Showa Chronicles

Interlude: Night of the Coyote

After the incident involving Viviana was resolved, Shinichi had a security system installed in his home. As Rena and Shinjiro had been kidnapped in his absence, he needed to be more vigilant. He had enemies willing to hurt his loved ones so he needed to do everything in his power to protect them. He had been complacent, believing his presence was enough of a deterrent.

While Rena was busy working in her studio, Shinichi was watching Shinjiro. The phone rang and Shinichi walked to the phone while still holding Shinjiro.

"Hello?" Shinichi asked as he answered the phone.

"Hey, stranger."

"Who's this?" The voice on the other end sounded oddly familiar.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten your childhood friend. It's Sakura. Sa-ku-ra."

"Oh, Sakura!" Shinichi remembered her now. "I'm surprised that you've decided to call me after all this time."

"I know. It's been a while, Shinji."

"Don't call me that," Shinichi automatically responded.

"I'm sorry. You prefer to go by 'Shinichi', right?"

"Yeah. I can't exactly remember my days as 'Shinji' all that well," Shinichi told her. "Been a long time though. You've been busy?"

"Well, not as busy as you, Kamen Rider-san. Saved the world again, lately?"

"Not really. We haven't had any huge crises these days," Shinichi said with some relief. "So, why did you decide to call me now?"

"I just wanted to catch up with an old friend, if that's alright."

"I never said it wasn't. So, what's new with you?"

"Well...I'm getting married soon."

"Oh, really?" Shinichi smiled. "Congratulations."

"Thanks. So, would you like to come to my wedding?"

"You're inviting me? Are you sure? I'm a pretty controversial figure these days. I don't want to turn your wedding into a circus."

"Look, I'm sure it'll be fine as long as you keep a low profile."

"I guess I can put on a disguise or something. Like a pair of glasses."

"I doubt glasses can do much."

"Hey, don't underestimate the power of a good pair of glasses. You'd be surprised by how well they work."

"OK, I'll send the invitations soon. Bye, Shinichi - that still sounds weird to me."

"Bye, Sakura."

"Who was that?" Rena asked as she poked her head out of the studio when Shinichi hung up.

"That was Sakura," Shinichi answered.

"Sakura...?" Rena didn't seem to remember that name.

"The girl who was my childhood friend," Shinichi clarified. "She asked if I could attend her wedding."

"That's nice of her," Rena smiled.

The phone rang again and Shinichi answered.

"Hello?"

"So, Inspector, what did you call me for?" Shinichi asked as he met the inspector at a cafe in Tokyo. He had his perception filter glasses on so he would not be recognised.

"We've been dealing with a phantom thief these past few months," Akasaka said as he put down a set of photos on the table. "Here are the items he's stolen."

"A phantom thief?" Shinichi asked as he went through the photos. The items stolen included historical artefacts and priceless works of art.

"Yeah, calls himself 'The Coyote'." Akasaka crossed his arms. "This guy sends us a challenge letter each time, telling us when and where he's pulling his capers but when we show up to catch him, he gives us the slip and leaves a calling card behind to taunt us. It's getting embarrassing."

"And you're asking me to help you because you suspect the thief might be a superpowered person," Shinichi concluded.

"Yeah," Akasaka nodded. "I mean, how else could he give us the slip each time? The thief can't be a normal human."

"You say the thief always tells you where and when he'll strike next. Did he send another challenge letter recently?"

"As a matter of fact, he did," Akasaka said as he handed the letter over to Shinichi. Shinichi unfolded it, seeing letters cut out from several newspapers and magazines that were messily pasted together to form a message. It was obviously done to avoid having their handwriting identified. Still, it was done well enough to read.

To the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department,

Today, my eyes have just caught wind of another marvellous treasure. I've collected many things in the world, but I haven't really started on a doll collection yet. I plan on amending that error by appropriating the silver dogu doll from the national museum. It's a very pretty doll and a good fit for my collection. The time of acquisition will be at 11:59 pm on the dot. You will also be receiving my payment then and there as well.

