago, a race that first crossed over to this realm of demon world several thousands of years prior, that should strike fear in the hearts of my people and put them on alert." Very slight change in heart rate, nothing suspicious. Good! That makes two people I can trust within my Kingdom.

Yuda asks "Is there more you wish to request, Lord Yomi? Should I have our scouts reassigned? Perhaps to Mykker? Or other lands?" I reply "I think we should leave the Kitsunes alone…for now. If the situation calls for it, we will react accordingly. I do wish for an analysis to be done on our port cities and our navy. We will soon need to increase production and look into new forms of coastal defenses. Not immediately though, first let us see how Enki and Kokou respond. My biggest concern right now is Mukuro, and I have a sense that Enki and Kokou feel the same way. Any invading army would ravage our lands first. The Alaric would then be in position to recognize a new kingdom if it would come to that, and from there, march on Tourin with their new neighbors. Enki and Kokou should know this too, if they are smart enough. Now…if Gandara and Tourin could come to an understanding, Mukuro would be less inclined to ally with the invaders, for she would then wage a war on two fronts."

I tap my fingers on my knees and continue "Now, Yuda…I still intend to press my claim for Tourin and the Alaric, as is my right upon winning the second demon world tournament. But I am no idiot, and if I must sacrifice that claim to ensure that Gandara remains protected, that it remains standing, then so be it. Do not communicate my wishes directly, but approach all matters of diplomacy with this in mind. As long as I draw breath, Gandara will not fall." I listen, and hear Shura's penalty kick strike the outer edge of the crossbar. I hear him groan in annoyance, and I hear the opposing goal keeper's shoes crush the grass underneath as she retrieves the ball. I speak "That will be all Yuda. You are dismissed. It is a pleasant day today. You should make an effort to enjoy it when time permits."

Watching Kazuma's facial expression when Mirko Cro-Cop knocked Wanderlei Silva out with a kick to the head, that was incredibly amusing. His foot barely grazed the Brazilian's head and the bald fighter collapsed into a heap. Entertaining as well, watching the Croat win the entire tournament by making the American Barnett submit to strikes. Overall, a great experience, and I look forward to more outings with Kazuma and the others.

It has been several days since that event, and I find myself still unsure as to how I am supposed to proceed with 'creating' a newsstand, per the terms of my 'loan' agreement. I have a book with me concerning various Tokyo permits and regulations that confuses me as much as it puts me to sleep. I barely lasted five pages before I placed it aside. Seated on my couch, I spot the book on the end, next to a few other books that I got for myself. 'Kalevala', by Elias Lönnrot, in Finnish, a human's transcription of the Finnic Gods and legends. 'Poetic Edda' by Snorri Sturluson, in an English translation, a human's transcription of the Norse Gods and legends. 'Ramayana', by Valmiki, in a Japanese translation, a human version of a series of tales that, upon a cursory glance, are curiously quite similar to some of the older legends of Gandara. Two books on Shintoism, 'Kojiki' and 'Nihongi', both in Japanese. My copy of 'Watchmen' rests under the pile. At my side, a more indulgent book. 'Crocodylidae: Crocodiles and Their Nature'. In Japanese, and with fascinating illustrations and diagrams. Such interesting creatures.

Yukina also gifted me this device the day after the tournament in Saitama, this…'Game Boy Advance'. Along with two of these 'game cartridges', so 'I have something to occupy myself with'. I glance at the two game cartridges…'Golden Sun' and 'Pokémon Gold'. I reach for the Golden Sun cartridge, and I turn my 'Game Boy Advance' around…finding a taped note. Yukina's handwriting, I think. It says 'Hi Hiei, these things use batteries. Replace them regularly and remember to save so you don't lose your progress.' I assume I will understand this in due time. Wait, she did give me a pack of these metallic tubes…could those be the 'batteries' she is referring to? I notice a slot on the back of the device…I remove this plastic lid and find two of the very same tubes wedged inside the device. I reattach the lid and seek way to make this device work…for whatever purpose it may have.

