Chapter 16: The Koori no Tsurugi
After everyone was gathered in the center of the clearing and bandaged up, Koori no Senshi spotted Yuki staring out into the woods.
"Master Yuki, why have you summoned me? Last I heard, the Shimousa clan had lost the scroll that contained the contract." Koori no Senshi said walking over to Yuki.
"The portion of the clan that had gone to the Land of Rain have all been wiped out – well, all but me and Masakatsu. I plan to make the man that did this take responsibility for what he's done by any means necessary so I searched for the contract while I was with the Akatsuki. One day I got lucky and stumbled upon it at some shop. No one was ever able to unlock it so it was just being sold as a decorative item and after persuading the shop owner to hand it over – I finally found out how to unlock it from what I had know about the clan beforehand. Thanks to that, I will be able to make sure that man gets his just punishment." Yuki said clinching his fist tight obviously angry.
"I see – then that is reason enough. Do you know who the man we're hunting down is?" Koori no Senshi asked now standing beside Yuki.
"Yes, his name is Toyotomi Shimousa – my little brother." Yuki said as Kazuki was starting to wake up but just laid there.
"His little brother…! Sensei's little brother killed their entire clan?" Kazuki thought lying there with his eyes closed and his ears open.
"You're little brother…!? Why would another Shimousa do that to his own clan!?" Koori no Senshi shouted surprised by what he had heard.
"He lost his mind – that thing is no longer my brother. It is only a hollow shell of what he used to be and the only way to save him from this madness is to kill him. It is what he would want us to do if he were to do something this horrible." Yuki said still looking straight ahead and loosening his hand.
"I… understand, Master Yuki. I will change the subject since this matter has been discussed enough." Koori no Senshi said noticing Yuki's frustration with having to discuss about his brother.
"Thank you, Koori no Senshi." Yuki said quietly under his breath.
"Now I get why you're here as well as Master Masakatsu but why are those kids here?" Koori no Senshi asked looking back at Ayaka being treated near a tree by Masakatsu, Kazuki lying on the ground next to Kosuke and Takeo with only Kosuke and Takeo being unconscious.
"I wonder that same thing every day. Those kids are really strange, aren't they? I mean who would suddenly follow a strange guy that came into your village and then ask him to train you?" Yuki asked still looking deep into the forest.
"Then they're your students?" Koori no Senshi asked trying to make sense of the situation.
"Yeah, you can call them that. They've more than proven themselves during this fight – isn't that right, Kazuki?" Yuki asked glancing back at Kazuki lying there acting unconscious.
"I should've known Sensei would be able to see through that. I guess it was worth a shot but it looks like I need to work on that skill some more." Kazuki said sitting up and then suddenly falling back. "Owwww! My entire body is sore!"
"I'm surprised you're still alive after using the Koori no Tsurugi like that – right, Master Yuki." Koori no Senshi asked looking over at Yuki. "Master Yuki…?" It asked noticing a confused look on Yuki's face.
"Did you just say the Koori no Tsurugi? Koori no Senshi, what do you mean by that?" Yuki asked turning completely facing Koori no Senshi.
"What does he mean…? Wait, how did you know about the name of my ninjaken?" Kazuki asked looking at Koori no Senshi.
"Don't tell me you didn't know that this boy has the Koori no Tsurugi with him…!" Koori no Senshi stated looking over at Yuki.
"Of course I didn't or I wouldn't allow him to use it! It all makes sense now – why he went into those crazed states out of nowhere and how he knew the hand seals for Ice Wasteland…." Yuki said thinking about all the past incidents he had been involved in before.
"The Ice Wasteland!? Don't tell me that…!" Koori no Senshi shouted sounding worried.
"No, we were able to stop him before he finished but it was close. He would've killed everyone in the area as well as himself if he used that much chakra. Not even the plant life would've survived any of it." Yuki said as Koori no Senshi breathed a sigh of relief.
"What…?" Kazuki asked sitting up and looking at the two of them confused.
"Kazuki, you should never use that thing again. It's far too dangerous if you don't know how to control it properly. That ninjaken is a precious item from the Shimousa clan just like the scroll I have for summoning but that one is very different." Yuki said looking around where Kazuki was and spotted the ninjaken.
"It's an item from the Shimousa clan…? That's right; it was from the Shimousa clan!" Kazuki stated now remembering what the old man that he had met with told him when he reached over and picked up the ninjaken and started looking around for any kind of marking.
