Demon Sword
A Yuyu Hakusho/Rurouni Kenshin Crossover Fan Fiction Story by Chester Castañeda
Original Concept by Chad Yang
Although the Aokigahara suicide pact was foiled, Kurama's troubles with the Shin Juppon Gatana had just begun.
Disclaimer: Yuyu Hakusho is the rightful property of Yoshihiro Togashi, Shueisha, Fuji TV, and Studio 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 38: Red Rose in the Darkness (Part 6)
Back at the smoldering remnants of the area where the Aokigahara suicide pact was supposed to take place...
After Shuichi "Kurama" Minamino was finished tending the wounds of his fellow Spirit World soldiers, he bowed low at all of them to the point of almost prostrating himself like a newlywed wife greeting her husband.
The people present aside from Kurama were Detective Daiji Matsudaira (Aoshi Shinomori's Heisei-Era reincarnation), Asato Kido (the boy with shadow powers who once kidnapped Yusuke Urameshi at Genkai's behest), Kazuma Kuwabara (the Reikai Tantei with the ability to use the Dimension Sword), Mitsunari Yanagisawa (the boy with the ability to change into the form of anyone he touched), and Kenshin Himura (who had now manifested himself through his own power instead of using the energy of anyone who wielded the Demon Sword).
"I apologize deeply. I was careless. I didn't expect Jine to take the place of the injured Xinhai in overseeing the suicide pact. I also didn't expect that the Shin Ju's extra backup to be none other than Suzaku. I should've figured that out after I saw that golden lightning bolt hit Natsuki earlier on, when we first met," said Kurama, before he continued and trailed off, "I also didn't expect Kido-kun to..."
"Don't worry about it, Kurama!" assured Yanagisawa while grabbing hold of the solemn Kido's shoulder and giving it a shake. "It can't be helped! Even though your plan to use our powers took the 'Shin Ju' by surprise, we couldn't possibly predict the effects of the Demon Sword on each of us!"
"That's right, Kurama! Besides, everything went fine in the end! You were, for the most part, able to predict their every move, none of us died, and we even foiled their attempt at creating a new Class-S comrade of theirs!" chimed in Kuwabara as he slapped Kurama's back hard.
"Kuwabara-kun." Kurama smiled back at his comrade, then turned his attention back to Mitsunari and Asato. "I've asked far too much from out of the both of you. It was not my intention for you to risk your lives out here, after you've done so much for us in the past."
"No, no, it's quite all right, dude," said Yanagisawa, although his lazy eyes couldn't quite meet Kurama's at the moment. "It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye... or his life, right?"
The redhead didn't need to use his telepathic abilities to be able to read what was going on in Yana's head at the moment. 'It's all right, but this is the last time we'll ever do favors from you,' was the unsaid sentiment that Mitsunari had regarding the situation, and Kurama couldn't blame him.
The broom-haired teenager had already mentioned how disturbing it was for Kenshin to easily take over of his body at a moment's notice when they were checking out the capabilities of the Demon Sword. The Reikai artifact could very well erase his personality if he were to use it for an extended period of time.
"I have to apologize too, man," interjected the bleach-haired, pale-as-the-moonlight, and delinquent-looking Kido. "I don't know what came over me. I just... became really sadistic all of a sudden. Even though I kicked their asses, I wasn't thinking straight, like I went drunk because of my power or something."
'Just like with me,' realized Kurama, remembering the fact that he had almost unwittingly claimed the life of the Spirit World's remaining ruler, Koenma Daio, after he wielded the Demon Sword for the first time.
"It's not your fault," insisted Kenshin, the ghost whom the Spirit World designated as the Guardian of the Youtou Shinnoken. "My memories haven't been fully restored, but if I have to guess, there may be corruptive elements within the sword itself."
Himura closed his eyes as he remembered Suzaku's words. 'The Demon Sword isn't a sword made to kill demons, but a sword that's made for demons,' Suzaku had revealed.
Yanagisawa, Kido, and Kurama swallowed hard. Although the appeal of magnifying their power by many leagues and magnitudes might sound tempting, they now knew better. The Youtou Shinnoken was a double-edged sword indeed.
Kurama asked Kenshin, "Why do you suppose the Demon Sword is capable of doing these things? Suzaku mentioned it being made for the use of youkai. Is it designed to corrupt or...?"
Kenshin let out a deep breath. "I'm not sure. My memories are vague. All I remember was that as soon as I died, I was tasked with safeguarding the sword by Koenma-dono." He bit his lip. "It may have something to do with my Battousai self, though."
"Battousai self?" repeated both Asato and Mitsunari as Kurama narrowed his eyes.
Daiji interjected, "I... or rather, my past self, Shinomori Aoshi... had crossed swords with Himura Battousai. He had two personalities, one was a kind swordsman who protected the weak, and the other was a ruthless assassin who had no peer, so he was called the Strongest of the Hitokiri."
"Oh, you mean like Hitokiri Gensai from the Bakumatsu, huh? I heard he also looked like a girl," chimed in Kuwabara while thinking to himself, 'Boy, who would've thought those history lessons from school would come in handy?'
Himura chuckled humorlessly. "It may or may not be the sword's fault why it's a corruptive influence. Even when Yusuke-dono was tasked to wield the sword, he turned into his mazoku form while I myself reverted into the Battousai. It could be my Battousai self in action that's causing the Youtou Shinnoken to taint the hearts of its wielders," supposed Himura.
"B-But I saw you... felt you... hold back against Suzaku when you had the opportunity to finish him off once and for all," said Yanagisawa in defense of the former hitokiri. "That must've been hard, because you were using your ultimate technique back then, right?"
Kido also added, "When I was about to finish off that skull-looking swordsman and that electric eel demon with my Shadow Puppetry, I noticed Kurama's vines go for the Demon Sword. I could've done something, but then I stopped myself. It was you who stopped me, wasn't it?"
Kenshin's wan smile, as weak as it was, appeared more sincere this time around.
Kurama patted Kenshin's back. "Koenma picked the right man to keep the Demon Sword's wickedness in check. You truly are the only one who could control the Youtou Shinnoken's great power."
"Thank you, Kurama-dono. That means a lot to me."
Kuwabara stretched and summoned the Jigen Tou. "Well, anyway, now that everything's said and done, I should try and fetch ol' Rooster Head back from Itsuki's pocket dimension."
Although his "rematch" with Rando seemed to steal his thunder, he had more or else gained better control of his sword after weeks of rest (while stalking Goro Fujita, also known as Hajime Saito).
"There'll be no need for that, Boke." Afterwards, a punch floored Kuwabara to the ground. Strangely enough, it wasn't only the recipient of the punch that got knocked down, but also the one who threw it.
