Very sorry for not updating sooner. My damn computer got a virus or something. I'm saving up for a laptop, but I'm still three hundred dollars off. CURSES!

If you notice the almost wonderful and correct grammar/spelling that this chapter consists of, thank my sister who agreed to be my beta reader. I am going to force her to go back and edit all my other chapters cause I read them over the other day and spotted at least twenty misspelled words and grammatical errors in almost every single chapter. WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME I SUCKED? (weeps) She won't do it for long, though. Anyone out there willing to be my beta reader? XD

I had to squeeze in a LOT of action into this one chapter, so if you like long, bloody-action filled chapters, you'll love this one. There's so much to get done; I might have to split the chapter into two! I'm still so very close to finishing it…and we also get to see Mika's "amazing" new powers at their best. Are you excited yet? XD Lol…

Disclaimers…you've heard 'em before.

Warnings are the same, but this chapter has some unusually high amount of vulgar language. I don't know why…

Thinking back on Aki's directions, Mika realized a huge flaw on her 'take-down-the-stalker' plan. She had no clue where to go to meet him, but luckily, Ayumi was there for her, as usual.

"Ralph and I went there before, if that's the one he's referring to," Ayumi said, calming her friend down. "It's nearby."

They only had a few hours, but they made surprising progress. Namely, they came up with a plan.

"Dear God, I hope this works…" Mika moaned.

They were sitting in her bedroom, shuffling through some of the Karyuudo files. There was nothing but memoirs of demon exterminators from centuries ago. Not one ever mentioned Aki, however. That made their planning extremely tedious.

"Don't worry, Mika. Even if our plan doesn't work, we still have some backups," Kurama said reassuringly. He and Hiei had come out to help sort through the papers. Kuronue and Karasu were sparring to get ready for the fight.

Mika leaned over the side of her bed and stared upside down at the spirit fox. "I didn't even think that far. Back up plans?"

Kurama smiled and flashed the papers in front of her face. "I gathered enough information from these files to understand a few flaws in the Karyuudos. For example: they mostly use firearms or fire to destroy their foes. If their source of weapons is cut off, they are helpless."

Ayumi looked over at him from her corner and asked, "Yeah, but how do we deplete his source of weapons?"

"I haven't thought about that yet."

"Greeeeeattt."

Mika sat straight up, surprising everyone. "I've got it! His weapons—he used a gun last! Maybe, Hiei or you can use you're weapons to destroy his gun before he fires at us!"

"Brilliant. I could have figured that one out myself." Hiei snorted from his spot on the floor.

"Shut up!"

"Or maybe Karasu can blow up the weapons!" Ayumi cried.

The other three stared at her.

"What?"

Kurama cocked an eyebrow. "Takei-san…do you know what's inside a gun?"

"…bullets?"

"Which have gunpowder in them."

"So...? Oh. WHY IS THERE NEVER A LOOPHOLE?"

Suddenly, there was a knocking on Mika's door, which had been neatly put back on its hinges. Hiei and Kurama tensed for a second before they remembered they were allowed to be out now.

"Mika, Ayumi-chan…guests!" Mrs. Murasaki said happily as she opened the door, even though she couldn't see the demons. "Dinner's just about ready, so go wash up now!"

Mika gave her mother a hard look. It wasn't anger, but it wasn't very nice either. Finally, she said, "Mom, no. We're really busy. Can we skip?"

Mrs. Murasaki paused. "…what are you busy with?"

"Saving my butt before that freaky Karyuudo guy shoots me dead."

"Mika!"

Hiei scowled. "Great way to give humans heart failure, brat."

Ayumi smiled wearily at Mrs. Murasaki. "She's not kidding. Aki wants a fight and we're gonna give it to 'im."

Mrs. Murasaki paled several shades of white. "B-but…!"

"And don't you dare call the police," Mika said coldly. She looked quite evil again. "This is my…our fight. And we're gonna win. He's some dead guy and I…I'm a mentally disturbed teen with four demons stuck in my head." She paused. "I was kidding about the mentally disturbed part, by the way."

Her mother bit her lip in frustration. "But, Mika! This man wants to kill you!"

"No duh," Hiei muttered.

"—and you're still a child!"