"Don't just easily pick it up like that!" Koori no Senshi and Yuki shouted at the same time.
"Why…?" Kazuki asked while he was looking closely at the ice blade.
"That sword is said to be possessed and whoever comes in contact with it will be possessed as well!" Yuki stated watching Kazuki closely.
"Is that so…? I've known about that this entire time. The old man that gave me the ninjaken told me about what could happen and gave me an omamori to put on it but it's been coming off every so often." Kazuki said sounding as if it wasn't a big deal while he moved down to the pommel of the oddly crafted ninjaken. "Now that I remember, there was some kind of thing in the orb here…"
"Old man…? What do you mean?" Yuki asked confused.
"While I was trying to practice out in the woods after Queen Fujikaze had returned the country to its Spring state and while I was out there – this odd old man was watching me from a tree nearby. He freaked me out at first but when I noticed his headband with the Village Hidden in the Snow's head plate on it." Kazuki started to say trying to think back to when he met the mysterious old man.
Kazuki stood in front of a wooden target with kunai stabbing into its center while looking over at a strange old man. The man appeared to be at least in his seventies with long white hair down to the middle of his back, clean shaven except for a long goatee down to his chest tied together in a spiral fashion, and what appeared to be baby blue eyes but they were hardly visible since the man had been mostly squinting. Tied back in the old man's hair was a white band with a Village Hidden in the Snow head plate, he was wearing a Yukata with the top half white and the bottom half navy blue, over the Yukata was a gray cloak, and a conical straw hat.
"Oh what a great show, you're pretty good for your age. I'm impressed." The old man said clapping while looking at Kazuki.
"Who are… wait, that's a headband from the village…!" Kazuki stated noticing the headband and the plate.
"That is correct. I am a ninja of this country, Yukigassen Shimousa. Though, both the Shimousa and Shirakawa clans have scattered to other countries so I may actually be among the last remaining ones. You must think this old man is a fool for sticking around while my family left the land." Yukigassen said with his arms crossed while looking at Kazuki standing there.
"Mister Shimousa, I don't…!" Kazuki started to state when Yukigassen cut him off.
"Please, just call me Yukigassen. As long as you're a ninja of this country, you may call me by my first name… what was your name?" Yukigassen asked pointing at Kazuki while scratching his head with his left hand.
"Kazuki Sakai, but why are…?" Kazuki started to ask.
"Why am I here before you? That is simple, I have a very good eye for talent and I would like to test that ability of yours." Yukigassen said with a big smile on his face.
"By test, do you mean…?" Kazuki asked starting to get an idea of what Yukigassen was saying.
"Yes, my boy, a little sparring. Don't worry about this old man's strength – I'm sure it's depleted in my old age so we may very well be evenly matched." Yukigassen said before he started laughing.
"If it's a sparring match you want, then I'll be honored to spar with you." Kazuki said bowing to Yukigassen.
"Oh? That is a very surprising surprise from a youngster these days; such formality is very rare indeed from this generation." Yukigassen said stroking his beard pleased with Kazuki's manners.
"It isn't everyday you get to have a sparring match with an elder or even an ex-village leader." Kazuki said with a smirk with his eyes locking onto Yukigassen.
"Hohoho, so you've realized who I am then. That's pretty good, my boy. Let's see how good you are, come at me!" Yukigassen stated motioning for Kazuki to come at him with his right hand.
"As you wish." Kazuki said charging forward with his right knee coming up at Yukigassen's head hitting something solid. "Huh…? What was that – it felt like I hit a rock!" He though confused as some pain shot through his knee.
"Nice speed, my boy but it looks like my hand was a little faster. Hohoho!" Yukigassen stated chuckling as he hand his left hand out below his jaw blocking it when Kazuki suddenly came across with his left foot striking Yukigassen in the head making him stumble to his left a little as Kazuki pushed off of him and landed on his feet.
"Not bad, you're a lot more agile than I had expected but don't think I'll let you do that again!" Yukigassen stated as he suddenly vanished from sight.
"He… vanished!?" Kazuki asked in pure shock when he heard a branch crack to his right.
Kazuki quickly put both arms up in a cross to block the attack on his right when Yukigassen appeared swinging his left fist at full strength at him. Just before his fist struck Kazuki's arms they stopped suddenly leaving him confused as Yukigassen's right knee came up under Kazuki's guard and struck him straight on the chin sending him flying back through the air.
