#okushiri

At the Okushiri Airport...

Natsuki Shinaki freed herself from Kuronue's chains, accelerating them even while at rest by focusing her reiki unto them.

Kuronue barely dodged the broken chain shrapnel along with the follow-through Kousa Dageki (Cross Strike) strike and thrust combo that nearly crushed his skull and/or put a hole in his trachea.

Or maybe he didn't. Maybe he got hit after all. And killed.

However, the next thing Natsuki knew, he was 6 feet or 2 meters away from her, none the worse for wear. As though  she hit and killed a mirage.

Damn. That was close.

They were right inside the flaming wreckage of a 747 cargo plane right that Karasu used to blow up the airport, which served as more shrapnel for the crow youkai to use.

Yes, Natsuki Shinkai could be as soft-hearted as Kurama in that she didn't indiscriminately kill her enemies. However, when she was pushed far enough, she could be every bit as cruel as the Youko.

Especially if she thought you deserved it. Like her father, Feng Xinhai, attempting to kill Daiji Matsudaira with a half-formed supercell of a tornado.

A simple humiliating parry of her friend's flying kick was enough to send her to the edge.

Figuring out what Kuronue meant by Natsuki's limits, he started blasting the surrounding buildings and planes of the Okushiri Airport.

Even though she could redirect the explosions or even rubble away from herself, the merciful Natsuki kept her barrier down against the high-speed shards of earth and glass for fear of deflecting it against nearby civilians or her friend, Likka.

"Dammit," she cursed as she concentrated hard to push the rubble and debris from the explosions at only Karasu and Kuronue in order to protect Ikumi.

"I understand her weakness now," said Karasu. "She's only as powerful as the attacks directed at her! She also needs to concentrate hard to manipulate the direction and trajectory of objects coming at her or else there'll be collateral damage!"

"That's right. And she can't do those two things at the same time!" said the bat demon, who sneered and then produced Clamshell Shrapnel Bombs for good measure.

Meanwhile, Kuronue himself easily maneuvered through the raining debris, metal shrapnel, glass, and rubble in order to attack Natsuki with them, knowing that she could only dodge and couldn't return fire with any effective offense of her own.

The demons attacked simultaneously at two fronts, which kept her from focusing her psionic redirection powers properly.

She held on remarkably well though, redirecting the rocks at both demons while using Hawatari (Sword Halt) and Hadome (Sword Crossing) at the supersonic Kuronue's attempts at making her slip up and

"Ahhh!" Likka Ikumi cried out in pain as several of the shrapnel hit her on the thigh and side.

There were too many flying debris chaotically shooting at every direction and at different speeds for Shinkai to properly take account of and deflect.

"Likka-tan! I'm sorry!" shouted a tearful Natsuki, only for Kuronue to aim for her neck. She then faced her attacker and said, "Fine. You want me to kill you? Then I will!"

She proceeded to do what Kuronue claimed she couldn't do, which was to reverse the flow of his blood in one direction, leading his head swell and burst like a balloon.

A second Kuronue appeared right behind the deceased one, his scythe in the ready. "Whoa. How scary."

'What the hell was going on anymore?' thought Natsuki as the sickle cut through her stomach.

Karasu then threw a new grenade at Natsuki, who attempted to deflect it only for it to explode in her face.

***

Youtou Shinnoken: Demon Sword

A Rurouni Kenshin/Yuyu Hakusho Crossover Fan Fiction Story by Chester Castañeda

Original concept by Chad Yang

The Misao reincarnation known as Likka Ikumi gets to activate her special powers at last.

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 materials that are far too many to mention here. Don't sue me please, I'm very poor.

***

Chapter 56: Living Sin (Part 8)

***

At Nabetsuru Rock...

The Nabetsuru (Pot Handle) Rock was a tourist destination in Okushiri Island. It was a rock formation visible across the shores of Okushiri with the appearance of a pot handle.

Speaking of pots, the water surrounding the rock soon boiled, steamed, and bubbled. Something was afoot.

The half-healed zombie body of Usui Uonuma was still licking his wounds from his defeat against Hajime Saito when one of the ferry-girls located him off of Nabetsuru Rock and informed the Reikai Senshi of the fact.

Shikigami from Houji gathered around him to present him with enough negative energy to heal him up. It was weird how jaki could heal a body, but he knew his body was really more of a corpse and he was more of a vengeful ghost than a reincarnated spirit.

He knew and he didn't care. He'd cling to existence by any means necessary after it was nearly snuffed out by Makoto Shishio and "permanently" ended by Hajime Saito.

He had by then reconnected his body's top half with his bottom half, but the wounds were still tender and his spine was still in bad shape. The Spirit World Warriors were really hammering their forces down, weren't they?

A few minutes later and there he was.

Jaganshi (Evil Eye User) Hiei.

Probably the second or third most powerful member of the Spirit World Warriors, behind Kenshin Himura (with the Demon Sword) and Yusuke Urameshi (once he got over his Kugai issues and fully unleashed the power of the Spirit Light Wave Gem).

Usui smirked, opened his mouth, and licked his lips.

It was the Shingan (True Eyes) versus the Jagan (Evil Eyes).

The blind swordsman turned spearman zombie wondered. If he had Jine Udo's Jagan on one eye socket and Hiei's Jagan on his other eye socket, would he finally gain the power he needed to usurp the likes of Tenro? Or the Chojin?

Or Shishio?

'Same difference.'

He remembered how his Tinbe grew thick enough to stop even the ultimate attacks of both a super-powered Kenshin and Saito, which in turn allowed his Rochin to penetrate to anything weaker than his Tinbe.

If he had the power of one Jagan to hypnotize people and the other Jagan to gain control of demonic energy, he'd be unstoppable.

The most powerful Shin Ju who possessed both superhuman senses and supernatural powers.

'But first thing's first,' he thought, noticing the fewer number of shinigami (death gods) assisting his healing as Hiei approached his perch on the rock at dangerous speeds.

