[FFML] [yyh][ry][xover] Demon Sword Chapter 23: Smile Bomb (Part 5)

[Chester Castañeda]

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Demon Sword
A Yuyu Hakusho/Rurouni Kenshin Crossover Fan Fiction
By Chester Castañeda
chester.castaneda at gmail.com
gabriel_gabdiel at yahoo.com
Original concept by Chad Yang
chadjill at ms3.hinet.net
http://www.fanfiction.net/~abdiel

I suspect this chapter happened because I've been watching too much
Detective Conan.


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Chapter 23: Smile Bomb (Part 5)

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One week after the attack at Genkai's temple, at a park near the
Minamino/Hatenaka Residence...

"Who is this Kanji Killer? What does he have to do with the Spirit
World or even the Chojin?" Kurama asked after Botan handed him material
from Koenma's desk concerning his new mission. "You do realize that
this is kind of an unusual mission even by Reikai standards, right?"

"Actually, the Kanji Killer has been on the news lately. He's a serial
killer whose modus operandi is to carve his victim's corpses with kanji
characters, hence his name," Botan informed as she further rifled
through her incredibly deep sleeves for newspaper clippings and a folder
containing further data that the Spirit World had on the criminal.

"The Kanji Killer is on the news, huh? Since I've been scouting Chojin
activity back in Makai for so long, I haven't been keeping myself
updated with Ningenkai affairs," Kurama admitted as he kept his burning
curiosity in check. To be honest, he still had many unanswered questions
he would like to be resolved or at least acknowledged.

"The Kanji Killer has been most active during the time before you,
Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Hiei even became Reikai Tantei. Around 1988, to
be exact." Botan rifled through the beige folder she had on hand before
handing it to Kurama. "On this page is the first confirmed crime that
the Kanji Killer committed."

"December 22, 1988. Taito Ward. I suppose had the Kanji Killer struck a
little later, he would've been called the Christmastime Killer instead,"
came Kurama's sardonic observation.

Laughing uneasily at Kurama's morbidness, Botan continued. "It was only
recently that the Human World police was able to put two and two
together in regards to the killings because there wasn't anything else
that connected the victims together save for the killer's modus
operandi. Also, there have been a couple of copycat murders that
muddled the waters, so to speak."

Kurama scratched his chin and nodded. "I'm confused. If he's been
working since 1988, why are we only targeting him now?"

Kenshin cleared his throat to get the attention of his two companions.
"After our bond was severed and you blacked out earlier on, Koenma
dismissed the Bouetai and talked to Botan and I concerning the Kanji
Killer's background. He specifically wanted to include me in the case
because he wanted to confirm his hunch regarding the serial killer's
M.O."

Kurama raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Okay, so what's the killer's M.O.
and how exactly did Koenma figure out that this particular serial
killer out of many was connected to the Reikai or the Chojin?"

"First, the Kanji Killer got his name because of the fact that he
mutilates his victims using the strokes used to create the characters
for the numbers one, eight, and ten." Kenshin's revelation made Botan's
eyes dilate in response, although it wasn't Botan who recognized the
telltale sword technique.

"The media incorrectly reported that the kanji calling card created by
the Kanji Killer was the 'Hon' character. The police believe it to be
the amalgamation of the 'Ichi' 'Hachi', and 'Ju' characters, which is
what they used to weed out the copycat crimes from the true ones. Among
law enforcement circles, he is known as the One-Eight-Ten Killer."

Kenshin too a deep breath as his mind's eye visualized the maniacal
laughter and animalistic eyes of a former hitokiri _and_ Shinsengumi
member. "Truth be told, the police are only half-right. The amalgamated
numbers instead form the character 'Hei', which is the symbol of the
Nikaido Heiho Ryu. I know who the Kanji Killer is; his M.O. fits the
techniques of a past opponent of mine from a century ago known as Udo
Jine, the Black Hat Assassin."

Kurama did a small nod. "It's logical to presume that the Chojin revived
this ghost from your past with his jaki the same way he did with the
Shisejyu and Rando. Still, I have to wonder how Koenma chanced upon this
information."

"Koenma picked up on this while researching about Kenshin's past for
further clues in regards to the Demon Sword's connections with the
Chojin," Botan further supplied, which made Kurama flinch.

"So Koenma suspects that the Chojin's identity is linked to your past.
Also, you probably suspect the same thing," Kurama all but accused
Kenshin.

The spirit guardian chortled. "Pretty much, although I don't believe
that Koenma-dono would ever admit that to us, me especially. He has
become more secretive than before, from what Botan tells me. Is he
acting weirdly by your estimations, Kurama-dono?"

The crimson-haired teenager slumped his shoulders in acceptance. "Not
enough to earn my distrust. If he can trust me enough to take care of
the Demon Sword without becoming a menace to the Human World, then I
should give him the benefit of the doubt."

Botan tapped her finger lightly on her chin as tried to remember the
rest of Koenma's commands before sending them off to this newest
mission. In the meantime, Kurama rifled through the hefty folder of
confirmed and suspected cases linked to the Kanji Killer. "So there are
only four confirmed cases, huh? The rest of these are suspected cases,
copycat cases, and anything else that can be linked to him, correct?"

"Yeah. He's now in the news because he's linked to a recent case
concerning a rape of some sort." Botan saw the case being covered in the
news on TV while she and Kenshin waited for Kurama to wake up from his
dead faint. "It's probably a copycat case though, since the murderer
carved a 'Hon' instead of a 'Hei' on his victim."

Kurama smirked as something occurred to him. "Is there no chance for us
to use your Spirit World connections in order to defy the age-old truism
of 'Dead men tell no tales', Botan? The victim is the kind of witnesses
that the Ningenkai police can never get a warrant for, methinks."

"Now _that's_ thinking out of the box, Kurama!" Botan commended, yet
shook her head in the end. "Sadly, that's not possible. Hitodama aren't
the chattiest spirits around, the paperwork to track down souls is hard
to sift through, and we're not even sure if the Kanji Killer's victims
are able to pass on to the afterlife. They could either be destroyed or
earthbound."

