Genkai sipped her tea in the darkness of her empty, devastated property. Rebuilding the temple and her humble abode wasn't even halfway done, so there was no electricity yet (although the plumbing and water facilities were already up and running). She also didn't want to waste any candles since she was about to sleep anyway.
She'd just paid her workers from both the Demon World and the Human World their wages for the first two weeks. After they'd left, she was the only human being left in the middle of an empty, barely finished shrine, the sawdust and debris dancing in the moonlight before her eyes.
Even Puu himself decided to come with Yusuke and the others to help bring Keiko out of her coma. The elderly grandmother wasn't totally alone though, as evidenced by the howls, chirps, bleats, and squawks of the creatures of the night from different realms seeking refuge within her vast property.
"You were supposed to give out your will and testament to Urameshi Yusuke and his crew two weeks from now," a trench-coat-wearing, sunglasses-donning ghost from Genkai's past pointed out to her. "It's almost been a month since you saw the 'Harbinger of Death' Star. Can you still see it now?"
"...No. The Star of Death has vanished. I cannot see it any longer," Genkai confessed. The one luminous star right beside the Big Dipper's seven stars she'd seen only twice in her (extended) lifetime had disappeared as though it never existed.
It probably never did either, as any astronomer worth his or her salt would attest to. Anyone who saw it was cursed to die within a month's time unless it happened to disappear altogether.
"I'm guessing that Koenma Daio is doing his best to keep me around in light of this newest threat, just like what happened when Sensui Shinobu decided to make his move."
"And how fair is that? You died, as all old people should, and Koenma forced you to live on because he needed you. On the other hand, Yukimura Keiko is in a coma and he couldn't lift a finger to help her."
Genkai nodded. "No, it's not fair at all. I agree. However, our circumstances have changed. The fleeting promise of peace that Yusuke and the others have worked so hard to attain is being threatened once more. They need me, so I will live on. That's all there is to it."
Had this Chojin business not reared its ugly head, Genkai would've looked forward to dying peacefully in her sleep with no worries or regrets. Her estate had already been divided among Yusuke and his friends. She'd taken care of the paperwork even before Urameshi put his hands on the Demon Sword.
"Can you really trust a so-called God of the Dead who decides who should live and who should die according to his whims or how useful a given soul is to him?" asked the tall, lanky man with dark shades and a military-style haircut in Genkai's mind's eye.
"What do you mean?"
"Koenma let a young girl who still has her whole life ahead of her go into a wild goose chase just to regain the right to live while he allowed you... an old, decrepit woman... to continue living at the drop of a hat because you proved more useful to him than Urameshi Yusuke's girlfriend."
"That's enough. I trust that man and his decisions. Koenma Daio is nothing like his wicked father, Enma Daio."
The man turned his back on Genkai, his hands in his trouser pockets before he faded into the shadows. "I have to wonder about that..."
Demon Sword
A Yuyu Hakusho/Rurouni Kenshin Crossover Fan Fiction by Chester Castañeda
Original Concept by Chad Yang
Let's explore the lives of the supporting characters, shall we?
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, Shueisha, Shonen Jump, Viz, Sony Studios, Fuji TV, Studio Gallup, Studio Deen, and ADV. This disclaimer also covers all the other copyrighted material that are far too many to mention here. Don't sue me please, I'm very poor.
Chapter 29: Homework Never Ends (Part 4)
About three weeks after the attack at Genkai's temple, in the afternoon...
"That first mission Keiko-neechan got was... unexpectedly difficult, don't you think?" was Sayaka's understatement of the day. "I'm so sorry, Big Sis. Next time, I'll find something a lot less dangerous for you to do."
Keiko let out a weak chuckle. "I've heard enough apologies from you to last me a lifetime, Sayaka-chan. It's quite all right." Yukimura rubbed the top of the ferry-girl trainee's head.
"I don't regret taking that case. Thanks to what happened, Shota-kun isn't banned from seeing Shiori-chan anymore, and they're still going to go to Sarayashiki Junior High together. Shiori-chan and her parents now understand each other better. Akemi was even able to rest in peace to boot. All's well that ends well."
After the shy Akemi made amends with her parents and the sister she never met, the ferry-girl assistant contacted one of Reikai's many shinigami and got Hinageshi... the death goddess who helped Yusuke and company to deal with the threat of the Nether World... to guide the lost soul back to her ancestors.
"Shota-kun grew up so fast," Sayaka murmured, her eyes bright and wide as she remembered how the young lad filled in the police report for the incident until he fainted from all the blood he lost earlier. Nobody realized how hurt he was until then.
She picked up a compact mirror from inside her pajamas... the only kind of mirror that could reflect the images of ghosts... and stared at her youthful face. Keiko in turn let her rest her head on her shoulder.
"What's it like to grow up, Big Sis?" the death goddess trainee asked, and Keiko Yukimura's astral projection replied, "I don't know. I haven't grown up all that much either."
Clueless of the pair's conversation, Yusuke said, "The best part of the whole thing is that I didn't have to pay for the wall I broke down or the bodyguards I beat up," while rubbing his nose. Puu, like a pirate's parrot, squawked his own name and nibbled at Urameshi's ear.
"THAT'S NOT SOMETHING TO BE THANKFUL FOR, YOU CRIMINAL SCUM!" raged Keiko as she grabbed hold of Yusuke's spine and made it tingle with her ghostly touch. Normally, she'd just slap the insensitive brute, but seeing her current condition, this was the best course of action for her.
Yusuke shivered then winced and favored his sore right arm that he earlier stopped in mid-punch.
"Whoops. My bad. I got carried away there. Does your arm still hurt?" asked Keiko as her eyebrows creased together and her pupils widened.
"It's no big deal. I've gone through worse," assured her boyfriend. Even though Urameshi was able to live through a broken arm care of Sensui or, much worse, dying twice, that didn't mean he was made out of steel or something.
"Y'know, it kind of bothered me how a poltergeist who was doing harmless pranks on her kid sister turned into a monster. Something fishy is going on," said Yusuke, changing the subject.
"I have no idea what happened either, Big Bro, but I'm glad Akemi was able to rest in peace and forgive her parents and her little sister. The way their voices was able to reach her broken heart underneath all that hatred and resentment really touched me!"
Sayaka sniffled, and Keiko quickly grabbed hold of the girl in an embrace as they floated back to the hospital where her comatose body lay. "I wish I had a family like that."