Hasta luego,

El Coyote

"Payment?" Shinichi asked. "What does he mean by 'payment'?"

"This," Akasaka said, sliding a card over to him. It was a silvery card with a holographic stylized image of a purple coyote jumping with a trail of lightning for a lower body. Shinichi could see the light reflecting off of it, and could see it was no ordinary card. "Whenever he completes his thefts, he always leaves a calling card behind. He's like a modern-day Arsene Lupin."

"Well, I can already see that this person loves to steal for the thrill of it," Shinichi stated. "He could be a teleporter, which is why you can never catch him."

"Or he could turn invisible. Look, the point is, we're not equipped to deal with someone with superpowers. So, that's why I'm asking for your help."

"Alright, I'll do it."

Shinichi returned to his home after his meeting with Akasaka when he heard a scream.

"Shin-kun!" Rena yelled excitedly as soon as Shinichi stepped through the door. He immediately panicked and ran to his wife.

"Is something wrong?" he asked. "Are you OK? Did you hurt yourself? Is Jiro hurt?"

"No, I'm fine. We're all fine, but take a look at this!" Rena showed him the cheque in her hands and his eyes widened as he saw all the zeroes.

"Wow, that's a lot of zeros. Does that mean you made a sale?" Shinichi asked.

"Yes!" Rena nodded. "She came while you were out and bought one of my sculptures."

"Which one?"

"It was the big one I made. She even sent people to pick it up earlier."

"So, what was this client like?"

"She was beautiful with very dark skin," Rena described. "Now, let's cash this cheque in and celebrate tonight!"

Shinichi looked at the time. The Coyote claimed he would strike at 11:59 pm. That left him plenty of time to celebrate with Rena.

"I'll pick something up while I deposit this check for you," Shinichi offered as he took the cheque off her hands. It seemed legit and hopefully would not bounce.

Tokyo National Museum, 11:59 pm

It was late at night and the museum was empty save for the security guard that was on patrol. This, however, did not deter the Phantom ThiefCoyote. Hacking the security system was easy and the guard monitoring the security cams would only see an image on loop. As for the guard going on his round, she just knocked him out.

The phantom thief was a little disappointed that the police had not shown up to try and stop them but they probably gave up since they realized how futile it was to try and catch the Amazing Phantom Thief Coyote!

"And now, to claim my prize," the thief whispered while approaching the dogu doll on display. "Oh, you beauty. You are going to look so good on my shelf."

"I don't think so!"

All of a sudden, the lights all came on and the phantom thief jumped back in fright. Coyote whirled around for the source of the voice. Shinichi appeared in front of the phantom thief after deactivating his camouflage. He was dressed in a black double-breasted jacket with blue jeans, black boots, and a red scarf around his neck.

"You know, when Inspector Akasaka told me about you, I thought you'd be taller," Shinichi commented when he saw Coyote. He had also assumed Coyote to be male but she was actually a girl. A teenager, to be precise. She was dressed in a purple leotard with a tight corset that accentuated her slim and curvy figure. Black pantyhose covered her legs while she wore purple dainty stiletto heels. Over her outfit, she wore a dark tailcoat and a coyote-themed masquerade mask covered her face. Purple gloves covered her hands to keep her from leaving fingerprints at the scenes of her crimes. Her hair was long and seaweed green with an indigo tint, tied up in a braided ponytail that went to the small of her back with a black bow at the end, along with long twin ahoge that wiggled on her head. What looked like a small pair of animal ears were also on her head.

"So, the cops called the infamous Kamen Rider Showa to catch me?" Coyote smiled playfully. "I'm honoured."

"That's right," Shinichi confirmed, frowning. "Listen, kid. I know this whole phantom thief gig seems thrilling but you're still breaking the law. So, I'm going to have to take you in. Let's hope they'll show leniency because of your age."

"I don't think so!" Coyote snapped and she threw a smoke bomb. It exploded on impact, covering them in a thick cloud of black smoke. Shinichi immediately brought out his wings to blow the smoke away. When the smoke cleared, Coyote was nowhere to be seen and the dogu doll was missing too.

