[FFML] [yyh][rk][xover] Demon Sword Chapter 41: Red Rose in the Darkness (Part 9)

[Abdiel]

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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/

The fearsome powers of Kaito's Sanction have now come into play. Who
will come out on top?


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Chapter 41: Red Rose in the Darkness (Part 9)

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Back inside the boiler room of an unattended cargo ship at Tokyo Bay...

"N-NATSUKI?" exclaimed Yu Kaito.

Yu was actually referring to his not-girlfriend and (bizarrely enough)
Keiko Yukimura's "girl friend", Natsuki. Not to be confused.

The similarity in names between Natsuki Shinkai and Keiko's friend,
Natsuki, reminded Kurama of the similarity in names between him,
Shuichi Minamino and his stepbrother, Shuichi Hatenaka.

All the same, the fact remained that the Kanji Killer was able to pull a
fast one on even the usually sharp and clever Kurama. This unexpected
development could serve as a monkey wrench in the half-youko's plans to
defeat Jine without ever drawing out the blade of the Demon Sword and
manifesting his full capabilities as an upper-echelon youkai.

The last time Kurama went berserk, he almost killed Koenma Daio. The
more he turned into the youko, the likelier it was for him to betray all
his friends and family whom he'd been protecting all this time because
he was too weak as a demon to abandon them at the time.

Because this was his true nature as a youko. Nothing more, nothing less.
The fact that he almost achieved the now-mythical Class-X level when he
wielded the Youtou Shinnoken, shamed as he was to admit it, excited him
a little. Actually, a lot.

Kurama vowed to never use the power of the Demon Sword because he'd be
corrupted by it far more than Kido did when he was handed its power.

"I know there's a reason why you gave that glasses-wearing dweeb the
Demon Sword instead of wielding it yourself," said Jine, seemingly
reading Kurama's thoughts.

"Other than denying yourself of your true nature, the Youtou Shinnoken
can probably turn that one-trick pony into a formidable opponent, like
that blond kid with shadow powers from before."

Yu gripped the Youtou Shinnoken tight. So he was excluded from the
Aokigahara mission not because the Demon Sword had no effect on him, but
instead because he had a more important role to fulfill in Kurama's
eyes?

Unfazed, Kurama asked, "What's your next word? The shiritori game is
still ongoing. If you aren't able to come up with a word, you lose the
game."

"Terror," came Udo's offhand reply. "However, I don't think we'll be
playing this game for long."

"Rook," came Kurama's answer. "What do you mean?"

"Kill," said Jine. "I mean, can you keep playing while this girl is
suffocating?" As the Kanji Killer said those words, Natsuki's eyes
widened from behind her glasses.

Natsuki stuttered and sputtered, unaware of what was going on.

"NATSUKI!" shouted Kaito, his own spectacles almost slipping off of his
face. "How is he doing that?"

"I'm using my original powers. The powers I've inherited from my past
self. This is a special kind of Shin no Ippo that could stop a person's
respiration and let him or her... choke to death." Jine held his tongue.
He'd almost repeated his earlier answer, "Suffocate".

Yu felt the Kenshin inside the Demon Sword bristle in anger as Udo
revealed, "I'm sick and tired of this nonviolent child's game. The only
way to break my spell on the girl before she dies is by killing me. You
can't do that in this territory, but perhaps if you cancel out your
powers, then maybe we could go somewhere."

"Leech," said Shuichi as he continued the shiritori game while grabbing
hold of Yu's shoulder reassuringly. "Relax. The Kanji Killer is
bluffing. That is obviously not your companion, Natsuki. He also cannot
choke her in this territory, even through his hypnotic powers."

"Child. Oh really? Can you really take that chance, Kaito or whoever
you are? I know all about Natsuki. I know how she visits you in your
dorm every day and plays videogames with you or acts like your editor
for your papers. Do you really want to see her... expire simply because
Kurama doesn't have the balls to use the power of the Demon Sword
himself?"

Kurama scowled. Not only did Jine know about Natsuki, he even stalked
her to the point of learning her daily routine. No wonder the Kanji
Killer had never been caught by the police. Aside from being a policeman
himself, he also did thorough research on every one of his victims.

"Darkness. Don't listen to him, Kaito-kun. This is just like the time he
beheaded you. You know for a fact that he couldn't do any harm against
anyone in your territory. Calm down. Trust me."

Yu looked back and forth Kurama and Jine, as though they were his good
and bad consciousnesses; the devil and the angel on his shoulder.

"Septic. Can you really trust him, Kaito? Kurama's using you to do his
dirty work for him. Also, does this look healthy to you at all? Your
precious girlfriend is turning blue! She can't breathe! You can end all
this by unsheathing that sword and finishing me off yourself."

At this point, Kaito wasn't quite sure whether Minamino truly was the
angel or the devil. After all, what Jine said made sense. Why was Kurama
using him as his pawn? Why couldn't he finish off Jine? Why must Natsuki
be sacrificed?

"Curse. Please, Kaito-kun. Trust me. He can't commit any violent acts in
this territory. Remember that."

On the other hand, Kaito remembered Kurama struggling against his youko
self, telling him about how his bio-rhythm kept acting up and making him
more belligerent than usual.

Even though Minaino didn't share the sentiment, Yu considered him his
rival: His hyper-intelligent foe who was always ahead of the curve. He
trusted the redhead's judgment.

"Enchant. Time is running out, Kaito. Has any other person used hypnosis
to choke someone in your territory? Is that really a _physically_
violent act or has this happened for the first time? Are you sure this
is considered violence in your territory? Can you risk her life for
such a gamble?"

Natsuki's own glasses tumbled out of her face (after she carefully put
them on as a show of her identity), coughing and hacking from her
inability to breathe. Meanwhile, Kurama had flashbacks that didn't
belong to him of Kaoru Kamiya looking the same as Natsuki was at that
moment.

"Minamino-kun, Natsuki is about to run out of breath! Is she an illusion
or not?" blabbered Kaito in a panic.

"Twins. Kaito-kun, change of plans. Unsheathe the Demon Sword _now_,"
commanded Kurama, which startled both Udo and Yu. The Kanji Killer was
expecting _Kaito_ to instead betray Minamino.

"Wha...? O-Okay!" Kaito did as Kurama ordered him to, hoping against
hope that it wasn't too late.


===


A word surfaced in the depths of Kaito's subconscious as soon as he drew
the Youtou Shinnoken from its scabbard.

"Sanction."

Afterwards, the taboo words that were scrawled all over the floor and
walls of the kudzu-covered boiler room... thousands of them that were
thought up by Kurama and Jine... proceeded to travel like projected
images across the gun-metal surface, onto Kaito's skin, and into the
naked edge of the Demon Sword, their sheer numbers turning the blade
black with their calligraphic "ink".

