Forty-eight years ago, at the outskirts of the recently devastated Nagasaki City, the "Harbinger of Death" star shone brightly in a patch of darkness not covered by the mostly overcast skies. Indeed, many people died during that horrible period of destruction.
It was during these times of tragedy that the barriers between the Spirit World, the Demon World, and the Human World were at their weakest. Whenever so many souls were forcefully ejected from the World of the Living in such a short period of time, the barriers that the Reikai setup fluctuated into nigh-nonexistence, the migration of spirits dealing incredible damage to the balance of the worlds and the Natural Order.
Just like during the Warring States era, many demons flocked into the Ningenkai that fateful week, bathing in the dark energies and bad karma caused by the folly that was war. But this time around, things were different. This time around, the humans had gone too far.
During the infamous dates of August 6 and 9, 1945, the Natural Order was rendered into complete and total bedlam thanks to humankind's newfound ability to destroy a large amount of life in an instant... faster than even an army of Class-S demons could muster, in fact.
As such, humanity's crimes against itself and nature became too much for the Guardian of the Demon Sword to handle. The sadness, despair, hopelessness, and pain that he felt right then was too overwhelming for him to bear. Someone must pay the price for this unforgivable sin in order for him to be satisfied.
The devil himself could not have chosen a better form to inhabit than Kenshin Himura's small, effeminate, and unremarkable form. Then again, he wasn't really Kenshin right then; instead, he'd become Battousai the Demon Slayer, soon to become Battousai the Manslayer for one more time if his plan to tear a hole in the weakened Reikai barrier ever came to fruition.
A young, bloodied, yet determined twenty-something Genkai spat blood as she gingerly grabbed hold of her slashed shoulders, her clothes torn and frayed after braving the furious storm of Battousai's sword strikes.
Around her, whole armies of the Spirit World Special Defense Force were scattered across the burning wreckage. They weren't killed because of the recent atomic bombing or the then little-known aftereffects of radiation. These mountains and mountains of bodies were killed by one man; a one-man army killer.
"Too strong. He's too strong. It was a bad idea from the start to let him take hold of the Demon Sword... because now, no one can stop him!" one of the Reikai's Tokubetsu Boueitai murmured before his head cleanly slid off his neck.
With what seemed like gentle, effortless swings of the Demon Sword, Battousai was able to dispatch a good twenty other surviving soldiers even as they attempted to surround and overwhelm him with their superior numbers. Genkai had always wondered whether Spirit World folk bled like normal, living people or did something else entirely when wounded; she soon found her answer right then and there.
"Why are you doing this, Himura-san?" Genkai demanded as her knees trembled. "Now of all times, why are you attempting to destroy the barrier between the Makai and the Ningenkai? You're supposed to be on the Reikai's side! You're supposed to be the greatest shinigami hero the three worlds have ever seen! Why are you threatening the people you were supposed to protect in the first place? I beg you, don't open the Reikai barrier!"
However, the sweet-natured humanitarian known as Kenshin Himura was no more. Instead, the insane-with-grief, amber-eyed Battousai the Demon Slayer replied with words that, forty-eight years later, would be echoed by a similarly disenchanted spirit detective.
"Why do I slay demons? It is because they're evil? If that's the case, then I might as well slay humans as well. They've proven today that they're no worse than demons. Let the demons of the Demon World and the demons of the Human World consume each other and cleanse their respective realms of their filth once and for all."
With no one left to get in the way of his malicious intentions, Battousai slashed through the dimensional breach caused by the atomic explosion and entered the mesh-like veil that separated the Human World from the Demon World.
"Today, I will become both hitokiri and youkiri; I will eliminate this world of wolves and wolves in sheep's clothing, because no one else but I can."
Youtou Shinnoken: Demon Sword
A Yuyu Hakusho/Rurouni Kenshin fic
by Chester Castañeda and Danyal Herder
Original concept by Chad Yang
Okay, folks. This chapter was once completely written by Danyal. However, I noticed that several plot points he made won't be resolved until later chapters, so I've decided to put them away for later use, so to speak. As for what I used as substitute material, read on to find out.
Disclaimer: Yuyu Hakusho is the rightful property of Yoshihiro Togashi, Shueisha, Fuji TV and St. Pierrot. Rurouni Kenshin is the rightful property of Nobuhiro Watsuki and Sony. Don't sue us please. We are very poor.
Chapter 4: Heart of Sword (Part 4)
Forty-eight years later...
"Welcome, everyone!" Genkai leaped out onto the grass and studied the rest of her guests, "I see Botan, my idiot pupil, and..." Her gaze settled upon Kenshin.
To everyone's surprise, Genkai's battle aura flared to life as her body shook in rage. Kenshin could only blink in astonishment as the elder screeched, "YOU! You bastard! I thought we already sealed you about five decades ago! How dare you show your face here, you monster!"
"H-Hey! Granny! W-What are you saying?" Yusuke managed to stutter as he moved in front of Kenshin. Despite his earlier attitude towards the spirit guardian's presence, he knew enough about him to understand that he wasn't a bad guy. "Maybe you're just mistaking Kenshin for someone else?"
But Genkai wouldn't listen. "I don't know what spell that extremist murderer has cast upon you, but if there's anyone who deserves to be sealed, then it's that man! PREPARE YOURSELF, YOUKIRI BATTOUSAI!"
"Youkiri..." Botan started.
"...Battousai?" Keiko finished.
