[FFML] [yyh][rk][xover] Demon Sword Chapter 40: Red Rose in the Darkness (Part 8)

[Abdiel]

At nighttime; in an abandoned factory somewhere in the Adachi District
in the Fukushima Prefecture...

Jine Udo (or, as he was currently known, Takumi Hamada) had no leverage
against Kurama (or, as he was currently known, Shuichi Minamino).

Thanks to the knowledge that the Demon Sword imbued the youko regarding
Kenshin's own experience against "Kurogasa" (yet another alias of Jine),
the redhead was aware of Udo's modus operandi.

In particular, Himura's memories of Kaoru Kamiya getting kidnapped and
used for bait was circling in the depths of Kurama's psyche thanks to
the mind-melding powers of the Youtou Shinnoken.

As such, Kurama took great pains to make sure every last one of his
loved ones were out of Jine's reach. A parasitic demon was put inside
the body of Shuichi Hatenaka (Kurama's stepbrother) in order to control
him and keep him away from harm.

As for the parents, the Hatenakas, Jine couldn't even touch them thanks
to all the bounty hunters and Yomi's personal guards out to get him and
his jagan.

For once, the odds were stacked against Udo, and the rest of the Shin
Ju were in the wings, waiting to see him succeed or fail in his
endeavors.

At least, that was the case until Yaminade Itsuki gave him an important
tip that was connected to Kurama's past. The fox had one more weak point
that even he himself, the master schemer, had failed to take into
account.

"Here we are."

Back when Kurama's human vessel, Shuichi Minamino, was a mere middle
school student, he was involved in an incident of sorts dealing a man-
eating (and cannibalistic) demon known as Yatsude and his mucous-like
underling known as Hedoki.

This was when Kurama first met Jaganshi Hiei, a Demon World bandit who
was also known as the Forbidden Child of the Koorime, now the right-hand
man of one of the former Three Kings, Mukuro. This was also during the
time when both Hiei and Kurama were still C-Level demons.

From what "Officer Hamada" could gather, Kurama fought and defeated
Hedoki previously, who then teamed up with Yatsude. The latter proved
his mettle by injuring Hiei (although this was during the time when the
jaganshi's original A-Class powers were weakened in order to get his own
artificial evil eye).

And now he was able to track down this sludge youkai in a decrepit
building within the Adachi District. It was a creature who knew an
important secret of Kurama's that Udo was dying to find out.

"Hedoki, I presume?" asked the rogue police officer at the sentient
puddle that oozed before him.

"AH! Who the hell are you? A human...? You're one of those _policemen_,
aren't you? You fool! You're no match against the Inimitable Hedoki!"

"I heard you were eaten by Yatsude, yet here you are. Still alive. As
expected of a slime demon. Did you crawl out of your boss's bowels after
Hiei and Kurama eviscerated him?"

"IMPUDENT HUMAN! I'LL KILL YOU!"

The sentient pile of slush had similar powers to Kara, the tapeworm
demon, in that he could go into contact of a human and control his body
like a puppet master. He tried the same trick on Hamada, only to realize
too late that he wasn't dealing with an ordinary human, but a Class-A
serial killer that could give even S-Levels a run for their money.

The cat and mouse game quickly ensued. The Kanji Killer was on the prowl
once more. It ended as soon as it started, with the grimy, phlegm-like
youkai pinned to the ground with Jine's uchigatana.

"W-What do you want from me? If you want to take over this territory,
I'll gladly give in, just please don't hurt me!" begged Hedoki.

Udo harrumphed. 'What's with Class-C demons and their 'territories'?
What a joke.' To Hedoki, the serial-killing policeman asked, "Tell me
everything you know about Kurama."

"K-Kurama? I haven't heard that name in years! Who the hell are you?"

"Speak, if you want to live for another day."

Hedoki proceeded to tell Jine everything that the latter already knew.
Almost everything. The blob monster mentioned something that even Itsuki
didn't know about.

The toothy, ivory-like smile of Jine shone in the darkness. "So Kurama
was able to rescue a girl from Yatsude. Let's pay her a visit and see if
she's worth anything."

A girl. A girl was involved during the incident where Kurama and Hiei
were forced to double-team a particularly powerful foe. And her name
was...

"I've finally found my leverage," concluded a cackling Kanji Killer
before he created the "Hei" kanji right out of Hedoki's very own ichor,
slush, and demonic viscera.


========================================================================


Demon Sword
A Yuyu Hakusho/Rurouni Kenshin Crossover Fan Fiction Story
By Chester Castañeda
chester.castaneda at gmail.com
gabriel_gabdiel at yahoo.com
http://www.fanfiction.net/u/223441/
Original concept by Chad Yang
chadjill at ms3.hinet.net
http://www.fanfiction.net/u/56473/

A guide on how to out-scheme the schemer.


========================================================================

Chapter 40: Red Rose in the Darkness (Part 8)

========================================================================


Earlier that day, back in the Shinjuku Police Department...

"Matsudaira-kun, there's someone who wants to see you at the parking
lot," greeted Detective-Specialist Aiko Tsunemoto with a wave of her
hand as she beckoned the ever-busy, coffee-drinking, tall, blue-eyed,
and increasingly muscular Daiji Matsudaira over.

'Huh. He's been working out more and more at the gym, and it's showing,'
appraised the policewoman. 'Looking good, but I wonder what made him
decide to suddenly become a bodybuilder in the first place. Could it be
his botched attempt to arrest the Kanji Killer?'

"Okay. Who is it?" asked detective-investigator as he took a sip of
coffee from his Styrofoam cup, his confrontation with the _other_ Kanji
Killer (Udo Jine instead of Feng Xinhai) at the forefront of his mind.

The detective-specialist said as she sat down on her chair and plopped
down her stack of files on her desk, "It's Officer Hamada."

Matsudaira froze in mid-step. "I beg your pardon, Tsunemoto-kun?"
Unnoticed by Aiko, Daiji had emptied his cup of coffee with one swig and
crumpled the disposable container in his hands.

"Hamada-kun wants to talk to you. He just got out of the hospital after
the Kanji Killer blindsided him back in that Quintuplet Murder Case
you solved last month," explained Tsunemoto further without looking up
from her desk, her eyes focused on the paperwork before her.

"Maybe he has some important tips about that Kanji Killer case you've
been working on since forever. What do you think, Matsu...?" By the time
Aiko had looked up, Daiji had already stormed off while putting on his
signature trench coat. 'Huh. Well, that was rude.'


===


Instead of verbal greetings, Daiji and Takumi wordlessly crossed blades
at the parking lot, wakizashi clanging against kodachi at speeds the
naked eye could not follow.