Jine whistled. "Interesting. It's just like what happened to that kid
with the shadow powers." The Kanji Killer turned towards Kaito. "What do
want to do now?"

Yu realized that this was a wise move on the serial killer's part in
light of the fact that he had no idea how "Sanction" worked when
compared to "Taboo".

The problem was that even Kaito had no clue what his Demon-Sword-
enhanced powers were. Instead of forbidden words like in Taboo, did
Sanction reward those who said certain words that Yu _approved_ of? What
would happen if people said those words in this version of his powers?

Natsuki held her throat, attempting to gasp but unable to do so, as if
there were something stuck in her esophagus, her skin turning
increasingly pale as the seconds passed by.

For whatever reason, Kurama started murmuring to himself.

"Are you going crazy or senile, fox? Your friend's girlfriend is dying!
Do something! Time is on _my_ side this time around!"

Udo then realized that the surrounding kudzu meant to keep him inside
were presently starting to reach all the way to the center of the boiler
room, the vines threatening to entangle him and crush his bones like the
flora version of coiling boa constrictors.

Meanwhile, the rest of the kudzu wrapped themselves around both Natsuki
and Kaito, only this time around, instead of squeezing the life out of
them, they moved the two from out of harm's way as Kurama engaged in
combat against the Kanji Killer.

"Hang in there, Natsuki! Minamino-kun will kill that bastard and save
you!" said Kaito.

"...." responded the sweat-filled and shivering Natsuki.

"I see! In this version of Kaito's territory, violence isn't prohibited
anymore. Finally! I was getting bored with that other power of his!"
Jine cackled as he turned the sea of greenery into chopped, diced, and
julienned mush.

Amidst the rain of sliced kudzu emerged Kurama, his Rose Whip, and the
Shoku Yo Shokubutsu, an acid-spewing, root-based tree of death that
Minamino used to intimidate Ura Urashima in the Dark Tournament.

"Haven't you learned your lesson? Even Class-S assassins are no match
against me, how much more you and your barely Class-A powers?" mocked
the Kanji Killer as he had the redwood eat up the kudzu surrounding them
like spaghetti before proceeding to cut apart Minamino's whip. "I might
even use my Jagan right now!"

Instead of doing what he claimed he was about to do, Jine proceeded to
petrify the Death Tree in mid-bite using the One-Sided Heart, intercept
Kurama's dagger-like Plant Claw with his wakizashi, then kick the plant
user into the gaping maw of his own creation.

However, just as the youko-in-human-guise was about to be eaten by a
demonic tree, Udo heard Minamino say aloud, "I wish to turn into _twins_
as a means to clone myself."

After Jine unfroze the Devourer Demon Plant and let it have Kurama for
dinner, another Kurama appeared from behind it, completely unharmed. In
his excitement, Udo ended up shredding both the Shoku Yo Shokubutsu and
the semi-digested Shuichi inside it.

That was the confirmation that Kurogasa was waiting for. "So that's how
this territory works! Your words can now be used to turn ideas into
reality! What a splendid power! This is the power of gods! The Demon
Sword is such an amazing Reikai artifact!"

'Sanction is the opposite of Taboo! Instead of punishing those who say
the taboo word, it can warp reality itself!' Kaito realized. 'And
Minamino-kun must have figured this out from the start! He didn't want
me as part of the Aokigahara mission because my powers served as an even
better method of dealing with this overpowered psychopath!'

Kaito was under the impression that the Demon Sword had no effect on
him, unlike what happened to Mitsunari Yanagisawa and Asato Kido.
Nothing happened when they said, "Hot" in Kaito's territory.

However, he remembered their surroundings got hotter as the word was
said and repeated over and over, even though it was the middle of the
night. The bespectacled, curly haired teenager's eyes widened.

A person who had the power of Sanction might as well be a god, or
someone approaching one. None of the Shin Ju would've stood a chance
against Kaito and Sanction.

However, there were some obvious drawbacks to this power that made Yu
realize why it was important for Kurama to only reserve him as his ace
up his sleeve in this particular juncture. It was a double-edged sword.
It wasn't only Kaito who was afforded reality warping powers, but anyone
within his territory.

The "sanctioned" words could be used against the owner of the territory
as soon as it was said, thus rendering whatever advantages this power
had null and void. The Kanji Killer himself realized the same thing as
he said, "Now it's my turn! I want Kurama to _die_!"

Nothing happened. The "twin" of Kurama, meanwhile, murmured something
before proceeding to attack the flabbergasted Jine.

"WHAT? How come he's still alive? He's cheating!" Udo shrieked as he
crossed swords...  katana versus Leaf Blade... against Minamino.

The Kanji Killer's plan to use Kurama as a guinea pig to see the extent
of Sanction's abilities and simply follow the half-youko's lead wasn't
panning out as he'd hoped.

'Is the non-killing rule still in effect, only this time it applies to
anyone in my territory?' wondered Kaito while grabbing hold of the
clammy hands of Natsuki. 'I have no idea, but I wish Kurama would do
whatever it is he needs to do _soon_.'

Jine wracked his brain for the words that were used during their game of
shiritori. Some were worthless for this fight, like "Entertainment" or
"Ennui". Some were exactly what the doctor ordered.

"I want to _raze_ everything before me with a flaming blade just like
Xinhai Feng's or Shishio Makoto's."

There were plenty of kudzu to go around for Udo to burn as though he
were using Shishio's Homura Dama. Meanwhile, Kaito felt Kenshin react to
the mention of his fellow shadow hitokiri's name, even though Yu himelf
had no idea who that was.

"Let the flames _die_," Kurama answered back, and Kaito's Sanction
allowed _that_ wish for death to materialize. "Let my plants _propagate_
by themselves," he added, which allowed him to conserve youki as his
demon plants started to bloom and grow without his help.

"I will _exterminate_ this jungle of weeds!" Thusly, the nearest of the
green kudzu turned brown and died with every touch of Jine's katana.

Kurama himself was about to say, "I want to _exterminate_ Jine," when
his opponent froze him in mid-sentence with the Shin no Ippo and said,
"I want to _exterminate_ Kurama!"

Udo still hadn't figured out why requests to kill Kurama weren't working
within Sanction, but he wasn't about to risk dying by letting his
opponent do the same to him.

However, nothing happened again. When Kurama completed, "I want to
_exterminate_ Jine!" after being released from the hold of the One-Sided
Heart, Udo did the same thing the redhead did to avoid dying.

"I wish to turn into _twins_ as a means to clone myself."

One Jine died, but another Jine appeared to take his place, which made
his death moot.

That was the second problem with Kaito's Sanction. Even if one weren't
creative with the way they could make use of sanctioned words to warp
reality, all they really need to do was follow the example of someone
else who did.

