(Disclaimer: I do not own YST nor RW, they are owned by Sunrise. Neither do I own the characters of the original series.)

(Author's Notes: Please, DON'T BLAME ME if some of the details are insufficient, since I had never seen the entire series before. I'm just fascinated over the series, that's why. Some of the characters added are of my own and not related to other anime, in short, ORIGINAL. So please, enjoy reading and review it! This is my first taste of writing fanfiction, and I'm not too good at English, so please BEAR WITH ME...)

SAMURAI PHANTOM REKKA: CHAPTER ONE

Episode Sixteen: The Awakening of the Flame

Meanwhile in the dark realm, the ghostly hands were about to attack Phantom Rekka, but now with confidence to defeat them, wielding his sword, he sliced the hands one by one! The men were delighted a bit, although fear and panic were still in their hearts and minds, for as long as they are still in that dreaded place, they will not be relieved.

"Man... this is easy enough..." Rekka smirked as he continued to destroy all the hands blocking his way to save the men. But his confidence cut short when he was surprised to find out that the hands that he once cut off grows back to even longer and bigger sizes!

No way! he was stunned by the revival of the hands and their grip to the men became stronger, as the men shrieked more with terror. I almost forgot... they're ghosts, that's why...

Unnoticed, one hand stretched and attacked behind Rekka, thus it grabbed his right foot!

"AGH!" the hand gave him a vigorous swing, so fast that it made his tiger eyes a little blurred, Damn, I'm gettin' wheelsick... and unexpectedly, the hand tossed him somewhere else!

The men were surprised and became more panicked when their savior was tossed somewhere. Unsure of his whereabouts, they trembled more with fear, thinking that it's their end. Worse, the pale hands slowly evolved themselves into nastier ones: armored with scales and talons, ready to devour the helpless men to please the oni's appetite.

In other words, the Oni of Art is starting to revive itself! And yet it's not yet the time and the oni is yet to eat their human energy. But due to their intense fear and anxiety, surely it is already enough for the oni to be awakened even only just partially as its final stage of becoming alive again.

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Rekka, then, was floating in the middle of darkness once more, with pain in hin head. "Aw..." he grumbled, trying to get up, "Whatta ride..." then looking at the surrounding, he noticed that his other sword was nowhere to be seen! "Damn! It's suppose to be my last hope...!" but this might be lucky to him, when he finally found his katana floating a meter, more or less, away from him. "Phew!" he sighed with contentment, "I thought I already lost ya..." and he tried to swim across the darkness to get his katana, but the wheel of luck turned into the wrong direction as the evolved monster hands attacked him again from nowhere!

"Where did they come from???" and unable to reach for his sword, he first went away with the attacking claws. He tried to avoid them so that he could get his weapon freely, but it seems that the hands became faster and more cunning than the first time he encountered them. That was the only time he noticed it.

And just when they just transformed themselves???he thought, as he continued to avoid their attackswhile trying to reach the sword. But once again his lack of focus reigned in his heart asone monster hand grabbed his right hand this time!

Not again! And another hand grabbed his left, "Darn it! Let go of me, you..." but despite of his struggles, it's no avail. Until one finally made its full blow on his face! Rekka smirked with anger, unable to fight back. Another hand punched him on his stomach, on his arms, somwhere else that the oni pleases to. Rekka couldn't help it but to scream in pain. Bruises started to appear on his affected areas and blood is now present in his lips.

Damn... I... can't... take this... any longer.... as another hand punched him harder than the rest, the reason to cough more blood and saliva, If this will continue... I might die in this dreaded place... Who wants to be a Samurai Phantom, anyway...? I didn't mean to be like this! Of all the people... why me... why...?

Until he heard someone... again. But the snag, it's different. It's not the voice of one of those poor men. But, in his thought, could it be possible that there is still someone somewhere?

"Papa..."

Rekka was stunned at the voice of a little girl. He looked everywhere. But to his surprise, he's not already in the darkness. Wondered, he looked around, and it turned out to be a simple family house...

...But a house of sadness.

