A/N Hey guys, welcome to another chapter and I know one of you asked if Chris has any special powers as an Ayakashi but you'll have to wait until the reunion of Chris, Madarao, and Kouya happens since all your questions will be answered by then.

Well, without further ado, enjoy.


It was a nice day today as I simply flew around with a look of contentment, mostly to take my mind off of last night since relaxing helps with lowering my stress levels, then I sweatdropped at that because now I'm thinking like an old man, though I'm technically an old man since I am centuries old so that's a bit of a downer.

'Ugh, now I'm going to feel slightly depressed all day,' I thought in dismay as I saw the Sumimura and Yukimura compounds nearby.

I decided to see how Yoshimori and Tokine were doing as I started feeling sorrow at the thought of what happened to Madarao and Hakubi, hoping that they had just simply returned to where their bodies are since it would be devastating if I were to lose them after searching for them for 400 years.

Either way, I shook my head and flew down to the Sumimura compound while making sure to mask my presence this time as I changed into my anthro form and sent a single solemn look at Madarao's dog house, letting out a quiet sigh as I covered my head with my hood and could smell something sweet again.

I let out a small smile since that meant Yoshimori was baking again so I quietly snuck around the house to where the kitchen window was and peered through it, seeing Yoshimori working on his next masterpiece as I heard him say when he paused and got ready as I sensed Shigemori quickly approaching until he burst into the kitchen.

Shigemori shouted at Yoshimori for wasting time baking and Yoshimori challenged him to a fight with a confident tone of voice, prompting Shigemori to scoff before he captured his grandson with his kekkai.

Yoshimori tried to use his kekkai to break out of the barrier, only nothing happened and his grandfather laughed at that before proceeding to have a look at Yoshimori's prototype and picking up some paper that probably had the designs of Yoshimori's next cake on it.

Shigemori scoffed at what he saw and ripped up the paper before breaking off a piece of the prototype cake and eating it, much to Yoshimori's horror as his grandfather lectured him about how the young man had more important things to do instead of focusing on westernized trash, offending me since baking was a passion for some people and it annoyed me when people in eastern countries insulted their hard work.

Shigemori left the kitchen without lowering the kekkai barrier and Yoshimori started looking beyond pissed as he managed to break out of the barrier and chased after his grandfather, then a commotion erupted somewhere in the house and I sighed as I snuck away from the window and quietly made my way to Madarao's dog house before I kneeled down in front of it.

"Hey, it's me again so I hope you and Hakubi are doing okay after what happened last night since what Yomi and Yoki did to you both really scared the shit out of me, so I can't bear to lose you two since it would be too much for me to handle.

I just hope you two have recovered and are ready for tonight since I'm worried about you both getting attacked again, though I have faith in you and Hakubi since you guys have probably experienced something like that before.

Well, I'm gonna check on Hakubi so just rest easy, old friend," I said before I stood up and proceeded to make my way to the wall before I vaulted over it and landed into the Yukimura compound.

I chatted with Hakubi for a little bit until I decided to leave, changing into my spirit form and flying away before exploring the city for the rest of the day, then the sun had set after that and I proceeded to make my way to Karasumori as I noted that the skies were clear tonight and I was glad about that since wet fur does not give off a pleasant smell and it's a real pain to dry off.

Either way, I arrived at the front gate of the school and changed into my anthro form before making sure my hood was covering my head as I sensed that Tokine and Hakubi were already here so I waited for a little bit until I saw Madarao and Yoshimori quickly arriving.

"Hey guys, Tokine and Hakubi are already here so let's head inside," I greeted as the Kekkaishi and the spirit dog sent me quizzical looks.

"Are you going to be waiting for us from now on?" Yoshimori asked and I shrugged nonchalantly.

"Well, you guys already know about me so I don't see the point in staying hidden anymore," I pointed out logically.

"He does have a good point," Madarao spoke up before we went over the gate and started looking for Tokine and Hakubi.

We met up with them shortly and started searching the area for any Ayakashi when Madarao picked up the scent of one and we started running to where it was located, though I noticed Yoshimori sporting a scowl on his face so I assumed that he was still sore about his grandfather destroying his designs for his new cake while Madarao and Hakubi seemed to notice his sour disposition as well.

"What's on your mind tonight? You seem like you're in a terrible mood," Madarao pointed out as Hakubi flew up beside us.

"Yeah, did something bad happen to you, Yoshi?" Hakubi asked with a smirk and Yoshimori glared at him.