"ROOSTER HEAD! What the hell are you doing here back so soon?" asked Kuwabara as he rubbed his jaw. "And what happened to your face? It's swelling up something fierce, like you're having an allergic reaction to lobsters or something!"
"When were you planning to get me out there? I was getting sick and tired of murdering an endless parade of green-haired, one-eyed men!" cried Sanosuke Sagara, user of the Duel Extreme Fist. He wanted to deploy the Futae no Kiwami on Kuwabara as well, but he was too spent to do so.
"Don't lie, Rooster Head! Natsuki and I saw you lying on the sidewalk near Kawaguchiko, out cold! Some of the people around thought you were a homeless person, so they kept throwing spare change at you!" called out Yahiko, to Sanosuke's chagrin. "What's worse is that you still pocketed the money!"
"SHUT UP! I only wanted to know what money in this day and age looked like, that's all!" screamed Sanosuke back, his lungs and voice still having plenty of energy even though his legs remained as wobbly as jelly.
"Hey, Kurama! Hey, Kenshin! Hey, Aoshi! Hey... people I don't know," greeted Yahiko one-by-one before Natsuki poked him with her metal stick and berated, "His name is Detective Matsudaira, not Aoshi! Don't call Daiji-sempai that!"
"Why not? He looks like his past self, save for the suit and tie. I can't help it."
"If you can stop calling me Cat Eyes, then you can stop calling him Aoshi!"
"It's quite all right, Natsuki-kun. He's technically correct in calling me 'Aoshi'," said Daiji. "I'm glad you came out safe and sound. You even made a new friend out of this mission."
"H-He's not m-my friend!" stammered Natsuki before harrumphing. "He's just some stupid boy, that's all."
'So what? We're enemies now? I don't get that girl. She's certainly quite different from Tsubame,' decided Yahiko before facing Kurama and Kenshin. He bowed low.
"I'm sorry to report that the kabuki demon beat us to the punch. I didn't realize he'd have so many techniques."
Kurama waved the boyish samurai off. "It's perfectly fine, Yahiko-kun. We didn't have problems with Rando interfering with his copied Jigen Tou, so as far as I'm concerned, you two have done your part and everything went according to plan regardless."
Yahiko nodded and turned towards Kenshin. "I'm going to get that kabuki bastard if it's the last thing I do, though."
Kenshin ruffled Myojin's sea-urchin hair. "I wish I'd been there to see you grow into the fine young man you are right now. Your father would've been proud of you."
"He is," boasted Yahiko as he rubbed his nose with his pointer finger. "He told me so himself when I arrived in Heaven to literally meet my ancestors. Y'know, when I myself died."
"Ah, so you might even be older than you appear, huh?" chuckled Himura. "When I died, I was older than you, but when we met again, you probably had more experience than I have by now. Have a drink with me some time so that we can talk about what you've been up to."
Yahiko's eyes bugged out. "Y-You drink, Kenshin?"
Kenshin's eyes bugged out in reaction to Yahiko's reaction. "Oro? I can't?"
"Kuwabara-kun, I'll need your teleportation powers now," requested Daiji, and Kuwabara complied after he ceased his horseplay with Sanosuke.
"Sure thing, Detective."
"Where are you going now, Detective Matsudaira?" asked Kurama.
"To the entrance of Aokigahara. The people you've saved from both the Mad Bomber and Suzaku are witnesses to the crimes of the One-Eight-Ten Killer. They're my ticket to clashing swords with the real Xinhai Feng," explained Daiji before Kuwabara slashed a portal straight to the exact location he described.
Yahiko shook his head and nudged the seated Sano with his foot. "Who would've thought that Raijuta would end up becoming some sort of serial killer mastermind and Triad Leader that has even Shinomori Aoshi stumped?"
Sanosuke shrugged. "I don't care what that braggart is supposed to be right now. He's still always going to be Shoulder Feathers the Chicken-Shit Coward to me."
His back turned against everyone, Matsudaira gave the whispering Sano and Yahiko a sidelong glance and curved his mouth slightly upwards.
"In that regard, Isurugi Raijuta never actually changed. He truly is and forever will be a coward," the policeman said before he entered the portal just as it was closing.
Kazuma's grin was as wide as his face. "Who else wants to ride the Kuwabara Express?"
Back in Mushiyori City, in a rental apartment of sorts...
"What's on your mind, Kaito-sempai?" asked Natsuko (not Shinkai) to Yu Kaito. This particular Natsuko was one of two of Keiko Yukimura's closest friends; the one who wore glasses, to be exact.
Kaito chuckled as he scratched his head. "Just stuff. Nothing to be concerned about," he reassured.
"Okay," murmured Natsuko as she adjusted her glasses and played more Street Fighter II. At the back of Yu's mind, he heard Kido and Yana tease him about not having the balls to confess his love for his underclassman. Underclasswoman. Whatever.
With that said, something else was bothering the linguistics expert and master of the power known as "Taboo", wherein anybody who ended up in his territory would have to follow his rules.
No violence could be enacted upon himself and others while inside Taboo. Also, they'd have to play word games with him. It was a lot more impressive a skill than it sounded on paper, to be honest.
For example, Kaito broke Hiei's sword when the diminutive hothead tried to cut his head off. Apparently, many demons and humans have been defeated by this half-pint youkai.
Also, anyone who said a word or words that Kaito deemed as "taboo" while inside his territory would have their souls sucked out of their bodies. Even Yu himself was not immune to his own power's soul-sucking capabilities.
Therefore, it was such a shame that Kurama's Demon Sword had zero effect on him. Kido and Yana were shouting out, "It's hot!" after Kaito made "hot" his taboo word while holding the Youtou Shinnoken. Nothing happened. Both his friends had their powers increase thanks to the Reikai artifact. That was not the case with him at all.
While the warehouse they were using for Demon Sword experimentation really was as balmy as a tropical island, neither Asato nor Mitsunari had their souls ejected out of their bodies after saying the word "Hot", regardless of how many times they did so.
It was if the Demon Sword nullified the special powers of Shuichi Minamino's fellow alumni from Meiou High School. It was indeed a disappointing turn of events.
Kaito wanted to be part of Kurama's latest mission for the Spirit World too, just like in the old days, when Shinobu Sensui was running amok.
Come to think of it, he heard something in the news about a foiled suicide pact at Aokigahara as well. Could that incident have something to do with the aforementioned Spirit World mission?
How about what happened in Nishi-Shinjuku? Specifically, the case involving the top floors of a building collapsing due to faulty construction (or so the police claimed)?
Kaito wasn't privy to what was going on with Reikai at present, but if he were a betting man, he'd swear that all those different events had something to do with Reikai-related business. He had a gut feeling that was the case.