"Crap," Shinichi cursed and he activated his comm. "Sheila, can you track her?"

"Affirmative," Sheila answered. "I have a lock on her."

"Good," Shinichi's eyes narrowed and he went in pursuit of the Coyote.

Coyote giggled as she leapt from rooftop to rooftop. Escaping from Shinichi was surprisingly easy. She couldn't believe she got away from him. Strange that he had not started to chase her yet.

All of a sudden, a cluster of blue feathers burst in front of her and she came to a halt, nearly slipping off the roof she was on. Hovering in front of her with his arms crossed was Shinichi.

"Return the doll and turn yourself in," Shinichi ordered.

"Oh, you mean this doll?" Coyote taunted, holding it out to him. "Catch!" She dropped it over the side of the building and she watched as he went to catch it. While he was distracted, she decided to make her escape but he was faster than she expected as he was right in her face again, holding the doll. She realized she was moving too fast to stop in time and ended up colliding into him, causing them both to recoil from the collision, resulting in her mask falling off her face. Shinichi shook his head and picked himself up, only to stop as he got a good look at the thief's face.

"Huh? Kaa-chan?!" he gawked. With Coyote's mask gone, he was able to see the resemblance to his mother very clearly. Her hair faded from green to indigo, her eyes were indigo coloured to match her hair and were upturned to look sharp and mischievous.

"Wow. Holy Oedipus complex, Batman," Coyote quipped, putting her mask back on her face as she stood up, her hair colour changing back to green again.

"I have so many questions right now," Shinichi frowned.

"Sorry, but I don't do interviews," she mocked and electricity crackled around her hands. "And I can't afford to be caught, not right now. So, adios!" She fired lightning from her hands that propelled her past Shinichi at lightning speed. He whirled around and flew after her.

Using her speed and agility, she dodged his attempts to grab her, laughing like she was having a grand old time. In fact, it was a grand old time. She went into this career for the thrill of outsmarting the police but she found a new thrill in being chased by the infamous Shinichi Banabara.

Shinichi, of course, did not want to hurt her. Not only was she young, but she was an exact mirror image of his mother. Where did she come from? Was she a clone? He wondered where she got her training to break into a museum, disable the security system, and then flee. She probably had a pretty good teacher. However, he had no time to be impressed by her. She was a criminal and needed to be stopped.

"Sorry about this," Shinichi muttered as his eyes glowed and released a pulse that spread out around him. Coyote was caught by it and she found herself slowing down. Finally, she just froze in mid-air as time had stopped.

Shinichi approached her. He hated using his powers like this. It made things too easy and it felt like cheating. However, he promised Inspector Akasaka that he would catch Coyote for him and he always tried to keep his promises. As he neared her, four small objects streaked through the air and struck him, knocking him back. The gold, blue, red and green streaks then flew around Coyote and attached themselves to her belt, breaking her out of Shinichi's time dilation field.

"Oh, that's better," Coyote stretched her arms and sighed.

"How...?" Shinichi asked, dumbfounded.

"Sorry, Rider, but that's my secret," Coyote teased as she put a finger to her mouth. "But since you showed me what you can do, it's only right that I do the same." Coyote took out her sidearm, twirling it in her hand. It was an unusual pistol-like weapon with a knuckle bow to protect the fingers and a pair of short swept back blades on the barrel. It was mostly gold with red and black accents.

This was her Lupin Gunner.

She pressed her palm against the muzzle, causing the Lupin Gunner to play suspenseful jazz music. As the song played, she performed a few steps of a solo tango before she twirled and aimed above her head.

"Kaito Henshin!"

She squeezed the trigger and the Lupin Gunner announced in a sophisticated female voice with a French accent:

[Lupin!]