"I think we're off to a good start with all this mission business, but for now, I say we deserve to rest," said Keiko.
It was already evening when the quartet of two ghosts, a half-demon, and a spirit beast arrived at the hospital and entered the comatose Keiko's room at the intensive care unit.
"What's the matter, Yusuke?" asked Keiko as Urameshi stared at the ceiling, the air conditioner, and the ventilation shaft.
He shook his head. "It's nothing. Probably my imagination."
The first one to reach Keiko's unmoving form in the ICU was Puu. The pet mascot of the Urameshi Team snuggled tightly underneath the armpit of the despondent Yukimura, savoring her warmth. It was Yusuke's turn to look after Keiko that evening.
Keiko smiled and chuckled, remembering the penguin-like bird's constant frustration whenever he passed through her as he attempted to hug her astral projection. "Wah! He looks just like a stuffed toy! How adorable!"
"I think he looks more like a pillow than a stuffed toy. Stuff him in a pillowcase," quipped Yusuke while shielding himself from Sayaka's harmless fists of fury and shouts of "Meanie! Don't make fun of Puu-chan!"
Keiko pretended to look away as Yusuke stole a kiss from her tangible form's lips while fluffing up her pillows.
'It's been tough on you too, huh?' she thought as she touched her ghostly body's lips and smiled wanly. She stared at her other self.
'I hope these missions are worth it. I want to kiss him for real, while I'm awake... and using my own lips.'
"Do you think you've gotten your sponge bath from the nurse yet...?" Yusuke ate a mouthful of pillow for asking that.
"There's a child in here, Yusuke! Don't act so perverted," rebuffed a glowing-faced Keiko.
"Who's being perverted? What do you have against bathing, Keiko?" retorted Yusuke.
"Don't patronize me! And don't lay a hand on my body until I can get it back, you hear?" was Keiko's ultimatum.
"Sure, sure," Yusuke "reassured" with a hand wave.
Keiko blinked. Since when did she become so sure that she'd survive her coma and come back normal? Truth be told, she still wasn't all that confident about anything regarding these missions. Nevertheless, she felt like she had no right to complain about her circumstances after seeing what Akemi went through.
Akemi didn't want to die. She wanted to live. Even though she was an earthbound ghost and it was already too late for her, her will to live remained strong. What right did Keiko have to give up on her life when someone who was worse off than her never did?
Before Keiko knew it, she had turned her back on Yusuke, and when her flustered boyfriend asked her if she was mad, she waved him off, assuring him that, "I'm not mad. I'm just thinking about... stuff."
With a big, toothy smile, she faced towards her assigned Spirit Guide... who was busy playing with Puu's floppy ears, raising them up like rabbit ears... and requested, "Sayaka-chan, do you have a moment? I need to talk to you in private."
Keiko requested at the corridor just outside the room where her comatose body lay, "Sayaka-chan, tell me about the Elysian Fields."
Sayaka pouted, put a finger on her chin, and stared into the horizon. What was this all about? "Oh, the Elysian Fields? You somehow ended up there after taking the middle fork of the Sanzu no Kawa, right? What about it?"
"Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't shinigami required to forget their sins as well as their past before they can become shinigami? At least, that's the impression I got from Botan," Keiko probed.
Sayaka twiddled her thumbs and stared at her floating feet. "I chose not to go to purgatory."
Keiko floated around her fellow specter. "Y-You can do that?" She then remembered Ayame... the shinigami who was tasked to bring her to the River Styx's first fork... saying that the reason Keiko was able to go to the middle fork was because of her spirit's own incredible willpower. Perhaps the same could be said of Sayaka?
Sayaka bopped her head. "Then again, if I didn't have friends in high places like Botan-neechan and Yusuke-niichan, then I would've ended up in purgatory anyway."
Keiko fell through floor... literally, since she was a ghost that could move through walls. 'Hehehe. I guess Sayaka-chan is a bit more pragmatic than I am. Friends in high places, huh?'
After she returned to where Sayaka floated, the smaller girl asked with a tilted head and swaying hips, "Did I say something wrong, Big Sis?"
"No, of course not." Keiko patted the ghostly shinigami-in-training's shoulders. "So why didn't you want to forget? Pardon me for asking, but wasn't it painful for you to die alone? Don't you feel guilty about almost damning Shota-kun with you to limbo? Isn't it dangerous for a spirit like you to be left with all those issues and bad karma?"
"You know what? Koenma-sama asked me the same thing." Sayaka shrugged and flipped her long, waist-length black hair.
"I don't care. I don't want to forget my parents, my sickness, my death, Shota-kun, Botan-neechan, and Yusuke-niichan at all. Those memories are precious to me, and they make up who I am right now. I want to make new memories with you, Keiko-neechan, with my old memories intact, even if I have to suffer because of it."
Come to think of it, after the hideous onryo version of Akemi tossed Shota to the display case of dolls like a... well, rag doll, didn't Sayaka revert to her more powerful poltergeist form because of her anger and the negative feelings brought about by memories she didn't want to forget?
'Even at the risk of becoming an earthbound ghost again, she doesn't want to forget a single thing,' Keiko concluded. To Sayaka, she said, "You ask me what it's like to grow up, but in the end, you've grown into a fine young woman without even realizing it."
"Liar. I haven't grown at all," said Sayaka as she cupped her flat chest and pouted. It took all of Keiko's self-control to not fall through the floor a second time.
The astral projection chuckled before her mood mellowed down altogether as an idea occurred to her. Had Sayaka opted for reincarnation, she would've had a second chance at experiencing a happier childhood, growing up, falling in love, or becoming an adult. "Why did you choose to become a ferry-girl anyway?"
Sayaka beamed. "I want to be like Botan-neechan or Yusuke-niichan when he was still a ghost! I want to help earthbound ghosts rest in peace. I want to make them realize that death isn't as scary as they thought, and it could lead to a new beginning!"
"Good answer. You get five gold star stickers!"
"Jeez, you're making fun of me, Big Sis!"
After the two ghost girls recovered from their giggling fits, Sayaka showed her schedule on her clipboard to Keiko. "Well, I have to go now and submit my progress report to the Spirit World. I'll contact you and Niichan as soon as I'm done with all the paperwork, Neechan."
"I'm looking forward to tomorrow. Come back soon, Sayaka-chan!" Minutes after Keiko waved goodbye at the departing shinigami trainee, she quaked and shuddered as she heard the unmistakable peal of a feminine scream right inside the room where her body lay. "What in the world...?"