A day after the disastrous Aokigahara campaign...
Back inside the spacious, zero-gravity junkyard known as Itsuki's pocket dimension, several of the Shin Juppon Gatana had gathered, floating around in the ether of the limitless void full of trash gathered from many different centuries of human civilization.
"GODAMMIT, I was so close! So close! I tripped at the finish line, but I was so close to wielding the power of the Demon Sword! To think that the ghost of a human and the weakest of Urameshi's comrades would best me, the Leader of the Shisejyu...!"
"The three of the four Shisejyu are already dead, and the Chojin has no intention of bringing those failures back to life again. Your ranking as the leader of the Saint Beasts is of no use here. You're only one of ten of the Shin Juppon Gatana. You have no right to boast," said Jine Udo with a hoarse throat (that Daiji nearly slit apart yesterday).
"You should watch your mouth, Junior. I'm four centuries older than you," said Suzaku as he used his magnetic powers to control the Kanji Killer's blade and make it rest near Udo's neck, intending to finish the botched decapitation job that the detective started.
"Unlike me, you've actually been reincarnated as a mere human. Do you wish to lose your life and let Koenma Daio throw you into one of the seven hells? Don't forget, you still owe me for killing Murugu."
Jine cackled, his lower jaw seemingly unhinging itself from the upper maxillary. "You're mad at me for killing that annoying bird? You should thank me."
He then seethed, "Yes. Yes, I am human. Not a zombie like you. I answer to no one and I don't owe my life to the Chojin in the least. I'm free to do whatever I want."
The most zombie-looking of the Chojin's New Ten Swords had just called Suzaku a zombie. What was the world coming to?
"No, that only means you're beholden by the rules of the Spirit World instead. You're no more a slave than we are, but this time your master is Reikai," reasoned Suzaku as he made Jine's blade's edge bite into his skin. The Kanji Killer didn't even look fazed.
"I don't want to hear that from someone who'd rather use the Demon Sword as a shortcut to level yourself up instead of gaining power through your own abilities," said Jine as his eyes froze Suzaku into place while he used his strength to overcome the magnetic power of the electric demon.
The two separated after a grenade was tossed at their direction. An explosion ensued, which left both the Kanji Killer and the Red Phoenix on high alert.
"So you've failed too, huh?" asked Karasu. "If you're both that eager to die, then you shouldn't have dodged that grenade."
The crow demon had his mask strapped onto his face once more, and his curly blond locks returning to their "normal" black, stringy state. He then glared at Suzaku in particular.
"What are you looking at?" demanded the Shisejyu Leader.
"I'm looking at the traitor who almost claimed all of my prey for himself. Those Chikyusei cultists were reserved for me, you opportunistic C-Level demon," said Karasu as his hand glowed with energy. "I heard it all from Itsuki."
'That snitch.' Suzaku harrumphed and turned his head to the side. "It's not as if you were going to use all that karma and negative energy anyway, so I might as well have claimed those wretched souls for myself. And I'm A-Level now, for your information."
"Maybe I should torture you instead and use your suffering as a means for me to gain S-Level," supposed Karasu as his energy mines from earlier floated towards Suzaku's direction.
"I'd like to see you try, you errand boy of the Toguro Brothers," dared Suzaku as his aura crackled with electrical might that detonated several of the floating aerial bombs before they could touch him.
"I'm the only one of you losers who actually won against his opponents, huh?" the last one to arrive in the pocket dimension... the albino-skinned, vein-filled, and red-haired Rando, was bathed with glares, which only made him feel smugger.
"I don't want to hear that from someone who only reached Class-A just recently," harrumphed Suzaku while Rando cackled.
"At least I'm not trying to find shortcuts to make myself more powerful, unlike you who couldn't wait to get your hands on that Demon Sword!"
"The Youtou Shinnoken is supposed to be an artifact made for demons to be wielded by demons. It's not my fault you were too invested in beating some half-human hybrid trash instead of fulfilling your true demonic potential!" rebuked Suzaku.
Ignoring the bickering youkai, Jine wondered, "So where is Sensui's ex-lover, anyway?"
The Kanji Killer, prior to his joining of the New Juppon Gatana, was also interested in fighting Sensui, one of the few S-Class humans to ever exist (the others being Genkai and Toguro the Younger at their peak; Yusuke didn't count because he was a half-demon), which was why he knew all about Sensui, Itsuki, and their relationship.
"I'm over here." As Itsuki said those words, the pocket dimension that Suzaku, Jine, and Karasu occupied disappeared, replaced by a terraced mountain.
As they turned, a battered Itsuki greeted them. He had a limp and bruises so purplish that he looked like he'd been blasted to smithereens then tortured by a bunch of sadistic S-Class demons straight from Makai.
"What the hell happened to you?" Suzaku was the first of his fellow New Ten Swords to point out the elephant in the room. "Don't tell me that the Battousai's companion did this to you?"
Itsuki snorted as he smirked, but said nothing more, his one good eye (the one that Kuwabara wasn't able to slice with his Jigen Tou way back when) barely able to open. "Come with me."
As soon as the trio of youkai (not a quartet, because the Kanji Killer was human, as established earlier) followed Itsuki across a cliff located on Mount Purgatory in the Spirit World, the sweltering winds from what seemed to be an active volcano blasted heat on their faces.
One half of the Chojin's Shin Juppon Gatana had finally arrived inside the temporary headquarters of the Triad's Shinjuku Branch.
"Where are we?" asked Jine.
"Mount Rengoku," replied Itsuki. Karasu himself remained quiet, as though he'd been there before. They were, after all, near Aokigahara still, which was rumored to have a direct link to Limbo.
"W-What? You mean we're in the Spirit World?" asked Rando.
Sure enough, their "bodies" have become transparent, because their ghosts were the ones traversing the purgatorial peak. The battle wounds they had were gone, and Itsuki himself, as soon as he stepped out of the warehouse, was healed of all his damage, including the scar Kuwabara left on his eye.
The quintet of human and demons checked themselves out. Rando even felt his power rise thanks to the presence of all the suffering souls in Purgatory, particularly in Limbo.
However, the one who underwent the most drastic change was Udo, who now appeared garbed in his Nineteenth Century outfit and had features that looked even more ghoulish than before. Ironically, he looked the most demonic among the lot, despite not being an actual demon.
They looked back in time to see that their bodies had actually been left behind inside the warehouse (the portal connecting the Spirit World and Human World was still open) while ethereal chains linked their physical forms to their respective souls.
"What's the meaning of this?" demanded Suzaku.
On the cliff overlooking the Seven Terraces of Purgatory atop what appeared to be a volcano that was so hot, it seared right though the ectoplasm of the floating spirits of the five New Ten Swords members stood a hulking brute of a man with black feathers on his shoulders and light brown spiky hair.