"That's a shame. This would've been an open and shut case if we can get
a ghost to point us to the right direction." Kurama turned towards
Kenshin and showed him the files. "You're the closest 'dead man' we have
available. Also, you're the best judge of character for this Jine
person. What do you think?"

Kenshin took a good look at the four sole cases that were confirmed by
investigators to be conclusively linked to the Kanji Killer. The file
contained the following information:

Back in December 22, 1988, seventeen-year-old Junpei Saigo and sixteen-
year-old Mitsuki Takiguchi were chopped up and killed within the city
limits of Taito in the Asakusa District.

Then, a few months later on July 5, 1989, the Kanji Killer attacked a
couple... twenty-year-old Daiji Matsudaira and nineteen-year-old Itsumi
Matsudaira... at Taito once again, this time within the Ueno District.
Even though the man, Daiji, survived, the woman, Itsumi, was pronounced
dead-on-arrival at a nearby hospital.

Yuji Nishihara, nineteen, and Kumiko Sakuma, twenty-two, were chopped up
and given the "Hei" markings by the Kanji Killer (which had become his
trademark by then) on September 27, 1989 beside the Ara River at the
Adachi District. Nishihara died after six stab wounds to the back, while
Sakuma died later on in a hospital as a result of her injuries on
September 30, 1989.

The last confirmed attack was on October 11, 1989. The twenty-nine-year-
old Nobuetsu Horisawa was mutilated and killed at Yoyogi Park in
Shibuya. From there, the next multitude of pages contained suspected
Kanji Killer cases as well as confirmed copycat cases using the serial
killer's M.O., including one that happened as way back as 1983. The
aforementioned pending rape case was also covered.

Kenshin handed back the file to Kurama. "This disturbs me. The Jine I
knew would never bother killing civilians unless they're collateral
damage to his assassination missions. Also, because he's a master
swordsman, taking on one or two people at a time would mean instant
death. Having teenaged survivors or even people who made it to the
hospital before dying is not up to par with his standards as a
hitokiri. Aside from the modus operandi of carving up the 'Hei' symbol,
he's acting quite unlike himself."

"One other question I want answered is, 'What exactly will this Kanji
Killer get out of murdering innocents?' I have only glanced at this file
so far, but the thing that bothers me about this case is that there's no
underlying motive behind any of the killings. There's no connection
between the murdered victims aside from their youthfulness and the fact
that they're all residing in Tokyo."

"Then again, Seiryu showed only last week how powerful any of the
Chojin's minions can become when using a victim's suffering to their
advantage," Botan pointed out, still hoping against hope that Keiko
could somehow recover from her jaki-induced coma the same way Yusuke did
when he unexpectedly died the first time.

With a shrug and a tight-lipped expression, Kenshin gave in to Botan's
persuasive argument. "In fairness, a lot can change in a hundred years.
Jine committed suicide after I defeated him, and even before I met him,
he was always crazier than a Betsy Bug because of his bloodlust. Perhaps
when he was first revived, he was still weak and quite sloppy with his
swordsmanship after years of being an onryo or some other disturbed
soul. I can only assume."

"That's what I'm afraid of. There are too many possibilities. The only
real lead we have is the fact that someone is using Nikaido Heibu
strikes and markings on all these helpless victims. The worst-case
scenario for us is that our clues will lead us to a dead end and we're
hunting for a serial killer that doesn't have anything to do with the
Overfiend at all."

Kenshin's body began flickering in and out of existence as though it
were a light bulb that was ready to burn out. "Kenshin, are you all
right? You're... transparent! What's going on with you?" Kaoru exclaimed
before Botan even realized what was happening; her voice was so
choked up with emotion that even Kurama noticed the change in pitch.

The kendo girl initially decided to stay clear from all this Spirit
World business, but she changed her mind at the last minute after seeing
Kenshin's alarming state.

Kenshin grabbed the back of his head, scratching it as he chuckled off
Kaoru's worries. "I guess the power up that I got from Kurama back in
Reikai has already run out of juice. If you don't mind, I'll be back
inside the Demon Sword. See you all around." Without further adieu,
the ginger-haired ghost disappeared from view altogether, his blade
plopping onto the grass below.

Kurama made a move to pick up the dormant sword, but stopped himself
short after remembering his blackout and his attempted murder of the
Prince of the Dead. He turned towards a fist-clenching "Botan"... who
had probably shifted into her "Kaoru" persona once more... and
requested, "It's best that you hold on to the Demon Sword for the time
being," and said nothing more. Kaoru kept her eyes on Kurama even as she
picked up the Reikai artifact and slipped it into the folds of Botan's
kimono.

Botan pushed back the protective Kaoru's consciousness into the depths
of her own subconscious, idly musing how she now had "two" voices in
her head... Kenshin and Kaoru... and if Kurama still thought of her as a
crazy person because of all this Kaoru Kamiya nonsense.

Kurama pursed his lips; even for him, the information overload was still
too much to handle in one sitting. He already had a few suspicions,
theories, and speculations regarding the case, but he would need time to
cogitate on it in order to fully sort everything out.

"We'll have to continue this meeting at a later date. I'll be taking
this folder with me in order to study it more thoroughly over the
weekend. If you have any other information you'd like to share, just
keep me posted. But for now, the best I could do is look this over and
see if my suspicions are correct." Kurama stood up and bowed at the lone
ferry-girl three times in order to acknowledge both her and her two
other unseen companions.

"Okay. Here's a Spirit World communicator. If you make any breakthroughs
on the case, contact me directly. You will have to do so within the next
two weeks though, because I... well, _we_ have a scheduled meeting with
Koenma Daio concerning last week's mission," Botan replied in kind.


===


Two weeks after the attack at Genkai's temple, inside the Shinjuku
Police Station during the afternoon...

The seventeen-year-old Ippei Shimamura patted the back of his
(literally) brother from another mother and winked, which was his signal
for the quintuplets to back off and let him handle Hikaru's tirade.

"Besides, dad is sort of correct when he says I'm being a leech. I'm
not even sure I want to be some sort of stiff businessman in a monkey
suit. I'm not that kind of guy. Legitimate... Illegitimate... Who really
cares? Let the son who can run the company superbly take over. I
couldn't care less."