"STAY BACK! Stay away from Keiko-chan, you sponge-bathing, stalker pervert! I won't let you soil her purity with your lecherousness!"
"Where the hell did you come from, you crazy bitch?" Yusuke yelped while deftly avoiding every attack the short-haired girl threw at him.
"AH! Natsuko-chan?" exclaimed Keiko after realizing who it was that screamed at Yusuke at that ungodly hour. What was her old friend from junior high doing there?
Of course, because she was a ghost (an astral projection, to be exact), her bowl-cut, (usually) bespectacled friend couldn't hear her. 'Hey, what happened to her glasses?'
"Who's Natsuko?" Yusuke asked the ghost beside him, which in the friend-in-question's eyes made him look even more disturbing and scary because she couldn't see Keiko at all.
"She's my friend back in junior high! Remember? She and another friend of mine hung out with me all the time."
"Oh yeah. They were always scared stiff of me when I was around you. Which one was she again?"
"She's the one with glasses."
"She doesn't have glasses."
"Well, not right now, but she usually does."
"Oh wait, now I remember her."
Because in her point of view, Yusuke was having a one-sided conversation with the slightly ajar door, Natsuko (not to be confused with Natsuki Shinkai from Shinjuku Yamabuki High) backpedaled towards the windows at the back of the room and grabbed the nearest object she could lay her hands on. "STAND BACK! I have a vase and I'm not afraid to use it!"
"..." said Yusuke while the not-bespectacled friend of Keiko held a hospital flower vase in front of her like a shield, shaking like a leaf all the while.
The spirit form of Yukimura giggled from behind Urameshi. Even after three years had passed, her friends were still petrified by her boyfriend. On the other hand, knowing what she knew, they had even more reason to be frightened of the Half-Demon Mazoku Prince of the Demon World.
"How about throwing that vase at me instead of thrusting it at my face like a gift? I'd hate to see you do the same thing to a real cat burglar or mugger," was the helpful suggestion that Urameshi imparted to Yukimura's friend.
"What do you know? I'll do everything to protect Keiko-chan's... um... honor! And mine as well!"
"...Honor? Are you serious?" asked Yusuke with an arched eyebrow while scratching the side of his face.
"YES!" affirmed the girl as she threw the vase as hard as she could at Yusuke. She deflated upon seeing him catch it.
Urameshi smirked. "Y'know, it's kind of a little late for that... OW!" He flinched as the vase in his hand "floated by itself" and crashed right on his noggin. "I was only telling the truth, Keiko!"
"THAT'S ON A NEED-TO-KNOW BASIS! SHE DIDN'T NEED TO KNOW, YOU TACTLESS IGNORAMUS!" scolded a brightly "blushing" Keiko, whose cheeks appeared more like luminescent pink light bulbs than red tomatoes due to her soul's lack of blood or veins to speak of.
"YOU ALREADY 'DID' HER? You monster! You're not supposed to do that to someone in a coma!" the mousy girl screeched as she (attempted to) tackle Yusuke, scratched him, and bit him all over his body while hurling insults of "psycho", "weirdo", "lecher", and "freak".
"Keiko! What am I supposed to do now?" demanded the great and powerful Urameshi, a finalist of the Demon World Unification Tournament and winner of the Black Martial Arts Tournament.
"I have no idea," responded Keiko in all honesty.
"STOP TALKING TO HER LIKE SHE'S AWAKE... Hic," Urameshi froze as Natsuko sat on top of his stomach and held her mouth with both her hands, her cheeks reddening in a way Keiko's astral projection couldn't.
She bounced up again as an abrupt rush of air into her lungs caused her vocal cords to close and her body to jerk from her constricting diaphragm.
"Hey, Keiko. What's going on? Is your friend drunk?" Yusuke stage-whispered to his girlfriend.
Keiko let out a long and loud exhale as her shoulders slowly slumped down although she had no lungs or carbon dioxide to breath out. "Natsuko-chan gets the hiccups every time she's excited or scared."
"Aw. How cute! She's wike a wittle puppy!" Yusuke grinned so wide, he exposed all of his teeth, from his incisors to his molars.
"DON'T... Hic! MAKE FUN OF... Hic! ME! Hic." Natsuko blinked back her tears as she crawled back to the wall facing opposite the doorway and hid her face behind a pillow.
A little while later...
"...Thank you," a now-bespectacled Natsuko murmured after drinking a bottle of water to cure her case of the hiccups. "I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. I apologize. I didn't realize you meant that Keiko-chan and you have already..."
"N-No worries here!" The bite and scratch marks all over Yusuke's body healed just fine thanks to his demonic bloodline, but he remained unsure of what to make of the violent yet meek girl before him regardless. "If you hadn't lost your glasses underneath that bed, then maybe you would've recognized me and things would've happened differently. It can't be helped."
"Actually, the reason why I hid underneath Keiko-chan's bed in the first place was because I recognized your voice as you entered the room and I panicked," Natsuko confessed, which led Yusuke to reply with another pokerfaced, "..."
She continued. "I was going to leave as soon as you went out of the room, but then I started hearing you talk to Keiko-chan about giving her a sponge bath or something, and you kept speaking to her as though she can talk back when clearly she couldn't, so I freaked out and whacked you upside the head before you committed a crime on my friend, and even though it turned out to be a misunderstanding, the fact that you still keep on talking to Keiko-chan under your breath when you think I'm not looking is making me have second thoughts about not calling the police on you," Natsuko relayed in one breath.
Urameshi bowed his head low and raised his hands up in surrender. "Okay, fine. Let's just forget about it. And I won't... pretend to talk to Keiko anymore. How does that sound?"
"Oh, I said too much again! Never mind what I said, you're free to talk to Keiko-chan whenever you want," assured Natsuko with flushed cheeks, her hands on her pleated skirt's hem and her knees rubbing against each other as she squirmed in her chair.
"Although it kind of creeps me out, the way you can't get Keiko-chan out of your mind is also sort of... sweet. And sad. Again, I apologize for being so tactless with my words."
"No, no, I don't mind," replied Yusuke with a flat, disinterested monotone that implied the opposite of what he said. Who would've thought that Keiko's nerdy friend was so... chatty? He could've sworn the other girl with twin ponytails was the blabbermouth of the trio.
Puu, who had hidden himself beneath the comatose Keiko's bedcovers after hearing Natsuko's scream, finally came out of hiding, his head poking out of one of the pillows. "Puu?"