"And who the hell are you?" asked Rando before the man glared at him and sneered.
"Know your place in the organization and bow to your superiors, demon," rebuked the man as a flaming shingami with crimson and black jaki appeared beside him with a nodachi.
"Ah. So you're Isurugi Raijuta, are you not?" said the grinning Jine. "Or rather..."
As recognition dawned in the eyes of Suzaku, Udo, and Rando, Raijuta Isurugi's features started to change and morph into the person they knew the most: Feng Xinhai, the feared mob boss of the Shinjuku Underground Society. He wore a business suit and his amputated arm was completely whole in his spirit form.
"I see you've all failed in your mission to sacrifice the Chikyusei members in a cult mass suicide. Perhaps you should've offered them Kool-Aid laced with cyanide instead," said Xinhai, referencing the popular urban legend regarding the Peoples Temple Cult suicide in Jonestown back in November 18, 1978.
That silenced all of them, although Jine himself could not contain his smirk, like he didn't give a damn at all.
"It's because your plan was too convoluted!" Suzaku spat out, breaking the ice. "If you wanted to have human sacrifices, why bother with all that ceremony? I could've killed those damn humans in my sleep!"
"And yet you couldn't in this instance. Why is that?" probed the Triad Mountain Master. "The 'ceremony' is important, or else," he undid his top to reveal the "Hei" scar etched on his back by none other than the Kanji Killer himself, "they'd just be dead. You need to curse them while they're at the depths of despair in order to cut wounds right into their very souls, turning them into sources of jaki."
Meanwhile, Karasu couldn't even meet his superior's gaze, his regret over not reaching S-Class level overwhelming him. This prompted Feng to ask the thin man bomber, "Report to me, 438. Why did you fail?"
By 438, the Triad Dragon Head (489) meant that Karasu was his Deputy Mountain Master or Deputy (438). Itsuki, incidentally, was also designated as 438, but he had a different job (Vanguard or Operations Officer).
Jine wasn't part of the Triad and a livid Suzaku was once offered by the Class-S human the job of "Uninitiated Member" (Blue Lantern, no numbered designation) or "Ordinary Member" (49ers), which he naturally turned down.
There was also one other mob boss in the Chojin's personal army, this time for the Yakuza. He was the leader of the Dai Shin Kan as well as the Oyabun or Overall Boss of his own yakuza family. Under him, the Onmyouji (also known as Houji Sadojima) served as his Saiko-Komon or Administrator.
Yes, the Overfiend had connections to the infamous Chinese Underground Society, portraying himself to be the original patron of the criminal organization, the historically famous Guan Yu. He also had influence in the Japanese mafia. The Yamaguchi Gumi, the Sumiyoshi Kai, and the Inagawa Kai had all heard of his shadow yakuza organization that wasn't supposed to exist.
The masked demon looked at the Taiwanese man in the eye and said, "Because both Kurama and Detective Matsudaira saw through your plan. They countered everything you had, from Itsuki's dimensional powers to even Rando knowing how to use the Jigen Tou. Even I didn't know about that last one, but they did. They were even able to counter all the surprises that they didn't anticipate, like Suzaku's involvement."
The Raijuta reincarnation nodded while favoring one of his arms. For some reason, it was more transparent than the rest of him, like it was about to disappear altogether. "You're correct, of course. Kurama, more so than the detective, figured out the identities and capabilities of more than half of the Shin Ju's members, which enabled him to form a strategy that worked against us for the most part."
The Chinese mafia boss paced back and forth the cliff while shaking his head. "What would Tenro and the Dai Shin Kan say were they here to bear witness to your failures?"
"You yourself failed, Dragon Head," said Suzaku as his soul crackled with electrical energy. He was prepared to cut the chain that connected Xinhai back to his body and push his soul off the cliff leading to Purgatory itself, all because he wanted to speak his piece instead of hold his peace.
"For once, you're right, but the whole thing wasn't a total failure," admitted Xinhai, which took everybody aback, most of all Suzaku. "You're arrogant as always, and that will someday be your downfall, but for now, you speak the truth."
"Let's cut to the chase," said the original Kanji Killer while whirling his life chain idly. "Kurama was the one who masterminded your mission's downfall, although he had help from the reincarnation of Shinomori Aoshi, the Last Leader of the Oniwabanshu."
"As expected of the Legendary Youko Kurama of the Demon World," said the serene Itsuki while Suzaku harrumphed and turned away. "He even made use of the trio of humans who helped out Yusuke and his group back in the day when Shinobu was still alive." By Shinobu, Itsuki meant Shinobu Sensui.
Rando, the one youkai among the group of youkai who stayed in the Ningenkai the longest, asked, "What's so legendary about one of Urameshi's companions, anyway? I don't get why you're talking about this wimpy redhead in hushed tones either."
Jine, a human himself (albeit one with demonic-level powers), shrugged. "I heard he's a demon fox of some sort, but I don't know what that's supposed to mean."
Karasu interjected, "Spoken like an ignorant human. Kurama is the Legendary Youko of Makai. He's many centuries old... as old as one of the former Three Kings of Makai, Raizen. Even though he was a mere bandit, he was the closest the anarchic Demon World had to a ruler."
Suzaku snorted. "More like Kurama couldn't take the heat of being the undisputed leader of Makai. His power was taken away from him by Raizen, who was rumored to be a C-Class demon... weaker than Genbu... around the time of the human's Sengoku Era, when demons were free to roam the Human World, as well as Mukuro... a mere child sex slave of a demon... and Yomi, who was actually once part of Kurama's guild of thieves."
Karasu rejoined, "I don't see your point. It took the combined forces of three demons to take power away from one. Granted, I have no idea what possessed him to go to Ningenkai almost two decades ago, but the fact remains that even at his 'crippled' state as a human, he's still powerful enough to take on any one of us."
Udo laughed his warbling laugh, his head tilted back. "Is that so? A legend, huh? I've dealt with my share of legends. Interesting. I don't care much about demonic politics, but you're right, Bird Man... Kurama is an interesting fellow through and through."
Xinhai the One-Eight-Ten Killer... a copycat serial killer of Jine the Kanji Killer... asked, "And why are you so interested in this kitsune?"
Udo responded, "Unlike you, who lives in the shadow of great men until you've deluded yourself enough into thinking that you're the owner of the shadow you're occupying, this Kurama is his own man. A formidable opponent. A legend, just like the Battousai."
Karasu retorted, "Don't compare a mere manslayer to the feared Youko Kurama." To the crow demon's surprise, it was his own boss, Feng, who waved him off.