An assortment of shining jewels materialized around her before they merged with her body, transforming her. When the transformation was complete, she was clad in a crimson bodysuit with a belt and bandolier that went diagonally across her chest. In the centre of the leather bandolier was a badge that was decorated with various gems while her gold belt buckle had a ruby in the centre. She wore black and gold gauntlets that were styled like evening gloves with matching thigh-high boots that had golden bejewelled knee pads and stiletto heels. A black breastplate with wide pauldrons provided additional protection to her torso. Film strips decorated her breastplate and a black cape hung on her back for added flair. Finally, her helmet had a silver faceplate with sculpted female lips, a pair of red eyes, and was topped by a top hat. The top hat portion of her helmet was trimmed in gold.

A spotlight inexplicably appeared to shine on Coyote as she posed with her Lupin Gunner held up, a hand on her hip and left leg bent slightly.

"Kamen Rider Lupina, the Princess of Thieves!" she declared, snapping her fingers dramatically before she pointed at Shinichi. "I'll steal away your hearts!"

"You're...a Rider too?" Shinichi questioned, stunned and confused. He could not believe this. He thought he had been chasing after a superpowered phantom thief, not another Kamen Rider. He wondered who supplied this girl with her equipment.

"That's right," Lupina winked, spinning her Gunner in her hand. "And I'm just passing through. Now, please get out of my way."

"I'm not going to let you escape but I'm not going to fight you either," Shinichi said firmly.

"Why? Because I'm a girl, a teenager, or because I look like your mom?" Lupina questioned. "Whichever way you slice it, that still sounds patronizing. But you don't need to worry, you won't be able to hurt me." She then aimed her Lupin Gunner at him. "Now come to mama!" She fired at him and he dodged the shot before she lunged at him to claim the doll.

"You were so ready to let it drop!" Shinichi protested as he held it out of her reach.

"Coz I knew you'd save it!" Lupina retorted. "Now, gimme!" She kicked him in the stomach and nearly made him drop the dogu doll.

"Hey, this is a priceless artefact!"

"So, hand it over before you accidentally break it!"

"No!"

"Just give it!"

"No!"

"Gimme!"

Shinichi kept the doll out of her reach as Lupina tried to grab it. Frustrated, she fired at him with her Lupin Gunner. She set it to stun so it would not harm him but then she accidentally hit his hand that was holding the dogu doll. It slipped from his fingers and the two watched helplessly as it fell to the ground below and shattered to pieces.

"Dammit!" Shinichi cursed.

Lupina looked down and sighed. What a shame but it was no great loss. There were still other treasures she could grab. As she was about to leave, Shinichi caught her wrist.

"You're not going anywhere," Shinichi growled.

"Oh, so you're arresting me?" Lupina teased.

"I want answers."

"Oh, like why do I look like your mom?"

"Among other things. Now, you're coming with me."

"Or what? You're gonna spank me, Daddy?"

"What!? No!" Shinichi recoiled.

"What, Daddy? Am I not good enough for you, Daddy?"

"Stop that! I am not having this conversation!"

"Geez, lighten up. I'm only teasing." Lupina giggled.

As the two bantered, something dark arose from the remains of the dogu doll. It looked like smoke which gradually took on a humanoid shape. It soon filled out, becoming more solid before finally assuming its true form. It had a slender female figure with pointed elf-like ears. Her reddish-orange hair was spiked up like a pine tree. She had black fur covering her whole body and white fur on her belly. She wore a sash around her waist and a loincloth that covered her privates and ass, exposing her thick thighs. Steel bangles adorned her wrists and ankles. She was barefoot, revealing that she had three toes with sharp claws on each. She also had razor-sharp talons instead of hands. Her chest was covered by a tube top that left her cleavage exposed and barely contained her ample bust. Around her neck, she wore a necklace made out of tiny baby skulls. Finally, she wore a stone mask over her eyes that resembled the eyes of the dogu doll that had contained her.

"I'm...free...?" The demoness looked at her talons and then clenched them. She grinned, revealing a jaw full of razor-sharp fangs. "I'M FREEEEE!"

Lupina and Shinichi heard the yell and looked down to see the demoness.

"Um, she wasn't there before, right?" Lupina asked.

