Episode 5: Mystery Biker and the Burning Gorilla
Disclaimer: Standard Disclaimer applies
Hana was lying down on the floor of his house when Matamune came in, "Mata-sama, what are you doing here?"
Matamune replied "Hana, you need more incentive, which is why I'm going to be giving you these" and Matamune presented Hana with a pile of books.
"You call this incentive?" said Hana.
Matamune said "Hey, if there was anything I knew from being Hao's Gouryoshin, it was keeping my wits active; you could learn a thing or two from this, Hana"
"I suppose" sighed Hana.
After a while Hana was getting down into the business of reading all those books Matamune recommended for him, going through text after text of various topics like botany, old-century firearms, Japanese literature, metals, strategies, handicraft, folklore and other assorted books of various local and exotic topics.
"Mata-sama may be smart and all, but I just wish he'd pick a topic that actually catches my fancy" thought Hana.
"Then why don't you find something that might be interesting in that pile?" Frank said as he appeared.
Hana perked up, "Alright then," then Hana dove into the pile to find anything that might look interesting.
"Aha! Here we go!" said Hana triumphantly as he pulled out a peculiar looking book, titled "Shaman History and Terminologies"
Hana took the book out and started shifting through the pages, until he came across an interesting little tidbit.
"Huh, Key of Spirit Dominance? Let's see…"
The keys of Spirit Dominance, are ancient shaman artifacts of ancient times, more than several centuries ago, in a time long past, the most skilled of shamans would employ the use of these relics to draw on allies from the afterlife, bringing them back to the world of the living in much the same manner as an itako, only much smaller, use of the Keys of Spirit Dominance became practical and a common commodity in the old days, but, as the years went by, their use has largely decreased over the years, to the point where they are now mere treasures of a past age, they are still a prized item among modern generations of shamans today…
Hana continued reading; this Key of Spirit Dominance seemed interesting…
Later…
Matamune was relaxing on the rooftop of the En Inn, smoking his pipe, when suddenly, Hana burst out to meet him, "Mata-sama! I have an adventure for us, let's go!"
This caught Matamune by surprise, and before he could respond, he found himself once again transformed into the ATC.
(ATC- term used for the three-wheeled variety of ATV)
For a while, they rode off out the road, and in no time flat, they arrived at an isolated place in the woods, "Hana, mind telling me where are we going and what are we doing?" asked Frank.
"Well Frank," started Hana "You see those Keys of Spirit Dominance really caught my interest, so now we're going to go and find out whether or not we're lucky to score a bugger" said Hana wistfully.
Frank could not believe Hana's optimism, even Matamune, who was now floating beside them, "So Hana, have you figured out how to use Keys of Spirit Dominance?" asked Matamune.
"Yeah, all I gotta do is find the darn thing, and use it on a spirit node to summon the name of the spirit printed on the Key," said Hana as though it was a simple task.
"Yes but, how do you intend to get a spirit node? That's the only thing that can make the Keys of Spirit Dominance work and you don't even have one," said Matamune.
"Chill, Mata-sama, I always get what I want in the end…" said Hana slyly.
"Of course you do, like that time when you stole your father's cellphone and made over ten fast-food deliveries, and your parents had to pay for it all,"
"Hey, I was hungry! And I didn't steal it, I was only borrowing it for a while…" countered Hana.
"Then why do I recall your mother saying something about you acting like a spoiled, stubborn brat who kept saying no, even after she offered to buy you your very own?" said Matamune.
"Mou! Can we stop talking about that!? I already said I was sorry!"
(Yes Abie, they were talking about the Cephone)
Back at Funbari, Yoh was visiting a small area in the woods, deciding to head downstream to catch some crabs for dinner; however, as he went down the usual path to his usual stream he was instead ambushed by an army of ghouls!
The ghouls quickly surrounded Yoh, poised to attack, but appeared to be waiting for something; it was then that Yoh caught sight of something else, appearing quite differently from the ghouls, with black surgeon clothes which exposed some skin, red hair and a dark complexion.
"Who are you?" asked Yoh.
"I am Dr. Cutter, and I've been waiting a long while for you to come by here, Yoh Asakura…" said Cutter with a smirk.
Yoh dropped his bucket for the crabs, and reached for his scabbard beside his hip, "Amidamaru, get ready cause it looks like it could get wild," said Yoh.
"I am ready whenever you are, Yoh" replied Amidamaru.
Dr. Cutter watched in amusement, "Alright, Asakura, get ready if you think you can best one hundred of my ghouls! Attack!" then the ghouls came charging for Yoh.