In a flash, underneath the shadows of the skyscraping monoliths of
Shinjuku, Officer Hamada countered Detective-Investigator Matsudaira's
one-bladed Kaiten Kenbu with the full "Hei" character kata of Nikaido
Heiho... or rather, the reincarnation of Jine did so against the
reincarnation of Aoshi.

"Good morning to you too, Detective. I'd say long time no see, but
that's not actually the case, is it? We've been crossing blades quite
often in the past few weeks."

To himself, Hamada noted, 'Even though he'd suffered the wrath of my
Jagan, he isn't wary or hesitant to attack at all. As expected of the
ice-cold killer formerly known as Shinomori Aoshi.'

"Hamada-kun. Or rather, the Kanji Killer. What do you want from me?"

"You've grown strong since the last time we met. I'm guessing you've
strengthened that weak human body of yours so that it could finally keep
up with the physically taxing techniques of the Last Okashira of the
Oniwabanshu."

The Aoshi reincarnate narrowed his eyes. He took out his gun and started
firing at his former subordinate while throwing multiple kodachi at him.
This was his way of saying, 'I've learned a couple of new tricks that
even my past self was not aware of.'

As Jine dodged, unsheathed his uchigatana, and again crossed blades with
the taller Daiji by keeping the shinobi's Onmyou Kousa technique from
penetrating his defenses, he spoke.

"How is Ikumi Likka-ojousan doing? The second-to-the-last time I saw her
was during the Quintuplet Murder Case. Have you been taking good care of
her?" asked Hamada in a casual tone.

Without missing a beat, Matsudaira did a Ryusui no Ugoki (his Flowing
Water Movement technique that makes him shift into varying speeds with
afterimages and whatnot) and attacked Jine using the Jissen Kenbu (his
one-sword style that almost defeated Battousai once upon a time) with
impunity.

Udo grinned and laughed like a maniac as he dodged a roundhouse kick; it
was his signature guffaw. "Do you know where she is right now, Mister
Brother-in-Law?"

At last, Daiji spoke. "What are you implying?"

"It would be a shame if she somehow ended up in a dire predicament or
something, and you weren't there to rescue her. That's almost worse than
what happened when you failed to rescue your wife from the hands of my
copycat, Xinhai, even though she was right there in front of you."

With boundless rage, the detective went from using the Jissen Kenbu to
the Kaiten Kenbu to the Kaiten Kenbu Rokuren in mere milliseconds, which
resulted in a blood bath and a scourged Hamada.

However, the Kanji Killer was able to give as much as he took by
slashing at Daiji simultaneously and finishing his combination attack
off with a front-to-back cross slash.

Also, instead of screaming in pain, Udo instead cried in ecstasy, which
gave even the angry Matsudaira pause. Still chortling, the unperturbed
yet bleeding Jine warned as the injured Daiji started to deliver the
finishing blow: "I have bigger things to worry about if I were you."

Even though his blades were drawn, Hamada didn't even bother blocking
Matsudaira's short sword as the detective leveled one of his kodachi at
the serial killer's throat.

"Where is she?"

"Who?"

"Ikumi Likka. What have you done to her?"

"I can honestly say I have done nothing to harm her. I've merely opened
her eyes to the truth. However, I'm sure she's more than a bit
disappointed in you."

"What do you mean?"

With that glaring grin of his, Jine moved his face closer to Aoshi after
he sheathed both his swords, grabbed hold of the kodachi pressed on his
neck, and moved it away.

"Why didn't you inform her that she is the reincarnation of Makimachi
Misao, the daughter of the former Okashira of the Oniwabanshu? Surely,
after you've awakened your memories of the past, you recognized her
immediately, right? I mean, according to her, she looks exactly as she
did a hundred years ago!"

Instead of slashing him apart, Daiji punched Takumi's self-assured,
mocking face, breaking his nose. "Where is she?" his voice, in
comparison to his actions, was in a calm, serene monotone. "What have
you done to her?"

The Kanji Killer's mirth merely increased even as the next punch led him
to smash a windshield with his face before he ended up sprawled on all
fours on the ground.

"You're a detective, aren't you? And her own brother-in-law, at that.
You should be able to figure out things on your own."

Matsudaira froze as he heard those words. With his fist cocked back,
Daiji kept his temper from boiling over long enough to consider Jine's
statement. "You're not using your Jagan on me."

"What of it? I could use it anytime I want. I don't need it right now."

"Yes, but it could also mean you can't use it right now, even though
you're implying that you could."

The present form of Shinomori sheathed his blades. "You must have used
it on Likka-san. Except this time around, you did more than give her
temporary nightmares. You've made her remember her past self somehow,
which depleted all your powers."

Jine applauded the Aoshi reincarnation then and there. "Bravo. As
expected of one of Shinjuku's finest. However, time is running out. If
I were you, I'd be less of an armchair detective and do more fieldwork
to find your potentially missing sister-in-law."

"You're only doing this so that I won't get in your way when you target
Kurama."

"Ah. Another brilliant deduction. You're on a roll, Detective
Matsudaira." With that said, Office Hamada walked off with not another
word spoken to Daiji.

The trench-coated detective elected to not follow him, since he truly
did have more pressing matters to attend to.


===


Back in the Minamino-Hatenaka Residence the next day, during the
afternoon...

Kurama was back at home, awoken from a dream as he heard insistent
knocking on his door.

The dream he had wasn't as abstract or symbolic as the one involving
mirrors and an amalgamated version of himself and the youko. Instead, it
was more of... a past memory.

He remembered how he first met Hiei. Back before he knew the fire demon,
Kurama was a Class-C demon (who used to be Class-S) under the guise of a
middle school human student named Shuichi Minamino.

Incidentally, according to folklore, kitsune like the youko were
capable of assuming human form or even possessing the bodies of humans
(also known as kitsune-tsuki or the state of being possessed by a fox),
like in Kurama's case with the 'ningen' known as Shuichi.

He had a classmate back in middle school by the name of Maya Kitajima.
She was someone whom he heard rumors of having a crush on him. She also
never left her side. They were the best of friends at the time.

However, thanks to her exposure to him, her Rei-Kan or spirit sense (the
same spirit sense that Kazuma Kuwabara had) became fully developed
enough to discern spirits and demons.

At any rate, an old enemy of Kurama's... Hedoki... was out for revenge,
and he had a new partner around. And Maya saw him while he was
threatening the redhead.

Maya subsequently confessed her love for Kurama, which bothered the boy.
The half-youko tried his best to not involve his classmate in his
dangerous life (which included dumping her immediately after her love
confession), only for him to be attacked by the (at-the-time) Class-C
Hiei, whom he fought off using the Tsukeyaki Blade.