"Thank you for saving me from your mother's wrath, but please don't call
my mother a social climber," Katsuhiko insisted as he alone of the
quintuplets stood up against the imposing Ippei. "Unlike you and despite
my experiences, I don't consider every last female a gold digger or a
social climber. My mother isn't anything like... A-Aya-san."

Ippei's grin widened to the point of parody, his teeth and eyes shining
with their glare of inordinate whiteness. He moved towards Katsuhiko's
ear and murmured, "Sure, I guess not _all_ women are money-grubbing
bitches, but it is correct to say that _some_ of them are. My mother is
one, though don't tell her that I told you that. She married Dad in
order to get richer than ever before. Aya-chan is another."

Ippei and Katsuhiko were both referring to Katsuhiko's ex-girlfriend and
would-have-been bride-to-be, Aya Tachikawa. "I remember Mom daring you
to tell Aya-chan that you were disowned by Dad because you're a bastard
child so you won't have any money left to you once you graduate. She
said that Aya-chan was just like your mother: a gold digger. What did
Aya-chan do as soon as you told her? She left you for some other rich
kid. You've always been a bad judge of character. Perhaps your own bias
for your mother is blinding you from her very real flaws."

"What's your point, then?" Katsuhiko snapped, his face scrunched up and
his body coiled tightly like a constricted bed spring. "I made my
mistake with Aya-san. Her shortcomings and betrayal has nothing to do
with my mother, though. I can freely admit that her having an affair
with Father was wrong, but don't ever call her a gold digger in my
face."

Ippei stepped back and raised his hands in mock defeat. "Easy, bro. I'm
on your side. Like Houjo said, I don't think you're the one responsible
for the death of that gold digger. You're too straight-laced to do it.
None of you quintuplets are guilty, in fact. You've been framed, maybe
it was the ex-boyfriend who really did it. Besides, you're the exact
opposite of that virgin, Ennosuke, and Houjo, who's just a wannabe of
yours truly. I have your back, bro."

"Hey, fuck you, Ippei-san! I'm no wannabe! I actually have a girlfriend,
unlike niichan here!" the third child of the Shimamuras and the second
quintuplet, Houjo, joked as he punched Katsuhiko's arm and bumped fists
with Ippei. Katsuhiko sighed and smiled at his brothers' antics in spite
of himself.

"Yeah, but have you gone past second base with her? No? I didn't think
so. Like Katsuhiko, you still have mommy's breast milk on your lips,
dude!" Ippei needled in between protests of, "Yuck, that's gross, man!"
and promises of "We'll get you out of here as soon as we can, niichan!
We won't let that gold digger get the best of us!"

Ippei followed up his comment with the half-kidding demand of, "HEY! You
never called me big brother before! Bastard brothers or no, we're still
blood relatives and I'm older than you! Give me some respect!"

Meanwhile, thirteen-year-old Bunjiro, fourteen-year-old Goemon, and
fifteen-year-old Fumio... the three youngest Shimamura kids who were
also Kunihiko's sons with Hikaru... were poking their heads at the half-
open door in order to check out what the commotion was all about.

"Hey, you little brats! You shouldn't be here! The adults are talking,"
the leather-jacket-wearing Ippei playfully reproved the rest of his
siblings, which resulted in Fumio rejoining, "We're not that clueless
about the case and we've already testified for the police, you jerk!"

"Look, I'm not playing favorites with any of our sons. This isn't the
time or place for us to air our dirty laundry. We'll always be there for
Katsuhiko or any of our sons who are in trouble," Kunihiko said as he
attempted to console the sobbing and blubbering Hikaru to no avail. She
swatted every last effort her husband made to put his arms around her,
for one thing.

"Okay, everybody! Yes, even you three kids. Come inside," the smarmy
Officer Uye announced while clapping his hands and ushering Fumio,
Goemon, and Bunjiro inside the room. "As you know, we've interviewed
each and every one of you brothers about the incident separately. By
now, you've all become aware of each other's testimonies. Have any of
you changed your minds? Have any of you decided to confess the truth in
the face of all your contradicting testimonies?" His questions and
requests were met with silence.

Even as both Inspector Taniguchi and Detective Tsunemoto stared
unimpressed at Uye's lackadaisical stab at solving the "mystery" behind
the Shimamura brothers' contradictory statements (while the sickly
Officer Hamada took a smoking break from outside the interrogation room
despite his respiratory difficulties) the good officer remained
undeterred.

Officer Uye reviewed the photocopies of the brothers' testimonies. "How
about you, Ennosuke-kun? One of the quintuplets, Akahito-kun, says that
you're the one who did it. Do you agree with your own brother's
accusation?"

Without missing a beat, the youngest quintuplet shrugged and said,
"Yeah, sure. Why not? Who knows?"

Uye was just about to tear his thinning hair out before he cooled
himself down and decided to wipe his face from forehead to chin in
exasperation instead.

"Listen, boy. You need to take this seriously. Perjury is a crime
punishable by law. I don't care what your father's team of lawyers told
you about Family Law and juvenile delinquents, _lying_ during
interrogations is a crime. Tell us the truth. Now."

"I am serious. I'm not taking back my previous testimony either. I told
you that Bunjiro isn't telling the truth, and I was right. He told you
it wasn't me, but it must've been me because he's a liar."

"You didn't even _know_ what Bunjiro-kun was going to say when you were
interrogated! How the hell did you know he was going to lie? Are you
saying that you're an accomplice to a murder of a rape victim? Are you
really admitting yourself to be a rapist? What do you mean by that?
What's your motive? Tell me!"

Unfazed, Ennosuke maintained, "Calling Bunjiro an insufferable liar is
the only thing I testified to. That's all I know. If you think it was
me, feel free to prove it. Maybe I'm wrong and Bunjiro is telling the
truth. Like I said, that's all I know. I'm speaking from experience."

Groaning, Officer Uye turned towards Bunjiro and asked, "Your brother,
Ennosuke-kun, testified that you're a liar. Why is that?"