"Amidamaru, into the sword, then the Futsunomitama!" Yoh called upon his preferred weapon of choice and began battling the ghouls.
Yoh slashed one ghoul in the chest, killing that one fairly quick, then he got in between two and quickly dispatched both of them as well, after which he jumped onto the back of another and stabbed him then he moved around and started hitting every single one as he moved from one place to another, striking at each one of them as he went around one after the other.
Back with Hana, our three heroes continued walking through the woods, until they came upon a small shrine in the middle of the forest, with a little red box lying inside it.
Hana jumped, "Aha! I knew it, we could find a Key of Spirit Dominance here!" he shouted.
Hana, Frank and Matamune approached the small shrine, as guessed, this place was a holding spot for a Key of Spirit Dominance.
"Is this box supposed to contain those Key things?" asked Frank, holding up the red box.
"Probably, it has the Dominance sigil printed on top of it," said Hana.
Matamune looked upon the box carefully, then it hit him, "Hana, open the box!"
"Huh?"
"Matamune, what's up with you?" asked Frank.
"Oh, well, I think I know what this key is…" said Matamune.
"Really?! You mean you know which spirit is bonded to this?" asked Hana.
"Mm, it's one of my old comrades…
Meanwhile…
Yoh defeated 95 ghouls while Hana was away, and was working his way with the last five.
Yoh kicked off a tree and slashed two on the throat, and then he ran up and put his arm behind a ghoul's head, pinning him down by forcing it to bend its head down, Yoh used this as leverage while he jumped up, holding his sword between his feet and slashing another in half, then he let go of his ghoul but slashed the head off for good measure, finally, he dealt with the last one using a Shinkuu Buddha-giri, cutting the last ghoul in half.
"Is that all?" asked Yoh, watching as all the ghouls he slew dissipated into white dust.
Dr. Cutter snorted, "Not quite," suddenly, a massive creature about five times taller than Yoh jumps out of the sky and onto the ground near Dr. Cutter.
It was a huge monster with a large rounded green torso and legs made of metal, and brown, bronze feet, it had long arms made entirely out of thick, reinforced metal, and its head was naught but a dome-shaped helmet with a y-shaped slit for its eyes, if it had any due to the blackness of his insides.
"What in the-?" but before Yoh could respond, the monster made a very erratic movement and sound, flailing its arms wildly and shouting "Heavy, Heavy, Heavy DROP!"
"What was that for?" asked Yoh.
"Look up" said Dr. Cutter.
Yoh looked up, and as he did, he saw a GIANT Dumbbell falling right towards him!
Yoh, without any further thought, released Amidamaru and raised his hands up, bracing for impact.
BAM!
Waves of dust and leaves flung into the sky as an immense shockwave was felt for around for the whole area, "YOH!" Amidamaru looked to see if his friend was all right.
As the dust cleared, to the shock and amazement of all, was Yoh, holding on to the GIANT dumbbell on top of his shoulders, like he was Atlas holding onto the world on his shoulders, beneath his feet was a large indention of the impact in the form of a small crater.
Yoh smirked under his weight, "You'll need more than this to keep me down!" then Yoh tossed the dumbbell over to his side and panted heavily.
Dr. Cutter looked annoyed, "Hmph, I suppose I should have known better than to try using a weight against you,"
Then Yoh said "You should see what my wife gives me!"
But Dr. Cutter just retorted, "No matter, I'll just send my Iron Golem into town and find your son, hopefully you won't interfere," this made Yoh perk, "My son!? Hana?!? What do you want with him!?" shouted Yoh, "Oh, just his death, you see I decided to personally take matters into my own hands to pull this one off, so I'll get back to you later, ta-ta!" then she disappeared.
Yoh tried to chase her back into town, but the pressure on his legs made him stumble down, "Yoh-dono! don't move, you need to save your strength!" said Amidamaru, "Damn it!" cursed Yoh under his lips.
Elsewhere!
Hana, Frank and Matamune were walking along the banks of the stream back at Funbari.
"Is that true, Mata-sama?" asked Hana.
Matamune nodded, "During my time with Hao, I was not the only Gouryoshin under his service; there were others alongside me, my comrades-in-arms, we followed and served Hao quite a while, though they had a few conditions for their services"
"Conditions?" asked Frank.
"Yeah, They all really wanted to pass over, and so gave their services only for a temporary while before passing on, but Hao was allowed to summon them whenever he wished, and used the Keys of Spirit Dominance to call them for whenever he was needful" said Matamune.
"Were they special, in any way, Mata-sama?" asked Hana.