"Not really, not anymore."

"—and demons! You're dealing with demons!"

"No, we're angels."

Kurama sent his small friend a warning glance. "Hiei…"

"Calm down, mom! I have my own personal yojimbos!" Mika giggled and latched her arms around Kurama's neck. "They have fur, three eyes and wings!"

"I do not have fur," Kurama protested. "Or at least in my present form anyway."

"Shut up."

Ayumi paused. "Wait, who has three eyes?"

Mika pointed silently over at Hiei. Ayumi let out a mock shriek.

"Awesome! Can I see?"

"Hell, no—GET AWAY FROM ME!" Hiei shouted as Ayumi tried to pull off his headband.

Totally unaware of where the demons were in the room, Mrs. Murasaki involuntarily took a step back. "…Mika…" She looked at her daughter in distress. "…are you sure…you don't want your father or I to help?"

Touched by her sincerity, Mika smiled and shook her head. "Nah, I'll be ok. Ayumi's got some psychic powers and I have the guys, too. I'll be fine."

An uneasy moment followed. Mrs. Murasaki stared at Mika and Mika stared back.

"Well," Mrs. Murasaki began briskly, "I won't interrupt your researching any longer. Just…tell me before you leave, alright?"

"Okay."

The door clicked shut when she left.

Kurama looked up at Mika. "You ok?"

"…I'm fine." Mika said, letting him go. She sat up and clapped her hands. "Ok, guys, we only have an hour or so before nightfall, so let's get all the plans straightened out now!"

Hiei glared at her. "That's what we've been doing this whole time, you idiot."

Mika face faulted. "Huh? Then why am I still confused?"

:Hmm, cause you're stupid:

'I didn't ask you, Gaylord!'

Kurama turned back to Ayumi. "Suggestions?"

Ayumi leaned back against Mika's desk with a tired expression. "Two words…anger management."

------Va-rooom! Fast-forward an hour later-----

"I feel like singing a song."

"Do it and die."

"Jeez…"

Sitting atop their bicycles on the hill over viewing the abandoned warehouse where Ayumi and Ralph first met Aki, both Mika and Ayumi expressed their nervousness by bickering humorously to distract themselves. It wasn't really working.

"Now…whatever happens in there…no matter…no matter if one of us goes down…you have to promise me to get out of there," Mika said quietly.

Ayumi sputtered on the water she had been drinking from a bottle she had brought along. "WHAT?" Looking around quickly to make sure no one had heard her, she gave Mika a fierce glare. "What are you talking about, Mika? If you go down, hell, I'm bringing that bastard down."

/Her powers are weaker than an infant demon only minutes old. If she does anything heroic, she'd be slaughtered./

Mika sighed and shook her head slowly. 'That's why I'm not gonna go down…neither are you guys. We're gonna kick his ass all the way back to the spirit world.'

((That's the spirit!))

:Murasaki.:

'What?'

:Try not to die.:

Mika smirked. 'Care about me now, eh?'

:No. I just don't want to have to listen to the guy mock me when my soul is splintered apart.:

'I love you guys, too.'

Kurama laughed. #One big happy family…yes, that's what we are.#

/No…/ Hiei said softly. He smirked. /One big homicidal family./

'Too right you are.' Mika pushed forward on her bike and sped towards the building. "COME ON!"

"YAHOO!" Ayumi whooped and started pedaling right after her.

'Ready or not, Aki…here we come!'

((I'm so excited!))

:Touch me and die.:

/You better be ready, Murasaki./

Kurama just smiled.

Skidding to a stop, Mika leaped off her bike, which clattered to the ground. She then charged up to the front door and pulled on the handle. Locked.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Mika asked.

Ayumi nodded and said, "Yeah, Ralph and I came here. I'm sure."

"Our host wants us to come and play…but he doesn't come to greet us…hmm…" Mika grinned evilly and spread her arms around to her sides. From the dim light from the sunset on the horizon, it cast enough light to create shadows on the ground. Darkness formed around them, lacing her fingers and swirling around in her palm. "Let's knock, shall we?"

"Indeed."

-----Inside------

The explosive bang that echoed up the stairs and across the room to his ears made Aki grin, pleased. Everything was working out like it should have. The girl was doing everything that she should be doing.