The sea seemingly sliced in twain from his flashing steps as though he were a miniature speedboat Moses himself parting the Red Sea like theater curtains.

***

There were too many of them. There was a suffocating amount if Iwanbos there as well as shikigamis who fed them jaki (negative energy).

The combination of Houji "The Onmyouji (Occult Priest)" Sadojima and Edward "The Puppet Master" Gein (also known as Dr. Shoji Sugino from Unit 731) were too much for this batch of Reikai Senshi to handle.

That was the simple conclusion that the Reikai Senshi (Spirit World Warriors) and the Oniwabanshu (Garden Keepers) had when fighting against the armies of Iwanbo and shikigami from both

Like the Roku Youkai in Mt. McKinley versus The Nameless Yatsume, they Reikai Tantei and the Oniwabanshu were flooded with Iwanbo versions 1, 2, and 3 and the shikigami they fed on for jaki and power ups, like this was an ecosystem and the Reikai Senshi were prey.

Kuwabara had been chopping out Iwanbos and familiars left and right with his twin Jigen Tou (Dimensional Sword), only to end up sapped of energy and with only one flickering Dimension Sword left as more and more of the puppet monsters appeared.

At the same time, he had to contend against Houji turning everything nearest him into freaking Toguro Ani, with their wounds or even pureed bodies healing instantly.

Gein, in turn, used his jaki to supply Houji with fresh corpses to bring to life and heal.

The reincarnated Okashira (Boss) of the Oniwabanshu, Daiji Matsudaira (formerly Aoshi Shinomori) fluidly maneuvered against the razors-sharp web of trip-wires that the World War II era mad scientist ninja known as Gein weaved with his diamond-covered threads, only to be bull-rushed by the one Iwanbo Version 3 with the four arms: The Iwanbo Version 3.2.

The Iwanbo 3.2 had thus far trampled on all of the efforts of the Tokyo Oniwabanshu to take it down, whether it was through poison, fire, sword slashes, brute strength, or martial arts.

Like Shikijo, it got cross-slash scars from every part of its body, but it still kept moving, shrugging off the rain of kodachi Daiji produced as well as the pistol shots to the head it got a little while later.

Kuwabara did notice how the monstrous puppet recovered as quickly as Toguro Ani while sporting the same ridiculous musculature and power of Toguro Ototo. 'Hiei and Kurama's investigations were true! That old ninja guy really was responsible for demonizing the Toguro Brothers!'

Meanwhile, Kuwabara desperately held on to his knife-sized Jigen Tou, willing it to remain in his hands even as he had to contend against an undead army of shikigami and Iwanbos.

He sliced apart portals, warp gates, dimensions, space, and even the sky itself with the way his cuts remained in the air like cracked on glass, cutting through the guts of the zombies down below and the ghoulish ghosts from up above.

Houji and Gein pushed him to the brink of using up all his spirit energy, which may then force him to use his own life force to keep on fighting.

The Onmyouji sloppily sliced at Kuwabara, who then blocked the blade but buckled on the weight of the Chojin's negative energy instead of the strength of the strike. 'Dammit, we're going to lose!'

The bowl-cut man cackled and ranted, "This is the power of the Chojin! This is the power of the gods! You were no match from the start!"

As for the Shinomori of the modern era, he threw every last kodachi he could master at the charging Iwanbo, whose tackles were so impactful he turned even fellow Iwanbo and stray shikigami into road kill, ground beef, or ectoplasm.

Even after turning into a knife holder sculpture or Julius Caesar after his assassination, he would not stop charging.

The tired Okashira ended up taking a knee. He willed himself to move away with his Water Flow Movement, but Dr. Sugino caught him off-guard, the razor-wire biting into his neck. "Checkmate, Okashira. You killed me before, right? Well, let me return the favor."

Daiji struggled against the old man, surprised at how strong he was for his age, the piano wire digging deeper. They'd be both turned into mush by the rampaging Iwanbo 3.2, but only one of them would end up getting resurrected by the Onmyouji when all was said and done.

The air around them then changed as the ghosts of the Oniwabanshu rose again. However, something was different about them. They exuded menace that wasn't there before.

Hannya, Shikijo, Hyottoko, and Beshimi rose up like zombies hungry for flesh.

"Don't you dare touch the Okaaashiiiraaa...!"

***

As Likka Ikumi, Misao Makimachi's Heisei reincarnation, went unconscious due to blood loss, she dreamed of what had happened earlier, when she was deemed a C-Level martial artist ninja girl while the rest of the people she knew from past and present ranked B-Level and higher.

"This isn't fair!" Likka complained. "You'd be B-Level too if you didn't have special powers yourself, you little brat!"

"Yeah, funny how that works. Even Cat Eyes got better superpowers than you and your quick costume changes! OW!" teased Yahiko right at the moment he got hit upside the head with Misao's patented flying kick.

"KECHO GIRI!" Likka screamed. "Grrr! I want superpowers too! I don't want to end up in the battle field being some sort of liability to Uncle Jiji (Daiji) or Tsuki-chan (Natsuki)!

Yahiko then relented, "Jeez, Weasel-chan! Don't be upset about me being stronger than you, you only 'woke up' recently! But you're Makimachi Misao and yes, you're better at hand-to-hand combat than I am."

Ikumi paused then pouted. "Really, Yahiko-chan?"

Kenshin himself said, "Misao-dono, I know that Shinomori Aoshi's talent might have blinded you of this fact, but shinobi (spies) are not known for their swordsmanship or power. They're instead known for their cunning."

Natsuki herself interjected. "You are not a swordsman but a spy, Likka-tan. A ninja. A shadow warrior. You can take down a samurai many times more powerful than you by ambush and numbers. Use that."

Likka then woke up in time to see the miko (priestess) ferry-girl tending to her shrapnel wounds, removing the foreign objects and healing her body the best she could.

"Please, wake up! Please, hang on!" pleaded the shinigami known as Hinageshi.