"Shut up, I just didn't get enough sleep, okay?" Yoshimori retorted just as I spotted the Ayakashi up ahead, which was a small one.

"Yoshimori, up ahead!" Tokine informed him and I smiled.

"Just a small one, so I'll let you guys handle it," I said as Yoshimori scowled at the little Ayakashi and tried to capture it, though I noticed that he was being slow and the Ayakashi easily dodged the barriers.

"Wow, you have terrible aim so do you think you can handle it or should I take care of it for you?" Tokine questioned while I saw Yoshimori looking pissed and growling under his breath.

"I got it," Yoshimori snapped irritably before he captured the small Ayakashi with a big kekkai and we approached it until Yoshimori destroyed it.

"Uh, don't you think the huge kekkai was unnecessary? No offense, but you really need to work on that a little more since you're just wasting energy," I pointed out and Yoshimori started looking thoughtful.

"You're right, maybe I should work on making it a bit less sweet next time," Yoshimori mumbled and I sweatdropped from how distracted he is about baking when he should be focused on protecting Karasumori.

"Yeah...you're not paying attention to what I'm trying to tell you," I said with a deadpan look on my face.

"Actually, it should have a more refined flavor," Yoshimori muttered until he noticed that Tokine and I were staring at him dryly and he flinched at that before clapping a hand over his mouth.

"So, you couldn't concentrate tonight because of some stupid recipe for cake?" Tokine questioned irritably before Yoshimori frantically held up his hand to placate her.

"No, it's not like that!" Yoshimori exclaimed nervously as he smiled uneasily.

"Um, kid, maybe you should focus on dealing with the Ayakashi first before thinking about baking since we're kinda in the middle of something right now," I pointed out and Tokine nodded in agreement.

"He's right, when will you learn to take your Kekkaishi duties seriously?! I've had enough of this nonsense, you cake freak! Let's go, Hakubi!" Tokine shouted in frustration before she stormed away and Hakubi smirked.

"See you around and good luck with your stupid recipes, Yoshi," Hakubi mocked before he flew away to catch up with Tokine as Yoshimori looked depressed by what happened.

"I'm...a total cake freak?" Yoshimori whimpered while I let out a sigh of exasperation and turned to look at Madarao.

"Seriously, how do you deal with this kid?" I asked quietly and Madarao moved closer.

"Honestly, I have no idea how I'm able to put up with him for so long," Madarao whispered and I rubbed the back of my head as I walked forward.

"Well, I'm going to see if I can locate any more Ayakashi so I'll see you guys later," I said before I started searching for more Ayakashi and found myself remembering one of the good times I had with Madarao and Kouya.


I walked over to the large river with a sharp stick in my hand as Ginro and Kouya watched me, just as I went into the river as the running water felt cold and I could see a few fish swimming around, then I showed a look of concentration as I raised the stick and got ready before attempting to stab one of the fish, only to have no luck catching it after a couple of tries and I scowled.

"Um, you told us that you know how to fish so are you sure that you know what you're doing?" Ginro inquired dubiously and I glared back at him.

"Yeah, I went fishing with my old man back when I was a kid but I used a pole and a hook with bait on it, not a sharp stick to stab them with," I replied irritably as I went to stab another fish, only I missed and that seriously annoyed me.

"I have to be honest, you're pretty bad at that," Kouya commented as he looked amused from seeing me fail more than once.

"It's not as easy as it looks, you smartass," I retorted and went to stab at a fish, only I missed again and let out a yell of frustration before I started smacking the water with the stick.

"Damn it! Crap, crap, son of a-" I shouted with each smack of the water before Kouya and Ginro laughed at my misfortune.

"Uh, you want us to give it a try?" Ginro inquired with a grin and I looked back at him and Kouya with an expression of annoyance.

"Knock yourselves out," I grumbled as I got out of the water and dropped the stick before crossing my arms with a huff, just as Kouya scoffed.

"Please, we mountain dogs don't need some stupid human tool to catch a fish so observe," Kouya said rather arrogantly before he and Ginro went over to the river and dove into it.

I waited for a short time until Kouya and Ginro surfaced, the two of them each having a fish in their mouths as they got out of the water and shook themselves off when Kouya sent me a smug look to mock me, much to my irritation as they went over to our camp and started eating.

I wasn't going to let Kouya have the satisfaction of mocking me so I decided to play by their rules and went over to the river, holding a determined glare as I took in a huge breath before diving into the water.