Jine then had an idea. He repeated the same phrase. Then repeated it
again. And again. And again. Soon, Kurama was faced with thirty Kanji
Killers.

The nearest ones froze Kurama into place with the Shin no Ippo, their
combined forces nearly suffocating the half-youko the same way the
"original" Jine did with the currently choking Natsuki.

Although he could not move his body, Kurama could use his youki to
summon his bread-and-butter herbal monster, the Demon World Sensitive
Plants. They were mutated mimosas that the half-youko used to fight
against Karasu in the Ankoku Bujutsukai.

The close proximity of the Jine clones allowed the mimosa creatures to
turn them into a buffet of serial killers. The entangling kudzu helped
in keeping them corralled in one place.

Besides which, Jine didn't anticipate that his clones would move
independently from each other, thus more often than not, they ended up
getting in each other's way. The Jine collective's sheer numbers and
combined One-Sided Heart still overwhelmed the sentient plants, though.

Even though he lacked the ability to vocalize thanks to the Jines
freezing his vocal cords again, Minamino had enough demonic energy left
to summon Parrot Grass that served as his loudspeaker to state, "I wish
every Jine became a _child_."

Like a literal genie, Kaito's sanction didn't only turn every last one
of the Kanji Killers into children, but combined them all into one
person that turned into a _child_ with swaddling clothes too big for him
to wear.

"I want this _curse_ lifted from me," said the adorable little boy Udo
with large horse-like teeth, which allowed him to grow back into
adulthood, but this time without his clone posse.

"I want Jine to _die_," came Shuichi's straightforward order to
Sanction, but the Kanji Killer countered, "Kurama's words are _lies_,"
as soon as he read Minamino's bad intentions (swordsmen could read
killing intent and malice faster than one could verbalize it, after
all).

Jine covered his grinning mouth as though he just figured something out.
'Oh, so you can _counter_ statements with other statements, huh?' he
thought before whispering something.

They were at an impasse of sorts. Whatever it was that was said could
very well be undone in a few words as long as sanctioned words were
being used to do so. Like nothing happened. How was Kurama supposed to
use the power of Sanction against Jine if the latter could easily do the
same against him?

Just as the cackling Kanji Killer was about to say, "All of Kurama's
words are _lies_," the half-youko said, "I want Jine to become _mute_."

The deadly words that Kurogasa was supposed to utter literally died in
his throat, his vocal cords becoming useless. From there, Udo had no
more ammunition left to use against Kurama. As a mute, he had no access
to the Sanction powers, so it was one statement he could not undo after
it was uttered.

Kaito then realized something. 'Wait a minute. Even when a word is
whispered, it still counts as something that's _said_ in my territory.
Kurama must have whispered something that Jine couldn't hear, allowing
him to nullify any statements that told him he was supposed to die.'

Yu understood what Kurama murmured earlier on. 'I am _immortal_.' That
was the sentence he used to nullify all statements meant to kill him.

Meanwhile, Kurama wished he could suffocate Jine the same way he
(attempted to) suffocate Natsuki, but time was of the essence and the
girl was dying. Therefore, his next request to Kaito's Sanction was,
"_Eviscerate_ Jine."

In just two words, Jine ended up disemboweling himself with his own
wakizashi, as though he were performing his own sepukku or ritual
honorable suicide.

There was one problem, though. Even after Jine killed himself, Natsuki
wouldn't stop choking. She was still suffocating, despite Udo's claims
that she wouldn't die if he died.

"I wish Natsuki won't suffocate!" Kaito commanded Sanction far too
late. His wish wasn't granted. The girl wasn't going to suffocate
anymore because she was already dead.

In their panic to make sense of what Sanction was capable of while
staving off the Kanji Killer's assault, they weren't able to save one of
Keiko's best friends in the most straightforward way possible, the (in
hindsight) seemingly obvious idea slipping past their attention thanks
to tunnel vision.

"Why? Did Jine lie? Even after he died, Natsuki still choked to death!"
cried Kaito to Minamino.

Kurama's eyes then widened as he saw a ghoulish Jine collect his guts
with one hand, his toothy horse grin never leaving his face, his
cackling implied by shining black eyes with no sclera on them. Like a
beast's eyes.

Somewhere in the middle of their fight, Jine himself had wished that he
was immortal. Even though he could not speak anymore, his gleeful, smug
face spoke volumes.

"The new allowed word is 'Statue'. Jine is now a _statue_."

And Jine was a statue.

"K-Kaito-kun...!" The word "Statue" was never mentioned in the game of
shiritori that Kurama and Kurogasa engaged in earlier. Then again, the
Master of Taboo and Sanction always had the power to change the rules as
he pleased.

"The new allowed word is 'Alive'. I wish Natsuki is _alive_ again."

The recently deceased Natsuki's eyes fluttered open. "K-Kaito-sempai?"

The bespectacled nerd hushed the girl with a gentle tap of her lips as
he chopped off and unwrapped Kurama's kudzu vines from himself and her.

He then bent down, picked up her glasses, and placed it on her head.

"Everything's going to be all right, Natsuki. I'll take care of things."

The girl hugged the wide-bodied geek. "I was so scared. I had the most
awful dream. You were there and Yusuke's girly friend was there. I
thought I'd died."

"You did die," said a grim Kurama, but Kaito waved his ex-classmate
off.

"She's not dead anymore. That's what's important. We were still able to
save her and defeat that deranged bad guy in the end."

"I-I'm dead? What is he talking about, Kaito-sempai?"

"No, you're not. You're _alive_. I just said you were." Yu gulped as he,
for the first time in his life, mustered enough courage to say these
words that he rendered as "Taboo" for fear of ruining his friendship
with Natsuki.

"I like you very much. Will you go out with me? Will you be my
girlfriend?"

Natsuki's lower lip quibbled as she turned away and said in hushed
tones, "It took you long enough to ask me that. Baka."

"Kaito-kun, now is not the time..." Kurama began.

Seemingly delirious, Yu replied, "No, this is the perfect time for
this!"

With his eyes shut, Kurama asked, "What happens as soon as you
deactivate Sanction? You wished her to be alive using Sanction. She
won't be after Sanction is gone."

All the color drained from Kaito's face as Natsuki looked at him in
askance. "What is he talking about, Sempai?"

"T-Then I won't release Sanction. I'll keep it activated forever."

"Be reasonable. The Spirit World won't allow you to take hostage the
Demon Sword, Kaito-kun."

"SCREW THE SPIRIT WORLD! If having this sword is the only way I could
keep Natsuki from dying, then I'll keep this sword in my possession
forever! Natsuki and I are _immortal_! We cannot be killed. You,
however, are not _immortal_ any longer, Minamino-kun."