The youngest of the Shimamura brothers thought for a minute or two
before confessing, "That's because I've lied before. Who hasn't?"

Shigetaka licked his lips and bit them as he formed a steeple with his
fingers in seeming prayer to the gods.

"Okay, that's nice to know. How are we supposed to tell that you aren't
lying now? Even though Katsuhiko-kun is our prime suspect because of his
outright confession, your testimony for Ennosuke-kun's innocence also
makes him a viable suspect, ironically enough. You confirmed that he has
been pining for 'Kishi-neechan' for quite a while, taking photographs of
her and basically stalking her. So which story should we believe then?"

"I'm not lying, but I don't know the whole story either. You'll have to
take my word for it. Ennosuke-niichan loves Kishi-neechan, and he
doesn't look like the type who'll make Kishi-neechan cry. He certainly
won't kill her, that's for sure," Bunjiro said in all earnestness, which
made Shigetaka throw up his hands and stand in the corner in sheer
aggravation.

"I'll take it from here, Uye-kun," Aiko crowed with a sultry, perhaps
even mocking, moan as she sashayed towards the actual suspects that
hadn't been interviewed... namely, the remaining brothers.

"Hello, Akahito-kun. You share the same face as four of your brothers,
yet you've still managed to remain the most unique one of you five," the
detective purred as she tilted her body towards the reticent quintuplet.
"Have you something to confess?"

"Madam, flattery will get you nowhere. However, it's delightful to see
the police attempting the age-old 'good cop, bad cop' routine and end up
failing badly at both, though. Very amusing, to say the least," the
nerdy yet sharp-tongued bespectacled youth surmised without bothering to
look up from the tabloid he was reading. "For good or for ill, I deeply
apologize for my father's mudslinging of Kishida-shi. That was certainly
uncalled for."

Detective Aiko preened herself as she craned her neck over her
loquacious interviewee. "What makes you think that Ennosuke-kun is
guilty, though? He certainly doesn't look bothered or 'in-love' with
Kishida-shi as both you and Bunjiro-kun claims. If anything, it looks
like he's lying for the sake of protecting his family. Is my deduction
incorrect?"

This time around, Akahito put down the newspaper and regarded Detective
Tsunemoto in a new light.

"That's very perceptive of you, detective. Yes, it's quite obvious that
Ennosuke-kun is not taking this interrogation seriously. Nevertheless,
according to the Kubler-Ross Model or the five stages of grief, he's
currently in the denial stage. He still doesn't realize the full gravity
of his situation as a psychotic stalker, which is why you're getting
nonsense from him like claiming that his brother is lying even though he
doesn't know what his brother said at the time."

"Huh. That's a feasible rationalization, but between you and me,
Ennosuke-kun should've been in denial after the rape, not after the
murder. Or, if he wasn't in denial with the rape, then he shouldn't have
been in denial or even angry with the murder either because the length
between rape and murder suggests premeditation. His background suggests
he's a stalker without any actual contact with Kishida-shi."

"That's assuming that Ennosuke-kun viewed the 'rape' of Kishida-shi as
rape from the get go. It could've ended up as a crime of passion after
he found out that she was out to either ruin his reputation or force him
to take responsibility for the rape. Then again, this is all conjecture
and speculation on my part," Akahito articulated in such a way that made
even the skeptical Tsunemoto to start considering Ennosuke as a viable
suspect.

"How about you, Doi-kun? You say that either Katsuhiko-kun or Houjo-kun
are suspects. Do you have any proof behind your testimony or are you
merely speculating like Akahito-kun?" the detective questioned as she
rubbed her temples; her interrogation had her end up with more instead
of fewer suspects to consider, to her vexation.

"I said it before, and I'll say it again. I'm not sure. I'm not pointing
any fingers at Ennosuke-kun because I know nothing about his crush on
Kishida-san." Doi laughed nervously.

"I think it could've been Houjo-kun because he is used to having lots of
women fawn all over him, while Kishida-san has a reputation for being
easy. With that said, because of Kishida-san's questionable character, I
highly doubt that rape really did occur between them. As for niisan, if
he were blackmailed to marry the girl with the threat of being exposed
to the world as a rapist, then... well, who knows? It's the police's job
to prove what actually happened anyway, right? Mind you, I'm not
specifically accusing anybody of anything. I'm merely telling you what I
know."

Both Tsunemoto and Uye stared back helplessly at the inspector, which
elicited a grunt of discontent from the thick-bodied fifty-two year old.
Inspector Masaya's interview yielded practically the same results; the
fifteen-year-old Fumio supposing that it was Katsuhiko who did it, the
fourteen-year-old Goemon insisting that it wasn't Katsuhiko who did it,
and the both of them only guessing from what little they knew of what
happened.

Meanwhile, it was at that exact moment that the sunglasses-donning
Officer Hamada entered the stuffy interrogation room. "So basically
we're back to square one. We've neither proven nor discovered anything
new with this one last group interrogation," the inspector summed up
with an anguished scrunching of his wizened face. "Well, if that's the
case, then..."

"Did you really kill my sister? Did you rape her as well?" Katsumi
blurted out in one breath as she confronted the bewildered Katsuhiko
Shimamura. The eldest quintuplet stared at her expectant face before he
averted his gaze and kept his tears from leaking out of his eyes.

"My statement remains the same as before. It wasn't rape; it was
consensual. Yes, I killed your sister. I'm sorry to say, but she's a
gold digger just like all the others. M-Miki-san... You didn't know her
as well as you think you do. Feel free to hate me, because I know that
what I've done is wrong. This is the only thing I can do as reparation
for my sins."

To everyone's surprise, no harm befell the self-confessed murderer who
was adamant that Miki Kishida wasn't raped at all. Instead, Katsumi's
eyes lost focus upon hearing her sister's name, which Detective Aiko
supposed was the result of the fifteen-year-old girl entering the state
of denial at long last in accordance to the five stages of grief.