"No," Shinichi answered, eyes narrowed as he saw the demonic being. Since she had appeared after Lupina broke the dogu doll, he concluded that she must have come from the doll.

"Well, you better take care of it," Lupina said.

"No way, you're coming with me," Shinichi said as he snapped his handcuffs on her, snapping the other end to his own wrist.

"Are you kidding me!?" Lupina shouted as they were handcuffed together and Shinichi teleported themselves to the ground.

The female demon was doing some stretches. Her whole body was stiff from being trapped in that damned dogu doll for thousands of years and she needed to get nimble again.

She noticed their presence as soon as Shinichi reappeared with Lupina.

"Oh, good. You came," the demon leered at them hungrily. It had been so long since she had a good meal and these two were serving themselves up to her.

"Who are you?" Shinichi asked. "Did you come from the doll?"

"The doll was my prison," the demon retorted. While she was not speaking modern Japanese, Shinichi could understand her thanks to his universal translator. Lupina also had a universal translator built into her suit. "I was trapped in that damned thing for who knows how long. But I know it's been a long time." She looked at all the buildings. "And the world has changed in that time."

"You were likely trapped inside that doll for thousands of years," Shinichi informed her.

"Why are you talking to her? She's clearly a bad guy," Lupina pointed.

"Quiet," Shinichi hissed.

"Thousands of years, hm?" The demon took a moment to digest this information as her lips curled into a cruel smile. "That means the people who trapped me in that doll are dead. Now that's some good news right there."

"How is that good news?" Shinichi asked as he kept his guard up.

"Well, they put me in that doll because I kept demanding babies as sacrifices. Now that they're gone, I can get to eating babies again!" The demon sniffed the air. "And I smell a lot of babies coming from over there!" She pointed in the direction of the hospital and Shinichi grimaced.

"Told you she was a bad guy," Lupina proudly gloated.

"I won't let you eat babies," Shinichi said to the demon, ignoring Lupina's comment.

"Oh, and do you think you can stop me, human?" the demon sneered. "Do you think you can stop Kijo?"

"You'd be surprised with what humans can do in this day and age," Shinichi glared back. "Henshin!" In a flash, he transformed. His current form resembled Kamen Rider Ichigo and Nigo, yet the design had significant improvements compared to the original two. He was in a black armoured bodysuit with a blue chestplate. On his blue gauntlets and boots were silver shackles with broken chains attached. Finally, a midnight blue insectoid helmet with yellow compound eyes covered his head.

"Oh my God, so cool!" Lupina gushed when she witnessed Shinichi transform into Kamen Rider Sango. Showa Sango removed the handcuffs and she blinked. "Huh?"

"Are you going to run away?" Showa Sango asked.

"Oh, no need to worry," Lupina twirled her Gunner. "I'm not gonna let a baby eater run wild."

"Then you'll both be my appetizers!" Kijo growled, licking her lips. "Though, maybe I can sate a different appetite as well."

Showa Sango and Lupina cringed at the implication.

"Hell No!" Showa Sango and Lupina yelled in unison and the phantom thief fired at the demon with her Lupin Gunner. The demon bobbed and weaved between the shots as she charged at the two. Both Riders separated as she swung at them and her fist slammed into the ground, forming a crater on impact. She withdrew her fist and looked between her two targets before she decided on the younger one.

"Virgins always taste good," the demon grinned and lunged at Lupina. She fired at the demon who swiped at her but the phantom thief managed to lean backwards and bend her knees. As Kijo soared over her, she fired several rounds at point-blank range, causing the demon to scream as she tumbled in pain.

As Kijo recovered and jumped to her feet, Showa Sango was upon her as he punched her in the face, cracking her mask. Snarling, she retaliated with a swipe and slashed him across the chest with her talons. She went to land another blow but he caught her wrist and punched her repeatedly in the stomach before flipping her onto her back. He went to drive his fist into her face but she spewed corrosive acid into his face. He recoiled and cried out as the acid melted his helmet. Kijo used this chance to pounce, knocking him to the ground and started slashing away at him with her talons. She was trying to get to the soft juice centre.