They eventually stopped fighting after they discovered that they had a
common enemy: Hedoki's boss, Yatsude. Hiei was already injured by the
many-armed human and demon eater when he fought Kurama, and the latter
noticed.

The jaganshi was after Yatsude because of rumors that the cannibalistic
youkai ate an ice maiden (which could've been Yukina). Minamino
proceeded to heal the fire demon bandit using the power of Makai herbs,
thus solidifying their alliance.

Later on, the pair found out that Maya was kidnapped and used as bait
by Yatsude so that the youkai could finish both of them off. They
agreed to fight as partners and through their teamwork, they were able
to bring the evil monster down.

Maya was thankfully unhurt, but in order for Kurama to protect her in
the future, he decided to use the pollen from the Infinity Flower to
erase all her memories of the event, including her love for him. He had
to be cruel to be kind.

Incidentally, the Infinity Flower's pollen was the tangible, Makai
equivalent of the Spirit World's amnesia-inducing lotus blossoms. Both
plants were capable of making the person who consumed them forget parts
of their memory.

'Why am I remembering these memories now out of all times? Was this like
the ironic dream I had about the youko that served as a warning to what
would happen if I wielded the Demon Sword?' Kurama wondered. Could his
dream be another premonition of things to come?

He then heard the doorbell to his house ring. Thanks to Jine's constant
stalking, he elected to stay around the Hatenaka residence more often
than usual in order to monitor the threat posed by the Kanji Killer.

According to Kenshin's memories, Udo was the kind of mass-murdering
psychopath who was more than willing to involve civilians in order to
get the battles that he wanted.

What time was it? What date was it? He checked his alarm clock. It was
around Thursday, four o'clock in the afternoon. He was up all morning
waiting for news regarding the Kanji Killer. It looked like Jine had
finally given up, but Kurama knew better.

Half-asleep, he went downstairs and answered the door.

"Ah. Good afternoon, Shuichi-sempai."

Natsuki Shinkai greeted Kurama from the other side of the doorway, her
costumed friend Likka Ikumi (who was this time garbed in short shorts
and a purple kunoichi ensemble that seemed like a perfect fit for her
somehow) in tow.

"I'm sorry to bother you."

"Good afternoon, Natsuki. Likka. What brings you two here?" asked
"Shuichi" with a smile. The half-Taiwanese, half-Japanese girl still
called him by his human name even though he'd proven time and again that
he wasn't really human.

Natsuki turned towards Likka and nudged her in the ribs, hissing, "This
was your idea. Talk to him, Likka-tan!"

"Eeeh? But you're closer friends with him than I am, Tsuki-chan!"

From behind them, another voice asked, "Um, is he really Minamino-kun?
Can you prove that it's him?"

Kurama stiffened. 'Why does that voice sound so familiar?'

Likka crossed her arms and nodded solemnly. "You're right. We have to
prove that this is Minamino-kun or Shuichi-sempai or... Kurama, right?"

"Uh, Likka-tan, what are you...?" Natsuki began, only to have her jaw
drop as her best friend jumped towards the demon disguised as a human
and delivered a flying kick at the back of the youth's head.

"KECHO GIRI!"

Kurama blocked the kick with his forearm, but the shinobi-costumed
schoolgirl wasn't done quite yet, delivering a series of punches and
kicks at the taller boy with impressive acrobatic finesse that even the
young Shinkai had never seen before from Likka.

"L-LIKKA-TAN?" Natsuki had the same look she had when she first fought
the Kanji Killer and discovered that he had supernatural powers; she
had eyes that screamed, 'This isn't happening! No way!'

Kurama pushed the girl back and leaped backwards (deploying his usual
"Wait and see" tactics) when Likka chose that very instant to produce
several ninja daggers from her belt and threw them all at once at the
recovering redhead.

"KANSATSU TOBI KUNAI!"

"W-Where'd you get those knives? Those are dangerous! Stop playing
around!" screamed Natsuki as she herself prepared her cane,
contemplating whether or not to jump into the fray.

It was at that point that Kurama summoned the Rose Whip, which allowed
him to deflect the incoming projectiles with one swipe and have them
clatter harmlessly on the ground.

Likka gave Kurama a peace sign and a wink before turning back towards
the doorway and asking, "Is that proof enough for you, Maya-chan?"

Surely enough, from behind the flabbergasted, panicking Natsuki stood an
older, longer-haired version of Shuichi's middle school classmate, Maya
Kitajima (she used to be bun-haired).

Maya answered back, "Yes. This is definitely the Minamino-kun I knew.
Thank you, Likka-tan," before bowing.

She then turned towards the pale-faced Kurama and said, "It's been a
long time, Minamino-kun. Your hair has grown long since the last time we
met. It looks good on you."

It took a minute for "Minamino" to regain his composure.

"I like your new hairdo too, Kitajima," said Kurama as he himself bowed.
"It has truly been a while, isn't it?"


===


"I'm really sorry, Tsuki-chan! Maya-chan is actually one of my _other
friends_ I didn't talk to you about, and I had somehow blabbed to her
about your friend, Minamino Shuichi! She said she had something
important to tell him, so I brought her here. Please don't be mad!"

The kunoichi-cosplaying Likka Ikumi prostrated herself in front of
Natsuki Shinkai while they sat on the couch with Maya Kitajima.
Meanwhile, Shuichi "Kurama" Minamino was in the kitchen, getting them
some bottled tea drinks.

"Eeeh? S-She's Shuichi-sempai's old friend...?" trailed off Natsuki as
she bit her thumb and twiddled her cane. She still couldn't wrap her
head around what just happened.

"And former classmate, actually," added Likka with a happy-go-lucky
smile. This only made Shinkai worry even more.

'Something smells fishy.' Natsuki thought before asking, "Where'd you
learn all those moves? They were amazing. Since when were you so
athletic, Likka-tan?"

Likka scoffed, "Every cosplayer knows that to be a true master of the
art of cosplaying, you need to be one with the character you're
imitating. It's the same with acting. They even have a term for it:
Method acting. So what I'm doing is method cosplaying, you knucklehead!"

"Knucklehead?"

Ikumi waved the tomboyish insult off. "I mean, stop being a silly
goose!" she said while Shinkai herself narrowed her eyes.

To Natsuki's point of view, her friend was acting too course and crude
for her taste. The half-Japanese girl was supposed to be the tomboy of
the pair, not Likka.

"But why did you attack Shuichi-sempai?" Natsuki insisted, her lips a
thin, grim line on her face.

She wasn't buying a word that Likka was saying. She was also suspicious
of the fact that Daiji's precious sister-in-law didn't attend classes at
Yamabuki High yesterday and today (she usually had perfect attendance),
only appearing before her earlier long after classes were over.