"Perhaps Battousai the Manslayer doesn't have as much impact as the Legendary Youko Kurama, but Battousai the Demon-Slayer certainly does. He's a legend worthy of equaling or even surpassing the centuries-old legend of Youko Kurama," said Xinhai, and Jine cackled again.
The Dragon Head of the Shinjuku Triad and one of the foremost members of the Shin Juppon Gatana confronted Jine, Suzaku, Rando, Karasu, Itsuki, and said:
"For now, let's target the youko. Eventually, the Spirit World's true champion... the S-Class Urameshi Yusuke, finalist of the recent Demon World Unification Tournament... will come out of the woodwork, but until then, the greatest threat we have in our midst is that redheaded fox."
"You don't need to order me around to do that. I was going to target him anyway," said Jine before he turned towards Itsuki and probed, "I want to know everything there is to know about Kurama. I know you know a lot, because Sensui Shinobu was the kind of man who'd first know everything about an opponent before attacking him."
Itsuki deadpanned, "Actually, that was how 'Minoru' fought. Shinobu, the original personality, didn't need battle plans, especially when he achieved S-Class."
"Will you tell me about him anyway?" asked Jine, his black-eyed stare pulsating while Itsuki looked away and towards Xinhai. The Taiwanese man nodded his assent.
"Yes, of course. I will." Itsuki then asked, "Why won't you ask Karasu about Kurama?"
Karasu snorted. "He already did, prior to the battle at Aokigahara. He still lost to the youko."
Suzaku rebuked Udo by taking note, "What can a Class-A human do against Youko Kurama?"
"I have my Jagan," Jine pointed at his black, animalistic eyes. "It allows me to fight on par against even Class-S opponents. Also, I want Kurama to turn into the Youko Kurama just as much as I want Himura Kenshin to turn into the Battousai. He'll help me awaken my own true power."
"Then you're looking for your own death, you fool. Gain S-Level powers first before even thinking about challenging either," remarked Suzaku, appalled by the Kanji Killer's suicidal mission.
"I'm no friend of yours, Jine, but our spy from Reikai tells us that Kurama was the closest to Class-X they'd ever measured when he unsheathed the Demon Sword," warned Karasu. "Even your hypnosis would matter little against a Class-X."
"X-Level is a recent invention of the Spirit World. It used to be that S-Level referred to all levels higher than A-Level. Once they actually got 'insiders' in the Demon World to measure and categorize the different S-Levels, they invented a new ranking," explained Itsuki calmly.
"There you have it. If I'm going to cry and run away just because I'm faced with a Class-S or Class-X, then I wouldn't have gotten hold of this human body and Evil Eyes to fight the Youkiri Battousai with," said Jine.
"Then everything is settled. Meeting adjourned," was what Xinhai would've said had Rando not suddenly produce a Jigen Tou and attempted to cut the Chinese man's chain of life, showing as much moxie as the Class-A Udo who was himself raring to challenge Class-S or Class-X beings.
The mafia boss reacted immediately, hitting the energy sword with his nodachi before it could complete its arc and cut a space-tearing slice at the chain that bound spirit to body.
"This is for almost killing me when I was about to defeat Battousai's companions with my Rasengan!" spat Rando.
"You insolent fool. Are you going to get in my way again? Have you not learned your lesson?" asked Feng.
"I grow stronger every day. I'll soon be the one in charge of the Shin Juppon Gatana, not some human poser. Come at me, Xinhai!" demanded the pasty-skinned youkai.
Even in Rengoku, which was part of the realm of the ethereal, Feng managed to form a supercell with the winds of the Shinko Ryu and turn it into a miniature tornado that blew Rando away.
However, before the Mountain Master could finish off the impudent youkai with a Sonic Shockwave, a portal was opened and the kabuki-looking demon's soul disappeared into it, laughing all the way.
"What the hell just happened?" asked Suzaku of all people.
"I don't know what the Chojin sees in that imp," said Xinhai with a few choice Mandarin curse words while spitting ectoplasm at the ground.
The rest of the Shin Ju ignored the show of fangs as though it were a common occurrence among them.
Meanwhile, Itsuki led them back to the pocket dimension containing their bodies (Xinhai's body was located somewhere else in Shinjuku, probably because it was severely injured).
As for Rando's physical body, it had long ago fled along with its ghost. The trio of demons... Karasu, Suzaku, and Itsuki... and one human... Jine... shook their heads.
They didn't know whether to be impressed or to feel sorry for the weakest Shin Ju's attempt at Feng's life.
The day before, immediately after the Aokigahara Incident...
Shuichi Minamino and Daiji Matsudaira... who were almost like birds of a feather that flocked together with the way that they thought and planned ahead... thusly worked hand-in-hand to conduct "damage control" for what had happened so far.
More to the point, they were the ones that concocted explanations to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police and the Shinjuku Police in regards to how Aokigahara almost went up in smoke thanks to a forest fire and how the roof of Kawaguchiko Station almost collapsed.
They said that the "Mad Bombers" were involved to cover up any possible tensions between the Demon World and the Human World.
Apparently, ever since the Spirit World raised its barrier between the Human World and the Demon World, more and more people were finding out about the other realms.
In fact, demon girls such as Koto, Ruka, and Juri were being featured on Japanese talk shows (as seen in the Yuyu Hakusho Manga Volume 19, Chapter 173).
From what (a flabbergasted) Kuwabara could gather from that unexpected interview, Koto (the cat girl ring announcer in the Ankoku Bujutsukai) had confessed her love for the serious ice demon known as Touya.
Juri did the same in regards to the goofy Suzuki (She even compared him to "Yamasaki-san", as in Hosei Yamasaki the famous solo comedian. No, Kazuma couldn't see the resemblance either)
Ruka (the sexy nurse demon from Team Masho) also had a crush on Jin the Wind User (she called him immature when it came to matters of love, claiming he'd rather hang out with guys than be in the company of women).
Nevertheless, aside from that strange TV show interview, the Japanese government was doing its best to keep the fact that the Reikai Barrier had been brought down by the Reikai under wraps.
Therefore, there were now rumors of "aliens" doing human experiments in Japan instead of the truth that Hiei and several of Mukuro's henchmen were bringing humans who wandered into Makai territory back to Ningenkai before they were eaten or killed.
At any rate, Kenshin Himura, Asato Kido, Mitsunari Yanagisawa, Kazuma Kuwabara, Sanosuke Sagara, Yahiko Myojin, and Natsuki Shinkai were free to go.
Many of them had to go straight to the hospital afterwards, but some fared better than others when it came to injuries. Meanwhile, Yahiko and Sanosuke were spirits turned pseudo-flesh, so they could heal by themselves without much trouble.
Because Kurama was busy, Yanagisawa was hurt, and Kido himself turned into a psycho whenever he got a hold of the Demon Sword, Kenshin was "forced" to walk under his own power, without the help of a "master" to get him to his destination.