'Battousai the Demon Slayer? I thought he was supposed to be Battousai the Manslayer?' To Genkai, Yusuke tried to persuade, "Genkai-baasan, listen to reason! This guy won't even hurt a fly! In fact, he won't even let me kill several demons for some reason or another! Isn't that right, Kenshin?"
Yusuke unconsciously stepped back when he saw the flash of amber in Kenshin's usually violet eyes. "K-Kenshin?"
"Have I met you before?" Kenshin queried coldly; an unusual deed that came at odds with the personality he had shown earlier. "It would seem that I've done you wrong without even realizing it."
"Of course you did! Don't try to deny it!" Genkai seethed in such a way that made it seem like Kenshin was a wolf in sheep's clothing. "I don't know how you got out of your seal, but I'll make sure that you'll never get out of it ever again!"
Yusuke wanted to clarify to Genkai that Koenma himself wanted to retrieve the Demon Sword, but his body tensed at the sudden danger posed by this new, moodier Kenshin. 'Could it be that Kenshin's been playing us for fools and he's actually been part of the Chojin's army all this time?'
"Go ahead, Genkai-dono. Come at me if you can," Kenshin challenged as he fell into his ready stance. "If you need to get this out of your chest, then by all means, do it."
Genkai was at first taken aback by the earnestness in Kenshin's voice, but she herself prepared to strike soon after. "I won't be fooled by your flimsy disguise. Let's go!"
Before anyone could stop either of the combatants, they already flew ten feet up into the clear night sky, the moon silhouetting their graceful forms.
Forty-eight years earlier...
Battousai and Genkai traveled a great distance into the grid-like vortex as they continued their furious dance of death. On one side of the endless passageway was a congregation... no, a pandemonium... of youkai just dying to get out and unleash unspeakable horrors upon the Human World. On the other side was a deceptively calm yet tension-filled New York, whose country of origin had already unleashed unspeakable horrors upon the Japanese Empire. The dimensional veil apparently had a complex network of tunnels that connected straight into the edge of America.
The fact that Battousai ended up there was no coincidence. He braved through armies of Spirit World Warriors specifically to destroy the barrier separating the so-called Land of the Free and Home of the Brave from what could be construed by its mostly Christian population as the Pits of Hell. His mission was clear; to open the Reikai barrier and let loose the terror of Makai unto the nation that just caused one of the most catastrophic events the three worlds had ever seen. For him, his act was not that of revenge; it was simply an act of justice.
Genkai cursed under her breath; not one of her Shotgun's spiritual bullets even touched the faster-than-thought Battousai. She raged with a primal scream as she prepared another shot, this time using her specialty, the Rei-Kou-Dan. She'd used everything in her arsenal save a handy kitchen sink, but nothing she threw at the swordsman was connecting. It was a frustrating battle for a gifted fighter such as herself.
Battousai was as fast as Genkai expected, but then again, he wasn't... actually, he was faster than she thought he was. It was hard to tell, but suffice it to say that she was having a difficult time catching the elusive and shockingly strong shinigami. Whenever he hit her, before she could counter his attack, he was already gone, escaping through her dead angles and blind spots with frightening ease.
Their fight was beautiful; horrible; it was both things at the same time. Battousai deftly darted around the arching shots with unbelievable speed, attacking at different and imperceptible angles, coming in and out so quickly that Genkai didn't know which way was up anymore. The younger combatant was at a complete and total loss. She didn't know where to shoot her allegedly wide-reaching techniques. She was completely and utterly outclassed by a superior opponent.
Eventually, Battousai had the impulsive yet bloodied warrior princess cornered, with her acting more like a wheezing seventy-something-year-old crone than the spry twenty-something martial artist she was supposed to be. She simple grew old overnight after only a day of fighting against the Legendary Youkiri Battousai.
Genkai's heart was caught inside her throat. Her promising future as a martial artist... even her very own life... was about to be cut short by a shinigami she once considered as a legend in his own right; a swordsman from fifty-something years past referred by his peers as the strongest. Her friend and comrade; a comrade who outclassed her completely. He made her look like an inept amateur, even when considering the fact that she was still wet behind the ears when it came to battle experience.
What'd happened to Himura? More importantly, what was Genkai to do now? The fact of the matter was that she didn't know what to do. She had no idea how to handle the situation. The current state of affairs was too much for her mind to comprehend.
But she couldn't give up now! Millions of lives were at stake in this fateful fight. Battousai was about to break the cardinal rule of not interfering with human affairs by releasing all those slavering demons into the wounded and battered Human World even before it could even start licking its wounds. On the other hand, as a Japanese Citizen, she also felt hesitant to stop him.
"If America hadn't bothered to unleash their weapon of mass destruction against Japan, would you have opened the barrier on the Japanese people instead? Japan hasn't exactly been sinless in regards to this horrible war. You need to calm down and assess this situation properly before you act!" she screamed at him, inwardly balking at the bitter taste of her own words.
She couldn't, for the life of her, muster enough indignation towards Battousai's intentions... not after what the Americans had done. Not after seeing firsthand the screaming and burning people at the outskirts of Nagasaki.
"You misunderstand, Genkai. I'm not doing this for the Japanese Empire's sake. I'm not even doing this for revenge. This is for the Natural Order. The humans... all of them... have overstepped their bounds. It's about time to put together what they've rendered asunder. They need to learn their place," Kenshin flatly explained before he again struck her down hard and disappeared out of her reach.