"Come on…I'm waiting…" he whispered, grinning.

Suddenly, a door closed. Not a bang or explosion, but the quiet, creaking noise of old hinges. Aki swirled around. Who was that? The kid would never be so logical as to not to break down a door. His eyes narrowed. Someone else was here?

Getting up from his seat on an old crate and pulling out a revolver from his side holster, Aki decided to leave the girl alone for the time being. Anyone else who interfered had to be terminated before any of the fun fight started.

With those thoughts, he walked silently over to where the noise came from.

----Downstairs---

Ayumi inspected the charred remains of the door. "Wicked."

Brushing her hands off dramatically, Mika replied, "Yep. New little trick I learned."

:Stop showing off and get your ass upstairs.:

'Shut up.'

#Be on your guard. Aki will probably have a surprise attack waiting for us.#

Mika mentally agreed, voicing Kurama's opinion to Ayumi who also nodded. The whole warehouse was too quiet for comfort. Mika felt a chill go up her spine.

'I don't like this…its creepy.'

/Natural for a beginner./

((Yeah, Mika! You're just new at this. It'll become natural after a while))

Mika stopped at the foot of the stairs that led to the second floor. 'This is my first and last time trying to kill someone.'

Karasu raised an eyebrow. :Why is that:

'I'm fourteen years old…I'm only half a demon, but I still have some humanity in me…I just can't bring myself to kill unless I'm forced to like this. Aki's already dead, so that's why I'm even going this far.'

Hiei sneered. /Pathetic./

'Humans were made to make pathetic vows…to be pathetic…' Mika answered. Shaking her head, she turned back to Ayumi. "Ok, I'll go first to make sure there aren't any traps or surprises."

Ayumi frowned. "What? That doesn't make sense! You're our main source of strength here with all those demons inside you. If someone's head gets lobbied off, it should be mine!"

Mika gaped. "Lobbied off? Ayumi, no one is getting beheaded!"

"Well, if he made a trap!"

"Well, I'm not going to send you first! You're only human!"

"And you're part human!"

"So?"

"SO?"

"Um, hello?"

Both girls jumped into the air when they heard a voice behind them. Mika swirled around, ready to summon her shadows to attack the person who spoke. Luckily, she never did.

Standing behind them was an utterly confused Kenji.

Awkward silence.

Ayumi raised both eyebrows, speechless. "Uh…what…the hell?"

:This kid is getting excruciatingly annoying.:

/Can I kill him now/

((Hey, you have two stalkers now!))

#…ok, now that's just getting creepy.#

"KENJI!" Mika nearly screamed. Gripping her chest over her heart, she took an involuntary step backwards. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"My dad just bought this place and he wants to build an apartment duplex here. I came to check all the locks," he said. He laughed slightly. "Um, what are you doing here, Mika? Takei-san?"

Dumbfounded, both girls exchanged glances. What on Earth were they supposed to say to him? That they were looking for a stalker?

'Hey, that could work!' Mika thought. She crossed her arms and smiled. "We're looking for that guy who was stalking us earlier!"

Ayumi gave her best friend a 'What-the-hell-are-you-doing' look. Kenji, on the other hand, clenched his fist.

"What?" he asked, as if hoping he had misheard. His expression turned very serious. "Mika! That's dangerous! I thought you said he wasn't bothering you anymore!"

"Uh, sorta…" Mika replied. She kicked at an imaginary rock. "We found out he was staying here and we wanted to talk to him…or beat the hell out of him, whatever you want to call it."

Kenji grabbed her shoulders and looked her in the eye. He looked very concerned. "Mika, you could have called me! Or the police! Or anyone! It's much to dangerous to go looking for someone like this by yourselves!"

"But he's my stalker!" Mika shouted out of impulse. She blinked. "Whoa, that sounded weird."

Letting go of her, Kenji stepped back and sighed heavily. "You're going to get yourself killed!"

"That's what I've been trying to tell her," Ayumi said, nodding her head.

Mika glared and shook her fist at the other girl. "You're just as guilty!"

"Well…shut up!"

Kenji sighed, which got both of their attentions. He looked over at Mika and said, "Mika, please, you should go home and let the police handle this."