***

Back at the Kyujimayama Observatory...

Hannya. Shikijo. Hyottoko. Beshimi.

Again, their supposed Okashira had failed them and soiled their memories. Or this watered-down copper version of their Okashira living in the present Heisei Era.

These ghosts that served as Daiji Matsudaira's guardian angels from the death of his wife to the present, when he discovered his dark destiny as being the reincarnation of the Last Oniwabanshu Okashira, were now forced to demonize themselves.

They abandoned their humanity and turned themselves into monsters in order to keep

The combination of Houji the Onmyouji and Gein the Puppet Master was truly too much for Kazuma Kuwabara and the Oniwabanshu them to handle.

Daiji did the Jissen Kenbu (combining the Water Flow Movement with his one-handed kodachi strikes) on Gein, who was not as adept at pure ninjutsu as his Meiji Era counterpart, but his supernatural powers and modern scientific knowledge more than made up for his lack of athleticism.

Just behind them, the transformed Oniwabanshu tore apart the four-armed Iwanbo 3.1 like a pack of wolves.

"Saaaave the Okashiraaa! At aaaall cooosts!"

Shikijo's muscles bulging and popping as his complexion turned grey or even metallic, grabbing one set of the Iwanbo's arms and stopping him on his tracks.

Beshimi biting and throwing spines growing from all over his body, the corrosive poison seeping into the undead veins of the puppet monster.

Hyottoko turning into a full-on kappa youkai who breathed fire, toasting the creature from behind.

And finally, there was the tri-clawed Hannya, who stabbed the Iwanbo, sliced the veins of his other arms, and ravaged him like a rabid wolverine.

The more they ripped apart the puppet, the more mindless they became. Like animals.

Houji chuckled at the display, letting his shikigami deal with the weakening Kuwabara for a change. "How would it feel if I took away your ghost friends and brought them to our side, Okashira?"

Meanwhile, Gein was already using his own knowledge of the dark arts in order to form a fresh new over-muscled Iwanbo 3.1.

No. Enough was enough.

The deceased Oniwabanshu had been haunting his soul all this time, even a hundred years later in another body, because they felt like they had failed in protecting him when the opposite was instead true.

Time and time again, they'd saved him.

His blue eyes shining bright like stars on a clear night, Daiji's aura of reiki (spirit energy) flared to life and reacted to the youki (demonic energy) emanating from his former Oniwabanshu comrades. He then started to absorb their dark energy unto himself, shouldering all their anger and feelings of failure unto him.

It was his own failure and lack of strength that kept them anchored to him for so long, keeping them from passing on.

It was his turn to save them.

"Uh, what happened?" asked Shikijo.

"I don't remember much," said Beshiimi.

"I feel hungry," said Hyottoko.

"You can't be hungry! You're a ghost!" admonished Hannya, who then turned towards Daiji. "It's the Okashira. He has saved us again, as usual!"

As the Okashira absorbed more of their dark energy, the Oniwabanshu ghouls started to go back to normal. They were neither demons nor monsters any longer.

Daiji then went face-to-face with the Iwanbo 3.2, who had again cannibalized the corpses or even "living" bodies of his undead brethren as well as the nearby shikigami unto him. To build his strength by feeding on the weak just like Matsudaira.

The Iwanbo 3.2 charged at Matsudaira, with the pair of Houji and Gein close behind him.

"Kill the Okashira! Do so and we'll have this battle in the bag!" said Gein to his puppet.

"We might even be able to revive him and turn him into one of the Dai Kaijin," added Sadojima.

They were in for the shock of their lives.

***

Back at Nabetsuru Rock...

Jaganshi Hiei ran on water like Jesus Christ in a hurry then blasted the rock where the half-healed or still-healing Usui Uonuma lay with a Jaou-En-Satsu Kokuryuha (Dragon of Darkness Flame).

The fire demon didn't want to take any chances. However, as expected, Uonuma's Tinbe still remembered the sheer power of the most powerful strikes given to it by Battousai and the Miburo.

It was able to survive the atomic heat of the Makai flames from Hiei's deadliest attack, neutralizing it.

"Hn."

Usui answered that indignant harrumph with a chuckle. "And just like that, my Tinbe is now fireproofed as well as shock-absorbent. Is that your best shot, Jaganshi Hiei?"

Hiei then visually disappeared from Uonuma's midst, but the blind man couldn't even see him even when he was floating in the sea or running on the water anyway, so he wasn't too worried.

He was able to hear him all the while though.

The blind spearman could only smile as he caught each and every slash or stab Hiei attempted at him, deflecting them away like rain with his Tinbe umbrella.

He was made aware that the Shin Ju had lost contact with Houji and Gein, which meant that there wasn't enough shikigami and jaki left to heal him soon.

However, he was an S-Level entity himself.

This meant that even though he didn't have the Onmyouji's assistance to heal him, he could damn well heal himself. Not at the cancerous rate that Toguro Ani did, but fast enough.

'I just need to buy myself a little bit more time,' Usui thought, blocking all of Hiei's sword strikes and countering with his Rochin spear that was as irresistible as his Tinbe was unbreakable.

'Battousai's reports are accurate,' thought Hiei. 'This man is hard to kill, even without the powers of the Onmyouji aiding him and keeping him alive. Or at least undead.'

The two combatants jumped from the rock to the shore, their feet both using the waves and the surface tension of the saltwater to travel from that long distance.

Not once was Hiei able to scratch the injured man. Not with the Kokuryuha. Not with his blade.

However, the blind Shin Ju in turn was not fast enough to counter with his Rochin. He kept missing his kaeshi (ripostes) even though he parried or blocked all of the fire demon's physical attacks.

Getting behind Usui to stab him and avoid the shield didn't work because the spearman sensed his presence every time and blocked accordingly.

However, thanks to Hiei's Jagan and his inborn twitch reflexes, the Rochin could not touch him in turn, no matter how badly he missed or got parried by the former hitokiri turned Juppon Gatana member.