It was true that Battousai's genocidal plan was essentially overkill, especially considering the fact that the Ningenkai's most devastating war so far was about to come to an end. Still, considering all the lives Japan had lost through America's own draconian machinations, she wasn't so sure she was doing the right thing anymore.
Sure, she had heard of vague tales and stories concerning Japan's own war atrocities and how her nation of birth was nowadays viewed as a monstrous and frightening country of drone-like people who would sooner commit suicide through sepukku or kamikaze than surrender. As a Japanese national, she of course viewed the Pearl Harbor bombing as a successful preemptive strike instead of a dishonorable act of war. She had never even heard of the Nanking Massacre or Unit 731.
All she knew was that countless of innocent people that had nothing to do with the war just died a painful and horrible death, and she couldn't fully bring herself to feel resentful about Battousai's own proposed actions, shamed as she was to admit it.
But did two wrongs necessarily make a right? She was, quite frankly, scared of what America had become and what it was now capable of doing even after the war was over. The idea of America having the power to wipe out an entire civilization in a blink of an eye frightened her far more than the prospect of that very nation getting its, to her view, just desserts through a frantic Demon World invasion.
She knew deep in her heart of hearts that the Youkiri Battousai's scheme was just as cruel and pitiless as what America did to Japan, regardless of both their reasons and justifications. However, she also couldn't bring herself to use her full resolve to stop him; she couldn't, not with the confused state her mind was in.
Her sempai was doing what he viewed as "justice", and she couldn't force herself to counter his strong convictions. She was too soft and weak to face someone like him. In any case, it was her own hesitation that spelled her doom. She had seen the "Harbinger of Death" star, like many of the surviving innocents in Nagasaki, and she knew what was about to happen next.
"For someone who has the name of 'Genkai', you seem to not know your own limits," Battousai softly whispered to Genkai's ear, the malevolence in his voice hidden with seeming sympathy. Or perhaps pity; she was not sure.
The horrifying beast that wore the face of the man she looked up to since childhood calmly reared his sword back, intending to slice her to ribbons. She cringed at the unstoppable onslaught Battousai presented, mouthing a silent scream at the searing agony that never came.
Genkai opened her eyes and was surprised by what she saw. Right in front of her was the huge back of yet another man she looked up to since she was but a novice fighter. He just punched away Battousai's sword like it was made of bamboo, which caused the shinigami to recoil slightly.
The pink-haired girl's bone-dry throat screamed the man's name desperately, begging him to retreat. Even he was no match against the intelligent monster before them.
"No! Run away, TOGURO!"
Forty-eight years later...
Before Yusuke, Botan, and Keiko could do anything... not that they could, since they simply could not react fast enough to what was happening before them regardless... Kenshin and Genkai were already in the air, the former's sword whirling like a typhoon, the latter's hands burning with blue plasma.
"SHU NO KEN!" Genkai screamed as she did a right-handed feint and pivoted midair using her hips once Kenshin fell for her bait. She afterwards performed a complicated kicking maneuver aimed at her nemesis's face.
The Supine Kick Kougeki hit the flying swordsman right at the jaw, the force of the impact spinning him around like a top. Unfortunately for Genkai, the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu had a technique made specifically for this kind of situation.
Moving towards Genkai's blind spot as they descended, Kenshin twirled and did a perfect Ryu Kan Sen strike before Genkai could even realize what was happening. The attack hit the old woman in full force, which left the witnesses of the battle stunned and flabbergasted.
A thousand thoughts assaulted Genkai's mind as she felt the cold bite of the Youtou Shinnoken's unforgiving steel on the nape of her neck. Her life didn't flash before her eyes, but that was only because she'd already contemplated her life just as soon as she saw the star of the Harbinger of Death. She expected a quick reprieve of eternal blackness soon after, followed by Botan escorting her to the Spirit World and some such.
Instead, she merely felt gravity reassert its will upon her body as she fell feet-first unto her cobblestone patio below. Afterwards, just as Kenshin dexterously landed after her, she charged from the small crater she created and shoved her hand into the swordsman's chest, doing a true version of her special Rei Handou technique.
Kenshin blinked as he extricated himself and backed away from Genkai's awkward grasp. The divine attack that was supposed to cure spiritual ailments and dementia did absolutely nothing to him except make him lose a bit of his usually superb equilibrium.
Genkai warily looked at her opponent as she circled around him. She couldn't make heads or tails out of Kenshin or his intentions at the moment. Speaking of heads, she eventually wondered why exactly her head was still attached to her body. She could have sworn that Kenshin had hit her neck with that powerful counterstrike of his.
As Genkai and Kenshin stared at each other in complete befuddlement, Yusuke suddenly had one of his bright ideas and, without any warning, punched himself on the face. With a muffled "Oro", Kenshin fell down the ground in a quivering heap, his emphatic bond with the rambunctious spirit detective activating and causing him to lose his already compromised sense of balance.
It was then that realization finally struck the wizened martial artist. In the middle of the Demon Sword's dismal arc, the sympathetic swordsman probably flipped his blade in the last minute to avoid getting her beheaded. 'And the Rei Handou didn't work on him because there wasn't a trace of malice in him. He didn't even try to press his advantage when he attacked me.' Genkai shook her head as she chuckled to herself.
Yusuke was just about to tackle the kneeling Kenshin with a swarm of power punches when Genkai friendlily offered her hand to the swirling-eyed swordsman and gently asked, "Can you get up?"