I swam around to look for a big fish when I soon spotted one coming my way, holding still and making sure to not show any sudden movement so that I wouldn't startle it when it got close enough and went to grab it, managing to hold onto the bastard after it attempted to escape my grip more than once when I swam up and took in a huge breath of oxygen after surfacing while holding up the large fish.

I could see Ginro and even Kouya gawking at me with the former looking joyful and the latter looking shocked as I got out of the water with my clothes soaking wet and my hair drenched as I sent the two spirit canines a look of victory while I showed a grin for my success.

"How about that, looks like this human is not as stupid as you first thought," I said smugly as I looked at Kouya, who glared at me for that until he huffed.

"You just got lucky," Kouya grumbled and I chuckled in response.

"Yeah, sure I did," I said mirthfully as I walked forward, then I tripped and stumbled while trying to regain my balance when I dropped the fish and widened my eyes since I was right next to the river and there was a good chance the fish would go back into the water.

Luckily, it landed on the shore and merely flopped around while gasping as I stared down at the fish and looked right back at Ginro and Kouya, who was staring at me while blinking at my clumsy moment when I started snickering, causing Ginro to do the same until we broke out laughing and Kouya rolled his eyes while mumbling something under his breath until Ginro and I calmed down and I picked up the fish before heading over to them.


After reminiscing about the past, I left Karasumori once I took care of a few low-level Ayakashi and parted ways with the Kekkaishi and the two canine spirits, then I went to get some rest until it was morning and I was now in my spirit form as I flew around the city to pass the time.

'Hmm, maybe I should check on Yoshimori and Tokine and see how they are doing today,' I thought and figured why not since I didn't have anything else to do at the moment.

With that in mind, I flew over to the Sumimura and Yukimura compounds before I saw Yoshimori and Tokine walking to school but I noticed Yoshimori looking pretty tired, and I'm not surprised by that as I followed them and saw them go their separate ways as a couple of Yoshimori's friends met up with him at the front gate to the middle school section of the academy.

Yoshimori's friends chatted with him for a little bit until he parted ways and started to make his way through the gate but then he paused as he seemed to have noticed something and I looked at what he was staring at, spotting a male ghost who had light brown hair and he was wearing a pastry chef's uniform while he was trying to talk to people to get their attention but he wasn't having any luck.

'Another ghost? Geez, this place attracts them like bugs to a bug zapper,' I thought as Yoshimori quickly took cover in the bushes nearby and got the ghost's attention by subtly gesturing for him to come over to where he's hiding.

The ghost pointed at himself and Yoshimori poked his head up to nod before the ghost perked up with a joyful grin as he ran over to where Yoshimori was hiding and started chatting with him, though I felt bad for the spirit the longer I watched him interact with the male Kekkaishi since it was clear that he had died recently and didn't know that he was dead so I hoped that he would be able to move on with Yoshimori's help.

I could see Yoshimori giving the ghost the address of a psychic counseling center and proceeded to push him out of the school grounds, much to the ghost's protests before I flew away since what I saw wasn't all that interesting, though I decided to explore a little bit since I did enjoy seeing the sights from time to time.

I flew around the city for a few hours to pass the time when I noticed that it was the afternoon so school is probably over by now, which prompted me to fly back to the school to check on Yoshimori and Tokine since they were probably heading home by now until I spotted Yoshimori standing in front of the window of a bakery as he gazed at all the cakes that were on display.

My mouth started watering as I gazed at all the pastries and my eyes sparkled as I thought about wanting another slice of cake with strawberries and white frosting, though I slumped in mid-air with a depressed cloud hovering above me since I can't get another one because of the way I look.

'Dammit, it really sucks being dead sometimes,' I thought with a sad frown when I spotted the same ghost from earlier walking up to the bakery and he stood next to Yoshimori.

I was interested in why he was there as he spoke to Yoshimori, prompting the male Kekkaishi to look at him with a distracted smile as he didn't appear to recognize the ghost at first until he widened his eyes and I could hear him gasp as the spirit talked to him.

Suddenly, Yoshimori raised a hand and whacked the poor guy in the head, making me grimace as the spirit was sent to the ground and he clutched his head while looking up at Yoshimori with a pained expression as he stared at Yoshimori as if he were nuts.

Yoshimori started shouting at the ghost, catching the attention of other people as they started staring at him strangely and it didn't surprise me since they couldn't see the ghost and were probably wondering why he was supposedly shouting at nothing.

Yoshimori noticed that he was causing a scene and had grabbed the ghost by his hand before pulling him up and proceeded to push him into an alley as the ghost protested, then I followed them but made sure to stay hidden and mask my presence so that I wouldn't be discovered.

