A/N: Thank you to my two reviewers, Kari Usui and shamankinggirl086. You make me a very happy windy-chan.

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windy: I'm baaaaack! –maniacal laugh-

Ren: Please realize that that is not a good thing and that nobody cares so that we can get on with this already.

windy: -gives Ren a noogie- Shut up!! I can do whatever I want!! It's my fanfic!

Ren: -releases himself from my grasp and grabs his kwan do- You're DEAD, you hear me!! DEAD!!!

windy: -runs for my life- Enjoy the first chapter, 'kay?

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It was a dangerously angry Ren that stomped through the streets of Tokyo that night. His recent humiliating defeat and failure to obtain that magnificent samurai spirit, Amidamaru, earlier that day was making him even more cynical than usual, if that was even possible. His wounds from the fight still burned his flesh and stained his clothing a dull red, causing bystanders to stare and whisper to themselves as if they actually believed he couldn't hear. And the filthy pleasures of men that surrounded him on every turn were most definitely not helping.

But he wouldn't go back to the hotel yet. (This is before he buys out that Chinese restaurant to live in.) Oh no. He was in no mood to run into Jun and have her ask what was wrong. And he was not about to return without letting off some steam.

"Oi! Oi, you!"

Those insolent, wretched pests buzzing mindlessly about the planet, destroying all of what Mother Nature had to offer without even batting an eyelid. Humanity. What a cruel joke.

"Oi, oni-chan! Oi, you!"

The boy's nerves were nearing their breaking point, boiling over mercilessly. Yoh was just like all the others. He was stupid, ignorant, and utterly foolish in every aspect. He was a complete incompetent. And that carefree attitude of his… It really pissed him off. Really. In the end, he came to the conclusion that the only way to distract himself from this annoyance would be some worthy blood spill.

"ONI-CHAN!"

Ren whirled around and, in the blink of an eye, had his kwan do aimed at the neck of a young girl, only slightly older than him and quite a bit taller. She was rather out of breath as if she'd just stopped running, and her dark brown hair was hanging limp in her gray eyes as she stared down the shaft of the weapon he had pulled seemingly out of nowhere.

"How dare you address me as such, you scum!"

The girl sucked in a few more gasps of air before replying hastily, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I totally forgot your name, and I didn't know what else to call you to get your attention. It was short and … and … it started with an F or … or an R … or something like that, I'm sure…" she babbled on apologetically, seeming to completely disregard the fact that her life was in imminent danger.

Ren was not enjoying this. He had the sudden feeling that slitting this girl's throat would give him more satisfaction than if he had actually obtained Amidamaru. "That is absolutely absurd. I have never seen you before in my life. How could you possibly know my name if I have never told it to you? Now, who-"

"Ah!" the girl interrupted triumphantly. "Ren! That's what headphone boy called you! Ren-san!"

"You were watching then…" the boy grumbled coldly, reliving the wretched defeat yet again. He was so wrapped up in it, in fact, that he didn't even realize exactly what that meant. This girl had seen two boys duke it out with very, very deadly blades and had actually run after one of them afterward.

"So who's your friend, Ren-san?"

This attitude of hers was beginning to remind him of someone. Someone he did not particularly want to be reminded of. Once again, the glorious thought of slitting her tender throat came to him, but a very different emotion overwhelmed it: curiosity. "Friend…?" He did not like where this was going.

"You know, the big, armored, dead guy behind you," and she pointed past the kwan do directly at Bason who was now eyeing the girl with a confused expression.

Ren's mind raced. This girl was not a shaman. She didn't have the aura of a shaman. But she could still see spirits, and she knew what they were. It was the same as that annoying, miniature tag-a-long that had been in the grave yard, the one who was always following Asakura. A mental image of this girl holding an encyclopedia and following him around Tokyo like a little toadie was the very last straw. His nerves had officially snapped. Now he had to kill her. But with that thought, a new thought interrupted before he could actually do anything.

Why hadn't he yet?

"Its name is Bason. It is my spirit. Now, answer me. Who are you?"

"It, huh?" she mumbled, frowning for just a moment. Suddenly though, as if the frown had never even been there, a large, excited grin alighted upon her features. "What does 'Ren' mean?" she burst out in her excitement.

Ren was so stunned at the seemingly utterly random change of subject and enthusiasm that he stumbled backward a step, no longer holding his kwan do to her throat. After a moment of stunned silence, he too burst, "What do you mean 'what does it mean'?! It's my name! It doesn't mean anything!"

"Well, I'm Kiseki! It means 'miracle'!" she declared without skipping a beat. Ren stared at her in disbelief. No one could be this stupid. Not even Yoh had been this stupid. No one could be. It was impossible….

"I like you, Ren," she smiled down at him, leaning in so close to his face that he could feel her breath on his nose. Then, just as suddenly, she popped back up, waved, and started running down the street. "See you later, Ren-san!"

It was only reasonable that this sequence of events had taken Ren aback far worse than anything the girl had done yet. His cheeks burned bright red as he stared speechless at her shrinking back. She was nuts! Crazy! Utterly and completely insane! And she wanted to see him again after he had held a blade to her neck! This last thought finally shook him from his shocked stupor.

"I DON'T like you! And I don't EVER want to see you again, idiot!!" But she was already long gone and out of hearing range, leaving behind only a large group of bystanders staring worriedly at him and his kwan do and asking themselves whether there was a movie being filmed and if so where were the cameras.

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Jun looked up from her newest magazine as Ren haughtily stomped through the door and into their hotel room. The spiky haired boy slammed the door shut behind him, threw his briefcase across the room, and continued wordlessly to the bathroom. Just before he was able to slam this door as well, she grabbed it and stopped him. He glared at her through the crack between the door and the wall, golden eyes glinting dangerously.

"Ren-nii… Did something…" the young woman began hesitantly before pausing. Ren never treated his kwan do so roughly, even when it was inside his briefcase. And he never barged in without some sort of greeting for her, whether it was a slightly embarrassed hello or an impatient demand for supper. She frowned, concerned for her younger brother.

"Did something … good happen?"

Ren froze at this question, eyes wide. Good?! Of course not! Nothing good happened at all!! First his defeat at the hands of that absolute incompetent, Yoh, then that insane Kiseki moron… It had been hell on earth! It had been the worst, most humiliating day of his young life. And that was really saying something. And yet…

"Nee-san…" he began coldly, staring his sister directly in the eye. "I hate you." And with that, he yanked the door from Jun's grasp and slammed it in her face.

This was the first time he had ever told his sister something like that. She was the one person he could truly trust, no matter how he usually treated her. But he found himself meaning every word of it.

Why…?

Why did Jun always have to be right?

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windy: The first chapter is completed!! It's ALIVE!! -everything goes black and white and lighting comes down from out of nowhere, completing the horrible Frankenstein pun-

Ren: You disturb me.

windy: Yes, I have that effect on most people. Anyway, please tell me what you think! I'd be really happy if you did! And so would Ren!

Ren: Yes, please review. It may be the only way to shut her up.

windy: -nods vigorously-