"_Anyway_, I've had enough of this soap opera nonsense. I've let
everyone speak their minds in the hopes of discovering something new,
but we instead ended up with garbage that's best left to the tabloids.
This case has gone on long enough. All the evidence and testimonies we
have so far points to Shimamura Katsuhiko-kun as the rapist and
murderer, and he himself confessed to the murder, at the very least. I
suggest you put those lawyers of yours to good use, Mister Shimamura.
That is all."

"Not so fast, Inspector Bulldog! FLYING BIRD KICK!" a small, gi-wearing,
long-braided girl about the same age as the quintuplets burst forth the
door and delivered a jumping roundhouse that connected right into the
unprepared Masaya Taniguchi's jowly jaw.


===


One and a half weeks after the attack at Genkai's temple, at the Meiou
High School Library...

The casually dressed Kurama ushered Botan inside the library as he
himself flashed his alumni pass to the school librarian. As per usual,
the ferry-girl used her penchant for dressing up in a variety of
costumes to get herself a Meiou-style school uniform for girls even
though there wasn't really any reason for her to do so.

"I've never been to your school before, Kurama! Oh, and our first date
just happens to be in your sch3l's library! How... educational!" Botan
beamed with joy while Kurama dabbed his handkerchief over his forehead
to get rid of excess, irksome moisture.

"Uh, call me Minamino-kun or even Shuichi-kun for now." The redhead did
a once over at Botan's questionable outfit. "I see you've done your
research in regards to the latest uniform. I hope you've exerted as much
effort in retrieving info regarding the Kanji Killer and his connection
to Kenshin's past swordsman foe."

"Of course I did, you silly goose! But didn't I specifically tell you to
call me when _you've_ found out something about the Kanji Killer, and
not the other way around?" the shinigami reprimanded.

"Sorry about that. So far, this Kanji Killer business has left me quite
stumped. He presents the same problems that America's Zodiac Killer had
in terms of motive and type of victim. I have no choice but to depend
on your files for now and do some supplementary reading on the case. All
his suspected victims appear to have been killed by different people
even when we're excluding the copycats who were aping his methods."

"Yeah, the police have described the Kanji Killer as a Zodiac Killer
copycat who also has his own copycats. Speaking of which, I've gotten
the letters that the Kanji Killer sent to the media too. Here are the
photocopies. The second message in particular supports the Reikai's
theory of him using victims to enhance his share of jaki from the
Chojin, so to speak," Botan divulged as she handed the retired spirit
detective her folder of new data.

"Thanks. I've been having problems locating the first letter, although I
already have multiple copies of the second letter from Meiou High's
newspaper archives."

"Wow. You already knew about the letters after only a weekend of
research? That's impressive." Botan tilted her head in curiosity as
Kurama's evergreen eyes wandered towards the long, wrapped-up package
she had right under her armpit.

"Oh yeah. _This_. Well, I brought Kenshin along. He's been on 'standby
mode' since the last time we talked to him. This cloth container allowed
me to sneak his Demon Sword into school premises without people asking
me too many questions. Er, your school does have a kendo club lying
around, right?"

"O-kay... Sure." Kurama grabbed his neck, cleared his throat, and
adjusted his polo shirt's collar as he inched ever so slightly away from
Botan. Once he regained his composure, he opened the thick folder full
of fastened photocopied documents and proclaimed, "Well, shall we? It's
about time we compared notes."

In any event, the first decrypted message that was dated on August 1,
1989 and sent to a local Ueno newspaper stated, "I am fully realized
humanity without masks and hypocrisy. This is what humanity and human
behavior truly is. My kind has a place in the world. We are nothing more
than the latest version of an ancient archetype known as the Fool. We
provide a valuable service to humanity in that we are capable of acting
in the extreme edge of morality." The details concerning the murders
he committed in Ueno weren't released to the public and were sent to the
police vault.

The second message, dated August 7, 1989, read, "This is the Kanji
Killer. I liked the name you gave me. You were saying that I don't need
to do this, correct? No. It needs to be done. I cannot be stopped. I
have discovered the truth about humanity, and how to go beyond its
limitations. Schadenfraude. I am nothing more than a mirror, in a sense;
a hypocrite that exposes other hypocrites by their own reflection
without them ever realizing it. Because of this epiphany, my victims
will become my slaves when I go back to paradise. They empower me."

"Well, what do you think?" Botan asked hopefully, even though she knew
that this wasn't enough evidence for even Kurama to work with.

"I don't know enough about Kenshin's past foe to be sure, but I get the
feeling that this Jine fellow wouldn't bother writing such ambiguous
nonsense. I will say that there's something strikingly familiar with
what's written, but I'll need to confirm it through research first.
Without any confirmation, my gut feeling tells me that the Kanji Killer
the police are looking for and Udo Jine are two different people
altogether despite the similarity in modus operandi."

Botan raised an eyebrow at that. "You got this from just reading the
Kanji Killer's letters? And here I thought they'd confirm to you that
he's actually connected to the Chojin. Aren't you just haphazardly
jumping to conclusions on this one, or is it Koenma-sama who's doing
the jumping?"

"We're still missing a piece of the puzzle is what I meant," Kurama
admitted more to himself than to Botan or to her dormant, semi-sentient
Reikai artifact.

"Don't get me wrong, Botan. I highly doubt that a hitokiri who is
capable of actually murdering skilled swordsmen in his wake would bother
with letters and clandestine murders of defenseless young teenagers.
These are things a serial killer who has just tasted blood and wants
more would do. It's the difference between a seasoned veteran and an
overeager novice, if you will; the Kanji Killer who left behind clues of
his modus operandi, and the other killer who used his more obvious
counterparts' actions to hide his murders."

You know, you've been acting awfully mercurial lately. You should ease
up," Botan chided.

Kurama stopped himself from chuckling. "'Mercurial'? What, did you get
that off a 'Word of the Day' calendar?"

"Well, yes. Yes, I did. Thank you for proving my point anyway."

"I'm sorry. It's just that... I'm at my wits end. Also..."

"Yeah. You have your plate full, don't you? Kenshin. The Chojin. The
Demon Sword. The Kanji Killer. All sorts of stuff." Botan grabbed hold
of Kurama's forearm and squeezed it encouragingly. "Relax. Everything
will get sorted out in the end... I hope." She then blinked twice in a
row as she sat stock-still. "Okay, what now?"