His destination, of course, was the late-afternoon Sumida River Cruise at the Hinode Pier where Kaoru was... well, Botan and Kaoru were... waiting for him.
"You're going on a cruise with Kaoru? That settles it! Let's go, Sano! You can come along if you want, Kuwabara!" invited the scuffed-up Yahiko before the even more severely damaged Sanosuke grabbed him by his collar and kept him from going any further, like how one would pick up a naughty puppy.
"Hey, Rooster Head! Let go! This is our opportunity to reunite the Kenshingumi!" complained Yahiko, who went back to his nine-to-ten-year-old appearance, complete with his old yellow top he wore in his childhood.
Meanwhile, Kenshin laughed heartily at the exchange while Kuwabara mouthed the word "Kenshingumi" in confusion.
"Are you really that dense, you little brat? Kenshin wants some alone time with Missy. Don't get in the way," hissed Sano while Yahiko whispered back, "She already had her alone time with him weeks before we did! How much more alone time does she need?"
After Sano conked Yahiko's noggin, telling him to read the mood, the street fighter turned towards Kenshin, grinned, and rubbed his nose.
"Say hello to Jo-chan for me, bro. I hear spring is coming up. Maybe we can have our get-together then. Who knows, we might even locate Fox Lady and bring her along."
By "Fox Lady", Sanosuke meant Megumi Takani, their old doctor friend back in the Meiji Era. Kenshin then chuckled along with Sano as the latter quipped, "It'd be crazy once Kurama and Megumi meet, because aren't they the same species of kitsune?"
"It's a promise, then." To the sulking Yahiko, Kenshin patted the kid's head and said, "Even though we have a lot of catching up to do, we have all the time in the world to do so. After all, we're all dead."
Yahiko's appearance returned to that of his teenaged form with the blue uniform and white hakama with blue trim. "I wish we could've met in the afterlife so that I could have showed you the entire Myojin family line."
As Kenshin bowed at and bid his farewells to his Kenshingumi comrades, Kazuma hammered his open palm with a closed fist.
"Oh, I get it. 'Kenshingumi'. Like the Shinsengumi, except it's composed of Kenshin's allies, right?" came Kuwabara's belated realization before Sanosuke summoned a zanbatou and slammed the flat side of the horse-cutting blade on the teenager's head.
"You really are a BOKE!"
A fist-fight between the two ensued, which ended just as abruptly as it started thanks to their injuries.
In the Spirit World's Hall of Judgment, one day after the Aokigahara Incident and many weeks after the attack on Genkai's Temple...
"I was a bit worried when your powers became erratic ever since the Ankoku Bujutsukai..." started Koenma, which made Kuwabara raise an eyebrow.
"Why are you telling me this anyway? We both know what happened back then. I was there, and you were there. You were even packing a jetpack back then," admonished Kazuma. "Stop beating around the bush."
Long story short, Kazuma's powers went on and off, but in the latest mission, he'd by then fully realized his potential.
"...In the end, you were able to pull through and became the one and only Master of the Dimension Sword. That copycat demon, Rando, doesn't even come close!" praised Koenma without missing a beat. "Therefore, I've contacted Botan..."
"Hi, Kuwabara-kun," greeted Botan.
"'Sup," responded Kazuma.
"...And I've now decided to bestow you the honor of placing in your care the Youtou Shinnoken," finished Koenma with a flourish while Botan did an obligatory golf clap.
The ferry-girl breathed out a sigh... she didn't know if it was of dismay or relief, though.
On one hand, she wouldn't be able to see her "other" self, Kaoru, for quite a while as long as the Youtou Shinnoken was in Kuwabara's possession, which meant for once, she wasn't going to hear voices in her head.
On the other hand, she was going to miss that Kenshin-crazy kendo instructor.
"Congratulations, Kuwabara-kun! You're now more of a full-fledged spirit detective than even Yusuke is!" cheered Botan while Kazuma's jaw (metaphorically) dropped to the floor.
"Eeeh? Are you serious?" exclaimed Kuwabara as his heart skipped a beat.
He then realized that school was about to start in April anew. While it was a great honor to be handed the Demon Sword... the same sword Suzaku of all people was going gaga over... he had a school life now.
Thanks to his lack of participation in the Demon World Unification Tournament, he was able to, for once in his life, study hard and get into a good high school.
Was he willing to throw all that away for the sake of getting involved in this Spirit World mess again?
'In a heartbeat,' his subconscious told him.
The doors then opened and out came Kenshin Himura while carrying his own Youtou Shinnoken, which was the sword that replaced his sakabatou after he died.
"Hey! Kenshi, is it?"
"...Kenshin."
"...Kenshin! I've heard so much about you from Rooster Head and Samurai Boy," said Kuwabara as he shook Kenshin's hand, which made the Guardian of the Demon Sword scratch the back of his head with his other hand.
"You've already met me, Kuwabara-dono."
"Yeah, but we've barely even interacted, haven't we? I mean, it's always 'mission' this, and 'orders' that. This is literally the first time I even got to talk to you, dude!" said Kuwabara, which made Kenshin smile.
"Thank you again for taking care of Yahiko and Sano for me. They're my important friends from the past, and... I'm glad they're now part of my present as well."
"Now, now, Kenshin. No need to get sappy on me. Sano's a good guy, if a bit dumb, and Yahiko wouldn't shut up about you, so I guess you're a good guy too," said Kazuma while scratching his cheek.
"So I reckon you're now my new master."
Then Kuwabara's face went green as he imagined Kenshin in a maid's dress bowing and calling him "master". "Er, let's just call ourselves 'partners' for now, shall we?"
The clueless Himura shrugged. "That works for me too." The redhead proceeded to hand the sword to Kuwabara. "Congratulations. Please take care of me from now on."
"Thank you, thank you. I'd be happy to," said Kazuma while repeatedly bowing, as though he were receiving his diploma for high school. 'Jeez, are they going to take pictures of me holding the sword with the rest of my family next? I feel like I'm graduating!'
Botan, Koenma, and Kenshin stared at Kuwabara so intently there was a sound effect for their glares: "Jiiii."
"Um. Yes...?" asked Kazuma.
"Don't you feel any different Kuwabara-kun?" asked Botan.
"N-No," said Kuwabara.
"Y-You're not tempted to gut me like a fish or something?" came Koenma's strange question.
"...Nope. What the fuck, Koenma?" exclaimed Kuwabara. Unbeknownst to the "regent"-haired hooligan turned honor student, Koenma was almost killed by a reawakened Youko Kurama after "regular" Kurama took hold of the Demon Sword.