"K-Kaito-sempai, what are you saying? Y-You're scaring me..." said
Natsuki with a tinge of squeakiness in her voice. "Is everything all
right? Did something happen to me or...?"

"Don't be afraid, Natsuki. Even Minamino... no, Youko Kurama... won't
be able to stop me. The new allowed word is 'God'. I am now _God_." A
divine light flowed out of Kaito, reminiscent of Shinobu Sensui's Sacred
Light Ki.

"Don't do this, Kaito-kun." Shuichi sighed as blossoms started
sprouting from the kudzu behind him. "I don't believe Kenshin would
allow you to take control of the Youtou Shinnoken this way either."

"Leave my territory, Kurama. Walk away and pretend that nothing
happened. I don't want to hurt you. I'll deal with Reikai myself if I
have to, but I won't let them keep me from my beloved," said Kaito as
tears flowed from his glasses-covered eyes. "This is my final warning."

"I don't know what's going on, but... I don't want to leave Kaito-
sempai's side either," decided Keiko's friend.

Before it occurred to Kaito to ban all sanctioned words before it could
be used against him or mute Kurama (and his pet Parrot Grass too), the
redhead whispered, "_Sheathe_ the Demon Sword."

At the same time, Yu said, "Turn Kurama into a _statue_," which was
exactly what happened. However, in mid-sentence, the Youtou Shinnoken
was sheathed, so as a result, Sanction became Taboo, and Kaito
inadvertently said one of the forbidden words. Ergo, he died. Meanwhile,
without the powers of Sanction to support her life, Natsuki soon expired
as well.

Even as Kaito and Natsuki collapsed on the ground, they still ended up
grasping each other's hands.


===


"I hope you'd stop wasting our time with needless frivolities, fox." The
effects of Sanction had worn off on Jine as well. He was neither mute
nor a statue any longer.

Kurama grit his teeth as he took the Demon Sword away from the unmoving
Kaito's grasp.

His bid to have Udo's soul ejected from his body so that the Spirit
World could capture him and interrogate him regarding the Overfiend was
all for naught due to the unexpected interference of Natsuki.

"Hold back and you're dead. Battousai will tell you as much. My
projected fantasies are so perfect, even the likes of Enki, Mukuro,
Yomi, and the Chojin would be fooled by it," said Jine while he looked
at the reflection of his Jagan on his uchigatana.

He afterwards self-hypnotized himself in order to unleash the full
potential of his current human body.

His head hung low in defeat, Kurama unsheathed the Youtou Shinnoken.
From there, Shuichi Minamino no longer existed. There was only Youko
Kurama. By merely releasing his youki, he ended up destroying the boiler
room and most of the ship.

Kurama's red hair turned as silver as the moon, his clothes also
transforming into something silken, baggy, and loose. His nails turned
into claws. His eyes became more slanted as his pupils glinted a golden
sheen.

"How lamentable. I wanted my 'other self' to enjoy his human life as
long as he could. I could spare a few decades or so. This damn sword
kept waking me up and altering my bio-rhythm. Now there's no one left
for you to fool. What big eyes you have. What a long nose you have. What
sharp teeth you have."

"Ah, so this must be your true nature. However, this does not satisfy
me. Nothing less than a rematch against _the_ Youkiri Battousai is
called for. After awakening you, I will awaken Battousai Himura's most
powerful self!"

The Legendary Youko Kurama regarded the Kanji Killer as if he were an
insect buzzing around in his face. "Don't you realize you've awakened a
sleeping giant and filled him with terrible resolve?"

They were out in the open now, the midnight sea breeze tossing their
hair all around. From there, Jine started to cackle even crazier than
usual as he raised his blades and braced himself for anything, his
senses tense and ready.

"You might think I'm a bug, but I'm actually a snake. No bigger than
your pinky finger but more powerful than a king. Come forth and face me,
Battousai!"

They both charged at the same time as the Kanji Killer howled, "Die,
_Kurama_! Die, _Battousai_! Die! Die! DIE...!"

The youko sheathed the sword as though preparing for a battoujutsu
strike. However, no battoujutsu actually happened.

Something else occurred. Something that Jine should have expected from a
master of deception. He should've known better.


===


"...DIE!"

One extra mention of the banned word was all it took to end the battle.

Before Jine Udo knew it, his body stiffened and glowed with a strange
light. He didn't turn into a statue, but his soul had been ejected from
his body.

Meanwhile, the one holding the sheathed sword was not Kurama, but
instead a blinking, bemused Kaito. As for the supposedly deceased
Natsuki, she was alive and well.

In fact, as soon as Jine's soul was ejected, the non-spectacle-wearing
friend of Keiko did a long, hard gasp before going on all fours,
coughing and hacking thanks to the two-minute period when she wasn't
able to inhale at all.

"What just happened?" asked Yu.

"Be careful, we're still in your Taboo territory," warned Kurama as he
slapped Kaito's shoulders in a friendly manner. "Thank you for your
cooperation. I couldn't have done it without you."

"Wait, wait, wait, Minamino-kun. The Kanji Killer just got his soul
ejected through Taboo, right?"

"He said a taboo word, so he was punished in accordance to the rules of
your territory," confirmed Kurama.

"I need a minute," said Kaito as he rubbed his temples and adjusted his
glasses. "Okay. I'm back. So what happened earlier, when Natsuki died
and I revived her using Sanction? Also, what's with that ending fight
with the Kanji Killer? How'd I become _you_? I'm so confused."

"Those were all illusions I made while we were in your Sanction
territory." Kurama gave Kaito a wry smile. "The very first sentence I
uttered was: I wish to 'blank' Jine by having the same hypnosis powers
as he does."

Kaito searched the floor for the banned word that Kurama couldn't say.
As soon as Sanction was deactivated for real, the graffiti words from
the shiritori game returned on the boiler room walls and floor.
'Enchant. The sentence was, I wish to _enchant_ Jine by having the same
hypnosis powers as he does.'

Yu slapped his forehead and shook his head slowly. "You magnificent
bastard. You found a way to win Sanction on the first move. You managed
to out-hypnotize the hypnotist by using his own modus operandi against
him."

Kurama nodded. "Bingo."

Kaito eyed the glowing body of Jine warily. "Is this real life or is
this just fantasy, though? He could still be using his Jagan to pull
another fast one on us."

Kurama wagged his finger. "He has no idea what happens when you say a
taboo word in your Taboo territory, remember? Even my Jagan illusion
showed you _dying_ instead of freezing up with a glowing body and an
ejected soul after saying the forbidden word. He's the real deal. We've
gotten his soul."