Kenshin blinked and nodded in affirmative while, from behind him, Yusuke forced himself to skid to a halt.
"Sorry about that little scuffle earlier. I've mistaken you for someone else."
Kenshin beamed at the old woman. "An understandable mistake, I'm sure. I have such a common-looking face, after all," the redheaded, cross-scarred, effeminate-looking ex-shinigami/rurouni/hitokiri/youkiri guardian of the Demon Sword supposed while the rest of his companions fell to the ground in utter chagrin.
"So what exactly are you? A samurai spirit?" Genkai pleasantly asked, looking at Kenshin more closely and nonchalantly feigning ignorance in regards to his true identity. "You must be centuries old, then. Were you originally human?"
Kenshin assented, "Yes, I was born a human, but I was also born only about a century ago. I was, well, so to speak 'separated' from my friends in 1878, and...!"
Genkai held up her hands. "Wait, wait, let's at least go inside. It sounds like we have much to discuss here," she declared, turning to Botan, who could only numbly nod in response.
"Come. I prepared some tea a short while ago, so I'd love for you all to join me inside."
Keiko, Yusuke, and Botan blinked at the strange scenario for a few more minutes before dazedly heeding Genkai's request. They still couldn't understand what just happened, even at that point.
"What the..." Yusuke started, let out a few expletives, invented a few new creative swear words about ingesting animal excrement for the hell of it, and continued, "...just happened?"
Forty-eight years earlier...
"Kuzu Ryu Sen," Battousai patently declared before pivoting on his heels, leaping forward, and executing a saw-like Ryu Kan Sen Arashi instead. He had been bamboozling the forward-rushing, durable, yet ultimately limited Younger Toguro for all of three minutes, acting like a daring matador to the muscle-bound human's frantic bull rush.
Toguro swung at the flitting, hummingbird-like Battousai with blistering lefts and rights, but the nimble swordsman was able to make the lumbering ox of a man look like a one dimensional, inept, and amateurish fighter by fighting an intelligent fight.
Even though the two had sparred numerous times on even terms before, it was Battousai, not Toguro, who took advantage of their familiarity with each other, mocking Toguro's knowledge of his techniques by mentioning their names and doing other techniques entirely. More to the point, the ever-looming threat of the Kuzu Ryu Sen and the legendary Amakakeru Ryu No Hiramki distracted Toguro to near panic, leaving him open to other less powerful but still effective Hiten Mitsurugi Techniques.
The heavily injured Genkai tried to assist her untimely rescuer, but she wasn't able to because of her current condition. She fought back her tears as emotions of betrayal and bewilderment threatened to crush her broken heart.
"Stop it! Stop it, Toguro!" she beseeched. "You'll die."
As the whole lot of them was in the middle of a world of nightmares and disaster, so too was Toguro, but in a different sense entirely. He simply could not catch Battousai, his entire offensive rendered futile and useless as his opponent proved the age-old adage, "Speed kills," in spades.
"Kuzu Ryu Sen." Finally, Battousai's coup de grace technique happened, and his powerhouse of an adversary was caught flatfooted by the ensuing nine strikes. The swordsman's feints earlier had finally confused Toguro so badly that when the youkiri actually did the Kuzu Ryu Sen after announcing its name, the martial artist wasn't able to defend against it. Toguro was not able to solve the complex puzzle that was Battousai's Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, and he had no answers to his opponent's attacks.
"Toguro!" Genkai screeched as she tried crawling towards her fallen companion. As she did so, Battousai poised himself directly at the dimensional veil shaken by the migration of spirits and, a split-second later, performed the strongest Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu technique.
"AMAKAKERU RYU NO HIRAMEKI!" The space in front of Battousai warped and twisted before it altogether burned out like so much plastic wrapping inside an incinerator. The Youtou Shinnoken was normally not the kind of sword used to cut through kekkai, but because of the twin atomic blasts, the Spirit World's halved powers because of the gathering of dead people, and Battousai's physics-defying strike, the Reikai barrier never even stood a chance.
Toguro grit his teeth in agony and helplessness. Uncharacteristically, he seethed to himself, "If only I were strong enough. Dammit, I wish I were strong enough!" He struggled to get up, but his wounded legs merely continued to spurt out blood in response. "Move, dammit! MOVE!" he commanded as he started beating his rubbery thighs and knees with his balled-up fists in vain, his blood pooling all over the dark ether that served as the floor.
"Enough, Toguro! You're only making your injuries worse!" Genkai choked, a lump of raw emotion caught in her throat. Her mixed reaction in regards to Battousai's breakdown and attempt to involve himself in Human World affairs by seeking revenge on the Americans quickly dissolved after seeing the brutal flogging he did of Toguro.
Toguro didn't bother listening to any of Genkai's pleas, managing to somehow get back up to his feet despite his numerous cuts and lesions. He was breathing rather heavily though, and his body felt unwieldy and leaden. "No. Not yet. I will stop that madman. This war is about to end, and the killing must end here." He lumbered towards the diminutive yet deadly spirit guardian with grim determination.
"I couldn't agree more. However, Genkai's right, Toguro. You've already been defeated. If you insist on continuing this fight, you really will die," a melancholy voice from behind Toguro warned, startling both him and Genkai.
The Youkiri Battousai sneered at the latest newcomer. "Koenma."