"Get off him!" Lupina shouted as she fired at Kijo from behind and the female demon jumped into the air. She landed behind Lupina and grabbed her neck, pulling her against her. A talon was pointed at her masked face and the phantom thief could feel the hungry demon breathing down her neck.

"I like my meat young. That is when it's nice and tender," Kijo growled as she tightened her grip on the girl's neck and raked her claws against the female Rider's faceplate.

"Hope you like meat flash-fried!" Lupina shouted as she zapped Kijo with an electrical charge from her body, forcing the demon off her. She then spun on her heel, grabbing a golden model car off her belt, and slid it onto the top of her Lupin Gunner.

[Tune: Lupin Blade!]

The blade on the back of the gold car flipped up and extended, turning her golden gun into a golden cutlass. She slashed the demon across the stomach, spilling blood and sending her backpedalling.

"You little brat! Just for that I'm gonna eat you alive!" Kijo snarled.

"Just bring it!" Lupina challenged as the two began trading blows. Sparks flew as Lupina skillfully deflected Kijo's talons while the demon was able to deflect the phantom thief's own slashes.

Suddenly, Showa Sango's arm flew past Lupina's head and his fist connected with Kijo's face, knocking her back.

"Tag-team?" Showa Sango offered as he wielded the Higurashi no Yaiba. Lupina saw that his helmet was restored with no signs of damage from the acid. He likely used his time powers to undo the damage.

"Oh, yeah," Lupina nodded and the duo attacked Kijo in tandem.

The demon was finding it difficult to fend off two opponents at once as they covered each other. They left cuts across her body as her blood spilt on the ground. In her starving state, she was growing weaker. She needed to feed. She needed the flesh of newborns, now!

Her talons glowed and she delivered an energy slash that knocked both Riders backwards before she turned tail and ran.

"You're not getting away!" Lupina shouted as she switched her golden Lupin Blade Viral Core with another that resembled a ruby red bat.

[Tune: Ruby System!]

A projection of a ruby red bat appeared behind Lupina and merged with her, turning her cape into a pair of blood-red bat wings. At the same time, her Lupin Gunner was changed, turning into a bat-themed bow. Once the change was complete, she pressed the nozzle of her Lupin Gunner again and released it, triggering its finisher while causing her weapon to play suspenseful jazz music.

[Ultimate Lupin: Ruby Shloot!]

She pulled on the energy string as an energy arrow appeared and took aim. She locked onto her target and fired her arrow. The arrow multiplied into a flurry of a hundred energy arrows that homed in on their target. When Kijo noticed them, it was already too late as they pierced her body, turning her into a giant pincushion.

"That sword destroys demons, right?" Lupina questioned, referring to the Higurashi no Yaiba. "You better finish her off, then."

"Right," Showa Sango said as he raced towards Kijo who was heavily injured. She was bleeding all over from Lupina's attack and could run no more. Showa Sango did not even wait for her to turn around and stabbed her through the back, piercing her demonic black heart. The demon screamed as she was instantly destroyed, her body bursting into flames before she crumbled to dust.

Showa Sango turned his back to the pile of ash and walked towards Lupina.

"You're still here," Showa Sango observed. "I thought you were going to run."

"I wanted to see the end of the show," Lupina shrugged.

"You're still coming with me to answer some questions," Showa Sango said as he turned into Showa. "But first, let's fix the thing you broke."

Lupina watched him gather the pieces of the dogu doll before he used his time powers to restore it. It was now good as new.

"Good, now I can bring this back to the museum," Showa said but all of a sudden, Lupina snatched it from his hand. "Hey!"

"Adieu!" Lupina pulled the trigger and released a swarm of bat-like projections that enveloped her. Showa rushed straight at her but when the bats dispersed, she was gone. Lying on the ground was her calling card.

Showa picked up the calling card with a frown then his frown turned upside down as he opened his hand and generated a small portal over it. The portal dropped the dogu doll into his hand.