Perhaps it was because he was too injured. Or perhaps it was because he was too slow from the get go.

They seemed to be at an impasse.

***

"Ahhh!" Natsuki shrieked, her impenetrable deflection shield working against her, drawing the implosion towards her instead of away from her due to the nature of her reversal powers.

The crow demon smirked.

His experimental pillbug implosion bomb was a success.

Shinkai predictably attempted to deflect it like Karasu's other bombs, but she did so by reversing its momentum. This made the bomb explode instead of implode unto itself.

The way Natsuki affected her environment was to use the inertia of the objects going towards her and reverse their momentum so that she didn't have to expend her spirit energy moving them away.

To reverse the momentum of an implosion bomb was to turn it into an explosive. "Now, Kuronue! While you have the chance!"

Then, after several more Kuronues died out, one of them decapitated Natsuki with his scythe.

Game. Set. Match.

However, that Natsuki turned out to be a standee advertisement of a stewardess instead. Taken from the rubble.

"!?" intoned Kuronue, only to realize it was the Misao reincarnation who duped him into decapitating the decoy.

A classic ninjutsu trick.

Karasu attempted to get rid of the troublesome onmitsu (ninja girl) with his variety of bombs, only to be greeted with a rain of kunai (ninja daggers) moving at every which way and direction, defying the laws of physics, gravity, and momentum.

He yelped as a dagger ended up in his eye, which would normally be weak enough for him to swat away. 'Where is that damned ninja...?!'

As for Kuronue and Natsuki, they were locked in a battle of wills and wits. Or perhaps a war of attrition.

For different reasons, both Shinkai and the bat demon ended up cleaving or crushing through dozens upon dozens of their respective "clones". With Natsuki, they were illusions made by Likka. With Kuronue, it was still a mystery where they came from.

For every Kuronue that got beat up, head-crushed, stabbed, or disabled by some way, so too did every Natsuki suffer getting their limbs chopped off, their heads decapitated, and their bodies bisected horizontally or vertically.

The fading corpses of Shinkai and Kuronue that littered the landscape disappeared as soon as they fell.

"I don't care anymore!" the one-eyed Karasu threw implosion bombs at the pair's direction. "I'm sure you'll somehow survive this, Kuronue, but she won't!"

That was when Likka Ikumi finally decided to show herself and detonated the bombs with her flung kunai, one of which ended up stuck unto Karasu's hand.

"...Fool! You fell into my trap!" said Karasu even as one of the implosions set him ablaze, with him taking his mask off with his other hand in order to activate another Full-Body Implosion. "Now to kill you to get rid of all these illusions!"

Likka then smirked before she shifted forms and turned into Natsuki.

"...What?!"

A flabbergasted Kuronue spared a glance at the Natsuki he was fighting. The bat demon chopped her up, only for her to turn into a stop sign.

"Since when were you under the impression that you were fighting Tsuki-chan?"

"Natsuki" then appeared behind him and turned him into a kunai holder, who sure enough ended up being Likka instead, mimicking her friend all the while.

"I will not be a burden to Tsuki-chan any longer! I can help her out! We can win against you two!" said Ikumi.

Thus was the power of the "C-Level" Likka Ikumi: Optical Illusion. Perfect Deception. Absolute Fantasy.

It allowed her reiki to create mirages or hallucinations from her own imagination that, when used properly could make gods kneel and devils cry.

A special power that could beat even S-Levels to submission.

A power similar to that the Kanji Killer and his hypnotic Jagan, but it involved projecting her imagination unto reality like realistic mirages instead of invading her opponent's psyche to see what she wanted them to see, thus she used up less reiki to do it.

"You've underestimated the both of us," said Shinkai, whose only injuries were from that one implosion bomb that slipped through. "Now pay for your arrogance!"

Just as Karasu was about to explode and take both the girls with him, Yutaro's reincarnation reflected and focused all that potential energy towards Kuronue, blasting him with her own version of Suzaku's Railgun.

She turned the crow demon into fuel and matter for her own energy gun, the same way Suzaku could turn any piece of steel into a blast of energy himself.

The golden beam of light seemed to kill multiple clones of Kuronue at the same time, his body stubbornly refusing to disintegrate, with him reviving over and over only for him to die again, until there was nothing left of both Karasu and Kuronue.  

***

Hiei harrumphed.

His speed did not phase his opponent one bit. Nor did his S-Level youki and Dragon of Darkness Flame.

However, he had to kill him there and then. He with his Tinbe was too dangerous to be left alive. He'd just disrupt their plan to take out Houji Sadojima permanently and drive the Shin Ju back without hope of resurrection.

Was it shameful to strike down an injured man? In war, there was no such thing as honor or fairness. Just survival of the fittest.

Usui cackled. "The speed by which you attack and how hard it is to catch you off-guard. You remind me of someone."

Hiei didn't answer back.

"Ah yes. Sou-kun," said Uonuma with a hint of wistfulness in his voice even though his comrade Soujiro Seta was still with him, just in a different unit of the Chojin's Army (the Dai  Shin Kan).

The two used to spar from time to time, with both being amazed at the other's prowess.

Seta shocked that no matter how fast he went, the Tinbe would block his strike despite his lack of presence or sakki (bloodlust). Uonuma surprised at how, at times, the boy would reach supersonic speeds.

Instead of turtling up in defense, Usui attacked for a change, the sands of the beach blasting behind him like a sandstorm. His Shingan senses and Hiei's Jagan kept the both of them from making fatal contact with each other, the most they could do was flesh wounds.

The longer the battle went the further Usui pushed Hiei into a corner (literally even as they battled from the beach to the resort to the streets and to several nearby buildings), much to the prideful demon's shame.

Perhaps the youkai underestimated the revived human's abilities just because he was injured.

"His Shukuchi made him so fast and his lack of bloodlust made him absolutely dangerous. Your speed and constant bloodlust reminds me of him. You're always brooding like he's always happy. Like twin sides of the same coin."