Yu relaxed and deactivated Taboo. He then proceeded to say all the
forbidden words Kurama and Jine came up with during their shiritori game
in a fit of catharsis. "Kurama, you scare me. Even if it was an
illusion, you showed me that you can keep me in line even with the
powers of a god!"

A pensive Minamino said, "What you did kind of impressed me, in a way. I
mean, what's the point of being immortal and a god if you have no one to
share it with? You were willing to become a god for someone else. That's
something to be envious about, I think."

Kaito didn't know how else to respond to that but laugh in a goofy way.
"Oh, speaking of which, I do hope Natsuki still remembers me asking her
out. I'd die if I have to confess again."

Kurama considered whether it was safe to trust Natsuki after she was
brainwashed by Jine, but he presumed that since Udo's soul had been
captured, the effects of her hypnosis should have worn off by now.

Kaito went beside the recovering Natsuki and patted her back as soon as
she went into another coughing fit. "You okay? I'm so glad you're still
alive."

As Kurama turned to check out Jine's petrified body and the soul that
was floating in front of it, he saw something else before him an eye
blink later. It was the frozen, diminutive form of _Natsuki_. _She_ was
the one who ended up saying the forbidden word.

In the middle of Kurama's mirage, Jine successfully made another
hallucination on top of it.

"...Kaito-kun, LOOK OUT!" Kurama shouted out too late. Yu had already
been stabbed. Stabbed by the real Kanji Killer, who'd been posing as
Natsuki all this time.

Kaito's trauma from being hurt bad by Jine eventually led to complete
deactivation of his powers, including its resulting effects. In turn,
Natsuki's soul returned to her body, which roused her from her temporary
out-of-body experience.

'I let my guard down too early!' Kurama cursed at himself under his
breath.

"Are you done with your little games, fox?" reiterated Kurogasa as he
wiped his bloody uchigatana clean. "How many more people are you going
to sacrifice before you're satisfied? No more games. Pick up the Demon
Sword. Give me the fight I've been yearning for."

"You've used your Jagan three times. You have no illusions left." Kurama
used the prehensile vines of the surrounding kudzu to tend to Kaito's
wounds and grab the Demon Sword by mentally controlling them as though
they were extensions of his limbs.

"Three times? Really? Are you sure?"

"Once, when you pretended to kill us while under the antiviolence
barrier of Taboo. Twice, when you made Natsuki choke to death even
though you shouldn't be able to do that inside Taboo. Thrice, when you
switched places with Natsuki and made her scream the forbidden word
while making us think you've been defeated."

Jine drew his head back and laughed as though he'd just heard the
funniest joke in the world. "Since when were you under the impression
that she was choking to death? She's actually quite the fine actress, if
I do say so myself. She had you fooled all this time."

Kurama gathered the remaining kudzu into one tangled mess beside him and
Kaito. The point of using them to keep Jine inside the boiler room had
long ago become meaningless. "So you have only one more illusion left?
You better make it count."

Udo guffawed. "Maybe I should've finished off your nerdy friend, but all
that would've accomplish is make you angry enough to perhaps change into
your youko form. As formidable an enemy as he probably is, the one I'm
really interested in fighting is the Youkiri Battousai."

"So you keep on saying, but sometimes even you just can't have what you
want, no matter how hard you try," a golden-eyed Kurama said as his bio-
rhythm acted up again. He was shedding his sheep's clothing once more.

"Nah. The night is still young. Isn't that right, Kitajima Maya-
ojousan?"

Minamino felt his sweat run cold as he saw at the corner of his eyes
"Natsuki" peel off her face mask to reveal that it truly was Maya all
along who was with them all this time. "Is this another one of your
projected fantasies?"

"Perish the thought. Like you said, I better make my last mirage count.
In fairness to me, I've been making good use of every one of them so
far."

Kurama begrudgingly agreed. This Maya sported the same bob cut as
Natsuki, but her face was unmistakably Maya's. The Kitajima he saw the
other day was probably wearing a wig to keep him from putting two and
two together.

"One of my compatriots in the Shin Ju, Gein, is an expert when it comes
to the most convincing disguises such as that skin mask. He made it with
zero effort. This was nothing to him. What an amazing man."

"What do you intend to do? Are you going to use your hypnosis to choke
her to death like you pretended to do earlier?" demanded Kurama.

Jine chuckled again. "Of course not. You're not like the pathetic
rurouni that the Battousai eventually turned into a hundred years ago.
Such tricks won't work on you, right? So if you would please, ojousan."

Maya proceeded to take Jine's wakizashi and slowly pierce her chest with
it. Apparently, even the Kanji Killer knew how to be a sarcastic liar.

Kurama reacted instantly, summoning his kudzu with the intention of
binding Kitajima, but he was interrupted by an attacking Kanji Killer.
"Take the sword. Wake Battousai up. Do it or the girl dies by her own
hands."

Minamino had flashbacks, but not of Kenshin desperately attempting to
save Kaoru from Jine. Instead, it was Yusuke frantically trying to save
Kuwabara from the Younger Toguro. He then had more memories start
flooding in, this time his own and not someone else's.

Kurama had the same cold resolve he had now as he did back when Roto
threatened to kill his mother in the Dark Martial Arts Tournament.
Ditto when it came to him stealing the Mirror of Forlorn Hope to save
his (at-the-time) dying mother. He also had several dire fates planned
for Yomi when the latter threatened to blow up the airplane his mother
was on at the time.

He even had long-buried memories of the death of Kuronue, who was caught
in a bamboo booby trap because he went to retrieve a special pendant of
his that he accidentally left behind, with his youko self unable to do
anything for his partner-in-crime. However, by the time Kurama finally
decided to take hold of the Youtou Shinnoken, it was already too late.

"Silly fox. She was never meant to live. She was only here to make you
angry enough to use the full potential of the Demon Sword."

And so Maya, Shuichi's former classmate and childhood friend whose
memories he attempted to wipe clean to protect her, proceeded to stab
herself with a short sword on the chest.


===


It took 0.04 seconds for a transformed Youko Kurama wielding the Demon
Sword to decapitate Jine Udo with the Sou Ryu Sen. His sword was not the
sakabatou anymore, but the Youtou Shinnoken, so its blade flew out of
its scabbard without any problem, its audible supersonic sharpness
easily cutting through flesh and bone like they weren't even there.

As soon as the blade left its scabbard, Shuichi Minamino transformed
into Youko Kurama. Also, even before the synapses of the original Kanji
Killer's brain allowed him to react or even formulate a proper illusion
against the might of the Demon Sword, his head had already rolled off
his shoulders.

In fairness to the reawakened Youko Kurama, he didn't only kill the
Kanji Killer, he also saved Maya from killing herself by snatching away
the wakizashi she'd been handed just as she was about to plunge the
dagger into her heart.