I figure out how to insert the cartridge, and I find a switch on the bottom left. I flick it and…the screen activates. 'Game Boy'. 'Nintendo'. Music emits from the device and a logo appears. 'Press Start'. I scan for this lever…no it is a button. I press it, and it asks for me to select 'New Game'. I do…finding a slightly blurry portrait of the face of a blonde humanoid man with hair somewhat similar to mine, and the name 'Isaac'.

What is this, I can change this character's name? Hm. I stare at the screen for a minute…I clear Isaac, and I spell…Hiei…I clear that…I spell…Changqing…I clear it again. Shinpei…no, I clear that as well. What…what do I name this man? I rack my brain for an answer…'The Dragon'? No…what right should I have to selfishly rob this man of his name and replace it with my own? His name is Isaac…it will remain Isaac. I type in Isaac, and I confirm my choice.

"Isaac, wake up! Please, dear, wake up!"

Lost track of time…I've been playing for…two hours?! I probably spent half an hour checking every single box and vase for hidden items. There we go, found four coins! Ha! This is…so entertaining! I am…having so much fun! I follow Yukina's warning and save once again. I recently recruited this 'Djinni' named Flint, and assigned it to my party member Garet. Now I am…speaking with this character named Ivan…who can apparently read minds. And…he joins my party? Isaac now has two fellow warriors in his party.

I suddenly hear a knock on my door. I pause and save my progress, and then shut off the device. Gently placing the device on my couch, I climb off my couch and approach the door. Another knock. Very curious. I open my Jagan eye and peer through the door. It…it is Urameshi's woman. Keiko. Alone, why is she here?! She is dressed in a yellow shirt patterned with a coiled snake, long blue jeans, grey shoes, and her leather bag hanging on her right shoulder. I unlock the door, unfasten the deadbolt, open the door, and ask "Err…hello Keiko? How can I help you?"

She speaks "Uh, hey, uh…just…wanna talk about some shit. Ya got time?" Hm? Okay? I speak "Err, sure, I was rather busy but sure, go ahead. How…how did you find my apartment here?" Keiko answers "I asked ya sister, and she told me. So, ya ready or ya got more questions?" I reply "No, go ahead." I am still quite confused as to the purpose of this visit. She speaks "Well, I…when I got shot in the head by Mithradata, I saw some stuff. Like what happened back when Yusuke started his spirit detective work. When ya got involved." "Hm?" I mutter. She continues "When ya snatched me off the street. When ya fought Yusuke in that warehouse. When ya cut me with that weird sword. Ringing some bells?" Oh.

Kurama told me they wiped her memory. Seems she recovered it. Oh…I…I am not sure how to respond. I speak "I…if you want an apology, you have it. I apologize for what I done, but that was many years ago, and the man I was back then is not the man I am now. But yes, I do apologize for my actions." She just stares at me, adjusting the leather bag on her shoulder. She speaks "I'm guessing ya bit lost with the whole newsstand thing you have going. I got an uncle that knows how to work with these kinds of things, permits, legal crap. I can get him involved, help ya figure this stuff out."

Hm?! That…is actually very helpful. I speak "Err…I…thank you? Y-yes, that would be a great assistance. I…yes, thank you. I am rather surprised by this." She waves me off and speaks "Yea, yea, I ain't doing this for my health. Way I see it, I can give ya something ya need, and ya owe me. So, I need something from ya." Hm?! What?! I speak "Er, I…what exactly? I cannot agree until I know what you seek."

She answers "I want ya to train me."

"Train you?"

"Yea. Train me to fight like ya."

AN: And that concludes this story. For the parts of this story, and the stories to follow, that involve the Yakuza series, the other 'Alternate Universe' aspect aside from Goro Majima dying during the events in Yakuza 0, is that in this story and the stories to follow, the events of Yakuza 0 occurred in 1975 rather than 1988.

I hope you all enjoyed For All Debts Public and Private! There will be two concurrent sequels that will follow it.