Koenma's blue and gray outfit fluttered against the winds produced by the freshly torn barrier. "But Battousai... no, Himura-san... still spared your life, didn't he? That means he hasn't really gone mad with grief or any of that nonsense," the Spirit World Prince bluntly pointed out to Toguro as he deliberately took his pacifier out of his mouth and gently pushed the larger man aside."You still have your wits about you, Himura-san. Everything about your plan was premeditated and calculated, as to be expected from a swordsman of your caliber."
Battousai raised a skeptical eyebrow. "And your point is...?"
"You have committed a premeditated crime, and so I, as second-in-command of the Spirit World, have no choice but to place you under arrest." Koenma dramatically pointed his pacifier at the treacherous swordsman. "So who are you supposed to be now? The maker of the new world? I overheard you claim that you're going to be both a manslayer and demon slayer soon. Don't you know that your plan directly breaches Spirit World protocol?"
A flock of demons started to gather from behind the erstwhile hitokiri. "Again, what is your problem? What I'm doing is out of your jurisdiction now. I take full responsibility for my actions."
Koenma nodded. "That's all I wanted to hear. Catch." Unceremoniously, he threw his pacifier at Battousai, a boundless eldritch fire from across the centuries congregating within the object's deceptively minute mass.
Forty-eight years later...
Together, the five made their way into the main room of the dojo, where Genkai set about gathering some pillows and spreading them out in a line in front of the pillow she planned to use. Keiko went around to the back of the dojo to look for Puu. Yusuke, meanwhile, lay against a wall and sulked. He was still quite bemused about Genkai and Kenshin's bizarre exchange earlier, and he wouldn't let the subject drop. Meanwhile, Botan and Kenshin spent the time deciding on the best way to explain the situation to Genkai.
Genkai spared Kenshin another fond look before mentally concluding, 'No. He is not the person I thought he was. Or rather, he is not the Youkiri Battousai whom I battled against some forty-odd years ago back in the Second World War. No, this man before me is the Himura Kenshin that I got to know during my years in Koenma's freshly formed team that eventually became the Reikai Tantei.'
In time, Genkai had several pillows and tea set up, and motioned for Kenshin, Botan, and Yusuke to sit, which they obliged. Shortly afterwards, Keiko walked back into the room from the back entrance while a massive blue creature followed her. It was easily fifteen feet long, and had a beak-like mouth that it was smacking back and forth.
Only Kenshin was shocked at the appearance of the gigantic creature. "What... What is that? I've never seen a creature like that."
Keiko giggled. "This is Puu, a representation of Yusuke's inner spirit. Isn't that right, Yusuke?" She grinned.
Yusuke rolled his eyes and looked at Kenshin, his earlier protests in regards to the weird fight earlier momentarily forgotten. "It's a long story. Just think of Puu as my pet, all right? It'll make things much easier."
"Your pet?" Genkai chuckled. "I'm the one that took Puu off of your hands. You were ready to leave him to fend for himself." Her laugh was replaced by a look of seriousness. "But enough small talk," she said as Keiko took a seat in front of her while Puu lay down to continue his rest.
Genkai quickly surveyed the four people in front of him, her eyes settling on Kenshin. "You said you're a human swordsman that became a spirit. What do you mean by that? I doubt Koenma would make an error in leaving you in the Human World."
Kenshin shook his head. "No, no, Genkai-baasan, it's nothing like that." He thought for a moment before continuing, "You see, I come from the 1860s and 1870s, when Japan was going through a period of restoration and reform. I fought for the Ishin Shishi in the Bakumatsu, and brought about the Meiji Government."
Genkai sighed, pouting at the fact that Kenshin had apparently lost all his memories following his meteoric rise as one of the best warrior shinigami the Spirit World had ever seen. Being trapped in the Demon Sword for a good forty years or so had probably something to do with it, but she was still mostly glad that he had reverted back to his peace-loving pacifist self whom she knew and loved; a person who only used violence on those who threatened the weak and defenseless.
However, in the back of her mind, she asked herself, 'Wasn't that the same objective his other persona, Battousai, had several decades ago?' She shook her head and decided that her musings were thoughts for another day. After all, she still had to deal with the fact that she could see the Harbinger of Death... a bad omen of a star that she had not seen since she fought Toguro and got killed by him. 'So am I going to die again soon, huh? It's only a question of when, then.'
Kenshin tentatively carried on with his discourse despite noticing the glazed, inattentive look in Genkai's eyes, waving it off as the rigors of old age. "Unfortunately, even ten years into our relative peace, there were those who wished to go back to the ways of old, and wanted to destroy the new Japanese government."
"Bastards," Yusuke muttered, only to be whacked on the head by Botan.
"Don't interrupt, you jerk," she growled at Yusuke, only to sweetly address Kenshin with a smile a moment later. "Sorry about that. Please continue, Kenshin."
Kenshin smiled wincingly as, yet again, the emphatic bond between him and Yusuke activated. "Of course, Botan-dono." He rubbed his head. "Anyway, right before he was assassinated, Toshimichi Okubo asked me if I would quell the uprising of a particularly nasty man seeking revenge, and I accepted. My friends and I succeeded in thwarting his plans, but in our final duel, we died at each other's hands." He sighed and shrugged. "To be honest, I don't entirely know what happened next after Koenma encased my spirit in this strange sword, but I remained in here for Enma-knows-now-long until Yusuke-dono found the blade and released me." He looked at Yusuke. "Thank you again, Yusuke-dono."
"Don't mention it," Yusuke mumbled lazily.