However, this remained true. After decades of bloodless use, the Youtou
Shinnoken had finally tasted blood and taken a life. Human blood, at
that. Neither Kenshin nor him could go back to how they were used to be.

Jine had actually deployed his Jagan way before Youko Kurama could
counter him with Kenshin's finishing move, which was battoujutsu.
The image of the decapitated Udo was replaced with the headless body of
Maya Kitajima instead.

Kurama's blood turned cold, his transformation into the youko aborted by
his own shock.

Minamino had accidentally killed the person he was supposed to protect,
which (ironically enough) was exactly what happened to Kenshin when he
attempted to rescue his wife, Tomoe Yukishiro.

"I got you now, Battousai. You've been fooled by me, Jine Udo, and my
Jagan!" said the Kanji Killer before scourging the shell-shocked Kurama
with his signature "Hei" symbol of his Nikaido Heiho technique at the
side of the youko's robes where his kidneys would've been located.

The youko didn't even flinch as he turned and delivered a follow-up
scabbard blow to the head that would've crushed Kurogasa's head had the
serial killer not moved away that split-second.

Then again, even though Udo was only clipped by Kurama's counterattack,
his head still flowed with blood, covering his face in a crimson mask.
Also, cold rage enveloped Shuichi's heart until he wasn't Shuichi any
longer.

The subsequent Ryu Sou Sen was a blur of whirling steel.

Jine was ripped to shreds by combo after combo that he couldn't block or
deflect at all. Meanwhile, the youko himself had his silver hair turn
into the bright orange hair of Kenshin Himura, as though he were
shifting back and forth from Kurama the Demon Fox to Battousai the
Demon-Slayer.

They shared the same golden eyes, though.

Youko Kurama, while in perfect synch with the Youkiri Battousai in ways
that made it difficult to know where the demon fox ended and the demon-
slayer began, shot volley after volley of techniques against the Kanji
Killer.

"That's it! Finally! That's the Battousai I've been longing to fight!
My rematch with you is finally at hand!" Jine licked the blood flowing
from his cracked skull. The concussion he most likely had was probably
giving him delusions of grandeur. Kurama wouldn't put that past him.

"You've made a terrible mistake wasting your powers to make me angrier
than before, Jine. It's like you have a death wish or something. Are
you really this desperate to lose again?"

"No. I have no intention of losing. I will win. However, I won't win
against a weakling. It's only through fighting the strongest hitokiri
turned strongest youkiri that I can test my mettle!"

Just as the Youkiri Battousai possessing Youko Kurama was about to
attack with a Ryu Sou Sen, Ryu Tsui Sen, or any of the Ryu Kan Sen
variants... perhaps he could combine all of his techniques in one attack
thanks to the unbelievable speed... something else happened that the
neither the youko nor the demon-slayer expected.

Jine's Evil Eyes glowed a different color than before. Only demons could
see this color; it was invisible to the eyes of normal human beings. It
was ultraviolet.

"Thanks to your rage and despair after your childhood sweetheart died by
your own hand, I've now reached S-Level. It's _your_ suffering that's
feeding my Jagan right now. Everything is going according to plan."

Udo whispered something the same way Kurama did when they were fighting
inside the Sanction territory of Kaito earlier. Because he was a demon
fox with sharp hearing, it was only natural that the youko picked it up.

"Slow down," he had said.

Even though the silver-haired youkai envisioned perfectly how to do the
techniques, his body wouldn't follow his mind's commands, as though it
were short-circuiting at the last minute whenever his blade was about to
come into contact with Jine's flesh.

Kurama was moving too slow, just as Udo commanded. The Black Hat
Assassin turned Kanji Killer was simply full of surprises.

The ex-policeman took advantage of every slip-up and stuttering movement
with his own elaborate Nikaido Heiho counterstrikes, which left the
youko's white vest and silver hair dyed with his own blood.

"What's the matter, Battousai? Is that all you've got? Show me more!"
commanded Jine, and to Kurama's chagrin, the Kenshin inside him followed
suit. Was it his orders that made him move quickly again or did he get
over the might of Udo's powered-up Jagan?

Kurama didn't have time to ponder such things. However, Jine used the
reflection of his uchigatana to hypnotize himself into moving at the
same pace as Kurama did, thus allowing him to keep up with the speed of
the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu.

None of Kenshin's attacks were able to penetrate through Udo's defenses.
"I now truly have a power that's greater than that of a king. Even the
world leaders of both the Human World and the Demon World will bow
before me. Perhaps even the Chojin himself will do so."

"I will not allow you to control me like you did Maya," swore Kurama.

To counter each and every last one of Jine's strikes (which looked like
a tidal wave of steel at this point), Kurama had to resort to creating a
continuous version of the Ryu Sou Sen to stem the proverbial tide of the
Kanji Killer's Nikaido Heiho.

Youko Kurama's silver hair had now turned into orange and even his loose
silken robes were transformed into Kenshin's blue-and-white garb during
the Bakumatsu, specifically his days as the Hitokiri Battousai.

Kurama had lost two of his identities in the span of mere minutes. He
didn't even know who he was anymore.

Jine then looked straight at the Youkiri Battousai's golden eyes and
said, "I, Jine Udo, order you to be my slave. You will do everything
that I want."

To the youko's horror, while wearing Kenshin's face (that for some
reason lacked the cross-shaped scar), he mouthed, "What is your command,
master?" even as his buzz saw strikes destroyed everything in his path,
from the boiler room to Udo's defenses.

Jine ordered, "You will not kill me. You will not hurt me." And so
Kurama obeyed. The Kanji Killer proceeded to slice up the supposed
legendary youkai thief that gave even the Three Kings a run for their
money in terms of influence and power. Like a lamb ready for slaughter.

It was already over before it started. As Kurama suspected, the only
reason he was able to still fight Jine after the serial killer activated
the full power of the Jagan was because he commanded him to do so.

Kurma had been under the control of the Kanji Killer's Jagan as soon as
the latter turned Class-S. Jine scowled. "Can't you free yourself from
my hypnosis, Battousai?"

"Is that an order?" a lightheaded Kurama asked as he defended himself
the best that he could from Udo's slashes.

"No. This is an actual order, though: Stop moving."

Kurama obeyed Jine again, and even though his mind and instincts did
their best to rebel against the command, his body would not listen. That
was when the Kanji Killer began chopping his limbs off, save for the one
holding the Demon Sword.

The youko didn't scream, so Kurogasa ordered him to scream. When he did
as he was told, his master changed his mind and told him to shut up. His
head was fuzzy. At the back of his mind, he wondered why he was so angry
in the first place.

So some girl ended up dead by his hand; so what? She was never important
to him. He only met her again a couple of days ago. On that note, why
did he care so much about the human mother of the human he possessed?
Why did she matter to him so much anyway?