"Too naïve, I would never make a sound for you unless I had different motives!" Yukigassen stated jumping on top of Kazuki's chest with his feet while turning his body down towards the ground head first.
"Or is it you that fell for my trap!?" Kazuki shouted swinging his feet upward and wrapping them over Yukigassen's arms and tilting forward with Yukigassen's back towards the ground and his arms pinned under Kazuki's legs.
"Not bad but I don't plan on going down along with you!" Yukigassen stated twisting his body and launching Kazuki off of him just before they hit the ground.
Yukigassen landed on the ground on his feet stroking his beard while Kazuki landed sliding across the ground covered in dirt.
"Damn, what kind of move was that? I never expected him to do that to break out of that move." Kazuki said getting to his feet as he spit out some dirt and dusted himself off.
"Are you done cleaning yourself already?" Yukigassen asked looking at Kazuki through the trees while waving with a smile on his face.
"This old man really is way better than I thought but he is the old leader of the village after all so I guess I'm not too worried about losing to this old man but I won't go down quietly!" Kazuki thought getting up with a determined look on his face.
"Oh! That look, I love that look in your eyes, my boy! Keep that fire going and let's get to using Ninjutsu now!" Yukigassen stated sounding completely fired up from their fight.
"Crap, Ninjutsu…!? Why can't we just use weapons instead!?" Kazuki thought with a gloomy look on his face.
"What's wrong now, my boy? You've lost that fire – or is it that you want me to attack first, fine, I'll attack first!" Yukigassen stated putting his hands together. "I'll go with a basic technique; Ice Style – Ice Shard Forest!" He thought making the hand seals: Snake and Bird with his hands separated.
Out of the ground shot three large pillars around Kazuki trapping him in place as sharp icicles stretched out of the pillars as if they were branches from a tree.
"What kind of move is this!? I'm completely trapped except for the sky or the ground!" Kazuki thought as he looked up to the three pillars at least twice his height sprouting icicle limbs. "I'll have to attempt a Ninjutsu then! Ice Style – Ice Wall!" He thought making the hand seals: Tiger, Serpent, Tiger, and Ox. "Wait, that's wrong!" He shouted when suddenly the ice pillars exploded creating an avalanche of snow come down on top of him.
"Kazuki, Ninjutsu is your weakness, isn't it?" Yukigassen asked standing next to Kazuki as the snow around them had been turned into a hollowed box in the shape of a house with a door.
"I'm… alive?" Kazuki asked surprised looking around to see the ice.
"Yeah, I had to use another jutsu. That was really reckless to use that Ice Explosion jutsu, what were you thinking?" Yukigassen asked as Kazuki started to laugh.
"So that's what it's called? I actually meant to do the Ice Wall jutsu but I accidently made the hand seal for Ox instead of Horse. I always get like this when I'm in the middle of a battle or a sparring match – I always mistake the last few hand seals and end up with a completely different jutsu." Kazuki said and sighed as he dropped his head in embarrassment.
"I see, then you're okay with weapons and Taijutsu, correct?" Yukigassen asked stroking his beard with his right hand as if he was thinking about something.
"Yeah, I'm nearly useless when it comes to Ninjutsu." Kazuki said as he noticed Yukigassen starting to walk away.
"I wouldn't say useless but more along the lines of being different. You're hands seem to do what is more called for than what you want to do – just like now, if you had only used the Ice Wall jutsu then my icicles would've smashed right through it no problem but since you blew it all up there was nothing left to stab you. Just wait there for a little while and I'll be back with something for the wonderful sparring match." Yukigassen said waving his left hand as he walked out of sight.
"Was that all… an illusion? Did I really just spar with the Yukigassen…? No, it had to be all fake because there's no way someone would compliment my Ninjutsu that way but it would kind of make sense of why my hand seals come out that way." Kazuki thought out loud to himself as he sat down on a rock to figure out what had just happened.
After a few minutes of sitting on the rock and coming to the conclusion that it was all real and his body was in pain, Kazuki quickly turned to his right after hearing some bushes rustling nearby. Out of the bushes came Yukigassen with something in his hands wrapped in some old dirty cloth.