"If these are the only leads we have, then the best way to test them is
to go by what Kenshin knows. We're dealing with a hitokiri like him,
only this time it's someone who's incredibly insane. I don't think the
'insanity' defense covers why his motives are starkly different from
this other Kanji Killer's purposes for killing. We'll have to check out
the latest Kanji Killer case that's most likely to involve the Udo Jine
whom Kenshin knows."


===


Two weeks after the attack at Genkai's temple, inside the Shinjuku
Police Station during the afternoon...

Presumably, because of the out-of-the-blue kick's strength, Inspector
Masaya Taniguchi lost his sense of priority, respectability, and logic;
that was the only viable explanation why, as soon as he came to his
senses, he picked up his attacker by the scruff of her gi's neck and
shouted, "I DO NOT LOOK LIKE A BULLDOG! Stop calling me Inspector
Bulldog, dammit!" He then silenced the snickers and withheld guffaws of
his three underlings with an ironically canine growl.

"Good afternoon, Inspector Bulldog!" greeted Likka, completely oblivious
to her brother-in-law's superior's protests. "Uncle Jiji has been
monitoring this case from afar even though he hasn't been in the station
as of late. Luckily, he has an assistant on hand to deliver his message
and deduction regarding who the real culprit of this case is."

"You don't say? And I don't suppose this assistant you're talking about
is a cane-wielding, sandy-haired girl with a pageboy haircut that's
about this tall...?" Just as the inspector trailed off, the hand he
placed in midair at the same level as his shoulder chanced upon a
handful of the very tresses he was describing, which incidentally
belonged to the female in question. "We meet again, Shinkai Natsuki-
chan."

"Hello to you too, Inspector. How goes your current case?" the half-
Chinese girl casually greeted as she bowed to Taniguchi first before
bowing several times to all the other people gathered in the
interrogation room.

"My answer depends on one thing only: Is it really any of your business
to know? If this is another one of your harebrained schemes to test out
your amateur sleuthing skills, I swear I'll...!" Taniguchi stopped
short of delivering an hour-long tirade after spotting Likka engage
in.... Kanon-knew-what. "Likka-chan, what the _hell_ are you doing?"

While Inspector Masaya was busy reprimanding Natsuki in regards to her
sudden appearance, Likka went about and introduced herself to the five
quintuplets while asking each their name. She then ushered them to move
to the back of the room in a straight side-by-side line; confused, they
complied to the gi-garbed girl's orders without a second thought.
Afterwards, she asked the names of the four remaining brothers and had
them go to the line in no particular order, from what the inspector
could see.

The eldest, Ippei, was put at the right side of the line, but Akahito,
the fourth son and the third quintuplet, was put in the left side
instead. The inspector, detective, and two officers present couldn't
make heads or tails out of the eccentric girl's police lineup of the
Shimamura brothers. "Ah, we're done! Whew! That was tough work! Thanks
for your cooperation, everyone!"

"What is the meaning of this? I demand to know the reason behind this
farce right now!" Kunihiko Shimamura hollered in vain as his head swung
back and forth his wife, his children, and his lawyers, seemingly
waiting for any of them to step up the plate and give him the
explanation he so desperately needed.

In seeming response to the Shimamura Patriarch's questions, Likka
produced Post-it notes filled with statements scrawled on them. Soon,
realization dawned among those gathered as Detective Matsudaira's
sister-in-law matched the testimonies written on each of the Post-it
notes with their corresponding Shimamura brother. From left to right
came the following lineup:

Akahito: Ennosuke is guilty.

Bunjiro: It was not Ennosuke.

Fumio: Katsuhiko is guilty.

Goemon: It was not Katsuhiko.

Houjo: It was neither Katsuhiko nor I.

Doi: It was either Katsuhiko or Houjo.

Katsuhiko: I did it.

Ennosuke: Bunjiro isn't telling the truth.

Ippei: Houjo is telling the truth. And it wasn't Ennosuke, either.

"Their statements serve as their nametags of sorts while also telling us
who said what at a glace! Yes, this simplifies everything quite nicely!
I was beginning to get all cross-eyed with all these contradicting
testimonies and whatnot," Missus Hikaru Shimamura appraised with a clap
of her hands and a tilt of her head.

Kunihiko harrumphed. "This lineup proves nothing. In fact, I don't
particularly care who the police picks as a suspect, because I know in
my heart that _none_ of my boys are capable of doing what that hussy
alleges them to have done. Not even for a second."

"Besides which, those conclusions of yours are oversimplifying things a
bit too much, little lady," interjected Detective Aiko Tsunemoto. "Had
you been here the whole time, you'd realize that nearly all of the
brothers knew nothing about the crime. They were merely speculating.
Generalization and instant deductions are more your modus operandi than
Matsudaira-kun's."

Ignoring Detective Tsunemoto's condescending remarks, Natsuki disclosed
to Inspector Taniguchi, "I hope you don't mind, but Likka-tan and I
listened in on your last-ditch interrogation all this time, and I
couldn't help but notice that your logic was a bit flawed in regards to
your conclusion that Katsuhiko-kun is the rapist and murderer of
Kishida-shi."

Inspector Taniguchi sighed, but let the Matsudairas' family friend play
junior detective anyway. This was hardly standard operating procedure,
but at the very least, Natsuki assisted Detective Daiji Matsudaira crack
more than one case with her strict application of the Occam's razor
school of thinking. He'd just chalk it up as due help from an amateur
sleuth, if ever headquarters grilled him in regards to the situation.
"Since you're here, what are your thoughts concerning this case? Seeing
your unique take on the police lineup, I'd gather you have plenty in
mind."

"My first question is, why was Oogata-shi considered such a trustworthy
witness in the first place? Yes, he was the ex-boyfriend of the victim,
but why was he deemed an important eyewitness anyway?" Natsuki queried
as her sparkling eyes glinted with feline inquisitiveness.