Mika's eyes twitched. For those who knew her very well, that was a sign she was holding back whatever harsh comeback she had wanted to say. Ayumi raised an eyebrow. She really likes this kid…

"Are you saying that I'm not…strong enough to handle this myself?" Mika asked softly.

Kenji shook his head quickly. "No! That's not what I meant! You're very strong, Mika! Very strong—and quick on your feet! That man wouldn't have a chance if you came after him!" Slowing down, he sighed again. "But there's always that chance that guy would have an ace up his sleeve…and that you could get hurt." He took a step closer towards Mika. "And if that happened…I don't know if I would be able…to handle the fact that I could have stopped you from experiencing pain…"

/If this gets ANYMORE sickening, I will take control and spear that boy/

'Interfere, Midget, and I will throw you into the pit of Hell with my own hands!'

Kenji stopped right in front of Mika and looked down at her. She stared back. Slowly, their faces moved slowly towards each other.

"Oh my God, if the sexual tension in this room gets any worse, I think my brain is going to implode," Ayumi muttered loud enough for the other two to hear.

"Er…" Mika backed away, blushing. 'Damn! Will I ever be able to get a kiss from this kid without interruptions?'

:Obviously not.:

'Shut up, I didn't want a real answer!'

"Isn't this sweet…"

Mika felt a shiver run down her spine. 'Oh boy…'

Turning around slowly, Mika looked up towards the stairs. Aki was standing there, grinning evilly down at her.

"Hello, Murasaki."

"Hello, Karyuudo," Mika spat back. She glared fiercely. "I'm here, so let's get this over with!"

((Ooh, that was a good opening line.))

'Ok…'

/FOCUS/

'OK!'

"Um, Mika," Ayumi whispered, poking her friend's shoulder. "Kenji's still here!"

Mika's shoulders slumped. "Oh yeah…" Fighting like a ghost without letting on she herself was abnormal would be pretty hard.

"Is that him?" Kenji asked darkly. He took several steps forward. "Hey! Are you the one who's been stalking Mika?"

"Another friend? My, Mika, you sure are popular!" Aki yelled gleefully.

Kenji glared harder. "Leave her alone right now."

"And why should I listen to you?"

"Because I'm her boyfriend!"

"Awwww!" Mika cried, pretending to wipe away a tear. "I love this kid!"

"Focus, Mika!" Ayumi shouted.

Aki seemed a little taken back by his outburst. Slowly, his grin reappeared on his face. "Oh, really?" His eyes glinted like a cat's would. "How very interesting…"

"Damn you, Kenji!" Ayumi shouted, shaking her fist at the said boy. "You just made things ten times worse!"

Kenji turned to face her. He looked confused. "Huh? What do you mean?"

Up on the landing, Aki pulled out one of his famous guns. Mika gasped.

"Oh, no you don't, you freakin' ghost!" she shouted.

Waving her hand swiftly, a wave of shadow that was being cast by the stairs came up. Aki cursed angrily as it swept away his weapon. Along with the gun, Kenji was also hit by the force and sent flying into the opposite wall.

Mika screamed. "OH, SHIT!"

Ayumi nodded sagely as Mika ran off to Kenji's side. "Oh yeah, this is turning out to becoming the ideal relationship: showing affection by slamming you boyfriend into the wall. Yep."

:I couldn't agree more.:

/Hn./

"Shut up, all of you!" Mika shouted back. She knelt down by Kenji and saw that he was unconscious, but thankfully, he was still breathing. At least she wouldn't have to make excuses immediately.

She sighed with relief. "Thank God my aiming didn't suck this time."

"You little brat!" Aki shouted. He pulled out another gun. "Demon!"

"How many of those do you have?" Ayumi asked, disturbed.

"Enough to kill you all—demonic spirits included!"

Mika raised her hand calmly. "Question: If I just give you the demonic spirits in my head, will you leave us alone? I want them gone as much as you do."

:What the hell? Are you offering us up as sacrifices:

'SHUT UP! I'm trying to make a plan work here!'

#Care to keep us informed?#

'Dude, you're a voice in my head! You'd think that you of all people would know what I'm thinking.'