"Sou-kun", huh? Soujiro Seta was a thorn in his side all throughout his mission and investigation on human experimentation at Alaska's Mount McKinley (also known as Denali).

Hiei harrumphed again, growing impatient. Someone this injured should not be able to be this hard to kill.

He still had an ace up his sleeve that the nimble "Ten Ken (Heaven Sword)" lacked.

Doing the Sword of Darkness Flame felt like a waste of time, but he did it anyway. If speed didn't work then power might tip the scales of their deadlock.

This only made the deranged and wistful yet sightless man happier for some reason.

A wave of nostalgia filled Usui. He couldn't see the fire of Hiei's flaming sword with his own actual eyes, his stolen Jagan from Jine sealed away with his blindfold, but he felt the heat from blade, giving him goose bumps and raising the hairs behind his neck.

He was for all intents and purposes a living corpse with an unbeating heart, but his mind made him feel like his heart was racing and his blood was flowing like hot fire through his veins. His aortas. His artificial circulatory system.

To Hiei's surprise, Usui discarded his impenetrable Tinbe and charged with only his Rochin. Shouting one name all the while like a lunatic.

"DIE, SHISHIO!"

The longer the battle went the further Usui pushed Hiei into a corner (literally even as they battled from the beach to the resort to the streets and to several nearby buildings), much to the prideful demon's shame.

It wasn't because Uonuma was as fast as him. Rather, Shishio's oldest rival was used to fighting people as fast as he was, like Soujiro.

This allowed him to use prediction and skill to match superior reflexes.

Compared to Soujiro and even Hiei, Usui knew more nuanced sword/spear forms and cutting/stabbing techniques than a simple upward, side, or angled slashes. Fire sword or no fire sword.

Like a drunk brawler picking a fight with a championship boxer. Quickness could be countered by experience against predictability.

Perhaps the youkai underestimated the revived human's abilities just because he was injured.

The jaganshi attempted his usual modus operandi of making his opponent miss, slashing at his afterimage, only for him to appear from behind and slash him to bits.

However, it was Hiei who ended up slashing at air and an afterimage that wasn't there.

Did he heal his wounds already...? Was he hiding his true speed all this time?!

Hiei's Jagan tried to sense and locate where Uonuma was, like always. His sight beyond sight serving as his means to activate his tripwire reflexes.

Wait a minute. He couldn't see or sense him. Even his jaki was gone. His vision had become clouded. 'Dammit...!'

The Rochin shot him right into the sign saying they were in Kitaoimisaki Park, his youkai blood spewing forth his mouth, nostrils, and even his three eyes.

The illusion faded away like a pile of cherry blossom petals blown away by a strong breeze, and soon reality set in.

As soon as the flames from Hiei's Jaou-En-Satsu Ken (Sword of Darkness Flame) enticed Usui's senses, he lifted his blindfold and unsealed the power of Jine's version of the Jagan.

Apparently, even Hiei's artificial Jagan that Shigure transplanted unto him was susceptible to its hypnosis. Along with the eyes he was born with.

The Forbidden Child of the Koorime fell into a boneless heap before his blood pooled from underneath him.

He was too careless.

He believed he was there to take care of injured game, forgetting that an animal's flight or fight reflexes made them many times more dangerous than usual.

"That was refreshing," said Usui. "I have to thank you, Jaganshi Hiei. Your flaming sword reminded me what I'm truly fighting for, after a century."

The maneuver he did on Hiei was something he himself wished to do on Shishio himself. Trick him with the Jagan then stab him in the back. S-Level or no, that would kill him.

Uonuma then frowned. Inwardly, he thought, 'I haven't mastered Jine's Jagan. I can only use it once a day. Maybe more with the help of the Onmyouji's power up, but he's sealed off from the rest of us right now.'

After a minute of pondering, the taller, bearded man grabbed hold of the diminutive demon by the hair and lifted him up high over his shoulders, his bloodstained Jagan in full view.

"No matter," Usui decided. "I have a new Jagan to play with now. As soon as Gein returns, I'll have implant Shigure's Jagan into the empty socket of my other eye. Then I'll have the power of both the Shingan and the Jagan at my hands."

Uonuma trembled with barely contained excitement, which woke Hiei up after blacking out from the pain of being stabbed hard.

"Neither Battousai nor Saito Hajime nor Shishio Makoto nor Tenro not the Chojin will stand a chance against me once I have both those Jagan in my possession along with my Tinbe and Rochin!"

Just as Uonuma was about to melon-ball Hiei's Evil Eye from its artificial socket, Kurama then arrived, parrying the Rochin away with the Grass Blade.

"...Ah. You must be the Legendary Youko Kurama," said Usui with a sneer. "Udo Jine has told us a lot about you."

***

Kyujimayama Observatory suddenly had an entire building sprout from its lookout.

An ominous castle made of black spires and iron ore.

A structure with no discernible entrance, doors, or windows.

Earlier, just as the Iwanbo 3.2 was on the verge of turning Daiji Matsudaira into a messy pile of shattered bones, giblets, and mince meat, something changed inside the policeman's soul.

By absorbing the guilt and unfulfilled desires of the Oniwabanshu that left them as earthbound spirits, that energy mixed with the reiki of Daiji's soul and the kenki (swordsman spirit energy) of Aoshi's warrior spirit.

Pushed into a corner and forced to feed into the negative energy of his comrades, his reiki and kenki started to mix with their youki and jaki.

It produced a whole new kind of energy: A swordsman's energy mixed with a human soul's spirit energy and the bloodlust of a demon.

Reiatsu (Spirit Pressure).

Like Shinobu Sensui's Sei Kou Ki (Holy Light Energy), Daiji produced a different sort of spiritual energy worthy of one the gods or shinigami themselves or their version of the police, the Reikai Tokubetsu Boueitai (Spirit World Special Defense Squad).