As he saw a girl of around six or seven sitting in the steps of their house, the girl with pigtails and in pink overalls was crying, calling his father.

"Papa... Papa, where are you now... Papa..."

Unnoticed that there were no clawed hands anymore that trapped him a while ago, Rekka decided to approach the girl to see if he could be of any help.

But before he could finally go near her, he saw something in the girl's hands...

...A picture frame.

He tried to see who is that picture. He knows that the one in the picture that the girl was holding since was her father. But looking closely...

Is this... for real...?

His eyes widened as he saw the man in the picture: It was actually one of the men, the museum guard who was the painting's last victim!

Oh, my God... he was been lost for a day and yet they thought that he was DEAD? He gasped as he saw the frame with a black ribbon, indicating that the one in the picture has just died recently. Rekka thought that the said man was already dead since he never came back after that incident.

Behind him is a crying old woman, sitting on a swing, calling her son's name in tears. Like the girl, she was holding a picture frame in black ribbon with the picture of a man. And that man... was one of them, too.

Followed by a younger woman holding the same thing. She was probably the wife of one of the men.

And finally, an old couple with their infant grandson, wailing. Wailing for two reasons: for food... and for the loss of his father.

The Phantom of Wildfire witnessed all of the drama. These four families were longing for their loved ones to be back with them in vain, thinking now that they are already dead after almost a week or two of searching their bodies. Shocked and full of grief, he feared that the whole world, even Byakkouen, might blame him for all these events. And the Evil Dynasty will laugh at him for backing off the mission. Seeing these families in sorrow...

No way... tears started to stream out of his tiger-blue eyes, I... I don't want this... I don't even wish for this! I DON'T LIKE THIS!!!

Finally he went back to reality as he suddenly went himself out of those hands! The hands, then, were starting to avoid him, but on what purpose?

He saw himself glowing with bursting red, his hands were blazing hot with... fire? He didn't get it at first, but realizing the dream he had jus dreamt (or is it?), "That vision..." he finally found out that it was caused by his involuntary mind-reading, "It made me open my eyes..." and not minding how in the world he did it, his kanji of benevolence glowed fiercely, ready to test his found power, "I don't wanna end up like this! For fourteen years of my entire life I'd never experienced givin' up that easy! Even in this situation!"

Then his fists became fiery hot, bursting with energy, ready to smash some dirty hands around, and as the hands started to attack him once more...

"REKKA... KEN!"

In just one fiery punch he drove one hand away! That hand shrieked with intense heat as it slowly turned into ashes!

He was stunned at the power he had due to that vision, "Wow... this is REAL!" and he started to punch the hands one by one! The hands, then, were blew away to ashes until they were no more.

He was surprised, and at the same time, grinned at himself as he actually did it. "Man, it's... AWESOME!" then spied on his katana, he eventually grabbed it and went on his way.

But as he went back to rescue the four men... it went even worse. The oni finally showed up in its true form with the men as its hostage!

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Toshitada's face became eager to get the oni as the painting's dark aura scattered everywhere. Byakkouen, meanwhile, trembled with anxiety since Rekka was still there along with the four men.

Taking a grip of his chained scythe, it formed a dark reddish glow on it to penetrate itself to the painting, a way to take the oni as well as the lives of five others for the sake of winning Kayura's--and Arago's--pleasure.

"RED... LIGHTNING!

But before he could throw the energy ball into the painting, a swirl of blue light is heading toward the red energy ball and successfully hit it, causing an explosion of opposing force!

Both were thrown away by the impact, but luckilly they survived it. As the light faded away, they looked around. "Who's that?" the cat asked in confusion.

"Who could ever that pest be...?" Toshitada snorted.

"I sense something..." Byakkouen in serious tone. Sensing it again, he became stunned. "My gosh... This can't be... I'm actually sensing..."

"...a DIFFUSED POWER!"

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(Hah, hah... sorry again for the delay! Anyway, wait for Episode Seventeen to come up! I'm REALLY sorry! But please R&R anyway! Thanks a lot in bearing with me!)