"Um, simply put... Are you gaining superpowers thanks to my Demon Sword, Kuwabara-dono?" asked Kenshin without beating around the bush.
Kazuma answered by turning his back on the Reikai trio, unsheathing the Youtou Shinnoken, and waving it around like he would a typical bokuto during his days as a "Yankee" or delinquent.
He then shouted, "JIGEN TOU!"
Nothing happened.
"Eh? Um, REI-KEN! SPIRIT SWORD! DIMENSION SWORD! Dimensional Sword...? JIGEN TOU! REI-KEN! JIGEN TOU! REI-TOU! JIGEN-KEN! JAN-KEN-PON! JIGEN... DAISUKE!"
After a minute of Kuwabara making horrible puns out of his special moves while flinging around the sharp blade, he turned towards Kenshin, Botan, and Koenma with tears in his eyes.
"Why won't it work on me? Where's my super awesome powers from the Demon Sword? Dammit!"
"Eeeh?" said the rest of the people there in reaction to what had happened, which startled poor Jorge Saotome, Koenma's oni, from the outside of the great hall.
They'd later know that for some reason or another, Kuwabara's powers couldn't manifest at all when holding the Demon Sword; the artifact turned into a plain-old, regular katana when in the hands of the human.
The day before, immediately after the Aokigahara Incident...
The "solidified" Kenshin opted to jump on a bus's roof that was headed straight to Tokyo after hitchhiking for several hours because the Kawaguchiko Station had a police blockade thanks to the "bombing" incidents from the "Mad Bomber" terrorists. The explosions were actually perpetrated by just one demon: Karasu.
He also forgot to ask for bus fare from Yanagasiwa (the person he came along with to deal with this particular mission against the Chojin), Kuwabara, Kido, or Kurama, so he had no choice but to hop from bus to bus, car to car, and even ask directions from various passersby on where the Sumida River Tour was.
Yes, he did this all while he was garbed like he had a part as an extra in a "Jidai Geki" or "Period Piece" movie.
Eventually, while wandering around the Hamarikyu Gardens, Kenshin chanced upon Kaoru... or rather, Botan... in her pink kimono sipping tea at the teashop in Nakashima that was located in the middle of the garden's pond. She was also chewing "matcha" and Japanese sweets.
The garden wasn't around during the Meiji Period, obviously, so the swordsman couldn't help but be mesmerized by the beautiful patch of land that served as a stark contrast to the rest of the urban jungle of Tokyo.
"Hey, Kenshin," greeted Botan in between mouthfuls of mochi, which made the swordsman spirit chuckle.
"Hey, Botan. Um, hey... Kaoru? She's in there somewhere, isn't she?" Kenshin asked, which promptly made the ferry-girl hit him with her oar.
"Of course, she's here. You're here, so she's here. That's the way it works with you two," Botan concluded, although she still had no idea why she, of all people, served as Kaoru Kamiya's medium.
"Say, I was kind of wondering... if you're the personification of death, then how come you're able to eat?" queried Kenshin with a scratch of his copper locks.
Botan shrugged. "Sweets go in a different stomach?"
"I didn't realize ghosts had two stomachs, let alone one."
"We're spirits made flesh, Kenshin. We can still eat, even though it's more out of habit and for show than for necessity. Like breathing. Don't think about it too hard. Come, join me."
"So about the Sumida River Cruise..." started Kenshin as he took a seat right across Botan.
"It's too late for us to go to the last cruise. We just decided to have a little snack here," said Kaoru as Kenshin handed Botan the Demon Sword. The ferry-girl still looked like herself, but now the personality of the kendo master from a century past had taken over her body.
"Sorry."
"It's okay. I had a lot of fun going through Asakusa. Akihabara has changed a lot. It's now called the Electric Town. They mostly sell televisions and other appliances there!"
"What are televisions?"
"You know, those little boxes that performed... 'plays' inside of them. A miniature theater."
"Ah, that's right! Like that monitor Koenma has in the Spirit World."
Kenshin wasn't able to explore the modern world as much as he would've liked ever since Koenma decided that his Demon Sword should stay in the care of Botan for the time being.
This meant he was around hospitals and road accidents more often than anywhere else (it couldn't be helped, the ferry-girl had her shinigami duties to attend to).
"I couldn't even recognize Tokyo anymore. There are old-style houses here and there, but people kept asking me if there's a festival or movie shoot nearby because I'm wearing a kimono."
Kenshin sipped his tea. "So you weren't able to find the Kamiya Dojo?"
Botan/Kaoru shook her head. "I'm worried it's been turned into a parking lot or something. I have my doubts it's still standing."
"What's a parking lot?"
"You know, a place for people to put their 'automobiles' away. Like a stable for cars, except there's less hay and manure involved. I'm actually amazed at how manure-free the streets are now that there are fewer horse-drawn carriages around. I definitely didn't miss the manure."
'Oh, so that's where they keep them,' thought Kenshin before he marveled aloud, "You know more about Modern Japan than I do, Miss Kaoru!"
"I know, right? You should step up, Kenshin."
"I'm still amazed we have our own tower, actually."
"I looked it up in the library. It's a broadcasting tower. I'm no science expert, but they had to send signals to the television to make them work or something."
"Eeeh. Like with telegraphs, but more advanced?"
"Yeah, something like that."
Kenshin then chuckled. "We sound like old people reminiscing about the good ol' days."
Kaoru giggled in kind. "Well, we technically are old. Older than even some of the senior citizens at this garden!"
"Even though we might as well have ended up on the surface of Mars with how different Tokyo is, I'm glad I was able to reunite with you, Sano, and Yahiko. That way, it still feels like home."
"D-Don't say such embarrassing things," mumbled a blushing Kaoru as she sipped her own tea and looked away while brushing a stray strand of bright-blue hair on her face. Had they not shared the same body, Botan would've playfully elbowed "Kaoru's" ribs.
"Kenshin?"
"Yes, Kaoru-dono?"
"Why are you taking all these tours, exactly?"
Himura turned serious, his eyebrows furrowed.
"Because I want to know more about Modern Japan and who the Youkiri Battousai is. Something must've happened in between Koenma-dono giving me the Youtou Shinnoken immediately after I died and my waking up many years later in the Legendary Shrine of the Sword. The answer lies somewhere in Japan's history right after the Meiji Restoration."
The Kaoru inside Botan half-sulked because she was expecting a more romantic reason for all the "dates" she'd been having with Kenshin as they visited museums, restaurants, and landmarks across Heisei Era Tokyo.
As for Botan, she inwardly rolled her eyes and mentioned, "If you're that interested in history, then I'll have you know that this public park was remodeled from a villa of the Shogun Tokugawa Family during the Seventeenth Century, which is like two centuries before either of you two were born."