It was through this cocktail of different energies that he was able to produce the spire-filled castle by which he trapped Houji Sadojima, Gein, and their undead army in one huge, tangible prison with his Quest-Class powers to create matter out of spirit energy but without sacrificing his life energy to do so.

And, like the One-Eight-Ten Killer before him, he himself was on the verge of breaking through from A-Level to S-Level by learning this technique that took Sensui years to perfect.

Afterwards, a flabbergasted Kuwabara created a portal out of the constricting spire, with the similarly exhausted Matsudaira in tow.

They'd stopped the Onmyouji from reviving the Shin Ju every time they were beaten. For now.

"You're really something else, Officer Matsudaira. You know that?" said Kazuma.

Catching up with his own shallow breaths, Daiji turned behind him, "I can't let them down. Not again."

Kuwabara himself turned towards where the copper was staring, in time to see the will o' wisp or blue fireball souls of the dearly departed Oniwabanshu.

Hannya. Shikijo. Hyottoko. Beshimi.

With a smile hidden behind his mask but could be heard from his ghostly voice, Hannya said, "As expected of our Okashira."

From there, Uchiko Shikoku (Sayuri), the ferry-girl of the Northeast Quadrant, arrived and started replenishing their spirit energy, although she pouted as she told Daiji, "I was almost sure you'd die, Ikemen (Pretty Boy). Oh well. Maybe next time?"

To Kazuma, the blonde shinigami instead said, "You, I couldn't care less if you died or not."

"Nobody asked you!" shouted back Kuwabara.

***

Kitaoimisaki Park located in the westernmost corner of Okushiri Island.

The Sea of Japan served as its backdrop and it was designed as an open-air museum of sorts that was filled with sculptures made by Masayuki Nagare, a modernist Japanese sculptor.

"RENGOKU SHOU! (PURGATORY WOUND!)" shouted Hiei as he pummeled the open Usui with his fists of flame, but the flurry of blows were also countered and neutralized by the damnable Tinbe shield.

It did allow him to get away from his captor, though.

Meanwhile, Kurama had actually arrived there just in time with the assistance of both Sayuri the Ferry-Girl and Kuwabara's Jigen Tou. He did tell them to go immediately.

"Let's not risk having Usui use Jine's Jagan again," Kurama said. "Leave and don't look anywhere near his face or eyes. Kuwabara-kun."

"You got it, Kurama," said Kuwabara before making a portal out of there. "Hiei, you fucked up! Now Kurama has to bail you out!"

Kazuma jumped right into the portal he made before Hiei could follow him and beat him up for his remark.

Kurama then told Hiei, "Kuwabara-kun's right, you know," which made Hiei seethe even more. "I know how you feel, but sit this one out for now. Let me handle this while Sayuri-san heals you for now."

As for the scythe-bearing Uchiko "Sayuri" Shikoku, she balefully used her powers to heal the damage done on Hiei, although the pint-sized youkai didn't look too pleased about it.

"Look, we're both not happy about this, so could you stop glaring at me?" said Uchiko, who wanted to see what was next for the death-defying "hunk" known as Daiji Matsudaira.

Actually, Kitaoimisaki Park was under Botan's jurisdiction (she was assigned the northwest quadrant), but she was too busy guiding Yahiko safely towards the Onmyouji, so Sayuri had to do for now.  

Usui chuckled, rubbing his chin. "Toguro Ani warned me about you," he said. "You're quite the trickster, I hear. So are you going to fight me now?"

"Yes," Kurama said, picking a rose seed inside his hair and turning it into a rose then finally into the Rose Whip. However, this time around, it was a Rose Whip tied around the handle of the Grass Blade, thus turning it into a Rose Kusarigama (Chain Sickle).

"I hate tricksters like you," confessed Usui. "You remind me of a Saizuchi that could somehow fight. The best way to take care of people like you is to kill you before you can come up with a convoluted scheme to take me down."

"Saizuchi?" repeated Kurama as he attempted to scan through Kenshin's memories given to him through his contact with the Demon Sword. "I don't know who that is." Himura must've never met that particular Ten Sword member.

They then proceeded to fight. Kurama was decently fast but not blindingly fast like Kenshin Himura, Soujiro Seta, Yusuke Urameshi, or Jaganshi Hiei.

However, like with how Usui countered Hiei's speed, Kurama knew how to methodically place his whip strikes and whiplash to minimize movement and maximize his range.

Also, thanks to his new weighted weapon, he could actually maneuver his whip to bounce off the Tinbe then hook-stab Uonuma from the back, like her were fishing in the ocean.

What a frighteningly clever demon.

It took full concentration from Usui's Shingan to predict the trajectory of every whip strike and whiplash from all sorts of awkward angles.

Kurama was also careful enough to attack from the distance and patiently wait when he'd commit to the strikes to keep himself from giving away any openings. A true chess master that outwitted even the likes of Feng Xinhai.

Truly irritating. He had no time for such nonsense.

Whatever they did to Houji wouldn't stick and the boy they were pinning their hopes to would be killed by either him or another surviving Shin Ju member. It was inevitable.

Usui let the Rose Chain-Sickle wrap around his Tinbe, which allowed him to pull Kurama towards him and stab him with the Rochin at last. The fox spirit turned human was able to twist his body in time to prevent a full-on stab like with Hiei, as though he was used to these situations.

Kurama grunted and tumbled backwards before ending up kneeling and gasping for breath.

Uonuma spared a sightless glance at Hiei and Sayuri, sneering at the youkai in particular. This was more for Hiei's sake (and mockery) than a need for him to sense the demon by turning his head, since he had Jine's Jagan sealed.

"I've defeated both Kurama and Hiei! The right-hand men of Yomi and Mukuro! Even the best that Makai (Demon World) could offer is no match against me!"

Before he knew it, he felt his Tinbe start to crumble, cracks forming all around it like the time Kenshin hit it with the follow-up strike of the Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki (Heavens Gliding Dragon Flash). "What? But how...!?"

His fingers then noticed the growth of moss on the shield, which had taken root throughout the battle. "Moss...?"