The only thing that carried relevance to him now was fulfilling the
desires of his lord almighty, Jine Udo. The Kanji Killer. His one true
master that conquered him body and soul and outwitted him at every turn.
He deserved to be his master in every way possible.

"This is... boring," realized Jine too late. He considered releasing the
youko from his control, but then he wouldn't actually be fighting with
his full power if he did that. It was the Youkiri Battousai's fault for
not overcoming his Jagan's hypnosis anyway.

"How disappointing. I expected more from you, Battousai."

"W-What are your next orders, Jine Udo-sama?" asked the nigh-limbless
youko as he swam in his own blood while using the Youtou Shinnoken as
his means of moving his stumpy body. Unfortunately for him, the magical
sword did not give him any Toguro-Ani-like regeneration powers.

The S-Level Jine shut his eyes in disgust and ordered, "I don't care.
Kill yourself." He snorted. "I didn't want my duel to end like this.
Where is my epic battle with the Strongest Manslayer turned Strongest
Demon-Slayer? Why did it have to end this way?"

He never felt so empty in his life. Would the Chojin even present a
bigger challenge to him than Battousai? He hoped so. He now had the
_Demon Sword_ in his possession, after all.

He opened his eyes, expecting to see Kurama disembowel himself, only to
be greeted by a darkness that wouldn't go away.

'Wha...?'


===


The now blinded, eyeless Jine wailed and gnashed his teeth, screaming
and demanding, "WHY? HOW? WHAT HAPPENED? BATTOUSAI! KURAMA!"

Youko Kurama didn't bother explaining anything to the sightless Kanji
Killer (although he still remembered how everything went down). He
instead bound him with the remnants of the kudzu that was supposed to
keep him inside the ship's boiler room.

As Maya was about to stab herself earlier, Kurama froze her with the
kenki-projection technique Kenshin apparently knew that was similar in
execution to the Shin no Ippo (called Kanashibari), but wasn't as
powerful as the Nikaido Heiho succession move.

This allowed the transformed youko extra time to pluck one of the Black
Hat Assassin's twin Jagan, put it inside the head of one of his
remaining mandrake mannequins, and have it reflect the unsuspecting
Kanji Killer's illusions back at him.

The serial killer still managed to inflict damage upon Kurama with the
whirling dervish that was the Nikaido Heiho Ryu, but as soon as that one
hypnotic eye was plucked, it was all over for Jine.

Incidentally, the shrunken humanoid mandrake head was directly connected
to Kurama's mind via penetrative roots that accessed the youko's nerves,
thus allowing him control of the Evil Eye.

Thankfully, due to his earlier "practice run" when it came to creating
fantasies via his wish to have Jagan powers insiude Kaito's Sanction
territory, Minamino was able to make a convincing-enough dream that
fooled even Udo.

As the delusion ended, that was when the youko plucked Udo's remaining
Jagan, thus rendering him completely blind and unable to utilize his
dangerous powers against anyone.

The silver-haired, golden-eyed, pale-skinned, narrow-eyed, and lithe-
built youko stared at himself through his reflection on the Youtou
Shinnoken's blade, sighed, and slowly slipped the naked steel back into
its scabbard.

'It's okay,' reassured Kenshin. 'You haven't overused the powers of the
Youtou Shinnoken for too long.'

To confirm the spirit guardian's words, Kurama proceeded to look at
himself at the nearest mirror he could find, which was a circular glass
pane that overlooked the deck and the sea.

He exhaled the breath he didn't realize he was holding. There he was,
with his long red hair, green eyes, normal complexion, and casual (if
torn) clothes. Shuichi Minamino still existed.

He made the right decision by attacking that way. He had not crossed the
line, passed the threshold, or went beyond the point of no return. He
didn't permanently turn back into the youko.

He didn't transform into Kenshin's most powerful form either. He was...
Kurama. A demon "trapped" inside the body of a human boy. A wolf that
was comfortable in sheep's clothing. A fox pretending to be a lamb.

It was just the way he liked it. He wouldn't have it any other way. This
was simply who he was now. He was both human and demonic.

He heard someone moan and stir. He looked over his shoulder. The blind
Jine had lost his voice screaming his heart out in pain and in defeat.
The Kanji Killer couldn't even kill himself like he did when he was
first defeated by Kenshin.

As for Kaito, he was soundly sleeping, seemingly mummified by the kudzu
that surrounded his body, his wounds healing slowly but surely thanks to
Kurama's medicinal herbs. Afterwards, Minamino's eyes alighted upon Maya
Kitajima's prone figure.

"Kitajima!" Kurama hobbled towards his ex-classmate from middle school.
"Are you okay?"

"...Didn't I tell you to call me Maya from now on?" murmured the bob-
cut-sporting Kitajima.

Kurama scratched the back of his head. "Sorry. I've forgot."

"You won't make me forget everything again, are you?"

Kurama shook his head. "I think you can handle the truth now, _Maya_."

A red-faced Maya giggled in spite of herself. "M-Maybe if you put 'san'
after it, it'd be less embarrassing."

"You were the one who insisted on me calling you Maya."

"Ah, fine! Whatever!" Kitajima pouted, but then smiled as Kurama stroked
her hair. "Minamino-kun... No, Kurama."

"Yes?"

"I had the strangest dream about you. You didn't use that memory-erasing
pollen on me again, did you?"

"Hmmm. I wonder..."

Maya lightly punched Kurama's shoulder. "Come on!" she chided.


===


As shared by Kurama and Maya, a memory of the past (or what could've
been) showed something else had (or could've) transpired in the heat
of the battle...

Kurama was too stunned and perplexed by the turn of events to actually
follow a coherent plan on the fly as Maya attempted to commit suicide
with Jine's short sword while under his hypnosis.

Acting on instinct, he focused all of his attention towards Maya and
snatching away the wakizashi in her grip, neglecting to notice Jine
heading at the same direction.

As a result, even though Shuichi prevented his childhood friend and
middle school "sweetheart" from committing brainwashed suicide, he
could not stop Jine from tearing her into pieces like a broken mannequin
in order to etch the "Hei" character on the distracted Kurama's stomach.

He'd earlier imagined he'd rescue Maya like the countless times he
rescued his mother from harm by demons and disease, but in the end, this
childhood friend of his whose love for him was never meant to be ended
up as nothing more than a pawn, just like with Game Master Tsukihito
Amanuma.

Shinobu Sensui forced Kurama to kill Amanuma once upon a time. Sure, the
boy was revived by Koenma with his pacifier (which weakened his powers
enough to allow S-Level Sensui to avoid getting trapped by the Mafuu
Kan), but the fact remained that Tsukihito was "executed" by the half-
youko. He was never meant to live and used as bait, just like with Maya.