"This item has been with the Shimousa clan for over a century but it has long since been abandoned by its masters. Legend says it's possessed by two demons – one that represents everything that you consider evil or Yin and the other is one that represents what you consider as good or Yang. If you're not strong enough to overcome the darkness or the light from it then you will become possessed by either being." Yukigassen said now standing before Kazuki.
"How do you overcome them…?" Kazuki asked captivated by what he had been saying.
"There are two ways, a strong heart or one of these." Yukigassen said pulling out an omamori with mamori written on it in kanji. "Put this here." He said unraveling the cloth to reveal the Koori no Tsurugi as he placed the omamori under the grip gently. "Until you are confident enough to fight without the omamori, I suggest you continue to use one under the grip or one of the two demons will possess you with no fail."
"How do you know which one will take over?" Kazuki asked looking at the ninjaken in amazement. "Is that blade made out of ice!?" He thought staring at the blade.
"The scripts say that it is random so I would suggest you not using it like that unless it is the only choice you have left to protect yourself or those you care about. Now then, I present you with the Koori no Tsurugi – a treasure of the Shimousa clan." Yukigassen said handing Kazuki the ninjaken.
"I don't know what to say, I'm shocked you're really giving me such a weapon just for sparring with you like this…" Kazuki said surprised as he took the ninjaken by its grip and examined the blade closer.
"It's nothing because it's not every day that this old man gets to have as much fun as he did in that sparring match with you. Hohohoho!" Yukigassen stated before he started laughing. "Also, if you're wondering if the blade just looks like ice – you would be wrong. It is ice but this ice will never melt no matter what you do to it, believe me, I've tried." He said reaching around his back and pulling out a special sheath that appeared to be the same color as the blade and handed it over to Kazuki.
"Real… ice…?" Kazuki asked surprised when he noticed the sheath." Is this its sheath?" He asked grabbing the sheath from Yukigassen.
"Yes, it has a few special abilities as well but is to be left for another time. You will find out what those abilities are when the time is right. Now, this old man must be on his way – I'm sure our paths will cross again, I'm sure of it. Farewell, my boy." Yukigassen said before vanishing.
"He's gone, again…! Looks like I better get to training with this but why does this ninjaken have this odd shape?" Kazuki asked as he started to walk back to where he was training before with the ninjaken back in its sheath.
Back in the present, Kazuki had just finished his story of how he got the ninjaken as well as what happened around the time. Masakatsu had pulled out a scroll and started setting up tents around the area for the group from the supplies he had sealed in the scroll. Yuki and Koori no Senshi were sitting on rocks across from Kazuki as he stood pacing back and forth finishing the story.
"Master Yuki, doesn't that mean that…!" Koori no Senshi started to say when Yuki cut him off.
"Yes, the old man this boy sparred with, Yukigassen Shimousa, is my grandfather. Father said he was going to stay there in the country but I had always believed he most likely died and Father was just trying to shield us from that fact. I guess he was alive after all and he knows where all the leftover family treasures are and he might know about the final summon as well." Yuki said thinking out loud.
"Master Yuki, do you intend on heading for the Land of Snow?" Koori no Senshi asked looking over at Yuki.
"Yeah, I do but not before everyone is healed because I know they'll just try to follow me even in that condition." Yuki said looking over at the Ayaka, Kazuki, Kosuke, and Takeo.
"Then home we go after everyone's all better!" Kazuki stated happily.
"Not so fast, Kazuki, we still need to earn some money before we can head overseas. Considering the injuries, we will be a little low on money for a while." Yuki said thinking about the bills pilling up.
"Well, at least we got all our things out of the village before we came out here to train… and we got some really good training too." Kazuki said glancing back at Ayaka, Kosuke, and Takeo to see their injures with a feeling of dread since he had escaped with nearly no injuries.
"Kazuki, since we're all in the best shape here and you did get praise from my grandfather, how about we have a little one on one sparring match?" Yuki asked standing up as he looked over at Kazuki.
"Sensei…?" Kazuki asked surprised by what he had heard. "Really, you're really going to spar with me!?" He shouted excitedly.
"Why not, we're the only ones in this condition and you really didn't have much training because that demon… wait, you said something about there being two demons that my grandfather mentioned." Yuki said remembering Kazuki's story when he was about to mention the ninjaken.
"Yeah, on that represents Yin and the other represents Yang. Why do you ask…?" Kazuki asked confused while Yuki looked over at Koori no Senshi.