I saw them talking as I watched them interact with each other before they continued walking and I was right above them, seeing them eventually making it up a bunch of steps as I heard that the ghost talked about how he remembered dying in a horrible accident and I felt sorry for him since he does appear to be a decent person who has a passion for baking.

I just observed them as they went to the park and the spirit helped Yoshimori out by giving him a few pointers, making me smile as I let out a quiet sigh and decided to leave them alone since the sun is setting and I should get ready for tonight, though I found myself remembering another fond moment between me, Madarao, and Kouya.


I looked up at the night sky as I laid out in an open field, watching the stars with a peaceful smile as I simply relaxed when I heard someone coming and looked to see that it was Ginro and Kouya while they approached me and looked puzzled by what I was doing.

"Hey guys," I greeted before looking back up at the stars.

"Chris, we were wondering where you were so what are you doing?" Ginro inquired curiously as he lays down next to me and Kouya simply sits.

"Just stargazing, something I used to do with my parents when I was a kid so I can see a few constellations that I recognize," I replied as Ginro looked interested and I could see Kouya glancing at me out of the corner of his eye to show that he was listening.

"Like what?" Ginro asked and I let out a thoughtful hum as I looked for the constellations that I do recognize and started pointing them out.

"I can see Leo over there...Orion is a little over there...and I think I can spot Scorpius right there," I said with a look of concentration as I pointed out the constellations and Kouya huffed.

"There's nothing there, just stars," Kouya told me with a frown and I looked at him.

"Sure, they may look like just a bunch of stars at first but if you take a closer look, then you should be able to see the patterns that make up the constellations," I said before Kouya rolled his eyes and Ginro looked at me.

"How do you know all of this?" Ginro questioned, which caused me to smile solemnly as memories of my childhood ran through my mind.

"My dad is an astronomer and he taught me the different constellations while I was growing up...you know, I wonder how he and my mother are taking my disappearance right now," I said as I teared up slightly since it hurt, being so far away from them and knowing that I would never be able to see them again when Ginro gently bumped his snout against my arm to comfort me.

"Chris, I'm sorry that you aren't able to see your family again but you aren't alone anymore since you have us now," Ginro told me sympathetically and I sent him a soft smile.

"Thanks, I appreciate that," I said with a thankful look when I noticed that Kouya looked lost in thought and wondered what was on his mind, but even though he told me a couple of weeks ago that he was willing to tolerate me, I wasn't going to push my luck by asking him what he was thinking about since he was probably still slightly on edge around me.

Even so, I continued to point out the different stars and constellations to Ginro and Kouya until it was getting late and we were about to get ready to get some sleep when Kouya told me that he wanted to speak to me in private.

I was confused at first since I had no idea why he wanted to talk to me in private but I decided to hear what he wanted to say to me as we walked away from the campfire and soon came to a stop at the edge of it while Ginro watched us with a puzzled look.

"Okay, what did you want to speak to me about?" I inquired curiously and Kouya sighed.

"Chris, ever since I told you that I would tolerate you for now and that you haven't so much as shown signs that you would betray us in any way, I have been doing some thinking and I've come to a decision.

Seeing as how you don't appear to want to harm or deceive us in any way, I'm willing to give you a chance but understand that I didn't make this choice lightly. You've heard from Ginro what your kind put us through, how they took our mountain, and that they are responsible for our deaths so don't make me regret this because it takes a lot to gain my trust," Kouya told me while looking very serious.

I was stunned to hear that as I couldn't respond to what he said to me, just completely speechless since it must've taken him a lot to get past his pride so that he could tell me this and I felt overjoyed that he was able to get past his hatred of me to give me a chance.

I couldn't restrain myself and just simply tackled Kouya to the ground with my arms wrapped around him as he let out a startled yelp, then he started struggling to break free as Ginro came running over to jump in before he landed on the both of us while he looked excited, no doubt hearing our conversation.

"Damn it, get off me!" Kouya protested before it caused me and Ginro to laugh as I was beyond happy that Kouya was warming up to me.


I held a small smile as I stood on a rooftop, watching the night sky as I recalled the time when Kouya was able to give me a chance and I never forgot that moment or will ever forget it for as long as I live since it will always be one of my treasured memories.

Even so, my smile went away slowly and I thought about how I missed those times so much as I let out a solemn sigh, looking away from the night sky and wondering when the next Ayakashi would show up when I suddenly picked up the presence of one at Karasumori.