"AH! I've never seen anything like that! What is it? Is it a toy? Is it alive? Was this your get-well-soon present for Keiko-chan?" inquired Natsuko as she plucked Puu out of his hiding place and commenced cuddling him.
"Um, not exactly. I guess you can consider Puu as our... pet?" Yusuke shrugged. He had no interest in covering for Puu after the last time the creature was spotted and played with by "normal" people.
"You're a lot nicer than I expected, Urameshi-san. Neither me nor Hiromi ('Oh, so that's the name of Keiko's other friend!' Yusuke thought,) believed Keiko when she said you're not as bad as the school rumors made you out to be. Although I'm kind of embarrassed for apologizing so much at this point, I have to say sorry for that as well!"
"Nah, it's no big deal. My bad reputation helped me get through junior high without a hitch. No one would dare mess with me." Yusuke winced as his mouth stretched from end to end for "some reason", which left Natsuko wondering how he did such a feat.
He blabbered something incomprehensible before his mouth returned to normal, which allowed him to speak clearly. "What I meant to say is that I'm glad you have a better impression of me," deadpanned Urameshi while rubbing his sore cheeks.
Natsuko chuckled before she turned her head to the side, her left hand on her face while her right hand continued to pet Puu's black mane and blue fur, her glasses obscured by the glare of the fluorescent lights.
"I wasn't able to talk much to Keiko-chan or Hiromi-chan ever since we graduated from Sarayashiki. It's such a shame that the one time I was able to visit, it's already too late for us to talk to each other!"
As Natsuko sniffled, she also giggled as Yusuke fumbled around for a tissue and advice to give her about her comatose friend. "How is it my fault she's crying? No, I won't stop talking to you! Didn't she say it's okay for me to talk to you? She's your friend, help me do something about this!"
"Sorry. Oh my, I've said sorry too many times again." Natsuko took her glasses off and wiped her tears away with the tissue Urameshi gave her. "But that's how it is with us Japanese. We apologize for every little thing, huh?"
"If I said yes, will you stop crying? Ow, I can't believe you poked my eye!" exclaimed Yusuke at the ceiling, which made Natsuko chortle despite herself.
"Here I am crying when it's clear that you're the person who was most hurt by what happened to Keiko-chan. Were you anywhere near her when she collapsed and fell into a coma?" asked Natsuko as she let Puu nibble on her fingers.
Keiko collapsing due to "cardiac arrest" and "lack of oxygen to her brain" was the official cover story Koenma suggested to Yusuke and the others before bringing her to the hospital and telling her parents what happened to her. Because the Spirit World was full of experts on death, its denizens regularly researched the latest medical advances and the newest causes of death.
Yusuke clenched his fist until his knuckles turned white. "No. No, I wasn't."
"I-I'm so sorry. Ah... Sometimes I don't think before I speak."
'No shit.' The half-youkai could only nod as nearly every muscle in his body tensed. He then relaxed as he waved his hand and stroked the air lovingly, as though he were a maestro conducting an orchestra. To Natsuko's eyes, he was beyond bizarre. "Thanks, Keiko. I needed that."
"I wish I could talk to her. I have so much to tell her." Natsuko moved towards the sleeping form of her friend of three years and held her hand, taking care not to move or dislodge the catheter stuck in her arm.
"Keiko-chan, did you know that I'm hanging out with an upperclassman I really like these past few months? He might not be as strong, handsome, fit, or scary as your boyfriend, but he's really smart and I like him a lot. We have so many things in common. I regularly visit him at his house where we play the same games, read the same books, talk about the same things, and he even wears glasses like me!"
Yusuke stared at Natsuko with a blank expression on his face before saying, "If Keiko were here, she'd be really excited to hear that. She'd be jumping up and down, asking you details about how that happened because you were always so shy around boys. She'd also congratulate you."
This time around, Natsuko's whole body flushed a healthy pink. "Tell her it's too early for congratulations. I haven't confessed my feelings to him yet."
"Huh. Well, I'd say that nerd better man up and confess his feelings to you before you do to him," said Yusuke with closed-eye nods and crossed arms.
"But I'm not even sure Sempai likes me that way! And he's not a nerd, he's just really smart!" protested Natsuko while holding her burning cheeks with her hands and wiggling around. "What should I do?"
"Jeez. All right, I'll tell her!" snapped Yusuke at the curtains. "Keiko says she'll cheer you on. Good luck and do your best. She and I agree that if you've been hanging out in his house so often, then you might as well confess your feelings now and avoid misunderstandings later. I personally think he's already head over heels in love with you if he lets you in his house, but that's just my opinion."
"Tell Keiko-chan that I said thank you," returned Natsuko while adjusting her glasses after it slipped at the bridge of her nose.
She then giggled as she told Yusuke, "Your girlfriend told me just now that back in middle school, she couldn't stop talking about you. Although Hiromi-chan and I couldn't care less because we didn't have boyfriends at the time, she would go on and on about you. She even confessed to us that she has had a crush on you since you were children, after that time when you fell in the water and got sick because of her!"
"Oh-ho. Did she now?" Yusuke's grin almost split his face, his eyes shaped like mischievous almonds. "She never told me that to my face. Ask her what she likes about me. Did she doodle my name or face on the back pages of her notebooks? Did she carve our names on a tree trunk? Inquiring minds need to know!"
For one reason or another, the room got cold to the point that it could double as a meat freezer. Natsuko shivered, hugging Puu tightly to her bosom. "The air conditioner must be broken, huh? Well anyway, Keiko-chan also says that the thing that attracted her to you the most was your..."
"NO!"
At that point, Puu attacked Natsuko, biting her neck-length hair and pecking her on the forehead. Yusuke had to grab hold of the penguin-shaped, floppy-eared spirit beast, who had left Keiko's bespectacled friend in a disheveled, startled mess. "S-Sorry. I don't know what came over him. Haha."
Because Yusuke couldn't leave well enough alone, he whispered to a dumbfounded Natsuko while turning Puu the other direction, his hands clamped over the strange creature's long ears, "Was it my penis?"
"I HEARD THAT, URAMESHI YUSUKE!" Puu shrieked in a girly voice as he bit Yusuke's thumb, flew away from his grasp, and then pecked at his eyes. "Why the hell would I be attracted to you because of that, you pervert? Swine! Pig! Sicko! What kind of a girl do you think I am?"
"Lighten up! It was a joke! I didn't mean it! Give me a break, Keiko!"
"...K-Keiko-chan? What?"