Kurama said as he stood, "A rolling stone gathers no moss. But a turtle shield might. It's amazingly sturdy, with it getting stronger the more you break it like organic bone. But since I added Makai Moss to it, the tiny cracks and marks it was supposed to heal couldn't heal because the moss roots had taken its space."

Like moss on an old building, the moss on Usui's Tinbe compromised the strength of the magic item, keeping it from healing properly. Making it crumble as the parts where bone or shell was supposed to be was instead replaced with moss.

Also, the Rochin strike to his side was shallower than before, the spear becoming brittle in cadence with the weakening of the Tinbe.

A cold sweat dripped down Usui's beard. Even after he was warned by Toguro Ani to watch out for Kurama's trickery, he still ended up tricked in the end!

He glanced again at Hiei, this time not to mock him but instead because his Shingan sensed the sudden spike in heat from the fire demon, which in turn knocked Sayuri back.

"Jaou-En-Satsu...!"

"NOOOO...!"

"KOKURYUHA!"

Multiple Dragons of Darkness Flames engulfed and cracked open the compromised Tinbe like a nut, the Makai Moss burning away along with the rest of the turtle shield as the second-in-command of the Juppon Gatana and Shin Ju practically got nuked into place.

"I take it back," said Uonuma, gasping for air even though he didn't really need to breathe. "You don't remind me of Saizuchi after all. You're more like Shishio Makoto himself. Shrewd as a fox yet fights like a demon."

***

Back at the Okushiri Airport...

Sayaka finished up her report to the other Reikai Senshi and then said to them. "So far so good. Kurama-san's' plans are coming along smoothly. I've also heard reports from Sayuri-san that Sadojima Houji and Gein had been sealed inside a castle-like structure by Matsudaira Daiji-san."

"As expected of the Okashira!" said Likka, mirroring Hannya's sentiments. "We have this mission in the bag!"

Natsuki then told the young Spirit World Inspector, "Tell Shuichi-sempai, I mean, Minamino-sempai to watch out for that Kuronue person. He may still be out there."

Sayaka tilted her head to the side in askance. "Tell Kurama about Kuronue? Why? Isn't he dead? Didn't you just kill him? Killed two birds with one stone by making Karasu into a Railgun?"

"That's the thing. I'm not sure he's dead." Shinkai shook her head. "Killing him is actually easy. Keeping him dead is hard. He might still be out there, hunting Kurama at this very moment."

The Heisei Era Misao piped up, "Yeah, it was weird. Every time it seemed like you've killed him, another him kept popping up in his place."

The youngest ferry-girl considered their words. "Do you think he's like Toguro Ani? An S-Level, Regent-Class regenerator?"

Natsuki shrugged. "The best way I could describe it is that he's like Schrödinger's Cat. Like he's alive and dead at the same time."

"Maybe even Schrödinger's Bat!" Likka quipped to mostly silence.

***

Before the Kokuryuha could completely sublimated or at least carbonize Usui's body to the point of Gein probably needing to create a new one for him, with Jine's Jagan forever lost along with him, Kuronue pushed him aside and took in the full brunt of the Demon World equivalent of a nuclear warhead.

"...Kuronue!" Kurama shouted out at the bat demon, concerned with the wellbeing of his partner in spite of their circumstances.

Then a curious thing happened.

Kuronue turned into a shadow in the street. Only for another him to appear, who also turned into ash. Another him then replaced him, dying from the flames of the black dragon conflagration. Then another. Then another.

The bat demon died probably a dozen more times before Hiei thought it prudent to return the flames into his arm as tattoos, sealing them. Not willing to let Kurama's partner from millennia ago to waste more of his demon energy.

After the present Kuronue gasped his dying breath, a new him appeared, completely healthy and unharmed.

What the hell was going on?

Even Kurama was shaken. He heard Natsuki's explanation about Kuronue's new powers relayed to him by Sayaka, but even then he couldn't believe his eyes when he saw it in action.

Was it instantaneous resurrection powers like with Toguro Ani? Clones, like with Suzaku? Or even hypnotic illusions, like with Likka Ikumi and Jine Udo?  

The Kuronue Kurama knew that died because of a bamboo trap never had such powers. Granted, he was a weaker demon around that time. But still.

"Uh, Usui, was it?" said Kuronue to Usui. "You should be more careful when fighting Kurama. He's a sneaky one, you see. Don't let him figure you out or else he'll get you. It's rare for him to get overwhelmed, like in the case of that one S-Level Reikai Tantei or the Reikai Boueitai."

Uonuma harrumphed. "Ah, so it's you, newbie. Don't get full of yourself. You were only revived by the Chojin because you're the only guy we know who could deal with Youko Kurama. It was supposed to be Udo Jine, but he failed and got killed by him."

The bat demon could only laugh. "Haaai (Yeees). Read you loud and clear, sempai."

Hiei told the blonde shinigami, ""You better leave now if you don't want to get hurt."

Uchiko said, "But you're not yet finished...! Ah. You know what? Fine." She then used her scythe as her means of transportation instead of a long boat paddle.

Kurama and Hiei backed away unto each other's sides while both Uonuma and Kuronue loomed towards them, their weapons at the ready.

The Tinbe had already started to reconstruct itself. The gambit Kurama used to weaken it couldn't be used twice now that Usui was aware of how his trick worked.

"Is that really Kuronue or just another imposter?" Hiei asked Kurama, remembering the Meikai (Nether World) god who impersonated the bat demon to mess with the youko's head.

"I'm afraid that's him," Kurama said, his smile looking more like a wincing grimace. "And yes, he does know me like the back of his hand."

"Hn," said Hiei. "Then the same could be said with you to him, right?"

Minamino turned towards his fire demon companion and smiled. "Yes, of course."

***

Meanwhile, in the sky overlooking the northwest part of Okushiri Island...

Botan flew top-speed towards Kyujimayama Observatory, exchanging places with Sayuri since that was under the northeast quadrant's jurisdiction.