'Well, time to get to work,' I thought as I changed into my spirit form and started making my way to Karasumori.

I flew past buildings and the park until I soon arrived at the academy, arriving at the front gate and changing into my anthro form before I waited for the Kekkaishi to show up, then I saw Yoshimori and Madarao arriving first but it was the tense and grim look on Yoshimori's face that had me concerned.

"Hey kid, you okay?" I asked, only Yoshimori ran up to the gate and just hopped over it without even responding so I was taken aback by that and sent Madarao a questioning look.

"Don't look at me, I have no idea what has him so worked up," Madarao told me and I have a bad feeling about this.

"Come on, we should probably make sure he doesn't do anything that'll get himself injured as usual," I stated before I hopped over the gate and Madarao followed me, just in time to see Yoshimori trip and slide across the ground as I spotted the same ghost from earlier today and Yoshimori stood up.

"What are you doing here?" Yoshimori questioned in disbelief and the ghost looked thoughtful as he was on the notice board and looked like he was doing some kind of yoga when he went and sat on the notice board.

"Yoga," the ghost said and Yoshimori scowled.

"You know that's not what I meant when I told you to never come back here, pal!" Yoshimori retorted as Madarao and I shared a look of complete confusion.

"Well, if you tell someone not to do something, of course, they'll do it," the ghost said with a grin and added, "I was really shocked when your friend called me a monster, but now I'm thinking that I should enjoy the ghostly lifestyle."

"Uh, am I missing something here?" I questioned as the ghost flew into the air and Yoshimori shrugged as he held a look of complete bewilderment.

"You got me, so what the hell's a ghostly lifestyle?" Yoshimori wondered as the ghost gently floated down while he let out a sigh of contentment, making me sweatdrop at how he was taking his death a little too lightly.

"Well, I can fly so that's totally cool and now that people can't see me at all, I can spy on people every day!" the ghost cheered and Yoshimori fell to his hands and knees in exasperation while I was twitching.

'You've got to be kidding me, this guy is treating this as a game or a new toy he has discovered so he must have a few screws loose or something,' I thought in disbelief just as Tokine and Hakubi arrived and the ghost saw her.

"Yo, what's up, little missy?" the ghost greeted cheerfully and Tokine looked surprised at first until she started holding an unamused expression.

"You're still here causing lots of trouble, I assume?" Tokine questioned dryly and Hakubi looked at her.

"Let it be, Tokine. He's just a pipsqueak," Hakubi placated her and the ghost looked surprised.

"Whoa, it keeps getting weirder so you've got a dog that floats, talks, and makes rude comments," the ghost gasped and I approached him.

"Trust me, this is nothing when compared to the crap we've seen every night," I pointed out and the ghost widened his eyes when he saw my sword that was strapped to my back.

"Wow, that is a huge sword so where did you get that?" the ghost asked and I chuckled.

"Actually, I made it myself by using different alloys and a combination of magical spells to make it unbreakable and extremely sharp so it can pretty much cut through anything," I replied while feeling a little proud of my accomplishment.

"That's awesome, magic really does exist!" the ghost exclaimed excitedly and I smiled at his enthusiasm as Tokine cleared her throat to get our attention.

"Anyway, the evil aura we sensed before isn't coming from this ghost," Tokine pointed out and I knew what she meant since I can sense the malevolent presence coming from inside the building somewhere.

"You're right, the culprit is somewhere inside this building," Hakubi agreed before we all looked at the building and I hummed thoughtfully.

'Huh, the Ayakashi that I'm sensing isn't very strong but that doesn't mean we should underestimate it since it'll get more and more dangerous the longer it stays here,' I thought just as Tokine looked at Yoshimori with a stern glare.

"You better take care of this pastry ghost," Tokine said before she and Hakubi started making their way into the building, despite the male Kekkaishi's protests until he sighed and turned to look back at the ghost.

"Fine, just stick close to us, okay?" Yoshimori instructed and the ghost perked up.

"R-Really?" the ghost stuttered and I turned my attention to him.

"Well, I have a feeling you won't listen even if we were to tell you to leave but if I were you, I should be very careful in this place since any Ayakashi that shows up might try to eat you so I wouldn't recommend separating from us to goof off, just saying," I remarked before Yoshimori, Madarao, and I took off with the ghost right behind us.

"Oh yeah, this will be dangerous so what a rush!" the ghost cheered and I sweatdropped at that since he was having a little too much fun right now.

"This isn't a game!" Yoshimori retorted with a tickmark, much to Madarao's irritation if his expression told me anything.