The Mark of the Kanji Killer seared through the half-youko's skin,
making him bite his lip hard enough to draw blood, his fangs puncturing
his mouth.

Like during his fight against Sensui after killing Yusuke Urameshi,
Kurama's transformation into the Legendary Demon Fox of the Demon World
happened before he even realized it, his canines becoming longer and
his fingernails turning into claws.

As he understood it, Feng Xinhai used the same technique to draw energy
from both the trauma and suffering of Natsuki Shinkai (Yutaro
Tsukayama's reincarnation) and Daiji Matsudaira (Aoshi Shinomori's
reincarnation). Keiko herself was in a coma thanks to Seiryu's attempt
to do the same to her.

Unlike with the illusion Kurama induced by plucking Jine's Jagan and
having his remaining eye stare at his other eye, thus hypnotizing
himself, the Kanji Killer still had one more fantasy left. He had not
used it to fool Shuichi into killing Maya.

Therefore, as soon as Jine passed the boundary of Class-A and turned
Class-S, the next evolution of his Jagan had even more reserved power
than ever before.

Kurama knew, because as soon as Udo unleashed his Hyouki no Jutsu or
"Grasp of the Demon" self-hypnosis technique, instead of merely matching
Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu's speed strike for strike, he overwhelmed the
supposedly invincible Youkiri Battousai.

No matter what sort of seed, herb, or plant life the powered-up Youko
Kurama threw at Jine, he easily shredded it or used his Jagan to make
it self-destruct or kill itself.

Bamboo shoots were turned into fine mulch. The Kudzu Weed suffocated the
Shimaneki Seed. The Vampire Plant had to be killed by the demon fox
because Jine hypnotized it go after its own master instead.

Kurama's true fight against the Nikaido Heiho Ryu master (as opposed to
the illusory fight) lasted a whole half hour that seemed like an
eternity. The extra energy boost allowed Jine to accomplish things he
couldn't have done had he wasted that one last illusion on Kurama.

"Prepare yourself! This is the ultimate evolution of Nikaido Heiho, the
Jagan, and the Shin no Ippo! I will have full control of both your body
and mind!"

For example, Udo could "order" Kurama's body to hyperventilate. Or have
one of his lungs collapse unto itself. Or make his muscles cramp up.
Even with the comparatively tougher constitution of a demon, such antics
took its toll on the youkai.

Instead of panicking, the youko felt insulted that a mere human could
do such things to him. He started using more and more the power of the
Youtou Shinnoken to undo the damage that Jine's Jagan was inflicting
upon him. Did the Demon Sword give him healing powers? He could've sworn
that it didn't.

How dare Jine. How dare he make a mockery of the feared youko. A mere
human. Kurama made his Plant Claw wrap itself around the Youtou
Shinnoken tightly until it became a literal extension of his body.

Afterwards, a Ryu Tsui Sen was able to slip past Jine's formidable
defense. Also, a Ryu Kan Sen. The battoujutsu and the follow-up saya
blow sliced and battered Kurogasa up, even though Kurama's speed never
actually changed.

The fact that his attacks were penetrating made Udo cackle even harder,
as though he were delirious with joy. "Yes, yes! This is how you
defeated me before! No matter how fast I became, you still managed to
go faster!"

Jine had lost so much blood, a Ryu Sou Sen would've finished him off
long before battoujutsu would've killed him. The youkiri inside Kurama
didn't want to take any chances, though. This led to him sheathing the
Youtou Shinnoken and going into battoujutsu stance.

Even with the sword sheathed and its power hidden, Youko Kurama couldn't
revert to Shuichi Minamino. He'd been using the power of the Demon Sword
for too long. He could no longer change back.

Just as he'd expected. Just as he... feared?

With his Jagan glowing ultraviolet, the Kanji Killer ordered, "I, Jine
Udo, order you to not kill me. To not hurt me," as his eyes met with
Kurama's.

Youko Kurama quickly realized that he had no choice but to obey.

The youko's pride kept him from giving up entirely, compelling him to
keep on fighting even in the face of S-Level Evil Eyes that were capable
of not only fooling the mind with mirages, but outright brainwashing
anyone and anything.

"If you're able to overcome this, then you truly deserve the title of
the Strongest, Battousai!" said Jine, and as a response, every split-
second, the Youkiri Battousai's visage and form replaced Youko
Kurama's, their bodies shifting back and forth from shinigami to youkai.

It was then that part of Kurama's brain felt like he didn't _need_ to
disobey Jine's orders at all while another splinter of his psyche
started panicking. Was his mind about to break?

"Time to die, Youkiri Battousai!" howled Jine, his uchigatana raised up
high, his Jagan prepared to deliver another powerful command. "I want
your blood to clot within one of your arteries to the point of it
rupturing!"

The power to control not only the conscious functions of the brain but
also the involuntary operations of the organs that was normally out of
the conscious mind's jurisdiction: That was the _full power_ of Udo's
Class-S Jagan with his energy fully replenished.

The youko could not disobey Jine's command to not hurt him. Technically.

However, he had enough presence of mind to unsheathe his sword and, as
the Kanji Killer was about to manipulate another one of his bodily
functions, he had him stare at his own Jagan using the reflection of his
eyes on the Youtou Shinnoken's blade.

Therefore, Kurama didn't actually do anything to _directly_ hurt or kill
Jine. However, the youkai did enough to have the Kanji Killer's attempt
at giving him a blood clot backfire.

Thus, it was Ex-Officer Takumi Hamada who had his arterial blood flow
obstructed, which caused his artery to rupture and some of his brain
cells to suddenly die. In other words, he had a stroke then and there
after he was hoisted by his own petard.

This freed the youko from the serial killer's earlier spell. He sheathed
the Youtou Shinnoken again then delivered a swift battoujutsu strike
right at Jine's Jagan, slicing the eyeballs in twain along with his
dying brain.

Kurama had no choice. It was either him or Jine. He had no other options
available. He had tainted the Demon Sword with human blood. However,
even though he was able to avenge the death of Maya Kitajima, he could
never bring her back.

Nor could he bring back Shuichi Minamino, come to think of it.


===


To Be Continued...

Next: Misao Makimachi.

Yes, Kaito's Sanction power is essentially the Ars Magna power of
Aurelius Izzard of "A Certain Magical Index" fame. Incidentally, Izzard
is a reality warper who can turn thought into truth as long as he's able
to make some sort of chant out of it.

As for Jine's Jagan or Evil Eyes, it's obviously modeled after the
three-times-a-day illusions created by "jaganshi" Ban Mido of
"Getbackers" fame. Finally, the S-Level version of the Jagan is modeled
after the Geass power of Lelouch Ramperouge of "Code Geass" fame.

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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