"Sorry, but this belongs in the museum," Showa said as he opened another portal to put the dogu doll back where it belonged. He then went and picked up Coyote's calling card. From Coyote's resemblance to his mother, he concluded that she was likely his future daughter. After meeting future versions of his sons Shinjiro and Hiroyuki, that was the only logical conclusion. However, as his only daughter right now was Layna, Coyote had not been born yet. Could she be the baby that Tsukuyomi was carrying right now? She already confirmed to him that it was a girl.

Shinichi returned home and found Rena and his son already fast asleep. He quietly went over to his son's crib to see Shinjiro sleeping peacefully.

"Goodnight, Jiro," he whispered softly before he went to bed. He spooned Rena against him and fell asleep.

Sitting in his room with music playing, Raheem was trying to read. 'Trying' being the keyword, thanks to loud banging and moaning coming from the other room.

"YES! YES! KEEP DRILLING ME LIKE NO TOMORROW! FILL ME WITH BABY BUNNIES! FILL ME!"

"YEAH, YOU LIKE THAT DON'T YA, SHEA! HOW'D YOU LIKE YOUR MOTORCYCLE? BET IT RIDES LIKE NO CYCLE EVER MADE!"

"YEAH, YOU'RE THE BEST MOTORCYCLE EVER! I'M CUMMING! I'M CUMMING! NNNNNUUUUUGG!"

The banging finally stopped, letting Raheem breathe out a sigh of relief.

"Five hours...they've been going at it for five hours," he groaned. Almost minutes later, the shaking suddenly resumed, and Raheem glared at the wall behind him. "Damn! Y'all n****s are some freaks! You can't even get some soundproofing spells!?" He pulled out his remote to turn up the volume on his stereo before he curled up and buried himself into his book.

Suddenly, his door was kicked open as Lupina marched inside.

"I'm home~!" she called.

Raheem groaned, slammed his book shut and looked at his sister, annoyed.

"Welcome home, Sis," Raheem grumbled.

"So, guess where I was," Lupina said as she pulled off the Ruby Bat Viral Core from her Gunner. In a glitter of gems, her suit vanished as her Gunner gave a calm [Adieu].

"Did you rob the museum again?" Raheem questioned but he knew the answer to that already.

"Yeah, I sure did," Coyote bragged and she was about to take the dogu doll out only to realize it was missing. "Hey, where is it? I knew I had it!"

"Probably lost it," Raheem shrugged. "Some master thief you are."

"Hmph! Blegh!" Coyote scowled, crossing her arms to stick her tongue out childishly at Raheem. Then she heard pounding coming from the wall, followed by screaming.

"OOOOHHHH! I'M GONNA GET PREGNANT! I'M GONNA GET PREGNANT!"

"YEAH, I'M GONNA KNOCK YOU UP! KNOCK YOU UP WITH BABY BUNNIES!"

"KNOCK ME UP, BABY! KNOCK ME UUUUUPPPP!"

"Wow, they're still going at it?" Coyote commented, whistling.

"Yes," Raheem hissed.

Then they heard the same noise coming from the wall on the other side of the room.

"ON THE BED, PRINCE! THE DARK QUEEN DEMANDS TRIBUTE!"

"WOAH, HEY! WHAT'S WITH THE AGGRESSION, ORIGA?! WAIT, YOU TOO, CARA?!"

"BE STILL! JUST ONE BITE AND I'M RIDING YOU TO HEAVEN!"

"Hey, sounds like Crow-niichan's back with his girls," Coyote observed as heavy pounding started to thunder from the other wall.

"Great," Raheem grumbled. He was surrounded by thirsty bitches and horndogs.

"Oh, and I met Dad," Coyote added. "We played tag and we even killed a baby-eating demon together."

"That's nice," Raheem mumbled.

"...You don't sound very interested," Coyote observed, tilting her head.

"Don't have much of a reason to. I never knew the man," Raheem shrugged.