Yusuke and Puu... or rather, the Keiko-possessed Puu... froze in the middle of their slap fight (floppy ears versus human hands) after hearing Natsuko's probing question.
"D-Did that birdie just talk?" stuttered Natsuko, her face pale and bluish and her body shaking harder than a Chihuahua that just drank coffee (a poisonous substance to dogs). "More importantly, did that birdie just talk using Keiko-chan's voice?"
Much, much later, after Yusuke's attempts to pass off Puu as a new penguin-parrot hybrid species that could mimic the voices of others failed spectacularly...
"So let me get this straight... Keiko's soul or astral projection or whatever possessed that birdie. Is that right or I'm way off?"
Simultaneous confirmations of, "Yeah, that's basically it," and "U-huh. You got it on your first try, Natsuko-chan," were provided by Yusuke and Keiko respectively.
"On that note, what exactly is Puu anyway?" questioned Natsuko further.
"One thing at the time, Natsuko-chan," the Keiko-possessed Puu told Natsuko, and her friend thankfully obliged her request. Obviously, they didn't bother telling the petite, talkative girl about the more "esoteric" aspects of Keiko's condition.
"S-So is Keiko-chan... dead?" Natsuko asked, holding her breath as she hugged Puu firmly and grabbed hold of the hand of Yukimura's comatose form at the same time.
"No. Not at all. You can hear the blips on the medical monitors, right?" Yusuke insisted with fervor. "She's still alive, it's just that she's having an... out-of-body experience right now, but we're working on getting her back into her body. She isn't dead, and she'll wake up soon enough!"
Natsuko put a hand on her chest and breathed out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad. The idea of Keiko being an earthbound ghost cursed to haunt this hospital for all eternity scared me for a bit." She saw the moist-eyed look Puu gave her. "N-Not that that will happen to you, Keiko-chan! I'm sure you'll recover from your coma soon too!"
"It must've been shocking seeing definitive proof that ghosts and spirits really exist, huh?" said Keiko through Puu's beak as he used his lengthy ears to pat Natsuko's hand.
"Anyway, thank you for visiting. Don't worry too much about me, I'm in good hands. We'll definitely find a way for me to wake up and recover. Yusuke and... the others are doing their best, and so will I."
"I'm glad to hear that," Natsuko said as she stared at the window overlooking Tokyo City's tall buildings and bright lights. "I can't help but feel concerned about the fact that ghosts exists. Not that you're a real ghost or anything, but you know what I mean."
Keiko nodded Puu's head, even though the creature didn't have a neck to speak of. "You were always afraid of ghosts and the supernatural even when I first met you back in junior high. Even Hiromi couldn't help but tease you about it."
"If I were only speaking about my phobia of ghosts..." Natsuko rested her chin on the back of her hand as her eyes wandered into the blinking neon lights of the multicolored urban jungle of Japan's capital.
"Before I came to visit, I've heard that a ghost from my own past has returned. I wish she was only a figment of my imagination. I wish she's merely a manifestation of my guilt. But if do ghosts exist, then that means...!"
Yusuke suddenly got up from where he sat, his eyes sharp and focused, his body ready to spring into action. "I'm sorry for interrupting your story, Natsuko, but do you mind staying here with Keiko for the time being? I have some business to attend to."
"Huh? What's this about, Yusuke?" the Keiko inside Puu answered, but Yusuke wouldn't even look her way.
"Uh... No. Not at all. I guess I could stay over for about an hour or so. Our school break isn't over yet, and I'll be home alone for the time being. Do you want me to have a sleepover with Keiko-chan?"
"No, that's fine. I won't take long. If worse comes to worst, you can go ahead and leave anyway. Keiko is in good hands with the doctors." He cracked his knuckles while glaring at the ventilation shaft. "I'll be back soon."
"What's going on with Urameshi-san, Keiko-chan?" asked Natsuko as her eyebrows formed a steeple, her forehead creases became more prominent, and her lip shrunk into a small line of concern.
"I don't know, but I'm sure Yusuke can handle it. I trust him." Keiko did the nearest approximation of a shrug that Puu could muster. "Now what were you saying about ghosts from your past?"
Yusuke ran straight for the stairs, whizzing through one flight after another, looking over his shoulder from time to time as though to ensure that he was being followed. After he had ended up atop the hospital roof deck, he demanded, "Who the hell are you and what do you want with Keiko, you goddamn stalker?"
Within the shadows cast by the water tank behind Yusuke, a dark-clothed person with a decorative skull mask emerged and said, "It's unfortunate that we have to meet in such dire circumstances, but I believe that threatening the safety of your loved one is the fastest way to get your attention, Urameshi Yusuke."
"And you are?" snarled Yusuke as he glanced sideways at the shadowy stranger behind him.
"I'm an accomplice of the creature you've lured out into the open."
As if on cue, the person Yusuke called out earlier... the one that had been spying on him, Natsuko, Keiko, and Puu within the confines of the intensive care unit's ventilation shaft... burst forth from the concrete ground, the long, sharp claws of his left arm nearly slitting the half-demon's throat.
"Isn't it a little too early for Halloween, old man? What's up with this gimp of yours? I'm not into that stuff," Yusuke remarked as he grabbed hold of both claws of his attacker and wrestled with him, recoiling in disgust at the animalistic creature's slavering tongue, sharpened teeth, and a cloth mask that concealed half of his face. Eventually, Urameshi's superior strength allowed him to overpower the monster and bring him to his knees.
The skull-masked man laughed and clapped his hands. "Impressive! As expected of the descendant of Raizen. You've apprehended my associate with little to no trouble at all." He exposed himself to the moonlight, revealing his full form and getup: A medium-build ninja wearing an eighteenth-century puppeteer garb, slippers, and gloves, which made his mask look even more ridiculous than before.
"Are they in the middle of taping a special effects show for kids? I've seen more convincing villains from Kamen Rider."
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Edward Gein. I used to be linked with the person you know as Himura Kenshin in my past life, but at present, I'm now working for the being you know as the Chojin as part of his elite guard, the Shin Ju."
'Edward Gein? What's with his name? Is he a foreigner?' To Gein, Yusuke asked, "So? What do you want from me? Are you and your backstabbing crew of tokusatsu rejects planning another sneak attack here in the hospital like you did back in Genkai-baasan's property?"