Genkai's blank stare at Kenshin soon turned into a piercing glare. "You have quite the tale to tell, Himura Kenshin," she assessed. "But tell me: Why did Okubo select you among all the hitokiri in Japan to deal with such a plan? Did he think highly of you?" She already knew the answer to that, of course, but she wanted to know just how much of his past did Kenshin still remember.
Kenshin looked down at the ground, debating whether he should reveal everything to Genkai. Finally, he looked at her again. "Yes, he did. He selected me because I was the Hitokiri Battousai, and the person I was to assassinate was my successor, Shishio Makoto."
Genkai's eyes widened in exaggerated surprise. "You were the Hitokiri Battousai?" She blinked several times to illustrate her shock. "Were you the only one then with such a title?"
"Yes." Kenshin nodded gravely.
"Why, is that a big deal or something?" Yusuke asked half-heartedly. "Does that mean he was really powerful or something? Besides, didn't you call him something else earlier, granny? It was youkiri something-something, if I recall correctly."
"Shut up, Yusuke," Genkai snarled, eager to hear more from her long-lost yet partially amnesiac comrade. "Please continue, Himura-san."
Kenshin resumed his story a bit hesitantly. "Well, I retired after Japan's Civil War ended, and Shishio took my place. He didn't entirely work out with the government, and they betrayed him. In trying to kill him, however, they failed and only fueled his desire for revenge. That is why I was sent to stop him."
Kenshin exhaled. "But that's all in the past now, Genkai-dono. All I truly wish to do now is find out what became of my friends. I came to you because I was hoping you might be able to provide me with some information, since they might still have been alive when you were young..."
Only after finishing that statement did Kenshin realize how rude it was. Genkai only laughed good-naturedly, however. "Just how old did Botan tell you I was?" she queried.
"My most sincere apologies, Genkai-dono! I..." Kenshin began.
"Don't be sorry, Himura-san. I've had people call me far worse things, even from my worthless student there." She pointed to Yusuke.
"Hey!" Yusuke shouted. "Just what did I ever do to you, you old hag? You could lighten up once in a while, you know." He folded his arms.
Botan tapped Kenshin's shoulder. "Um, excuse me, Kenshin, but my Japanese history is a little rusty. Could you explain just who your Battousai self was back during your time? I've been hearing that strange little moniker of yours an awful lot lately."
Kenshin smiled. "Of course, Botan-dono. It means that I was the top assassin in Japan at the time." He shook his head. "A dubious thing to be known for, but I was. I killed countless numbers of people, and only after I lost what I truly held dear did I realize my errors and vow never to kill again." He looked at Yusuke, "That is why I would not let you slay any of those demons, Yusuke-dono. I hate seeing the life drain out of a person, no matter how vicious he may have been."
"No problem," Yusuke casually answered. "I don't really care as long as I get the job done." As he finished, the five felt a massive tremor deep within the ground beneath them. It was weak at first, but gradually grew stronger and stronger until Keiko fell over, prompting Yusuke to rush over and pick her up.
"Shit. What's going on now?"
Forty-eight years earlier...
"MAFUU KAN!"
Battousai was caught completely off-guard by the sudden burst of energy that blasted out from Koenma's holy relic. He had always assumed that the sometimes toddler-like prince was nothing more than a figurehead ruler like his father, but that assumption was proving to be a grave mistake on his part. That... coupled with the fact that he was never good against projectile-based fights, preferring to instead decapitate his opponents in closed-quarter combat before any sort of shot was fired... had put the manipulative death god incarnate in a bind. This was a rare occurrence, for sure.
"Well played, my prince," Battousai smirked as he struggled against the waves of reiki with his own kenki or sword-ki. "But it would seem that we're now in a bit of an impasse. I mean, how can you possibly seal the damage I've wrought to your precious barrier if you have to use all your power to seal me?"
"I don't need to. Don't overestimate your abilities, Himura-san. My pacifier has accumulated centuries' worth of energy since its creation. You may be one of the strongest shinigami we've ever had, but even you are simply no match against eons and eons of power." From there, Koenma started to truly concentrate on overwhelming Battousai with his astoundingly potent spiritual force.
Battousai felt like the whole world was on his shoulders. He felt the very essence of his soul begin to break down one ectosplasm after the other as wave upon wave of choleric celestial energy ate at his semi-tangible form like a powerful acid. 'Dammit,' he cursed to himself.
"Your arrogance is rather typical of your race, Himura-san. How dare you abuse the power I've assigned to you and take on the roles of judge and executioner by yourself. How dare you kill an entire brigade of my father's personal army because of your flawed sense of justice. You have no right to do such things."
Koenma dramatically waved his arms in intricate circular patterns, which resulted in making the Mafuu Kan release even more of his pacifier's stored energy. Battousai then staggered at the maelstrom of plasma that ensued.
"We have enough humans in your former world trying to take on the role of death, the destroyer of worlds. We celestial beings have no right to handle human affairs. Let them sort things out for themselves."
Koenma was afterwards taken aback by the venom found in Battousai's subsequent reply.
"Aren't you sick and tired of looking down on humans like little ants, Koenma? Because of that attitude of yours, you will never understand the implications of the events that happened today. The people that died back in Hiroshima and Nagasaki had names and faces. Hopes and dreams. This new, horrible weapon erased all that in an instant. These are lives that can never be brought back.