Maya raised her hand. "Actually, that's my fault. I've recently regained
my memory, and I remember Minamino-kun talking to demons and having
supernatural powers. I... kind of told her to prove to me that this is
the same Minamino-kun."

"Y-You know about Shuichi-sempai having supernatural powers?" Shinkai
reiterated. She herself took sometime to accept the fact that Minamino
was actually a thousand-year-old fox demon, so how come this girl
accepted this reality right away?

Kitajima primly nodded. "I've probably known Minamino-kun the longest
among all of you. I'd like to think I was the first one to discover his
special talents."

Her back against the wall, Natsuki protested, "B-But for Likka-tan to
attack him is still a bit..."

As Kurama offered drinks to his guests, he told Natsuki, "I didn't feel
threatened by Likka at all. I didn't detect any malicious intent from
your friend."

Likka pouted. "Not even a little bit threatened?" and Kurama had no
answer for that except, "Uh, no. Great costume, though."

Ikumi grinned, stood up, and did a little ballerina pirouette. "Yup!
This one's my favorite! I feel more like myself when I'm wearing this,
strangely enough."

Shinkai sighed but dropped the issue at last. "If you're that happy and
carefree, how can I stay mad at you?"

Kurama's verdant eyes scanned the room as it took stock of the situation
before settling on the prim-and-proper form of his former middle school
classmate, Maya: The girl whose memories of him he robbed for her own
sake and safety.

What was she doing there? Why did she remember him? Actually, he already
had his suspicions regarding why this was happening, but he wanted to
hear the truth straight from Maya's mouth.

"Kitajima, what are you doing here? Is there something you need from
me?"

With her eyes closed and her voice wistful, Maya recited, "Ever since I
met you for the first time, I knew that you were somehow different from
the others. I've always waited, searching for a person with that kind of
power, and I've found him!"

Kurama didn't move a muscle as he maintained a pokerfaced expression all
throughout the exchange.

Both Natsuki and Likka had this peevish look on their faces. The former
whispered, "S-Should we even be bothering them? I think we should go.
They're having such a personal talk..."

Ikumi insisted, "Don't be such a worrywart, Tsuki-chan!"

Maya continued. "What's more, it happens to be the person I'm in love
with. How dramatic! Like a scene from a movie..."

Natsuki had to cover Likka's mouth in order to keep the diminutive,
excitable girl from making a delighted "squeeing" sound after hearing
Kitajima's bold love confession.

Minamino cleared his throat. He remembered those words. In fact, these
were the exact same words Maya told him when she first confessed her
love for him.

The fact that she was emboldened enough to do it in front of an audience
stunned him while making him suspicious at the same time.

"Kitajima, I..."

"Are you going to give me the same answer you did about five years ago?"
Maya asked without looking at Kurama.

This made Shuichi wince. If memory served him correctly, he dumped his
childhood friend as soon as she confessed her feelings for him. For her
own good, obviously.

Blushing bright red, Natsuki bowed at Kurama and Maya, grabbed hold of
the squeaking Likka's dainty hand, and declared, "It looks like you two
have much to talk about. We'll take our leave now, Shuichi-sempai.
Kitajima-san."

"Aw, Tsuki-chan! Things are just getting good!" complained Likka
halfheartedly as she tugged at Shinkai's sleeve, but she still followed
suit, bowed at the pair, and left along with Natsuki.

After a minute or two of silence, Maya broke the ice.

"So who is that girl to you anyway?"

"Hmmm?"

"The one named Natsuki. Who is she in your life?"

"Uh, she's a friend. I only met her a month ago."

"She seemed awfully familiar with you for someone you met recently. She
even gets to call you on a first-name basis."

"Er..."

Maya took another sip of her ice tea bottle then continued. "Meanwhile,
you get to call her Natsuki. Even her friend, Likka-tan, you get to call
Likka."

"W-ell, it's either that or 'Likka-tan', and the other name is a bit too
excessive for me to say."

With a pout, Maya suggested, "I want to call you Shuichi too, since I've
known you longer."

Kurama's lips curved upward. "I don't mind. That's not my real name,
though."

"So what is your real name then, Minamino Shuichi-kun?"

"Kurama. Kurama is my real name," said the redhead with a chagrined
smile. "Which name would you like to call me?"

"I don't mind either way." Kitajima nodded to herself as she smoothened
out her clothes "Then how about this? You can call me Maya, and I can
call you Kurama. At least then, that would give me a leg up on those two
other girls you claim to have recently met."

Kurama raised his arms in surrender. "Fine, fine. Then that's what we'll
do... Maya."

Kitajima blushed upon hearing Minamino call her on a first-name basis.
She then cleared her throat and changed the subject.

"That's quite an unusual name, though. Even after graduating from high
school, you still have childish delusions of grandeur by having a
second identity?" chided Maya.

Minamino chuckled in spite of himself. "I guess you could say that. It
would've been easier if being a youko in the guise of a human was
nothing more than my childhood fantasies."

"Wow. Really? So that's how you were able to rescue me twice from those
monsters! You're actually a kitsune yourself!" cheered Kitajima with her
hands clasped and her eyes shining.

The first time Shuichi rescued Maya, it was through a misunderstanding.
Hiei attacked the redhead, thinking he was in league with the demon he
thought might've killed Yukina.

"So you believe that I'm actually a millennium-old youko?"

"Kurama, I saw you turn a leaf into a sword. It's either you really are
a fox demon, or I might be sharing your delusions myself."

It had been a while, but he did remember doing something like that. What
was a distant memory to him might've seemed like something that happened
just yesterday to her.

She then dropped her bombshell. "D-Do you mind me having a crush on you
after all this time, K-Kurama?"

After a slight pause, Shuichi shrugged and said, "It couldn't be helped,
I guess."

A pensive, quiet Maya looked down on the table. "And your answer to it
is still the same?"

Minamino searched for the right words to say. "You do realize _why_ I
made you forget about the incident in the first place, right?"

Kitajima giggled. "Knowing you, Mister Knight in Shining Armor, the
reason might have something to do with you thinking that it's too
dangerous for me to get involved with you, so it's best that I forget
about you instead."

"So you do understand."

"But it's not fair! You've had people... your family and friends... that
you've been protecting all this time, yet you wouldn't even allow me to
get close to you. Why is that?"

Shuichi contemplated Maya's words. "I can only protect so many people at
any given time. In the case of my mother and her new family, they don't
really have a choice in regards to being involved with me. You do. You
don't _have_ to be involved with me and you'll live a happier life never
knowing me."