"Nothing of the sort. I might as well get straight to the point. I know what happened to Yukimura Keiko. She's been cursed by Seiryu of the Saint Beasts, and she's now in a comatose state that neither modern medicine nor your employers from the Spirit World can fix. If you'd allow me, I know how she can be restored back to normal. I can bring her back to life."
Natsuko's eyes darted all over the place while she rubbed her nose. "Back when I was in elementary, Hiromi-chan and I belonged to different cliques although we went to the same class together for three years straight."
"Yeah, I knew about that." Keiko nodded Puu's head. "What about it?"
"I was friends with a girl... who was always depressed. Her parents were divorced, her nose was always buried in books, and she had no other friends in our school because she had just moved to Tokyo from Tohoku, so everyone thought of her as a country bumpkin."
Natsuko cleared her throat. "I'm a wallflower myself, so I considered her my comrade of sorts. She was my only friend for most of my final years in grade school, and so was I to her. We were so close, we were teased as a couple by the boys. It didn't help that I never really talked to any boys because of my shyness, but Suzuka-chan... that's her name... really took all that teasing hard."
"And then...?" Keiko prodded.
Natsuko tightly embraced her friend trapped inside a stuffed-toy-looking creature. "I'm horrible! Lower than dirt! I abandoned her during the time she needed me the most! I wanted so bad to make friends and change my image that I started neglecting her. I left her behind. That's why... That's why...!"
"Natsuko-chan?"
"That's why she killed herself before our grade school graduation ceremonies! I was her only friend, and I betrayed her! I outright distanced myself from her in the hope that I could get better friends and not be ostracized like she was!"
"That's... really terrible. I can see why you'd feel so guilt-ridden. But what does this have to do with ghosts? It's almost more than four years since we were in elementary. Why are you thinking about this now of all times?"
"I got several pages straight from Suzuka-chan's diary in the mail about a month ago. I know it's hers, because I immediately recognized the handwriting. It chronicled the point where we started drifting apart. It detailed every last sin I committed. I could only read it once; it made me sick to my stomach how I've made her suffer all this time without even realizing it."
"A-Are you sure it's Suzuka-chan's handwriting? It's been so long, and this could be a nasty prank from one of your old bullies..."
"No. There's more. I know it's true because Hiromi-chan got pages from Suzuka-chan's diary too. Everyone in our class that made fun of her, avoided her, and did practical jokes on her, she listed down on her diary. The scariest part here is that the bullies who made Suzuka-chan suffer the most started getting death threats and were being stalked by some unknown person who knew everything about them."
Keiko wiped the tears from Natsuko's eyes with Puu's floppy ears.
"Even though the police were involved, they considered the acts as nothing more than lowbrow pranks. However, one thing led to another, and now a former classmate of ours... Miyako... has gone missing. She was even on the local news a week or two ago."
Before Keiko could do anything about it... not that she could, seeing who it was her soul possessed... Natsuko slid off her chair, bowed her head low, and ended up on the floor on all fours.
"Keiko-chan, I'm scared. I feel frightened, guilty, and alone. I haven't even told Sempai about any of this. You're the only other person I can talk to about the incident aside from Hiromi-chan. This, on top of your coma three weeks ago, has been stressing me out all month. I'm about to have a nervous breakdown."
Puu flew atop Natsuko's back and patted her hair while saying, "There, there," because Keiko didn't know what else to say.
Sure, Yukimura had lost contact with several of her childhood friends aside from Urameshi as time passed by, but she never outright betrayed any of them. She couldn't imagine Natsuko doing such a thing either, because she considered her as one of her most loyal and trustworthy companions.
The most important issue in Keiko's mind right now was whether or not the "ghost" that was haunting Natsuko really was a ghost at all. Even so, her friend needed her, and she'd help her to the best of her abilities regardless if the Spirit World considered this a "good karma" gathering mission or not.
'He says he can save Keiko's life?' was the hazy thought that floated around Yusuke's head before he spat out, "Don't play me for a fool! Like I'd trust anyone associated with that Chojin bastard! You idiots are the reason why we're in this mess! Gathering good karma to counteract the bad karma Seiryu inflicted upon Keiko is a good enough method to heal her."
"Are you sure about that?" asked Gein while resting his finger on his mask's chin strap. "I was watching when you and your posse battled that earthbound ghost inside that mansion earlier today. Aren't you wondering why she turned into a monster all of a sudden? How she gained such a huge amount of negative energy when, earlier on, she was haunting the mansion like a normal spirit according to the accounts of the rich girl you rescued?"
"You goddamn stalker! Mind your own business!" To Urameshi's surprise, Gein's words seemingly brought a second wind to the long-armed freak he had at his mercy, which soon left them at a standstill of sorts, their arms interlocked and the concrete beneath their feet buckling from the force they were exerting upon each other.
"This isn't my first barbecue, you know. I've been solving ghost-related cases for years now. In fact, that shinigami trainee we had with us was a poltergeist I saved too," Yusuke maintained before lifting his enemy off of the ground and pile-driving him to oblivion. This proved to be a mistake as, like a concrete-breaking mole, the long-armed masked beast dug himself out of harm's way.
"Did that trainee turn into an outright monster like Akemi did? I highly doubt that." With a snap, the concrete-digging creature grabbed hold of Urameshi from behind. The teenaged ramen vendor reacted immediately, pummeling his foe with backhanded fists and elbows of fury.
"He is Yatsume Mumyoi, or if you'd prefer, the Nameless Yatsume. Believe it or not, he was once human: A member of a gold-mining clan with a special tradition that allows them to lengthen their limbs about one and a half times as long as normal. Regardless, because he's a mere human revived in modern times, he'd normally be no match against an S-Class hanyou like yourself."
'Normally...?'
Yusuke was about to blast Yatsume away with his Shot Gun special attack when the human-turned-demon's black tights melted into tar while, from out nowhere, bandages with dozens of sutra written on them wrapped themselves around his lithe form. The teen fired off his spirit energy buckshot anyway.
"However, by doing some bodily experiments and psychic surgery on him, I was able to transform Yatsume into a separate aspect of the Chojin's self. Just as the Dai Shin Kan's Sadojima Houji serves as the Chojin's conduit and dark priest, Yatsume Mumyoi now serves as the Chojin's container for his violent nature and wildness. In a sense, you're basically fighting the Chojin right now."
No matter how many times Yusuke fired off his Shot Gun, the mummified tar monster kept healing his elongated limbs and nimble body.