"Keep quiet, both of you! I can't concentrate with all of your chatter!" Madarao snapped irritably.

"Sorry, I'm just excited since it's my first time seeing a monster," the ghost said sheepishly and I looked at him weirdly.

"Uh, that's not exactly something you should be excited about because we're in an extremely dangerous environment right now so maybe you should start taking this a little more seriously," I pointed out hesitantly.

"He's right, but this intrusion isn't a monster so I have the feeling it's another ghost," Yoshimori said and I nodded.

"And a really pissed-off one at that, judging from its very malevolent aura so this might get ugly," I added as we kept moving through the school grounds until we arrived at one second of the school where the malevolent presence was located.

Yoshimori went to one of the windows and proceeded to open it, he and I climbing into the building while Madarao and the ghost simply floated in as I looked around, not seeing anything yet but that doesn't mean it wasn't nearby.

"Since it likes to be indoors, I wonder if it's a human ghost," Yoshimori said quietly as Madarao floated down to the floor and started sniffing it to locate the spirit's trail.

"Seems like it, the scent is weak because it's still in the early stage," Madarao told us and I felt slightly relieved by that since we would be able to take care of the spirit pretty quickly but we had to hurry since the longer the angry spirit stayed here, then the more dangerous it will become.

"Early stage? Sounds like it still hasn't fully transformed yet," Yoshimori said thoughtfully and I nodded.

"All the more reason to find it before it does," I stated before Madarao looked back at us.

"Yoshimori, it's this way," Madarao informed the male Kekkaishi before he started flying down the hall quickly and we ran after him to keep up, then I could sense the angry spirit up ahead before detecting Tokine and Hakubi in the same place as the spirit was when we burst into the classroom.

"Tokine, I'll do it!" Yoshimori announced while I saw the spirit we were looking for, who had the appearance of a Japanese man in his late forties while he had a receding hairline and was wearing glasses, though it was the large pair of curved and sharp scissors that replaced his right hand that had my attention.

"Well well, it appears we have more visitors so I'll kill you one by one," the spirit declared with a sadistic smile as I could feel the hate and rage coming off him while the ghost that was with us let out a whimper and hid right behind Yoshimori.

"That dude is bad news, kid," the ghost stated nervously.

"You don't have a body so you can feel his full evil aura, now take a step back," Yoshimori instructed grimly as the evil spirit in front of us looked down with a sigh.

"I have the most rotten luck...for 25 years, I worked at my company and never caused any trouble for them but out of nowhere, they decided to lay me off so isn't that just awful? So, that's why I've decided that from now on, I'll be the one who gets to cut people off with this," the spirit said as he raised his scissor hand when Yoshimori used his kekkai to destroy it and the spirit screamed in horror.

"Hey, I'm sorry that you went through something so shitty but do you really think this will make you feel any better? I sympathize with your situation but don't think that we won't hesitate to stop you if we can't reason with you," I warned as I stepped forward until I stood next to Yoshimori and the spirit scowled at me as his arm started regenerating, but Yoshimori kept using his kekkai to destroy most of his body.

"Holy crap, that kid is scarier than that guy," the ghost commented uneasily.

"Yoshimori, don't bother because when a spirit becomes evil, it can't go back," Tokine lectured and I could see Yoshimori clenching his teeth in frustration.

"No, you're wrong because it's not too late!" Yoshimori argued as I saw the evil spirit looking terrified at potentially getting destroyed and Yoshimori told him, "Listen to me, I won't tell you twice so leave this place or I will destroy you."

Hearing that scared the spirit into complying and we all left the building, walking through the school property and the spirit sighed with a depressed look as we walked away from the main building and I felt bad for the poor guy since he clearly experienced some shitty luck by getting fired and dying soon after so I hope that we would be able to help him move on.

"I'm so unlucky, just completely unlucky," the spirit muttered sadly.

"Excuse me, wasn't there something good back when you were alive? It couldn't have been all that bad, surely," I spoke up and the spirit looked back at me.

"Something good? Honestly, I can't think of a single thing," the spirit replied with a solemn look.

"Then what about the things that made you happy?" Yoshimori questioned and the spirit appeared thoughtful.

"Let me think...when I was hired at my company, I believe I was happy and my marriage...no, that was arranged so that made me miserable too," the spirit admitted and I frowned.

"There has to be something so your life couldn't have been completely bad," I said and the spirit perked up with a smile.

"Wait, I remember the night my daughter was born so I was very happy then," the spirit said and Yoshimori nodded.