"Oh, so this was once an Edo Era villa. When was it remodeled though? Sometime after the Meiji Era?"
"Yeah, Um, around the Taisho Era, which was the era that followed the Meiji Restoration, when Japan became the Empire of Japan. I guess you've slept through both the Taisho and Showa Era, right? Also, you do know that the Showa Era only recently ended in 1989?"
"No, I didn't. So this Heisei Era is a brand new era. What happened during the Taisho Era?"
"Oh, nothing much. The First and Second World War, is all. Japan lost World War II, we underwent American occupation, and then the garden we're sitting at was opened around Post-War Japan."
Something stirred at the back of Kenshin's mind at the mention of the world wars. "I see. I missed two world wars, huh?"
The swordsman ghost felt the spiritual equivalent of having the hairs at the back of his neck rise up as his "spine" tingled. Did ghosts even have spines?
The same thing happened when Kenshin first met Genkai: He also felt a forgotten urgency that stabbed at his gut yet he couldn't quite put his finger on why it made him uneasy. Then he remembered Houji's words when they fought at Shinjuku, of how America was able to exemplify Makoto Shishio's tenets on "Survival of the Fittest" and "Darwinism".
The United States of America was stronger than the Empire of Japan, so it was able to "consume" the country with the might of twin atomic bombs that it dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The strong lived while the weak died and served as food for the strong. That was the Law of Nature.
That was also what Houji Sadojima... the Chojin's "Onmyouji"... ultimately revealed.
The tragic event that ended the war was also what prompted Kenshin, as the Youkiri Battousai, to attempt to exact revenge upon the U.S. by opening the Reikai Barrier over at New York so that the forces of Makai could consume the city the same way the bombs consumed Nagasaki and Hiroshima.
He remembered. The "Harbinger of Death" star was quite clear forty-eight years ago. How could he forget? Or rather, maybe he didn't want to remember.
Unbeknownst to Yusuke Urameshi, Kenshin had already met Genkai prior to his awakening on March 1993. He also met the Younger Toguro around that time too. These two were the ones that the Spirit World tasked to protect the Spirit World Barrier located near the U.S. before Kenshin could destroy it.
This was around the time when the Three Kings... Yomi, Raizen, and Mukuro... were having their Cold War before the Human World's own version of it took place.
Meanwhile, a fourth superpower, Youko Kurama and his bandits, remained in the wings. Had the Reikai Barrier been opened prior to the Demon World Unification Tournament, it would've been complete bedlam.
Besides which, there were unexplored portions of Makai beyond the jurisdiction of the Three Kings, so the United States might have been attacked by ghosts and goblins of the western world instead.
Regardless, taking down the Spirit World Barrier at a time when millions of human deaths occured would've attracted a huge amount of Class-S demons into the fray; youkai powerful enough to level mountains and serve as nukes personified.
It was only through Koenma's interference with the Mafuu Kan that Kenshin was stopped from accomplishing forty-eight years in advance what both Sensui and Sakyo had been desperately trying to achieve.
Maybe it was the Mafuu Kan that erased his memories? Himura could only speculate.
It was this revelation, Kenshin realized, that made him have these historical tours with Kaoru, although he wasn't yet prepared to travel to Hiroshima and Nagasaki in order to "reminisce" the reason why Koenma had to seal him inside the Shrine of the Sword almost half a century ago.
What was he thinking? Who was this Youkiri Battousai and what possessed this facet of himself to think that unleashing Makai upon the recovering Ningenkai right after it went through two world wars was a good idea?
The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were atrocious, but two wrongs didn't make a right.
Was the Youkiri Battousai Kenshin's even darker persona that almost turned Kido into a psychopathic murderer of humans and demons when he got a hold of the Demon Sword's power?
"Hello? Earth to Kenshin?" asked either Botan or Kaoru with a worried look on their shared features.
Kenshin smiled his ever-familiar melancholic grin. "Maybe we should go to either Hiroshima or Nagasaki sometime. I want to know more about what I was doing back in World War II, before my memories were erased."
"Eeeh? You know how far away Nagasaki is?" said Kaoru. "Also, I've never even been to Hiroshima even during the Meiji Era, much less this era!"
"Hiroshima's fine. It's just a nice nine-hour train ride away from Tokyo. Nagasaki's a two-hour flight, though," reassured Botan.
After Kurama served as one of Daiji's "witnesses" in order to cover up all connection between this incident and the Spirit World all afternoon...
"I suppose there's a reason why you're still following me after the Shinjuku Station assured you that you're free to go," said Matsudaira while sipping on his smoking-hot Styrofoam cup of coffee.
"Yes. I want to talk about Officer Hamada," said Kurama as he and the detective walked straight towards the nearest park bench in order to talk. "Or rather, the reincarnation of Jine Udo."
"Huh. And here I thought you were the kind of person to beat around the bush. You sure got to the point fast," said Daiji.
"I can't help it. He, aside from Suzaku, was one of the demons who almost ruined our counterassault against the Chojin back at Aokigahara. Also, for a 'mere' Class-A, his Evil Eyes are powerful enough to take down even S-Level creatures because of the nature of hypnotism. He's a dangerous youkai through and through."
"Hamada is many things... including the Kanji Killer... but he's no demon. He's definitely human, although he's no more as normal as I am at this point," the reincarnation of Aoshi Shinomori took note. "Natsuki-kun mentioned something about him being destroyed by the Demon Sword?"
"Perhaps he and Kenshin had one more altercation in between his death during the Meiji Era and his existence in the Heisei Era," said Kurama, his hands forming a steeple over his face while he hunched forward and placed his elbows on his knees. "Maybe he was one of the demons that Battousai the Demon-Slayer had slain."
"It also makes sense that the Kanji Killer is a police officer. One of the leading theories in regards to the true identity of the Zodiac Killer from America is that he was actually an ex-military man turned cop who helped cover up his own crimes by being part of the investigation team," said Daiji.
"He's also the Kanji Killer that Xinhai Feng copied, on top of being the reincarnation of one of Kenshin's deadliest enemies back when they were alive," added Kurama. "He would've never been discovered had Kenshin not recognized his Nikaido Heiho handiwork. I might have even mistaken him for the copycat instead of the other way around."
"He may not have reached Class-S yet, but skill-wise, he was strong enough to put that 'Hei' mark on the back of his own copycat, Xinhai," said Daiji. "That's how tricky his hypnosis is. You'd have to be able to tell what's fantasy and what's reality when battling against him, or you'll lose... and we almost certainly did, didn't we?"
To Be Continued...
Next: Unfolding schemes and plans.
At the time of this writing, I've watched the first Rurouni Kenshin live-action movie. Thank the gods that it didn't suck.
Heto na,
Abdiel