"He was able to describe to us details concerning the murder that we
haven't released to the public or even to the families concerned as of
yet. He also has a criminal record, although it was more in terms of
petty theft and miscellaneous misdemeanors than anything major. He knew
so much that we had him pegged as the prime suspect or an accomplice
until his untimely demise at what we believe to be the hands of the
genuine Kanji Killer," the inspector revealed, which elicited gasps of
protest from two of his three subordinates.

"You shouldn't be revealing sensitive information about this case to a
teenaged civilian, Inspector! You and I both know that she isn't here
to deliver any message from our MIA star detective, so she really has
no connection to this case other than her vested interest in hunting
down the Kanji Killer, as usual," interrupted Officer Shigetaka Uye
while adjusting his tie and raising an indignant eyebrow at Miss
Shinkai.

"Besides, our logic isn't flawed at all. Everything checks out. The perp
confessed, his motives are crystal clear, we have some of his brothers
corroborating his story somewhat, and it goes in line with what Oogata-
shi confessed: Only three of the brothers are telling the truth, and I
can count three brothers who are accusing Shimamura Katsuhiko of doing
that crime. That little stunt with the police lineup only further proves
my arguments."

Natsuki stifled a laugh before batting her eyelashes at the pudgy and
pale Shigetaka. "Is that so, Officer Uye? Then maybe you can point out
the three people in the lineup who are telling the truth. I assure you,
there are more than just three of them," she said as she exchanged
knowing grins with Likka.

Officer Uye inwardly counted to ten as an annoying memory of Natsuki
unraveling an earlier deduction of his surfaced in his mind. "You're not
playing semantics with me again, are you? This isn't a school debate.
We're here to work, little girl."

Natsuki shook her head. "Nope. I'm just here to uncover the truth, just
like everyone else here."

Shigetaka wiped his sweaty brow. "Fine. You can see the three plain as
day in the lineup anyway. There's Fumio-kun, Doi-kun, and the suspect
himself declaring that Katsuhiko-kun is guilty of murdering, perhaps
raping Kishida-shi."

Natsuki shook her head again. "You're wrong. You're missing one more
person."

Ignoring the dread in the pit of his stomach, Officer Shigetaka
blustered, "What are you talking about? Those are the only three who
claimed that Katsuhiko-kun is the guilty party. There are no other
people claiming that."

"You forgot Bunjiro-kun. He says that it wasn't Ennosuke-kun who did it.
If it's true that Katsuhiko-kun was the one who did it, then what
Bunjiro-kun said is also true. Therefore, there are more than three
people who are telling the truth at the time."

Unseen by the others, the true suspect behind the two crimes felt cold
sweat run down his neck for the first time since this interrogation
began. Meanwhile, the rest of the gathered people took an entire second
to let Natsuki's words sink in before a collective exhale of realization
echoed inside the interrogation room.

"You _are_ playing the semantics card again! Do you really think that it
matters that Bunjiro-kun told the truth when there are three people who
are plainly accusing Katsuhiko-kun of the crime? This doesn't in any way
absolve Katsuhiko-kun of being a suspect in the least! Besides, how can
a moronic, out-of-school ronin like Oogata-shi be able to tell at a
glance that it was only three people who are telling the truth? What if
the idiot missed a guy?" Officer Uye rationalized defensively, unwilling
to accept the reasoning behind Natsuki's conclusion.

Calmly, Natsuki replied, "You'd be wrong again, Officer Uye. Had Oogata-
shi made a mistake on his claims, then his planned blackmail against the
Shimamura family for his silence would've failed. He knew exactly what
he was doing. He claimed that there were only three brothers telling the
truth. Your theory is in direct contradiction to his assertion that only
three of the Shimamura brothers offered the most accurate testimonies.
It doesn't add up."

"STOP NITPICKING! Oogata-shi isn't a reliable witness, and the fact that
there are more than three people corroborating that Katsuhiko-kun is the
killer only means that he's the likeliest suspect of them all! Screw
Oogata-shi's lies! This is a police investigation, not a crossword
puzzle!"

Katsuhiko was about to speak in his defense... or perhaps more
accurately, in his condemnation... when a female outburst killed his
intended reiteration of his testimony right inside his throat.

"What do you mean he isn't a reliable witness? My lawyer and I looked
high and low to find him, and I even had to settle for letting the
potential accomplice to my sister's murder go scot-free in order to have
the asshole who's really responsible for this nightmare end up behind
bars! Don't you dare imply that our witness wasn't credible because you
want to win a pissing contest with this Natsuki girl!" Katsumi Kishida
exploded, which instantly silenced the barely coherent protests of the
incredulous officer.

Inspector Taniguchi intervened just in time to stop the brewing argument
between Officer Shigetaka and the victim's sister from escalating.
"Natsuki-chan's right, Uye-kun; at least in terms of Oogata-shi's
testimony, she's correct. If it were Katsuhiko-kun who did it, then
there would have been more than three people who are telling the truth."
In the background, a trembling, teary-eyed Katsumi was being comforted
by her concerned lawyer.

"Ah, so is _that_ the message that Matsudaira-kun wants to share? That
we made the wrong deduction and this case was some sort of simple logic
test? How quaint," Detective Aiko cooed in a manner wherein Natsuki
couldn't tell whether she was being sarcastic or not. "If that's the
case, then I guess I was correct the first time in thinking that the
murderer was somebody other than Katsuhiko-kun based on the testimony of
Oogata-shi."

"It depends on who you think is the one who did it," replied Natsuki
sweetly, figuring that regardless of whether Tsunemoto was correct or
not, at least they would still be closer to the truth.

"I'll give you a hint, though. Likka-tan and I placed the brothers
together in a line so that the ones with contradicting statements are
beside each other. To wit, Akahito-kun and Bunjiro-kun are debating
whether Ennosuke-kun is the guilty party. Ignoring Katsuhiko-kun's
confession, Fumio-kun and Goemon-kun are the only ones arguing whether
Katsuhiko-kun did it. Finally, Doi-kun and Houjo-kun are disputing
whether Katsuhiko-kun or Houjo-kun did it or not. If any one of a pair
of contradicting statements are deemed untrue, then the remaining one
will automatically be true."