"They had nothing to do with this war. Do you dare stop me from giving them their due? The people who created that bomb must be punished. They must realize the consequences of their actions early on or you might as well leave all of humanity to die. Besides, as you had no power against the creation and deployment of those bombs, so too will you have no power against what's about to happen."
Unbidden, Koenma felt a drip of cold sweat slide down his cheek. He then reeled as Battousai did a second Amakakeru Ryu No Hirameki right in the middle of the emerald energy barrier the shinigami was trapped in. He was not only powerful talent-wise; he also had the resolve to use his power to the fullest when called for.
The succession technique, powerful as it was, could only manage to momentarily disrupt the tidal wave surge of the Mafuu Kan for a short period of time, but it was enough time for the Youkiri Battousai to leap forward and knock out, even kill, the Spirit World Prince.
However, to everyone's surprise, it was Genkai who took advantage of the opportunity and freed Battousai altogether by grabbing hold of Koenma's pacifier and dispelling the Mafuu Kan barrier.
"Genkai!" Toguro and Koenma chorused in alarm. Even Battousai was mildly amazed by the turn of events.
"Are you going to betray me as well? Are you going to side with him now?" the celestial being demanded the roughed-up martial artist as he finally lost his composure and fell on his knees. "The war is about to end. We should leave things be. Please."
"Why?" Battousai himself queried as he loomed over the shorter woman, curious as to why Genkai suddenly decided to help him at that point in time. "Have you changed your mind?"
The Younger Toguro tensed his torn muscles and cocked a fist back; he was prepared to punch a hole in Battousai's sternum if ever the diabolical swordsman even dared lay a finger on Genkai.
"When you're right, you're right. Somebody has to take responsibility for all of the people who had died. They all had names, faces, and compassion for each other that was all their own. How dare the Spirit World let their deaths be in vain. No doubt, Japan will now surrender to America, lest the rest of it will turn to ash."
Genkai shut her eyes. "Their lives will never be given due justice, the Americans will never be punished for their own war crimes, and outside of Japan, the bombings will be viewed at best as a necessary evil, and at worst as something that our nation deserved. I understand what will happen, and why you have to do this."
Wordlessly, Genkai reactivated the spiritual tempest contained within Koenma's pacifier and stabbed her closed fist into the rogue shinigami's abdomen. A shocked look passed Battousai's features before it melted into an expression of resignation and defeat. He smirked and nodded at Genkai in acknowledgement of her victory.
After a few seconds, Koenma realized what Genkai had done and reactivated the Mafuu Kan in order to completely seal Kenshin within the now cursed Youtou Shinnoken. Meanwhile, Genkai herself collapsed into the waiting arms of a kneeling Toguro, bawling her heart out.
"I can't. I have heard all that I need to hear and... I can't. It has to stop. The war has to stop now. We have no other choice. I'm so sorry, Himura-san."
Several days later, the breach that Kenshin Himura had made was repaired by the surviving Tokubetsu Boueitai, and Japan itself, as Genkai and many other people predicted, issued their surrender to America.
Forty-eight years later...
"Ah! I hate earthquakes!" Botan cried, grabbing onto Puu, who managed to stay upright due to his huge mass.
"No, this isn't an earthquake. This is something much more powerful." Genkai shook her head and ran outside where she could feel the vibrations of unnatural energy being used. Sliding the door open swiftly, she scurried onto her grassy lawn with Yusuke and Kenshin right behind her, hoping to see if she could figure out what was causing the trembling.
They saw a familiar figure blowing into a flute of some kind. Behind him were three massive silhouettes, all a bit hard to distinguish because they were climbing the stairs leading up to the dojo, but their presence soon became known. When the flute-blower noticed Genkai glaring at him, he sneered and slipped the flute in his belt, causing the tremors to stop. He couldn't keep the wicked grin off his face as he looked at Genkai, then Yusuke.
"That flute's really something, isn't it?" he mused. "This is absolutely wonderful. I would have never thought that..."
"Shut the hell up, Rando!" Yusuke cried. "What the hell are you doing here? You should be in prison right now, rotting away for the rest of your fucking life! So what, are you ready for Round Two of my beat down of you? Come and get some, asshole."
"Such naughty words." Rando grinned sinisterly. "Prison is for the worthless lowlifes of the Spirit World. I belong to a much higher state of being." Rando turned his attention back to Genkai. "And you, you little bitch, I swear that by the end of the day, your corpse will be crawling with maggots. We'll kill you both, as well as whoever the hell that is!" He pointed at Kenshin.
"No, Rando. You can have the others, but Urameshi is all mine," an enormously deep voice grumbled from behind the tattooed youkai. Stepping from out of the shadows, the creature revealed himself to be a giant, twelve-feet-tall stone golem that resembled a tortoise. Spikes and claws seemed to be chiseled into the naked monster's physique. His jagged teeth morphed into a twisted grin when he looked at Yusuke.
The spirit detective took a hesitant step back, totally shocked. "Genbu? What the fuck? Kurama tore you to pieces about a year ago!"
"That was in the past, Urameshi. This is now, and we're going to return the favor," another voice said, that of an obese blue-white tiger adorned with only a brown loincloth wrapped around his waist. At least twelve feet tall like Genbu, the tiger's massive size made it appear as though he should have trouble simply stepping forward, but he didn't appear to be in any discomfort. "We've been waiting for this day to come, and our powers have grown much greater. That trick your moronic friend pulled on me so long ago won't work now."