The half-youkai was reminded of his and Kuwabara's annoyance in fighting the Elder Toguro thanks to the shapeshifter's regenerating shenanigans. The late Hiruma Brothers were the same breed of regenerator, come to think of it.
Mumyoi cackled. "Gotcha."
The rest of the fight... if it could be called that... became a blur of claws, spearheads, tendrils, jaws, needles, teeth, blades, spikes, swords, chains, sickles, and all sorts of sharp instruments of death. Yatsume had full control of the murky substance that covered his bandaged body, which allowed him to shapeshift his limbs into anything his cold and black heart desired.
The ebony ichor seared like acid and burned like lava, yet it also allowed Mumyoi infinite flexibility that allowed him to survive Yusuke's desperate attempts at pummeling him to submission with the shock-absorbing properties of rubber.
The color, shape, size, texture, and temperature of the material that covered the former assassin's body were all in Yatsume's full control, which enabled him to turn the half-demon into a pincushion while burning and smothering him at the same time.
The Nameless Yatsume held the thoroughly spent and injured Yusuke by the hair, lifting him high up in the air as his clawed fingers threatened to crush his head like a walnut. The teenager snorted in contempt as his eyes burned with fury and anticipation. "JYU REI...!"
"Easy there, Mister Urameshi. I'm quite aware that once you release your full power, you have the ability to match Yatsume's abilities or even go beyond them. I only brought him here to prove a point," Gein said.
"And what point is that?" demanded Yusuke.
"Haven't you already figured it out? Doesn't Yatsume's form remind you of anything? Doesn't he look like the poltergeist you helped vanquish earlier? It was Yukimura Keiko's bad karma that turned that girl into a monster." Gein's expression remained unreadable behind his over-the-top skull mask.
Urameshi's eyes widened in realization as he grasped Mumyoi's claws and attempted to pry them open. "...No! You're lying! He doesn't look anything like her!"
"Don't be in denial. Here are the facts. Yukimura Keiko's soul is so full of bad karma and jaki that it's affecting all the lost souls around her. Your efforts to revive her through acts of kindness will only backfire in your face in the long run. As cruel as it may be, her very presence around the spirits of the dead will only worsen their fate as well as hers. She was already doomed from the start."
"And you're saying you have a better solution than we do?" Yusuke escaped Yatsume's grip and threw a punch at him. However, his foe easily dodged the attack.
"Yes. The Spirit World has no idea what it's dealing with. The only thing they know about jaki is how to seal it and store it away; out of sight, out of mind. Unless you want Miss Yukimura's body to end up with water in her brain and her soul transformed into a parody of its former self, I suggest you take my offer."
Yatsume tried to embrace Yusuke with a spiky body and trap him inside an iron maiden coffin, but his bandaged and tarred form turned into soup from the heat of the young Urameshi's determined aura.
"No thanks. I don't approve of scams where the person who ruined you is the same person who'll offer to fix you up for a price. You're no better than Ichigaki."
Muffled laughter came forth Gein's mask. "Ah. Doctor Ichigaki. Now that name takes me back." He shrugged. "A pity. Don't say I didn't warn you." He snapped his gloved fingers at Mumyoi. "It's time for us to go, Yatsume. You've bared your fangs. Let's leave before you're actually forced to fight a mazoku."
Yatsume growled and stood his ground. "You're not the boss of me. He's my prey now. Let him release his true power. The weak is food for the strong. If I can conquer someone as strong as he is, then I can prove that I'm the strongest of them all!"
As Gein was about to retort, "Suit yourself," and leap away, all three of them heard the unmistakable tinkling of cracked glass and the footsteps of leather shoes on one side of the building.
After a few more seconds, out emerged a blue-uniformed, lean-faced, and antennae-banged officer of the law from below the edge of the building's upper deck, his mouth chewing on a burning cigarette stick. He wielded his Japanese sword like a spear and aimed it straight at Gein's head.
"SAITO HAJIME! We meet again!" Mumyoi greeted his old Shinsengumi nemesis while intercepting his charge, confident that the Chojin's violent power would pull him through. Unfortunately for him, Saito crushed and pureed his left arm and most of his shoulder with ease, as though it weren't even there.
As Yatsude regenerated his lost limb, the policeman announced, "I am Lieutenant Fujita Goro. You're the Shin Ju's and Unit 731's Edward Gein and the Dai Shin Kan's Yatsume Mumyoi. You're both under arrest for being known associates of the Overfiend. I'll be taking you in for questioning right now."
'Jeez, this hospital's security guards mean serious business!' observed Yusuke as Saito or Fujita ran roughshod over the Chojin's two henchmen. 'So which one is this guy's name anyway? Saito or Fujita? And why does that name sound familiar?'
"You've done your research, former Third Unit Captain of the Shinshu Troop and ex-member of the police force and the Imperial Japanese Army. I'm also amazed at how little we know about your present self," confessed Gein as piano-wire strings suddenly appeared tied around his fingers. "You've been dead for seventy-eight years and yet here you are, fresh as a daisy. Why is that?"
"That's an interesting codename you have. Did you intentionally name yourself after an American body snatcher, Gein?" Fujita answered the puppet master's question with a question of his own as he drew close.
"A little bit of both. I actually had the name 'Gein' before that serial killer was even born," Gein informed before one pull of his strings resulted in the emergence of the meat puppet known as Iwanbo from underground, which meant that it was probably hidden beforehand by Yatsume. Fujita's blade punched into the doughy marionette from its tip to the sword handle.
"We'll be seeing you around, Lieutenant," said Gein before he and Mumyoi dove right off the building.
"Don't think this is the last you've seen of us, Urameshi Yusuke! Saito Hajime!" shouted Yatsume while wincing at his sore yet freshly regenerated arm.
Meanwhile, Iwanbo (the first version that was used to infiltrate the Juppon Gatana) spewed out a bomb that exploded immediately before even the decently fast Yusuke could save the policeman.
Not that he needed to anyway, because soon enough, a slightly burnt but otherwise unharmed Goro emerged from the raging fires of the explosion as though he'd merely slipped and fell into a dirty, brick chimney. He spat the flaming piece of wrapped up tobacco in his mouth before its flames reached his lips.
"HEY! I remember you now! Kuwabara mentioned you to me. You're that historical figure guy who rescued my girlfriend from that bastard, Seiryu!" said Yusuke while waving at the officer who saved his hide, or at the very least saved him the effort of kicking the hides of those two Chojin lackeys. "Thanks. I owe you not one, but two... uh, favors!"