"As expected of Minamino-kun," Maya said, forgetting their deal to call
each other by their "real" names. "However, you've kind of hurt my
feelings by robbing me of my memories without my permission."

Kurama frowned. "I had no choice. You were almost killed by Yatsude. I'd
be damned if I let you go through such a thing again. Like I said,
there's no reason for you to be involved in my sort of life."

"But you didn't give me that choice!" Maya cried. "This love that I've
nurtured ever since I've met you was taken away from me by the very
person I'm in love with, and I'm supposed to be happy about it? Please
say it isn't so!"

"Maya, it's not like that..."

"I'm sorry for falling in love with you. E-Even if it is unrequited, will
you still let me love you?" a teary-eyed Kitajima blubbered.

"You don't understand. My enemies would do horrible things to you if
you associate with me more than necessary. Even if you remember your
feelings now, you should forget about me anyway. I don't want to involve
anymore people in my life than necessary."

"So am I 'unnecessary' to you? Will you make me forget again? Will you
turn my memories into dreams with your weird plant powers? I don't want
to forget! Please, let me love you," she begged more than accused.

It was at this point that Kurama asked the million-dollar question.
"I've been wondering. How were you able to reverse the effects of the
Mugen Flower?"

Like a switch, Maya went from distraught and pleading to calm and almost
apathetic. She answered, "This man with large horse teeth and beady eyes
like a wild beast made me remember everything."

"Jine." Minamino had his doubts ever since Maya came to his house, but
now his fears were confirmed.

If the Kanji Killer couldn't use Kurama's family as his weak point, then
he'd find other possibilities to exploit, particularly a vulnerability
that the half-youko overlooked that he thought he'd taken care of five
years ago.

"What does that man who made you remember a past I wanted you to forget
want with me? What did he do to you? Why did he make you remember your
past?"

Shuichi already knew the answer to his questions. In accordance to
Kenshin's memory, he knew that Jine Udo was looking for Kurama's own
Kaoru Kamiya to kidnap and use as a damsel in distress.

Maya's eyes became glassier and duller as she spoke. "Udo Jine-sama
wants you to fight using the Youtou Shinnoken. He wants you to unleash
the full power of the Youkiri Battousai using the Demon Sword."

Kitajima didn't need to further expound on anything. Kurama remembered
that even Hiei's jagan was at least capable of hypnosis and mind
control. It took a while, but Jine was able to find a weakness of his
that even he didn't anticipate.

Jine managed to find a loved one of Kurama's to force him to fight with
the Demon Sword; Maya was the Kaoru equivalent to the redhead's Kenshin.
And indeed, if the Kanji Killer had his way, then the half-youko would
have to completely become the Battousai altogether.

"Where is he now?"

Kitajima jutted down an address on the nearest pen and paper she could
find. "Udo Jine-sama is waiting for you _there_ tomorrow evening. Bring
the Demon Sword with you or else."

Maya stood up, bowed, and took her leave. Minamino had a feeling this
was not the last time he'd see his ex-classmate. However, if he were to
not fight Jine in accordance to the terms indicated, he really would be
seeing the young Kitajima for the last time.

Shuichi had to find a way so that his fight with the original Kanji
Killer would not end up the same as Kenshin's own battle against the
former Hitokiri and Shinsengumi member.

After all, the half-youko had no guarantees that he wouldn't lose
control of himself altogether and become an even bigger threat than the
Chojin was if he were to awaken the full powers of the Youtou Shinnoken
while wielding it.

'I'm the last person who should wield the Demon Sword.'


===


As the Makai's Prince of Thieves and Robin Hood figure of renown (he
even existed before the Robin Hood legend was born), taking the Demon
Sword away from its current caretaker, Kazuma Kuwabara, would've been
like stealing candy from a baby for Kurama.

Shuichi didn't need to steal the sword from the teenager, though. He
chose to ask permission from Kazuma instead so that he could get the
enchanted weapon with little to no consequences later on (and with less
Reikai red tape). Kuwabara was more than happy to oblige.

'My apologies for involving you in this mess that I'm partly responsible
for,' said the Kenshin residing inside the Youtou Shinnoken. Kurama had
already explained the whole situation to him.

'Please, Kenshin. That's supposed to be my line,' telepathically
answered Minamino. They were now on their way to Jine's designated
meeting place, jumping from building to building all the while. 'I
shouldn't have underestimated Jine's desperation to have one more match
against you. He's a lot cleverer than I gave him credit for.'

'We might not be as lucky as with our first encounter with him,' warned
Kenshin. 'Last time, certain circumstances allowed us to avoid using the
Demon Sword altogether. This time around...'

'Don't worry, I've got a plan. Even though I failed to anticipate
Kitajima Maya's involvement in this debacle, I still have several tricks
up my sleeve to make up for it,' Kurama reassured before adding, 'Even
you realize how bad of an idea it is for me to wield the Demon Sword.'

'I understand your worries regarding your youko self. You don't quite
trust yourself with that sort of power boost.' Himura waxed nostalgic.
'I'm the exact same way when it came to the Hitokiri Battousai. I was
always afraid of losing control of myself and breaking my promise not to
kill.'

'I'm not all that worried about killing. It's my loved ones dying that
I'm more concerned about,' revealed Kurama without bothering to ask
Kenshin why he didn't want to kill. The half-youko already knew why.
They shared memories at that point.

'The Youtou Shinnoken is also highly unpredictable. Maybe nothing would
happen and I could gain great powers like Yanagisawa-kun did, or I could
instead end up like Kido-kun and lose control of myself. It's a tossup
what would happen in the end.'

'A wolf typically put on sheep's clothing so that he could eat the
unsuspecting lambs. No self-respecting fox would ever want to become a
human in the first place.' Another voice permeated into Shuichi's
consciousness. It was his own, but at the same time, it wasn't.

'Youko Kurama.'

'Why are you so concerned about what happens to the humans before you?
You once planned to sacrifice your life to a Reikai artifact just to
grant your wish of saving a dying woman's life.'

By this, the youko was referring to the first time Kurama met Yusuke
after he, Hiei, and some demon named Gouki managed to steal the Three
Sacred Treasures of the Spirit World. Minamino needed the Mirror of
Forlorn Hope to save his mother, Shiori, from her longstanding,
incurable disease.

Shuichi answered, 'I owe that woman my life.  Without the child inside
her womb, I'd... _we'd_ be dead by now. It's only appropriate that I
repay her kindness with my own life.'

'Oh, really? A wolf in sheep's clothing can never become sheep. Why
pretend to be human? Why do you seek humanity inside you that isn't
there in the first place? Who do you think you're fooling? Why deny
yourself of your true nature? It takes a strong man to deny the truth
that's right before him.'