"Okay, so what is she doing now?" Yoshimori asked and the spirit looked at him before lowering his gaze sadly.

"Oh, I don't know since I found myself here when I came to my senses," the spirit said and I stepped forward.

"Would you like to see her one last time?" I inquired and the spirit looked a bit nervous.

"See her?! She used to be very attached to me when she was little since I would buy her birthday cakes and she would smile all day, but by the time she was old enough for junior high, she stopped talking to me!

Nevertheless, I miss her so much," the spirit admitted and even though his situation was slightly different, it still reminded me of how I had missed Madarao, Hakubi, and Kouya for the past 400 years while trying to find them.

"That's good," Yoshimori said as he took out a small book and opened it before stopping at one page and showing it to the spirit before he added, "Go to this address here, it's a consultant for wandering ghosts so tell Mother-san that you really want to see your daughter and don't ever come near this place again.

The next time you do, I'll make sure you'll be swallowed into an infinite pit of darkness without even the smallest speck of light so go and never come back."

The spirit flinched at that and he quickly flew over the front gate before taking off to the city when I sighed, feeling a little emotional after that and I gently rubbed my eyes as I started thinking about Kouya and wondering if I would ever see him again as Tokine looked at Yoshimori.

"You're too kind as always, but I guess it was a good thing you didn't have to destroy him," Tokine said.

"Whoa, you surprised me since you've got me thinking that you were a really scary guy, the way you've threatened him all of a sudden," the ghost admitted and Yoshimori sighed.

"Yeah, well, that guy was so bitter that I had to use threats to convince him because, like him, I used to have a very negative way of seeing things so when I thought about my own life, all I could feel was disappointment.

So, I couldn't blame him for feeling like that," Yoshimori explained and my eyes softened as I recalled all the times when I felt so lonely during the past 400 years after I died.

"You are one deep and fascinating kid," the ghost said cheerfully as he clapped a hand on Yoshimori's shoulder and the male Kekkaishi blushed.

"Okay, that's enough so you need to leave this world!" Yoshimori retorted in embarrassment before the ghost removed his hand from his shoulder.

"Don't worry about it because thanks to you, I've finally remembered the one thing I truly loved in life," the ghost said as Yoshimori looked surprised to hear that when the ghost went to talk to Tokine, though I wasn't paying attention as I thought about how I have experienced so much and seen so many things after I died that it makes me think about the one thing I truly loved in my life when I sighed and looked at the others.

"Well, I'm gonna get going so I'll see you guys later," I said and started to head to the front gate.

"Wait!" Madarao called out and I paused at that before looking back at him.

"Yeah? You need something?" I inquired curiously before Madarao flew over to me as the others were watching with puzzled expressions.

"I'm sure I've met you somewhere before since your scent is so familiar to me so what's your name?" Madarao asked and I was silent for a short time until I sighed.

"Look, as much as I would like to tell you, I can't yet since I'm not ready to tell you my name, sorry," I said sheepishly and Madarao scowled.

"Come on, you haven't told us your name the entire time you've assisted us and as a matter of fact, we hardly know anything about you so who are you and why is your scent so familiar?!" Madarao shouted in frustration and I held my hands up to placate him.

"Okay, I'll tell you my name so calm down!" I exclaimed defensively and sighed before I said, "Alright, if you want to know that badly, then my name is Balto."

"Balto? That has to be the strangest name I've ever heard of in my life," Yoshimori commented and I sent him a glare.

"Shut up, I didn't pick the name," I grumbled while Hakubi also flew over to me.

"Even so, that still doesn't explain why your scent is familiar," Hakubi pointed out and I pursed my lips.

"Look, I'm not ready to reveal my identity to you guys yet so just be patient and I'll tell you guys everything once the time is right, now I should get going," I said before I went to hop over the front gate, quickly leaving the area until I soon made it to the top of a building before I sat on the edge of the rooftop and became lost in thought after pulling back my hood.

I knew that I should've picked a better alias to call myself but it's too late now so I'll just have to play along but as I looked up at the night sky, I recalled all of the fond times I had with Madarao and Kouya until there was one precious memory that came to me.


I shot up while letting out panicked whimpers, quickly looking around and seeing the campfire, as well as Ginro and Kouya sleeping nearby before I realized that it was just a horrible nightmare and my heavy breathing slowed down to calmer shaky breaths.

'Jesus, what a fucking nightmare,' I thought as I stood up and decided to wash my face so I started to make my way to the nearby river.