The lieutenant walked straight past Urameshi while scraping off bits of soot and patting down the small embers on his uniform. "Hey, aren't you going to say anything?" asked Yusuke as he grabbed hold of the copper's shoulder.
Fujita harrumphed as he brushed the half-demon's hand away. "I have nothing to say to a person who wastes his time and limits his power to save someone who cannot be saved instead of using his gifts to battle an ever-present danger that threatens all three worlds."
Yusuke was left with a gaping mouth, an hanging jaw, and slumped shoulders as the policeman shut the door on his face. "Jeez! I still appreciate your help and all, but you don't have to be a dick about it!"
He also wondered why the policeman, for whatever reason, sounded like Meikai's Yakumo.
By the time Yusuke walked back to Keiko's room at the ICU, Natsuko was long gone.
He didn't like what Keiko (who had gone past the thirty minute mark for spirits to safely possess living creatures, so she'd already left Puu's body) told him as soon as he got there, though.
"I know what my second mission is."
After that, she asked what'd happened to him while he was away, taking note of all the freshly healed scars and stab wounds all over his body. She also pointed out the explosion that the entire hospital heard, which resulted in the arrival of the Tokyo fire department.
Yusuke didn't have the heart to tell Keiko that, according to the Chojin's personal surgeon or whatever, her mere presence was injecting even more bad karma into earthbound spirits because of all the negative energy that was leaking out of her cursed soul.
'He's lying. We're going to prove that skull-masked puppeteer wrong,' was Urameshi's mantra to himself.
At one of the outdoor tables of a Tokyo coffee shop...
"Puu!" Puu chirped, his head poking out of a bag. Yusuke stuffed him right back in.
"I'm happy that Keiko-neechan is taking the initiative to track down earthbound spirits by herself, but I wish she checked with me first," mentioned Sayaka while writing her latest report on Miss Yukimura's newest mission.
Yusuke rolled his eyes. "The only reason we followed Shota around was because you wanted to check up on your puppy love. The fact that there was a poltergeist running amuck was pure coincidence. Keiko's choice in missions is as good as any."
"Huh. You're being surprisingly supportive today, Yusuke," Keiko noticed before giving her boyfriend a cold peck on the cheek. "I hope you're doing this out of good faith and not because you're feeling guilty about something."
"Hey, look! It's Natsuko! She's right on time!" a sweaty Yusuke outright changed the subject while Keiko puffed her cheeks and stared daggers at him.
"Hi, Urameshi-san. Did you wait long?"
"Nope. Have a seat over there, Natsuko."
Eventually, the five of them (two if one only counted the visible, alive, and human people) gathered together under one, umbrella-topped table.
"This is a bad idea. Can you speak to Keiko-chan for me? She already has enough problems to be worrying about the problems of others!" complained Natsuko to Yusuke, unaware that there were already two floating spirits before her.
"She insists that you're her friend, so it's only natural for her to be involved."
"Well, can I speak to her using Puu-chan, then?"
"Nope, sorry. She can only possess living creatures for up to thirty minutes each day," Yusuke said while Puu again poked his head out of the knapsack after hearing his name, which prompted the spirit detective to put him inside again.
"Well, can she possess you?" queried Natsuko further.
"If you're going to insist on asking her to give up, it'll be a waste of time."
Natsuko closed her eyes and exhaled. She opened one eye at Yusuke and relented, "Fine. What does she want?"
"She wants to contact Hiromi. In case the ghost of Suzuka strikes either of you, Keiko wants to be there to confront her."
"We're already at the cafe right in front of Hiromi-chan's school. She usually hangs out here during lunch," pointed out Natsuko. She then buried her face in her hands in defeat.
"It's no use. After everyone in my former sixth grade class started getting pages from Suzuka-chan's lost diary, Hiromi-chan was among the most affected of us all. Ever since that happened, I haven't seen her. I can barely keep in contact with her. It certainly doesn't help that all three of us friends from Sarayashiki ended up in different high schools."
Yusuke nodded as he scoped out the high school in question and took a slurp of the iced coffee he ordered. Like with Keiko's school, it was an all-girls school. "Out of curiosity, which high school are you going to?"
"I'm going to Meiou High. The school Hiromi-chan is going to is called Oumi Academy. Keiko-chan is attending Daiichi High School, right?"
"Yep." Urameshi slicked his hair, remembering that Keiko was already in the middle of preparing for her university exams before that nonsense with Seiryu happened. "Any ideas? Or are we just going to wait for this old ghost friend of yours to come out and haunt you?"
Natsuko took a sip of her own drink. "I was kind of hoping Hiromi-chan already came back to the apartment she's renting nearby. Classes are about to start soon anyway, after all."
Yusuke wiped the sweat off his brow. He excused himself to use the john located within the cafe, leaving his backpack full of Puu under Natsuko's (and an unseen Keiko's) care.
Sayaka gave Yusuke the same puffed-up cheeks and sullen-eyed look that Keiko aimed at him earlier.
"What's your problem, kid? Oh, and don't follow me into the men's room."
"But Big Bro, I'm not doing anything at all in this mission! I was a lot more useful in our last mission!"
"The one who needs to gather good karma for herself is Keiko, not you. Do what Botan does during these missions. Tell us what's going on, supply us with gadgets or trinkets for future use, and report back to that pacifier-sucking brat anything that needs reporting. You're a Spirit World Inspector now. Do some... inspecting!"
"But that's so boring!" complained Sayaka.
"But that's your job!" countered Urameshi. "I don't want you firing off spiritual lasers or getting eaten by hungry poltergeists. Promise me you won't do any of that dangerous stuff like a good shinigami-in-training, okay?"
Both ghost and half-demon halted in mid-float and mid-step as they chanced upon a sunglasses-wearing girl with twin ponytails standing in their way. She was about Natsuko's or Keiko's age, from what Yusuke could gather. "Um, can I help you, miss...?
The pony-tailed girl answered Urameshi back with a crisp slap to his face that would've made Keiko proud.
To Be Continued...
Next: Keiko's second mission continues.
Yeah, Natsuko is the canonical name of the glasses-wearing friend of Keiko (the other one was never named in either the manga or anime). Yes, I'm also willing to risk redundancy by having two Natsus in this series. It's not as if they're going to meet or anything.
Moreover, just in case I forgot, the "Shichosei" or "Star of Death" is actually a reference to Fist of the North Star and the star that appears whenever a character is fated to die.
May kailangan pa ba akong sabihin?
Abdiel