For some reason, the last line that the demon fox said irked Shuichi.

'To be human? What does that even mean? To be vulnerable? To be meek? To
expose oneself and his weaknesses? Even demons can be weak. You call
kindness 'humanity' and cruelty being 'demonic'? How dare you. Even
demons can be kind. Even humans can be cruel. Don't you dare call it
'humanity' if it's something that's present in demons as well.'

Afterwards, the youko mocked his human counterpart by quoting two of
Kenshin's greatest enemies, Hajime Saito and (appropriately enough in
light of their current predicament) Jine Udo.

'A wolf will always be a wolf, the Shinsengumi will always be the
Shinsengumi, and a hitokiri will always be a hitokiri. Isn't that right,
Battousai?'

Kenshin refused to reply to the youko. The youksi continued.

'Within every fiber of Himura Kenshin's being, he is truly a manslayer.
In turn, within every fiber of your being, you are truly a demon,
Kurama. Nothing will change that.'

At any rate, the redhead arrived soon after at Mushiyori City to pick up
the one person who'd be able to assist him with his contingency plan,
just as he'd anticipated.


===


At Tokyo Bay on Friday, around nine in the evening, in one of the docked
ships...

Jine Udo was there below deck, inside the boiler room, garbed not in
Takumi Hamada's police uniform but instead in his outfit when he first
crossed swords with the Battousai: His "Kurogasa" or "Black Hat"
wardrobe, to be exact.

A wooden smoking pipe on hand, Udo paced inside the ship. Right beside
him was what appeared to be a distraught and crying Maya Kitajima.

"W-Who are you? What do you want?" cried the girl as she cringed and
kept herself from looking directly at the Kanji Killer's face, as though
it were the sun itself. "And what's with this outfit and...?"

The door leading to the boiler room swung open and from the darkness
emerged Kurama, one of his hands gripping tight the sheathed Youtou
Shinnoken. "Maya! Maya, are you here?"

Before Jine's kidnapped bait could answer, the Kanji Killer gave one
look at her, and she froze like a statue.

"So you came. You even brought the Demon Sword with you, despite
probably disobeying Spirit World orders to protect it. For the past few
weeks I've been hearing and learning more about you, Kurama. From what I
can gather, you're quite the interesting individual."

"Let her go. She has nothing to do with this." The Kenshin within the
Youtou Shinnoken spoke through Minamino. "It's me that you want, Jine.
It's me whom you want to unleash hell with," said Kurama himself.

"Yes, but I know better. I've fought you. I've asked about you from my
fellow Shin Juppon Gatana members, Karasu and Itsuki. You never play
your ace until the last minute. I myself have fallen victim against many
of your ploys. You're quite the trickster. You won't unsheathe that
sword just yet. You're going to attempt to win this fight in your own
terms."

The petrified Kitajima sat there in seiza position (she knelt on the
cold, metal floor, her legs folded underneath her thighs while her heels
were rested on her buttocks), looking for all intents and purposes a
statue or a doll save for her constantly moving eyeballs that stared
back and forth Kurama and Jine.

"So you've done your research on me. Impressive. I've also done my
research on you. To remind you, I've already figured out that your
Jagan, like my ally Hiei's Jagan, could only be used for a limited
number of times every day. You're at Class-A right now, so three is
about the right number, more or less."

Udo applauded Kurama's deduction. "You never cease to amaze me. I won't
confirm or deny your suspicions. However, I will take note that the Shin
no Ippo and all my other techniques work outside of me using the Jagan.
I could use them at will without activating my Evil Eyes."

"Your Evil Eyes were also what you used in order to hypnotize Kitajima
Maya and Ikumi Likka. It drains your powers far more thoroughly than
making mere illusions. Because Matsudaira-keiji helped me defeat you at
Aokigahara and because he knows too much about you thanks of your time
in the police force as Hamada Takumi, you had him go on a wild goose
chase in order to rescue the hypnotized Likka."

Jine nodded. "I indeed had to go through great lengths just to get you
_desperate_ enough to take hold of the Demon Sword once again, despite
your reservations. However, let's cut to the chase, Kurama. You have the
same modus operandi every time."

"What do you mean?" the demon fox feigned ignorance.

"We both know you won't simply accept your fate and wield the power of
the Youtou Shinnoken just because some girl from your past needs
rescuing. What mysterious Makai herb or out-of-the-box scheme have you
concocted to keep you from doing exactly what I want? I'm curious. Will
you turn me into a living lawn ornament like you did with Toguro Ani?"

Shuichi regarded the serial killer with newfound (if begrudging) respect
for figuring out his mode of operations after only a couple of fights.
"Kaito-kun, it's time."

The bespectacled, curly-haired, broad-shouldered, wide-bodied, gangly
limbed, and pimple-ridden Yu Kaito went inside the boiler room, bowing to
everyone in spite of himself; in spite of Kurama calmly explaining to him
in the middle of the night that they were about to face the infamous
Kanji Killer himself, who was all over the news for many, many years for
his many unsolved murders.

"H-Hello, everyone. I'm Kaito Yu."

It was then that Kurama summoned the Rose Whip and shut the heavy metal
door from behind Kaito. The redhead also handed to the nerdy, college-
aged would-be author the Youtou Shinnoken.

Afterwards, the entire room was surrounded by kudzu or Japanese
arrowroot, an invasive trailing vine or noxious weed that climbed over
everything and anything.

"Thank you for lending me the power of Taboo, Kaito-kun."


===


'Are you sure about this, Kurama? Or are you bluffing? You know my Taboo
territory isn't affected by the Demon Sword! We already tried it out!'
thought Kaito as he profusely sweated. He also hoped that the Kanji
Killer wasn't a mind reader as well.

The special powers that blossomed within Mitsunari Yanagisawa, Asato
Kido, and Yu Kaito were unique in that they formed "territories" of
sorts that ranged from how far one shadow reached to within one's own
body.

In Kaito's case, his territory reached up until ten meters in radius, so
the kudzu plant that Kurama mutated to keep them locked inside the
boiler room was effective in making sure that everyone was kept inside
Yu's territory.

In other words, had Kurama not done that, then Udo could've simply moved
out of range of Kaito's powers in order to avoid its effects. While in
Yu's territory, people could not resort to violence (thus protecting
Kurama's friend from middle school, Kitajima, from harm).

Also, they could not utter whatever word Minamino's ex-classmate from
Meiou High chose, which explained why his powers were named "Taboo" in
the first place. It was anticlimactic, but when push came to shove,
Kurama came up with foolproof plans that left his opponents with few
chances for victory.

Kaito couldn't believe it when Kurama came to his doorstep and demanded
that they join forces to take down this serial killer that had been in
the news and who just _happened_ to be an enemy of the Spirit World
itself.