/Sometimes, I'm glad I don't know./

'THEN STOP COMPLAINING!'

"Heh…" Aki pointed his weapon at her. "So quickly to sell one another out, eh? That just proves my point about you being savage beasts."

"Hey, you're being the beast here. YOU'RE POINTING A GUN AT TWO TEENAGERS!" Ayumi shouted. Suddenly, she gasped. "Oh my God, you're not a serial rapist are you!"

Mika blinked. "Ayumi, that's disgusting."

Aki growled. "Enough of this foolish talking! We had a battle planned did we not?"

"You betcha!" Mika cried, getting up. She got into a defensive position. "Prepare to go down, Last of the Karyuudo Tribe!"

Ayumi grinned. "Funky title."

"I have so many more just waiting to be used."

"RIGHT!" Ayumi shouted. She thrust her palm outwards towards Aki, who was turned away from her. "I've been practicing just for you, Aki darling!"

Her eyes narrowed and she let out a cry. Swing her arm back, she let loose what Mika could see as steaming energy. It carried all the way over to Aki, where it hovered inches from him.

"Um…" Mika blinked.

"Just wait…" Ayumi said, grinning evilly.

Aki looked himself. "What?"

As if on cue, the ball of energy exploded into a bright display of light. Mika ducked out of instinct. She could hear Aki yell out in pain as the heat finally got to his skin.

"Now is your cue to send him flying," she heard Ayumi whisper into her ear.

Mika grinned and looked up. She threw her arm up into the air. "Upsy-Daisy!"

Aki, who was beating back the burning energy, screamed again when his own shadow came up behind him and sent him flying up towards the second floor. Mika smiled contentedly as she heard a thump and another yell.

"The sweet sound of middle aged men in pain."

"And nothing like an original, either," Ayumi replied, grinning.

"Going up," said Mika as she summoned the right Hand. She hopped on and Ayumi followed her in suit.

#What? Too lazy to use the stairs?#

'Its called style, fox boy.'

:This is surprisingly going well, actually.:

((When do we get a chance to fight?)) Kuronue whined.

Mika grinned. 'Soon enough. Let me have some fun first.'

Suddenly, a shot rang out. Mika gasped as she felt a sharp pain—like a bee-sting—go through her upper left shoulder. In an instant that pain had evolved and took over most of her arm.

"Shit!" Mika hissed. She grabbed her arm tightly as warm blood ran over her fingers.

((Ew.))

/Just shut up, bat./

Ayumi bit back a scream. "Oh, man! Are you ok?"

"I bet we're going to get worse," Mika muttered darkly. Already, the pain was numbing. She'd survive a few more shots, but the mess would be hard to explain to her parents.

Straightening up, Mika shook her right fist upward at the second floor. "LET'S GO GET THE BASTARD!"

Ayumi grabbed hold of the railings and pulled herself up to the second floor once they were closer. "Inspiring words!"

Mika jumped high up in the air over the railings, clearing the metal entirely. She whipped her head around anxiously. 'Where is he?'

#Brace yourself. Remember, he's probably hiding.#

'This guy makes me so nervous.'

:You make me nervous with all your lack of awareness. Stop talking to us and focus on your surroundings:

'Alright, alright…' Mika snorted. She looked around closely. Only boxes and dusty crates were in sight. Aki was no where.

/Try to sense him/

Narrowing her eyes, Mika looked around the room again. There were no auras or added sounds. There wasn't even any smell of the ghost-man.

"Where is he?" Ayumi whispered aloud.

Suddenly, Mika's nose caught a whiff of something. It was Aki.

She let out a triumphed yell and spun around on her heels. "Got you—!"

He was right behind her, gun pointing right at her head.

"Damn." She whistled.

Ayumi ran up and kicked at Aki. He barely even turned his head away from Mika. His left hand moved so fast that the two girls never had a chance to react.

"DODGE IT, AYUMI!" Mika yelled.

Ayumi yelped and shot to her side as the second gun went off. She lost her balance and slipped right over the railings.

Mika gaped in horror. "AYUMI!"

:That was retarded.:

/I told you she was going to die./

'SHUT UP! She could be hurt!'

She made a move to run to the railing, but Aki's gun stopped her. It was still ready to fire right at her head.