"They certainly were; Hao-sama was very fond of the others, not that I was left alone or anything, but they certainly were special" said Matamune.
"How?" asked Hana.
"Well, Hao was in the habit of training the other Gouryoshin in the ways of the five elemental doctrines; he taught them how to control a set element like he could control all elements, possibly to amplify his already considerable powers," explained Matamune.
Then Hana reasoned, "Ah, so Hao used them like equipment!"
Matamune sweat-dropped, "Uh… sort of, any way, I think you've found yourself something genuine, Hana" he said.
"Why's that?" asked Hana.
"Well, I know who is tuned into the key in the box, and he's an old friend, and he should come in handy in case we're needful of help if anything happens to you."
"Cool so how about we bring him out?" asked Hana.
Frank agreed "No harm done, right?"
Matamune just nodded.
Hana began unwrapping the thread of the box, until he suddenly found himself surrounded by ghouls!
"What in the-?!" Hana looked around as he was being encircled by the undead cadavers.
"Hana!" called Frank.
"Right!" but before either of them could do an Oversoul, they heard the loud sound of a motorbike behind them, "Huh?" when Hana turned around, the large shadow of a motorcycle jumped over them, as it landed, Hana saw that the motorbike was a Transmetal Wolf Spirit, just like whenever he transformed Matamune into the Mata-cycle.
As for the Rider, he was a tall boy, about 18 to 19 years of age, with grayish hair, long white coat, black sleeved shirt, blue jeans and a pair of white boots.
He jumped off the bike and started battling the ghouls. First he kicked one in the chest, and then he summoned a small pocket knife, and called out to his spirit, "Hector!" in that moment, a human spirit appeared, wearing a black tunic with golden trim and chain designs, gray pants, brass boots, an orange sash around his waist with white gauntlets.
"I'm ready Soma!" said the spirit known as Hector, "Oversoul!" said the Rider known as Soma.
In moments, the small pocket knife transformed into a broadsword with a bat-themed cross-guard, he was quite possibly a fan of gothic horror if he had that design on his hilt.
He ran headlong into the fray and fought off the ghouls expertly; he slashed two in a quick motion and kicked another in the stomach, then he went after one ghoul after another slashing away and killing most of them instantly, then he jumped and hopped on the head of one ghoul and did a spin slash to another.
Soma proceeded to strike another, then kicked as one was coming from behind, he ducked as three were going to hit him, then he did a slide kick which caused the three ghouls to stumble over and fall, but not before getting halved at their midsection.
All this Hana watched in awe, "He's good…" he remarked, "Yeah," said Frank, "Very skilled, he is" said Matamune.
Finally, the Rider sliced one ghoul up his torso and dealt with the last one by stabbing him through the abdomen.
The Rider looked around as the ghouls dispersed into white ash and disappeared into the wind. Then the young man walked towards Hana, at which point he stopped with a sullen face in front of him.
"A-arigatou?" said Hana, not sure what to make of what just happened.
Suddenly, the stranger brandished a kunai knife!
"Gah!"
"RAWR!"
And in one quick stroke, Soma threw the knife at the oncoming ghoul which jumped behind Hana, piercing through its skull and killing at.
Hana, Frank and Matamune looked at the convulsing ghoul, it moved erratically for a moment, but then went limp, and dispersed.
Then the boy spoke "Why didn't you fight?"
"Excuse me?" asked Hana.
"Don't play coy, I can see your two spirit partners over there, and plus, you've got skill, I can see that, so why didn't you?" he asked again.
Hana stuttered for a moment, before replying "I-I was caught off-guard" he said, trying to explain it away.
"Ha, Figures" said the Rider, "Hey, what's that supposed to mean!?" asked Hana, annoyed.
"Nothing, just be sure you don't get in more trouble" said the boy, and then he whistled to his Transmetal Spirit and climbed on, ready to leave.
But Hana stopped him, "Hey, I didn't quite get your name!" he said.
The grey-haired boy just looked at him with his black eyes and simply said, "Soma, Soma Kurusu" then he turned on his gear and rode off.
"Strange guy" remarked Frank.
"Indeed, but I didn't sense any hostility in him, maybe he's an ally," said Matamune.
"Yeah, well, whoever he is, I don't like him" said Hana.
"Hana, you're acting like a kid" said Frank.
"Frank!" said Hana, exasperated.
Our favorite trio walked into the park, it hadn't changed much from Yoh's time when he was still just a boy.
After a while, Hana found himself once again surrounded by another set of ghouls, "Alright, this time, no mister Soma Kurusu to get in my way! Frank!" Hana called out.