Aiko tossed her hair and put her hands over her hips. "_Well_, unlike
you who treats people as if they're numbers from an equation you need to
solve, true crime investigation requires the establishment of _motive_
and _opportunity_ in order to catch the bad guy. Let's recap, shall we?
Stop me if you've already heard this."

The detective got out of the room, rifled through her desk, picked up a
folder, and got back in while everybody else waited uneasily for her
take on the case.

She opened her document on hand and orated, "On March 2, Monday, about
fifteen days ago, the body of Kishida Miki-shi was found by metal
scrappers clearing out an abandoned factory. She was declared a victim
of the Kanji Killer because of the markings on her body. According to
the autopsy report, she'd been dead for about one and a half to two
days, judging by the dissipating rigor mortis of the corpse and signs of
bloating."

Natsuki frowned at Detective Tsunemoto as Katsumi flinched away at the
clinical description of Miki's dead body. "Is there any particular point
you want to arrive at, Detective? I don't think it's necessary to go all
the way back, especially in front of the victim's next-of-kin."

"I'm getting there, little lady. Hold your horses. I'm giving you all
the facts of this case because I don't think you're aware of the whole
story," the detective snapped, the wheels in her head turning as
Natsuki's deduction perfectly coincided with her own suspicions.

"On March 5, about twelve days ago, Kishida Katsumi-san came forward and
testified against the quintuplets, alleging that one of them had been
courting her sister to the point of stalking her, which we later found
out was Ennosuke-kun."

"Wait a minute, Tsunemoto-san! You can't seriously be suggesting...?"
Officer Uye griped yet again because of how dead-set he was at ending
the case and arresting the one person who directly confessed to his
supposed crimes from the beginning. 'This is an open and shut case!'
However, he shrunk back as Aiko raised her voice and insisted on
continuing her deduction.

"Katsumi-san also alleges that her sister may have been raped on
Valentines Day, which could've been anyone of the quintuplets, but some
people have clearer motivations than others. The time of Kishida-shi's
death is roughly around Sunday, February 28 of last month. On that day,
the whereabouts of all five of the quintuplets were unaccounted for.
None of their alibis could be corroborated by any witnesses, so they
were all placed in police custody as possible suspects. Naturally,
because they were delinquents, their true identities were withheld from
the media.

"At first, the quintuplets were discouraged to speak at the behest of
their lawyers. However, a weekend after their initial contact with
law enforcement, on March 8, they along with their other brothers came
forward and released separate yet conflicting testimonies that muddled
the investigation even further. Among the nine brothers, Katsuhiko-kun
was the only one who outright confessed to the crime, and he probably
would have been the one tried for the crime had it not been for the
appearance and testimony of Oogata-shi a week ago on March 11,
Thursday."

It was at that point that Natsuki ceased feeling impatient over
Detective Tsunemoto's pompous attempts at showing off and began
listening to the policewoman's recap of events and establishment of
the crime's timeline thus far.

"However, even though he was established as a possible accomplice and a
_credible_ witness due to his knowledge that corroborated what we knew
about Kishida-shi's murder so far, he had a change of heart and decided
to delay giving his testimony on a later date. We have suspicions
regarding just _why_ he delayed his testimony," came Detective Aiko's
syrupy drawl as she chortled at the assembled Shimamura lawyers, "but
the bottom line here is that he refused to testify any further save for
indicating that only three of the nine statements from the Shimamura
brothers were true as a sort of warning to the true perpetrator behind
this gruesome crime.

"Unfortunately, as everyone in Tokyo knows by now, Oogata-shi was
eventually killed by the real Kanji Killer on March 13, Saturday;
although the killer used the 'Hon' character when carving up his victim,
his expertise in cutting down Oogata-shi even while under the watchful
eye of our very own Officer Hamada proves that this was a job done by
someone other than Kishida-shi's amateurish murderer. We were left at
an impasse of sorts that moment since.

"On one hand, we have Oogata-shi's testimony stating that only three of
the brothers are telling the truth. On the other hand, our SOP dictates
that we should establish motive and opportunity first and foremost
before making our conclusions. Also, as Matsudaira-kun's little helper
exposed, Oogata-shi's testimony doesn't quite mesh with the theory that
Katsuhiko-kun is the perp. The only answer that makes sense from
both perspectives is that it's Shimamura Ennosuke-kun who truly raped
and killed Kishida-shi."

"Now hold on just a minute! What made you think that? I don't know about
Katsuhiko-niichan, but there's no way Ennosuke-niichan would've harmed
Kishida-neechan! He wouldn't hurt a fly!" Bunjiro all but cried.

"But you yourself admitted that it looks bad for Ennosuke-kun, correct?
At first, I didn't think much about Ennosuke-kun's puppy-love crush of
Kishida-shi, especially when his own brother Ippei-kun vouched that he
was still a virgin who no never had close contact with girls up until
his attempts at courtship with Kishida-shi. Then again, Akahito-kun's
testimony and, come to think of it, Ennosuke-kun's passive-aggressive
confession when he said that Bunjiro-kun was lying sealed the deal for
me," Tsunemoto countered.

"Remember, he didn't even know that I was going to say that he's not the
one who did it! For all he knew, I might've said that he did it or
Katsuhiko-niichan did it, and he'll still stay say I lied! You shouldn't
take what he said seriously! Come on!" Bunjiro insisted.

"It doesn't matter. It checks out with what Oogata-shi testified. When
he read your testimonies, the reasons behind them were irrelevant;
Oogata-shi still took note that only three of you were telling the
truth regardless. Ennosuke-kun is the most likely suspect in terms of
both the testimonies and motivation behind the crime."


===


To be Continued...

Next: The solution to the mystery.

Disclaimer: Yuyu Hakusho is the rightful property of Yoshihiro
Togashi, Shueisha, Fuji TV, and St. Pierrot. Rurouni Kenshin is
the rightful property of Nobuhiro Watsuki and Sony. This
disclaimer also covers all the other copyrighted material that
are far too many to mention here. Don't sue me please, I'm very
poor.

We're off to find our dreams,
Abdiel