"Forget her for a moment," Aki said. "I think its time we got to sit down and talk face to face…by ourselves."

"If one more pedophile-like sentence comes out of your mouth, I will permanently shut it," Mika said coldly. Her fingers flexed. "This is your last warning, Aki. Back off, surrender peacefully, and go back to hell. If you don't do those things in that order, I will kill you." She paused. "And I don't care how stupid that sounded, either!"

"You make it sound like this isn't fun!" Aki laughed. Tilting his head, he smirked. "And did you actually think that I would give up?"

Mika's face remained expressionless. "Actually no. I was hoping for that." She raised her hand up. "Prepare to be the first and last person I ever kill."

"I'm waiting."

"Let's go then."

Mika flew backwards, aided by her own shadow that moved her easily across the warehouse floor. Aki shot both of his guns at her. Bullets shot past her at blinding speeds, but Mika did not feel them make contact with her skin.

'Plan?'

#Not yet.#

'Then…what should I do?'

:Play with him a bit.:

'That sounds so wrong.'

:Shut up and move, brat.:

Mika dodged behind two large crates and kept running towards the other end of the warehouse. Tools that had been left there by the workers littered the ground carelessly, which caused Mika to stumble everyone in a while. A bullet ripped through her jacket's sleeve and scraped dangerously close to her skin.

'I hate this! I wanna blow him up!'

((Can you do that?))

'I dunno. Haven't tried that yet.'

((Test it! Test it!))

'…ok…'

Suddenly, an arm grabbed her arm and jerked her down. She gasped and rolled over. Staring down at her was Aki, grinning and baring his two weapons.

"In all the hunts and chases I've ever been on, I have to say you've been one of my favorite targets," Aki said with a smirk. "You've done mostly running and when you do try to attack me, it's always something different. You were fun."

Mika made a face. "Dear God, that sounds so wrong."

Aki glared. "The one thing I've never liked about you is your sarcasm." He slowly grinned again. "However, that's not a problem. Here comes my favorite part: the ending."

Mika backed up involuntarily, her eyes widening when she realized she was pinned against a heavy crate. She was trapped.

'Oh shit.'

/I'd suggest you think of something fast./

'Uhh…try not to get my death certificate to say: killed in gang shooting.'

/You are so going to die./

'That's not helping!'

Aki placed one of his guns in front of him, aiming it carefully so it was in direct alignment with the center of Mika's head. He smirked softly. "Are you afraid, demon?"

"Only of dying so young. I'm only fourteen, you know," Mika replied.

"Heh," Aki said as the gun cocked. "I'll remember to cry for you."

Mika's hands fumbled around her sides for something—anything. She gulped.

'This is NOT good.'

#Think…#

Suddenly, she touched something. She stopped. 'Ah…'

Aki came an inch closer towards her.

"Good-bye."

Down on the first floor, Ayumi struggled to her feet. Pain ratcheted through her bones, but she bit her lip as she continued to stand. She had to keep going. "Damn it…" she muttered.

Suddenly, a loud breath-stopping bang came from the floor above. Ayumi stopped moving and listened. There was no sarcastic retort or childish taunting. Just silence.

Ayumi's hands flew to her open mouth in horror. "Oh my God!"

------------

OMG it's a cliffhanger! How often does that happen? LOL. Looks like there will be at least one more chapter than I expected. Aren't you guys lucky…

-"I feel like singing a song" …I'm sure you all remember how Ralph broke into song before there. I thought it would be funny for Mika to mention something like that. A mental connection or something, I guess…XD

-Yojimbos were bodyguards of lords back in the feudal age in Japan. Or if you're an FFX fan like myself, you could imagine a big aeon with a dog. XD

-There is one thing I forgot to mention that I bet some of you would like to know: Mika's power is shadow, correct? Well there can't be shadow without light, so if Mika is in a dark room with absolutely no light, her power is useless. It's complicated, but makes sense to me at least…

-Yes, Kenji has to look down…XD Mika's not really short, Kenji's just taller.

-I think everyone except for Mika and Kenji themselves want that couple to break up. XD

-What happened to Mika? What did she touch on the ground? XD You'll have to find out in chapter twenty!