I made it to the river and submerged my hands into it, cupping them and splashing my face with water to try and perk me up as I stared at my reflection in the water, recalling the horrible nightmare I had as it started to make me tear up until I started crying a little from how awful it was.

"Chris?" someone spoke and I quickly looked to see that it was Kouya, who appeared puzzled when I let out a sigh while wiping my eyes.

"Kouya, you startled me so what are you doing up?" I inquired and Kouya frowned.

"I could ask you the same question and were you crying?" Kouya asked and I felt embarrassed that he caught me crying but he didn't mock me or anything like that, just looked at me with an inquisitive expression.

"It's nothing, just a horrible nightmare so don't worry about it," I said before Kouya padded over and sat down next to me.

"You could tell me if you want since I'm curious about it," Kouya told me and I was surprised by that but then I sighed and sat down before looking up at the night sky.

"Well, I guess I could tell you so what happened in the nightmare is that I was back home, somehow finding a way back to my time period and everything was normal at first as I ran into my home and was reunited with my parents.

At first, they were overjoyed to see me again and we hugged as I cried in pure relief that I was back, but then it got bad as my parents wouldn't let me go and I looked up to see them looking so angry at me, which scared the shit out of me.

They blamed me for disappearing and hated me for abandoning them but I tried to reason with them, only they laughed cruelly and said that they were actually happy that I disappeared and wished that I stayed gone before my mother took out a knife and..." I trailed off with my voice getting shaky and I struggled to not cry again as Kouya hummed thoughtfully.

"You must miss them very much if you are having nightmares about them," Kouya said and I sniffled while nodding.

"I do, more than you could ever imagine, and to think it's been almost a month since I woke up in this time period alone and scared, though I don't know how my friends and family are doing or how they are taking my disappearance right now so I don't know if they are frantic or simply hate me for disappearing," I admitted and Kouya frowned.

"Chris, thinking about things like that won't help you in any way since it will make you feel even worse, so how about we get back to sleep since we're running low on deer meat and I want us to be fully awake so that we can do some hunting tomorrow," Kouya told me and I sighed.

"Yeah, it was stupid to get myself worked up like that so let's get some sleep," I agreed as we both stood up and made our way back to the campfire, where Ginro stirred slightly as I laid down next to him and he moved closer until he was snuggling into my side before falling back asleep and Kouya laid down where he let me rest my head on his side.

"Hey Kouya," I said as I started getting sleepy.

"What?" Kouya inquired.

"Do you think we'll always be together, just enjoying ourselves and goofing off so will we always stay as friends?" I asked as my eyes started closing and Kouya was quiet for a short while.

"Of course, little brother," Kouya replied as my eyes closed, and I was very flattered that he saw me as a younger brother so I fell asleep with a smile on my face and had more pleasant dreams after that.


It hurt so much, remembering that time and I was tearing up while letting out whimpers as I tried to keep my composure but I couldn't anymore and just broke out sobbing from how I would never have those fond moments again and that it had all been torn apart when I died.

'God, it's just so fucking unfair!' I thought as I cried uncontrollably from losing everything and being so alone for the past 400 years.

I was so lonely and so tired as I lifted my head and let out a howl full of pain and misery, pouring out everything I've felt to anyone that could hear it as I wanted to go back to those happy times with Madarao and Kouya, though I couldn't and that made it hurt even more.

All the things I had lost and all the loneliness I had felt for 400 years were torture so it was so unfair that I had everything taken from me and that I had to spend a long lonely existence hunting monsters and demons, which didn't make me feel better and brought me deeper into that hole of despair and torment.

I didn't know if I could keep doing it anymore or if I could keep going because even though I had finally found Madarao and Hakubi again, I was still suffering in silence and I tried to bear through it by smiling and joking but it still hurt so much.

I had stopped howling after a while and just laid down on the cold concrete roof, curling up into a fetal position and trembling while being in such a vulnerable state as I wanted everything to go back to the way it used to be, just me, Madarao, and Kouya having fun and not worrying about a thing but I couldn't even have that anymore as I fell asleep and had uneasy dreams.


A/N Hey guys, talk about depressing at the end of the chapter and what was shown in the flashbacks since it shows that while Chris seems to be a laid-back type of person who jokes around, it's just a front to hide how he is a very lonely and tired individual who just wants everything to go back to the way it used to be.

Sadly, that can't ever happen so that makes it more tragic for the poor guy since he had been through so much and just wants his torment to end so let's hope that he can find some kind of peace soon.

Well, let me know what you think, and stay tuned.