"Master, don't look at me. I was only aware of there being one demon so one more must've been added since I was last summoned." Koori no Senshi said sounding just as confused about the situation as Yuki.
"Another demon was added since you were last summoned…? Then it had to have been added within the last century or so." Yuki said thinking out loud when he shook his head. "Never mind that for now, let's get down to the sparring match. During this match, there'll be no holding back on either side so you better make sure to use that ninjaken and make sure you don't die before the time is up." Yuki said with a grin on his face.
"I don't like the sound of this – wait, what is the time limit!?" Kazuki shouted when Yuki suddenly vanished and appeared next to him coming across with his left leg at his head. "He's even faster than the previous training…!" He thought lifting his right arm to block the attack when Yuki suddenly stopped and brought his leg down and instantly lifted his right leg into Kazuki's gut forcing him to bite the inside of his mouth and fly back into the air two feet before hitting the ground while skidding across the ground.
"Nice show you put on but I noticed you jumping back from my knee before it hit. Unlike my grandfather, I don't plan on going easy on you!" Yuki shouted putting his hands together. "Ice Style – Ice Clone!" He thought making the hand seals: Serpent, Bird, and Tiger forming two clones – one to his right and one to his left.
"This isn't good, he actually saw through my secret move!" Kazuki thought getting up while pulling out his ninjaken with his right hand while throwing some shuriken with his left hand at the three clones.
"How naïve, those won't help you!" Yuki shouted as he and the two clones threw one kunai each catching all the kunai in three groups and pinning them against some trees. "Now, get him!" He shouted as the two clones moved forward in front of him blocking Kazuki's view of him. "Ice Style – Ice Wall!" He thought making the hand seals: Tiger, Serpent, Tiger, and Horse creating a four walled cell around Kazuki and the two clones sealing the three of them inside.
"What is he planning!?" Kazuki thought when he dodged to his left while slashing the first clone across the gut and leaning forward as he stabbed the second through the chest. "Is that all…?" He asked when suddenly instead of turning into a pile of snow, they started shaking and the pupils of his eyes shrunk as soon as he realized what was going on.
"Heh, too slow!" Yuki shouted as he made the hand seal Ox blowing the two clones up next to Kazuki inside the closed space. "Now for the Coup de Grâce! Forbidden Jutsu – Ice Enclave!" He shouted making the hand seals: Ram, Bird, Horse, Dragon, Serpent, Monkey, Boar, and Tiger as the cube started to close around Kazuki. "The match is over." He said clapping his hands together with the Monkey seal smashing the cube together. "So, that's he what it is, huh?"
"Master Yuki, did you…?" Koori no Senshi started to ask when Yuki turned pointing his right hand behind himself at a tree.
"He's behind that tree. The kid used a substitution jutsu at the last moment but he took a lot of damage from those clones' explosions. You might want to treat his wounds before we con…!" Yuki said starting to walk away when suddenly Kazuki, now with his shirt torn to pieces, jumped over the ball of snow and connected with Yuki's jaw catching him completely off guard. "Not bad but it was a little soft!" He shouted as Kazuki realized what Yuki had done.
"You moved your face along my fist, didn't you!?" Kazuki asked surprised since he didn't feel the difference when Yuki kneed him in the gut with his two hands forcing his torso down to make sure the impact was fully felt by Kazuki as his glasses flew back into the air.
Once Kazuki was flying back in the air with blood running out of his mouth, from when he bit the inside of his mouth, Yuki rushed past him and kicked him in the back sending him flying back towards the direction Yuki was in the first time. Just when Kazuki was about to hit a tree face first, the clone that Kazuki had nearly fooled Yuki with came out and stopped him.
"Then it actually was a clone after all, huh? You've gotten better at your hand seals I see." Yuki said raising an eyebrow looking over at Kazuki as he picked his ninjaken up from the ground nearby.
"That fight with Koori no Senshi gave me more confidence in myself so now I'm more confident in my hand seals. It's not perfect yet but I'm confident they work most of the time now!" Kazuki stated holding on to the ninjaken while moving his hands together. "Secret Art – Wind Cutter!" He thought making the hand seals Bird, Ox, Dragon, a one-handed Dog with his right hand, Monkey, and Ram with his hands using the grip in the middle when the ninjaken instantly exploded with some kind of wind whirling around the blade.