Then again, the bespectacled college student couldn't let such an
opportunity slip after he bowed out on the Aokigahara mission that both
Kido and Yana were able to pursue. Sleep be damned.

"This isn't exactly what I was expecting, to be honest," Jine said as he
scratch his chin. "Then again, I suppose that youngster probably
possesses powers like those two other teenagers that gave us a run for
our money in Aokigahara."

"Feel free to test them out yourself," said Kurama as he kept his Rose
Whip on standby. Yu was about to ask Shuichi why the half-youko was
bothering to wield his weapon in his territory when his curly afro-
sporting head rolled off of his shoulders.

Minamino then turned towards Yu. "Don't react. Don't even blink. Blink
and you're dead."

'Wha...?' Kaito contemplated as he saw his body in an angle he was not
familiar with... at a "low-angle shot", which made the surreal scene
seem larger than life... while he espied Kurama unable to even move an
inch as the blur that he presumed was the Kanji Killer started chopping
the half-youko apart limb from limb.

'M-My Taboo powers have no effect on him?'

The last thing Yu saw before he altogether blanked out after his falling
head thudded against the ground was Jine looking at him with the widest
smile he ever saw. However, as the darkness crawled in the edge of his
vision, that grin turned into a teeth-gnashing scowl of disgust and
disdain.

And then Kaito woke up.

"...What happened?"

"It's just like what I said before you entered the boiler room, Kaito-
kun."

The effeminate voice of the untouched, undamaged Kurama made Kaito's
intact, non-decapitated head turn around and face the half-demon. They
were both alive and well even though a second earlier, they were both
dead.

"M-Minaminno-kun..." Kaito shook his head as if to clear it. "You said
something about the Kanji Killer only being able to produce illusions
three times a day."

Shuichi confirmed, "That's right. That was one of his illusions. He'd
already wasted one of three of his hallucinations for today. He only has
two more left."

Jine barked a hollow laugh. "I was hoping to see you react, but you
didn't at all. I'm guessing the boy has some sort of protective barrier
or regenerative powers to allow a naked blade to pass through him
without even flinching."

"You can't harm anyone in this room, including Kitajima Maya," said
Kurama. "Of course, because you have no idea what happens if you break
the rules of Kaito-kun's territory, you can't make use of your mirages
to fabricate what would happen. Those of us who've witnessed Taboo
firsthand would know the truth."

Office Hamada's frown turned upside down upon realizing that he'd been
bamboozled by Youko Kurama once more. In one fell swoop, the kitsune was
able to come up with a plan that neutralized all of the serial killer's
advantages while also making him waste one of his hypnotic fantasies.
What a formidable opponent indeed.

"As expected of someone who's literally as clever as a fox. You're a
tougher nut to crack than Battousai when it comes to coaxing you to
release your full power. This won't be the case for long, though."

"You're not in any position to bargain," Kurama said, but Jine merely
wagged his finger in reply.

"I can always take the girl and escape. There's nothing 'violent' about
that, is there?" said Udo. "I know you've covered all the exits with
your climbing vines for a reason. I've learned enough about 'territories'
to know that your companion's powers can only reach about as far as this
room. There's no stopping me from fighting you at another time, without
that meddler in my way."

Kurama decided to call Jine's bluff.

"I don't think so. I know enough about you from Kenshin's memories and
from when we fought last that you won't let an opportunity like this
pass you by, especially after going through the trouble of brainwashing
two girls just to get what you want."

Nevertheless, the human-disguised youko imbued a bit more of his growing
youki (that was supercharged all throughout the time he held the Demon
Sword in his hands) into his kudzu vines to ensure that it would
entangle anything or anyone that dared escape the enclosed quarters.

The growing area of green surrounding them made it seem that they were
in some sort of shipwreck instead of a relatively new cargo ship. The
Kanji Killer noticed all this, but could only harrumph in response.

As if in surrender, the rogue policeman sat down beside the frozen Maya,
took out his pipe, and smoked it. "What now, youko? Is this what your
glasses-wearing clown of a friend is capable of? An anti-violence field?
What next? Are you going to _bore_ me to death?"

Kurama himself sat down, and soon Kaito followed suit while wondering
what his former classmate from Meiou High was planning. The last time Yu
had a battle of wits with Shuichi, he ended up losing in the most
embarrassing way possible because of the half-youko's ability to think
out the box and simply shock the nerd into saying the forbidden word/s.

When Yu and Shuichi fought, they ended up banning all words ever made by
gradually forbidding letters every minute in twenty-six minutes. The
point of the game was to ensure that only absolute silence was the
correct answer.

If Kurama made Kaito say the forbidden word, then it was the former's
win. If he couldn't, it was the latter's win.

However, because Kurama _cheated_, Kaito ended up saying the forbidden
word/s through laughter and became a victim of his own powers. The
bespectacled youth believed that Minamino would do the same thing to
Jine.

'Dammit, I almost won that challenge. Had Minamino-kun not played dirty,
I...' Kaito shook his head. 'No, no. It's the kitsune's nature to
deceive and play dirty. I should've expected as much.'

"The rules of Taboo are simple. Whoever guesses the taboo word will be
able to release themselves from Kaito-kun's powers and do whatever they
want," said Kurama without a stutter.

Yu was barely able to keep himself from doing a spit-take. 'Minamino-kun
is resorting to lying in order to trick the Kanji Killer into saying the
forbidden word? Oh, what am I saying? If he's able to resort to make me
laugh to win our challenge, then _of course_ he'd resort to lying too!'

Why didn't it occur to Kaito to lie to Minamino and the others about the
nature of his territory? That would've allowed him to win against
everyone, including Kurama. The actual rules of Taboo were as follows:

In Kaito's territory, (unbeknownst to the Kanji Killer) anyone who said
the forbidden word would lose his soul.

It didn't matter if one whispered the word, the same effect would
happen.

Violence was also forbidden and breaking this rule would result in
spiritual ejection as well.

Anyone could enter or exit the territory freely, but Kurama fixed that
little weakness by locking all four of them inside using his kudzu
plants.

Kaito couldn't help but admire his former classmate's guts in lying in
such a straight-faced manner. Making an opponent simply speak the taboo
word was the straightforward way of winning this fight.

Jine didn't take the bait, though. "It'd be bizarre to call his powers
'Taboo' if guessing the forbidden word would result in something
positive. I call bullshit on what you're saying and the opposite is
instead true. Violence and breaking the rules would result in my defeat
in this territory."