"Byakko," Yusuke groaned. He looked at Genkai, "This isn't good, granny. Something must have happened to resurrect these bastards. Maybe it was that Chojin guy who did it."
Genkai nodded. "Possibly, but I'm a bit more concerned about Rando himself. His eyes burn with a desire for revenge I haven't seen in a very long time," she ascertained.
"How do you know these monsters?" Kenshin asked, placing a hand on his sword's handle. "If they threaten us, I won't hesitate to fight."
Yusuke rolled his eyes. "Of course they're here to threaten us, genius! Granny, right after you trained me, Kuwabara, Kurama, Hiei, and I fought these jerks. It was a long, long time ago and we thought we had destroyed them back then."
The last one of the colossal beasts stepped forward as well. "You did actually kill us, Urameshi. You and the rest of your pathetic brood somehow managed to defeat us. However, we have now been revived and are ready to exact revenge upon you."
The human-sized figure looked small in comparison to his titanic compatriots, but the power that his body exuded was unmistakably tremendous. He took in a humanoid form that sported greenish and black skin. He also wore a pair of loose, cobalt sweat pants and a tattoo of an ice dragon that extended all around his torso and arms.
"But how...?" Kenshin's question was interrupted by Yusuke.
"Wait a second. I see Genbu, Byakko, and Seiryu, but where's Suzaku? Let him come out and face the guy who kicked the crap out of him!" Yusuke shouted, but Rando could only chuckle at the half-demon's bluster.
"Unfortunately, Suzaku had other business to attend to. But he allowed us the great pleasure of destroying all of you."
"So Suzaku's the one behind this little plan?" Yusuke boomed again. "Never mind, then! I'll just tear the shit out of all of you!"
Rando's mouth twitched as his irises burned red with rage and anticipation. His clawed fingers were also twitching eagerly, his blood practically boiling in expectation. He simply couldn't wait to make Yusuke eat his own words. 'We'll see which one of us will beat the shit out of the other.'
"Yusuke!" Genkai hissed. "Be very careful. I can tell Rando's power has increased greatly since we last saw him, and no doubt the other three have grown more powerful than when you encountered them last as well."
"Yusuke? Genkai? Kenshin? What's going on?" Botan asked as she and Keiko emerged from the dojo. When they saw the four monsters standing at the top of the stairs, they ran behind Kenshin and Yusuke.
Genkai allowed herself to glance at them quickly. "Girls, get back! There's not going to be a lot of my lawn left by the time we're finished with these beasts."
Genbu grunted. "You're awfully confident, you old hag. It's four on three. Do you honestly think that you can defeat all of us?"
Kenshin leaned into Genkai's ear and whispered, "My pardons, Genkai-baasan, but he has a point. We should create some sort of plan."
"There's no need for that." Yusuke shook his head, "It's simple. I'd love to destroy Rando for the third time, so I'll take him on. You two can handle his three goons. They were pieces of shit the last time; they can't be anything else now."
Genkai nodded. "That's the best way to do it. I'm feeling the greatest energy waves from Rando, so he's likely the strongest of them."
"Enough of this talk!" Rando shrieked as his aura flared like a blast furnace. He looked at Genbu, Byakko, and Seiryu, all of whom were leaning forward and poised to attack. "Our time for vengeance has come!"
Kenshin, Yusuke, and Genkai went into their respective fighting stances as they braced themselves for the assault of three of the four Saint Beasts.
"Keiko, we better get out of the way," Botan recommended as she offered her hand to the shorter girl. "Let the real fighters do their stuff!"
"Yes, of course, Botan-san!" Keiko affirmed.
"Yusuke! Himura-san! It's a group attack!" Genkai screeched at her two other compatriots. "We need attacks that cover a large area to stop them from reaching us. From there, we just divide and conquer!"
"Hell yeah!" Yusuke shouted as he prepared his most devastating area attack. "I'm ready when you are, granny. How about you, samurai?"
"Um, I'm not really a samurai, but more of a..." Kenshin politely corrected, but he was then quickly interrupted by the awesome force of Genkai and Yusuke's combined attack.
"Whatever... SHOTGUN!"
"REI-KOU-DAN!"
"YOU-GAN!"
After recovering from the recoil of the joint assault by means of his well-trained nimbleness, Kenshin attempted to execute his own wide area attack in the form of a well-placed Dou Ryu Sen on the ground, but he quickly stopped himself as he spotted a flash in the corner of his eye.
'Wait a second... the third attack... it wasn't said by either Genkai-dono nor Yusuke-dono,' Kenshin surmised as he quickly calculated the origin of the flicker of light he saw and the connection it had with the mysterious third attack.
A good fifteen yards away stood Rando, his pointer finger smoking like the barrel of a recently fired gun, a grim expression on his face.
Rando's finger was incidentally pointed at Keiko and Botan's direction. The fast-approaching ball of red-colored demonic energy loomed nearer and nearer towards the flabbergasted and stunned girls.
Kenshin was able to deduce everything in a fraction of a second. Any later than that, it would have been too late. But it wasn't too late. Not yet, at the very least.
Kenshin narrowed his eyes. He saw no other option. He knew what he had to do.
Half a second later, Kenshin crumpled to the ground in agony.
To be Continued...
Next: The myriad of fights.
I hope you enjoyed the origin story, the "Harbinger of Death" star plot point found in the old-school anime, "Hokuto No Ken", and the tweaking of various plot holes from before. I most certainly did. Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you again!
Ja ne!
Abdiel