"He's using a wind jutsu with the ninjaken…?" Yuki thought a little surprised by what he was doing since it was a high level jutsu.
"I've only used this jutsu once before during training so forgive me if it seems a little off." Kazuki said trying to make out Yuki's figure since he wasn't able to see that well without his glasses. "He's too blurry to take a good swing at him, wait I still have the clone!" He thought looking over at the clone and motioning with his eyes to come over to him.
Before the clone got there Kazuki slashed forward aiming in the middle of the two Yuki's that he was seeing creating a sharp cutting wind ripping up the ground as it flew by Yuki's side. Kazuki's clone took the opportunity and quickly grabbed the spare glasses from his pouch on his back and put them on his face just as Yuki was right in front of the two of them. The clone quickly grabbed onto Yuki as Kazuki stepped back slashing an "X" as quick as he could directly at Yuki and the clone. The ground below Kazuki exploded with wind ripping the ground apart as if there was a large "X" heading straight at Yuki and he put his arms out straight and forced them down releasing the clone's hold on him before kicking the clone into the knife-like wind reducing it to a pile of snow but pieces of the wind continued by and cut Yuki's cheeks slightly followed by rocks shooting up from the ground from the bottom half of the attack that slipped past him.
"Not bad, I should've taken care of you when you didn't have your glasses. I better stop underestimating you and since you let me see a new jutsu that you're still working on – I'll show you one as well." Yuki said wiping the blood off his face and putting his hands together.
Elsewhere, in the unknown town a man with long black hair and wearing what appeared to be an amaranth colored Yukata was sitting down at the bar in some tavern. His left eye had a black patch over it leaving him with only his right. He was sitting there staring at his glass as the ice was slowly melting into the brown liquor he had inside of it when two guys that sat down at the other end of the bar started talking about something that caught his interest.
"Yeah, Mangetsu Village had a lot of damage because of those two white haired guys. They seemed to be some kind of ninjas that could control ice." One of the guys said sounding surprised.
"No way, you must've heard it wrong." The Second Guy said not believing what he was saying.
"I didn't hear it wrong because I was there!" The First Guy stated when in an instant the second guy was unconscious with his head on the bar while the man with the eye patch was holding a kunai to the first guy's throat. "W…who are you!?"
"It doesn't matter who I am. Tell me what you know of this man with the white hair you saw!" The Man shouted in a crazed voice digging the kunai slightly into the guy's throat.
"Okay, okay! What I heard was his name was Yuki something and he wore white clothes, that's all I know!" The First Guy shouted terrified.
"Which way is this Mangetsu Village?" The Man asked lifting the first guy up by his shirt to stare him in the face.
"He, he's a demon…!" The First Guy thought looking into the man's right eye and seeing the look in his eye. "To the Northeast about a two days walk!" He shouted when the man let out an evil and twisted smile just before he shoved the kunai into the man's throat and dropped his body as it was rolling around trying to pull out the kunai.
"Yuki, we will finally meet soon enough. I cannot forgive you for what you've done! Finally we will meet again!" The Man thought eerily excited about finding out about Yuki when a man with a Leaf Village head plate walked over to the man and put his hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, what do you think you're…?" The Leaf Ninja started to shout when the man nearly instantly stabbed the ninja's hands with two kunai and kicked him back into a table before putting his hands together.
"Forbidden Jutsu – Muddy Grave!" The Man shouted making the hand seals: Ox, Dog, Horse, Serpent, Tiger, Ram, Ox, a reverse Ram, Dragon, and Dog when the ground opened up under the Leaf Ninja dropping him about six feet when water suddenly started to fill the pit. "Now to finish the jutsu!" He shouted in a crazed happy tone while he made the Monkey hand seal filling the pit with water and mud. "Anyone else want to be a hero? I didn't think so!" He shouted walking out of the tavern leaving everyone inside horrified by what they had seen. "Yuki, you're not getting away from me this time – no matter where you go, I will hunt you to the end of this world!" He thought heading towards Mangetsu Village to the Northeast.
Author Notes:
It took a while longer to get back to than expected due to all the work I had done and I've also completed a small video/s for the story over on youtube under the user name SWFOwner. It should be the first videos to appear if you search for Yuki Takashi. At the end of the second video is the identity of the man at the end of this chapter.
-Steve Masters