Kurama shrugged. "Think what you want to think. I'm under no obligation
to tell you whether your conclusion is true of false." The redhead then
turned towards the afro-haired nerd. "Kaito-kun, I want to start a new
game in your territory: I want to play a game of shiritori with the
Kanji Killer."

"Are you serious?" Kaito blinked. This was the last thing he expected
Kurama from doing. He wanted to play a children's word game with a
mass-murdering, psychotic serial killer? Was he out of his gourd?

"I'm dead serious. We'll have special rules, though. We'll allow verbs
and adjectives."

Incidentally, shiritori (literally "taking the end") was played this
way. It was a word association game that only permitted nouns unless
indicated otherwise. Anyone who played a word that ended in mora "N"
would lose the game, because no Japanese word began with the character.
Finally, words could not be repeated.

"The Kanji Killer and I are going to play by roughly the same rules we
had in our own confrontation, Kaito-kun."

It was at this point that Kaito understood Kurama's plan. If they were
going by the rules of their last match, then that probably meant every
time a word was used in shiritori, it was automatically turned into a
taboo word.

The more they played, the more words they wouldn't be able to use. It
was like a longer version of their "Eliminate the letters from the
alphabet" rule from before. It served the same purpose.

"You're resorting to games now, fox?" inquired a jaded Udo.

"Yes. If you win this game, I'll concede and fight you using the Demon
Sword," Kurama said, which reminded Kaito of the redhead's gambit that
led to the nerd's defeat.

Jine sneered. "Then my first word is 'Die', since you allowed verbs in
this game."

"Eternal."

"Lies."

"Sheathe."

"Embowels."

"Sinner."

"Raze."

"Eschew."

"Worm."

"Mute."

"Exterminate."

"Ennui."

"Immortal."

"...."

Of course, they had a long and tedious word game ahead of them in the
meanwhile.

The words they'd already used were soon turned into graffiti on the
walls and floor (although some of them were outright hidden by the kudzu
that surrounded them).


===


An hour later, during the period of the game when Kurama still had
plenty of vocabulary words to spare that people rarely used in everyday
conversation (thus allowing them to speak freely without worrying about
accidentally uttering a taboo word)...

"Kurama, are you sure this is okay? What if the Kanji Killer uses his
illusion powers to make us think he's used a word when really, he
hasn't?" whispered Kaito after a particularly long yawn.

"Propagate."

"Eviscerate."

Shuichi signaled to Jine that he'd take a break, turned towards Yu, and
said, "Don't worry. If Jine's Jagan is anything like Hiei's Jagan, then
he won't use it for something so trivial. Remembering all those words
he has or hasn't used, even if they're listed down in this room, is too
confusing for him to risk doing."

"What's your next word, fox?" demanded Jine, the smile of anticipation
on his face long gone, yet he was still going along with the game
regardless.

Kaito wondered if it was because of resignation that the serial killer
was sticking to Kurama's plan, but he somehow doubted it.

"Entertainment."

"What an ironic word to pick. I'm definitely not entertained."

"Knowing your idea of what's recreational, then I believe it's for the
best."

Jine smirked as his suspicions were confirmed. Kurama truly wasn't
repeating any of the words he'd said even in conversation. 'So that's
how Taboo works, you sneaky fox you.'

Another hour passed. The boiler room floor looked not only like a
shipwreck that somehow ended up in the jungle, it also appeared like it
was occupied by an inmate from an asylum with all the "graffiti"
scribbled everywhere.

"Process."

"Suffocate."

"Element."

"Okay, this is enough fun and games for me."

A sleepy Kaito was about to nod off when his head shot up in attention
upon hearing the Kanji Killer not drone out more words for the shiritori
game. Did he hear him right? Was he giving up? It also amazed him how
Jine was able to say that sentence without accidentally repeating one of
the words they already used in shiritori.

"Do you surrender?" asked Kurama, although the teenage-looking thousand-
year-old youko looked like he knew better.

"Of course not. However, I have no intention of letting our battle end
through a word game. I _will_ fight the Youkiri Battousai. You will use
the Demon Sword, Kurama."

"You're in no position to bargain. You're in a place where you cannot
use violence or your precious Evil Eyes. You have no choice but to play
by the rules of this territory."

"But didn't I just tell you? Even without the Jagan, I can still use my
other abilities. I have more than one trick up my sleeve. I'm no one-
trick pony like your friend over there."

Kaito almost blurted out something in response, but he had to check the
"vandalism" around them to ensure that he wouldn't end up saying a taboo
word. The whole room was marked with thousands of terms, as though it
were a memorial for these banned nouns, adjectives, and verbs.

"Let's up the stakes and make things a lot more interesting." It was at
that juncture that Jine flashed his Evil Eyes at the petrified Maya to
deactivate his powers on her, thus allowing her to move and talk.

"You've made a mistake, Kurama. Itsuki informed me that you only used
two of the three Mushiyori residents in the Aokigahara caper, which
meant you were reserving this nerd for something else. Probably for the
sake of taking me down."

Jine turned towards Kitajima. "Introduce yourself to these two fine
gentlemen."

Like a puppet, Maya obeyed. She had occupied the dark side of the boiler
room, her silhouette covered in darkness. This time around, she walked
right into the brighter side of the room, near the light, so everyone
could get a better look at her.

However, she was not who Kurama presumed her to be. For one thing, she
looked nothing like Kitajima. For another thing, she was wearing a wig,
which she promptly took off. From her pocket, she took out glasses as
thick as Kaito's. "Good evening. My name is..."

"...N-NATSUKI?" blurted out Kaito while Kurama did a double-take. "What
are you doing here?"

Natsuki shuddered, as if woken up from a trance. "K-Kaito-sempai... I
don't know myself! My body started moving on its own when this scary
guy with the creepy smile kidnapped me, and...!"

"She's my slave, kid. She'll do anything I want."

"Let her go, you ASSHOLE!"

Kurama stared at the girl who was earlier disguised by the darkness (and
a wig) as Maya Kitajima, but was actually someone else entirely. At
first, when Kaito called out her name, Minamino thought he meant Natsuki
Shinkai, the reincarnation of one of Kenshin's compatriots, Yutaro
Tsukayama.

No, she was someone else entirely.


===


To Be Continued...

Next: The secrets of Taboo and Sanction.

In regards to the shiritori game using English words instead of Japanese
ones, consider it a translation convention of sorts.

Disclaimer: Yuyu Hakusho is the rightful property of Yoshihiro Togashi,
Shueisha, Fuji TV, and Studio Pierrot. Rurouni Kenshin is the rightful
property of Nobuhiro Watsuki, Shueisha, Shonen Jump, Viz, Sony Studios,
Fuji TV, Studio Gallop, Studio Deen, and ADV. 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.

Heto na,
Abdiel
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