"Got it, Hana!" said Frank.
"Oversoul!" then Frank entered the sword Hana had brought with him, "Let's go!"
Hana dashed out and did battle with the ghouls, raising his sword and striking at one, then blocked an incoming attack, before slashing at their abdomens, and then he proceeded to do away with the other ghouls; he also jumped up and kicked one in the face before attacking that one, Hana then proceeded up some steps, where he did an uppercut slash and a horizontal sweep taking care of all the ghouls, "Heh, is this the best they can do? I'm not impressed" said Hana.
"Heavy!" Hana turned and saw the same iron giant that fought Yoh earlier, "What are you?" he asked.
"Heavy, Heavy, Heavy DROP!" suddenly, three massive dumbbells flew in front of the Iron Golem, then they flew towards Hana.
"Waaaaah!" Hana jumped out of the way to dodge the first one, and then he ducked at the second one, but got hit and fell on his back at the third one.
"Itai!" he groaned out.
Hana got up to see the monster charge towards him; he dodged his flailing arm which was about to hit, him, "Darn monster, take this!" shouted Hana, then he jumped and struck him with his sword.
BANG!
For a moment, there was nothing, then Hana started jiggling like a rattlesnake's tail, "Y-y-y-y-Yag!" he muttered, still vibrating from the shock.
Then the Iron Golem hit him hard with his fist, sending Hana flying back a ways.
"Itai! Darn, this guy is sturdy," said Hana.
As he got up, Hana thought of an idea, "That's it! Mata-sama! Toss me the key!" he said to Matamune.
"Right!" Matamune opened the box and tossed him the key inside.
"Alright! Time to see what this baby can do!" said Hana, eyeing the key in his hands.
"Hana, what about a spirit node, you don't have one!" cried Matamune.
"Relax, Mata-sama, I got it under control" then Hana pulled out a small blade, similar in appearance to Yoh's Futsunomitama, but azure blue in color.
Matamune recognized that blade, "That's… the Gentanken!" said Matamune.
"Yeah, I took this with me when I left Izumo, and now, Frank into the sword, then, into the Gentanken!" Hana, in a bit of a surprise, performed the Double Medium!
As the light cleared, what could be seen was a giant blade which gleamed a pure white glow, and a hilt made of blue plates at the guard, with a red eye formed at the base of the blade, "Neat, ain't it, Mata-sama?" asked Hana.
Matamune was surprised, and impressed at the same time, "Well now I've seen everything… but you still don't have a node!"
"Chill, as I've said, I've got everything under control" said Hana coolly, then he reduced his Double Medium Oversoul with Spirit Reduction, "Now, watch and learn, when I left Izumo, I was but a boy, now I am the MASTER!" then, Hana grabbed the plate with Frank's red lens eye and shifted it open, revealing a keyhole!
"Oh, I get it! Using a Double Medium to serve as a substitute for the Spirit Node! Clever," said Matamune.
"Okay, Dominance Key!" Hana grabbed the key, then inserted it into the keyhole; then Hana chanted out the words to summon the spirit tuned to the Dominance Key, "Spirit of the hereafter, return to the living world, and lend me your strength!"
Hana's blade began to ignite into flames, then he pointed the blade skyward, and soon, a red-colored gate to the afterlife opened, and out of this gate came the spirit infused to the Dominance Key.
It was a large silverback gorilla wearing red Buddhist monk robes, complete with the large beads around his neck; the Iron Golem seemed to regard this new foe with surprise, unable to make out what's going on.
"Who called me, who called for Goutai?" said the huge ape in a gruff voice.
Matamune came up to the gorilla, recognizing his old friend, "Oy, Goutai, do you remember me?" he asked.
"Matamune? Well how about that, my old friend! Why are you here, I haven't seen you ever since you left the afterlife?" asked the gorilla, known as Goutai.
"I've been busy, but right now, Goutai, we need your help!" said Matamune, then he motioned his head to face Hana, "This boy is the son of the one who defeated Hao Asakura in the Shaman Tournament."
"This lad, well now, that is a real honor, what's your name, Asakura?" asked Goutai to Hana.
"It's Hana" he replied.
"Hey, don't ignore me!" shouted the Iron Golem.
"And who is this?" asked Goutai.
"We don't know exactly, but it seems it's here to kill Hana," said Matamune.
This made Goutai peeved, "WHAT!? Who dares try and kill an Asakura, anyone who does is my enemy!!" shouted Goutai in his grandiose voice.
"Heavy, Heavy, Heavy DROP!" then the Iron Golem launched more dumbbells.
"Grrrrrrrrrraaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!" Goutai pounded his chest King Kong style, and then dashed to meet the incoming objects.
"Out of my way!" shouted Goutai, and then in an impressive display of strength, Goutai simply shoved the massive dumbbells with a single swipe each.
"N-Nani!?" the Iron Golem cringed.
"Sugoi!" exclaimed Hana.
"Heavy DROP!!" then the Golem launched some more Dumbbells, at which point Goutai simply charged blindly for the Iron Golem, "Rrrraaahhh!" Goutai rammed his shoulder into the Golem's torso, sending the monster flying away a good distance.
"Awesome work, Goutai!" said Hana, complimenting the gorilla.
"Heh, yeah, I still have it in me, in any case, you should have the honor of defeating this foe, Asakura-sama" said Goutai politely.
"No, Goutai, we're gonna finish him together!" said Hana determinedly, "Huh?" Goutai was confused, but decided to place his trust on this Asakura boy.
"Right, now Goutai, this is gonna feel a little weird, but it won't take long; alright, Transmetal Oversoul!" and Goutai found himself shifted into a fully-robotic version of himself, even his face was made out of metal and of the vague caricature of a gorilla.
"Huh? My body has turned into metal, but I feel stronger!" said Goutai, commenting on his robotic body.
Hana looked at Goutai then said "Okay, Goutai, I'll handle the rest"
Just then, the Iron Golem recovered from Goutai's blow.
"Alright, here we go! Gou-Cannon!" and with those commands, Goutai jumped up and shifted into a battery of four cannons, his hands and feet forming the barrels of the cannons, and attaching themselves to Hana's back, maintaining balance using a pair of grip irons.
"Huh?" the Iron Golem looked at his target with a strange look, despite the lack of a face.
"Let's go, Gou-Cannon!" Hana exclaimed.
In that moment, each barrel started charging with fiery energy, "Spirit… Ally… Shaman! Three powers become one! Sanmittai!" then Hana fired, releasing four fast-moving fireballs towards the Iron Golem, then Goutai shifted back into robot mode, grabbed Hana and tossed him towards the general direction of where the fireballs were going, his toss must be stronger than his attack as Hana found himself flying with the fireballs, combined into one fireball, pretty quickly, "Hissatsu Moeru-giri!" and with one powerful burning slash, the Iron Golem exploded into a massive pillar of flame.
Later…
"It has been an honor to fight alongside a noble Asakura, Hana-sama, but I'm afraid this is where we must part, as I cannot leave the Spirit Realm for very long" said Goutai.
"Hey, that's fine, Goutai, besides, I can always call for you again, right?" asked Hana.
"Yes, you know how, Matamune, it's been nice to meet with you again" he said facing Matamune.
"Indeed old friend" replied Matamune.
"Well, I'm off, remember, just call me," then a portal to the afterlife opened up in the sky, and Goutai quickly jumped inside before it dissipated.
At that moment, Hana went unconscious again, "Hana!" Matamune went to his side.
"Darn it, kid, you used too much furyoku again!" said Frank.
(And what ever happened to our dear Yoh-kun?)
Anna was walking down a lane near the riverbed, carrying groceries, until she saw Yoh lying unconscious on the bank, she rushed for him.
"YOH!"
Anna rushed for her unconscious husband, "Yoh, what happened to you?! Are you alright?!?" she said loudly.
Yoh opened his eyes, "Anna?"
"Oh, thank goodness, anyway, what are you doing here?" she asked.
"Oh yeah, I was attacked by some weirdo lady with a giant living suit of armor, and then this armor used a big dumbbell to try and stop me, but I caught it, only I ended up weak on the knees, so I had to get back to the city and stop her, but I had to use the stream to take me back, I must have gone out when I hit a rock, but I made it back" explained Yoh.
Amidamaru appeared, "Hey, Amidamaru, how long was I out?"
"About an hour, Yoh" replied Amidamaru.
"Damn! And to think, I always control whenever I sleep, oh well…"
(sweatdrop)
End of Chapter
Preview of next chapter:
Hana: Nani? A giant plant is taking over Funbari?
Frank: Looks like the local gardener's been slacking
Hana: WAH! Who's that hottie with the pink hair?
Frank: Hana, FOCUS!
Hana: Is it love at first sight?
Matamune: At any rate, we'll have to find out how to deal with that plant monster!
Yoh: Dash for the next chapter: Giant Plant and Hana's Crush
Dennis Gerbera: See you again soon!
A/N: Hissatsu Moeru-giri means Ultimate Burning Slash