"And I only know about him through stories from Mom," Coyote pointed out. "But don't you ever want to, you know, get to know him while you have the chance?"

"Maybe," Raheem shrugged again, "Fatherlessness is a pretty big problem right now."

"Yeah... fatherlessness is a real bitch ain't it?" a ghostly voice suddenly echoed. In front of the two, a transparent spirit in the form of a bearded black man in a white, sleeveless hooded vest, jeans, white sneakers, and a baseball cap turned backwards faded into view. He also had gold bangles on his wrists. "Y'all are lucky none of you weren't born in the ghetto."

"A g-g-g-ghost?!" Coyote gasped, flinching.

"Shinobu, that's Master Ghostface," Raheem said boredly. "He's just astral projecting himself across space and time."

"Oh, right. The rapper who taught you kung fu. Forgot about him," Coyote - now named Shinobu - said, calming down.

Dennis Coles. People who have ever listened to rap music know him. Being a celebrity, it was a given. To the public, he's known as Ghostface Killah of the Wu-Tang Clan. To a few like Raheem, he was known as Master Ghostface... of the Wu-Tang Clan. The truth was that the rap group was taught by an ancient master named Master Xin, the last remaining disciple of Wu-Tang. Ghostface became the next master soon after Xin was murdered by an old rival, allowing the art of Wu-Tang to continue. How all of that happened, and why Raheem was training under this kung fu rapper, was a story for another time.

Raheem put down his book and gave a respectful bow with his fist in his hand.

"At any rate, it's an honour to see you here, Master. How are things going on?" Raheem asked.

"Not much of a change right now, but those crazy-ass motherfuckas are really starting to get past the Dimensional Veils. They are just affecting the mystic realms right now, but it's only a matter of time till they hit everything," Master Ghostface explained. "You better find out what killed your pops and soon. And oh shit man," he added as he heard the banging from the rooms getting louder. "You folks having a house party or something?"

"Never mind that. Just what are we supposed to do?" Raheem asked. "There's only one clue we got and it's '108'. What does that even mean?"

"What, you think I'm some sort of math book? What am I, Wikipedia?" Master Ghostface asked sarcastically. "Look, little man. Your pops' main number is 13. Here in the States, that number's bad luck. In the Buddist religion, 108 represents how many times a n**** is faced with temptation in their life. In a way, both them numbers are symbols of fate."

"So what, you're saying that they're both connected?" Raheem pressed on.

"Think about it. Peace," Master Ghostface nodded before fading away.

"Well, that was cryptic," Shinobu huffed. "And completely unhelpful."

"You gotta read between the lines, Sis," Raheem retorted. And at that moment, the hideout was suddenly filled with A chorus of female moans.

"Niiiiiiiice," Shinobu grinned, having no issues whatsoever with all the sexual noises. Like their father, she was a bit of a perv. "Wonder if Layna-neechan is giving her boyfriend the works right now?"

Annoyed, Raheem put on his noise-cancelling headphones and turned up the volume to drown out all the noise. Why, oh why, did their hideout have to turn into a den of debauchery? Why were his siblings such horny perverts?

Dr. KRC: "Shloot" is a combination of "Shoot" and "Loot".

I asked people on the forum to suggest names for the demon. And I chose by putting the names in a virtual hat. The winner is "Kijo." Congratulations bloodyredrose1994.

Other names that were suggested were the following.

snake screamer: Mara Kasdeya

gregorian12: Devidra, Rosetta-kal, Elvgarai & Mizrene

iron maker2: Agrona, Tanda & Medoumedou

Kamen Rider Goji: Doguma

Busterleader92: Lamidra Dongu Witch Bayaga (Baba Yaga), Bloodra

I think "Kijo" fits. She was a demon that existed thousands of years ago and would likely be the first of her kind. Thus, all other Kijo are named after her. Like how all Lamia and Arachne were named after the first of their kind.

Tailsmo4ever: The inclusion of Ghostface Killah as a martial artist is based on an old PS1 game called Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style, with his appearance based on the Boondocks episode "Stinkmeaner Strikes Back".