Right behind her, riding shotgun, was a tired Yahiko Myojin, who was conserving his strength for the battle ahead against the Chojin's conduit.

As soon as they got confirmation of where Houji the Onmyouji was hiding, they flew up in the sky under Kurama's orders while Natsuki met up with Likka in order to run interference against the incoming Karasu and Kuronue (a replacement Shin Ju along with Toguro Ani).

Even better, they stopped bothering to hide in the clouds for fear of aerial strikes after both Natsuki and Daiji neutralized their targets.

The Yutaro reincarnation blasted away Karasu (who could make flying Trace Eye bombs) and the Aoshi reincarnation trapped both Gein (Kaoru didn't remember who that was) and Houji (Kaoru heard of him through Sanosuke) inside a sealed castle-like structure.

Now was the perfect opportunity for them to strike Houji down before finishing off the rest of the Shin Juppon Gatana and rescuing Okushiri from being under siege.

However, the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.

Instead of them going straight to the sealed Houji and Gein, the two Chojin minions apparently decided to go to them instead.

"What the hell is that, Tanuki-chan!?"

"!?"

The top portion of the castle of spires proceeded to float towards Botan and Yahiko like some sort of alien ship or U.F.O.

The monument to their success had now become the monument of their imminent doom.

The jaki laser beams blasting through the windowless structure, creating windows at last certainly weren't in their best interests.

"AHHH! Retreat!" screamed Botan while the Kaoru inside her head and body wondered how ordinary humans from the Meiji Era could take on something as ridiculous as a floating sky fortress.

***

Multiple Kuronue "clones" served as Usui's meat shield as his actual shield reconstituted itself, now strong enough to resist the Kokuryuha and perhaps even Demon World Moss.

"What's going on? Is it Jine's Jagan again?" asked Hiei.

"No, I don't think so," said Kurama. "From what I remember, Jine's hypnosis illusion affected one person at a time. I'm not sure if Usui evolved the Jagan to do multiple hypnosis or mirages like with Ikumi Likka's powers."

Hiei grunted. It was a scene reminiscent of one of the Dai Shin Kan (Great Priests), whose name escaped him at the moment, multiplying endlessly. Something Yatsume.

Was this the M.O. of the Overfiend?

Was it his way of showing his undead army of Dai Kaijin (Great Monsters) were as unlimited as a pestilence? Like a swarm of locusts or a pack of rats? Unkillable like an intrusion of roaches? Were they going to infest the world like a plague, from Kuronue to Suzaku or even the Iwanbos of Gein and the Shikigami of the Onmyouji?

He even heard from his communicator that the same thing happened with Gein and his Iwanbo meat puppets with the assistance of the Onmyouji, which forced Detective Matsudaira to seal them off inside a windowless, spire-filled prison.

He was sick of this clone nonsense but knew that using up his Kokuryuha wasn't in his best interests.

Kurama was able to murder several shadow clones of his partner, only to succumb to cuts and slices to his neck, abdomen, and thigh.

This reminded him of his fight with the Fake Kuronue. That Meikai God did a convincing impression of his old friend.

But this time he was fighting the real deal, and none of his tricks were working against him.

"Rejoice, Youko!" said one of the Kuronues. "When the Chojin snatched me up from the depths of Hell, he told me he did so because he saw you as a threat. You were the only one who wielded the Demon Sword and used it to boost your powers to X-Level."

Kurama frowned, decapitating that one Kuronue and countless others with his Rose Kusarigama. "Who cares about being X-Level?"

Usui shook his head. "Fool! I'd jump at the chance to be as powerful as the Chojin himself! The only X-Level in existence at present! More powerful than the most powerful of the Demon World! You could've single-handedly killed the Shin Ju if you had that kind of power! Save everyone on the Human World you so love! Why do you deny greatness?"

The Youko inside Kurama smirked, and for a split second his true form emerged. "What's the fun in that? Something given is taken for granted. Something earned is treasured."

A horde of Kuronues laughed upon hearing this and chorused, "Ah, now that's the Youko I know and love."

Hiei also chopped and burned the Kuronues before him with his Jaou-En-Satsu Ken with flames that, unbeknownst to him, were reminiscent of Shishio's Homura Dama.

He did know enough about them to know that doing so would entice Usui to fight even with his unfinished Tinbe.

It was risky fighting someone with the power of hypnosis, but as long as the brilliant and prepared Kurama was there, Hiei had no fear against such hallucinations. Whether they were from Kuronue or Usui.

Kuronue continued, "The Chojin then let me choose my powers according to the best way to take you on, Youko. Knowing you, I told him that the only way I can defeat you is if I'm given unlimited retries to do so. You're a cunning fox. Most people would die a thousand deaths first before they can find an opening to take you down. So I chose that power."

Hiei had to admit that that sounded about right. You did not want the Youko as your enemy.

Using the brief rise of power elicited by Kuronue's tempting words about gaining X-Level through the Youtou Shinnoken, Kurama turned a single stalk of bamboo into the Hydra Bamboo once more.

The persistently growing bamboo that few faster the more you cut it down. The only ways to kill it was overcrowding or by burning it to the point of carbonization.

The forest of bamboo pierced through the hearts, lungs, stomachs, muscles, intestines, livers, kidneys, and brains of the nearest gathered Kuronues while the rest scattered like flies. Or bats, since he was a bat demon.

"Hiei, NOW! While we still have the chance! Kill Uonuma Usui! I'll figure out a way to deal with Kuronue later."

The jaganshi charged with his flame sword, able to keep the Hydra Bamboo at bay with his burning slices and cuts so that he wouldn't get overwhelmed himself by the deadly malignant forest.

He wasn't able to kill the half-healed Uonuma earlier but now he should be able to fare better against the blind man's half-formed turtle shield. His airtight defense earlier was now broken in half.

Usui's supernatural hearing and enhanced reflexes allowed him to block Hiei's 17 fire sword strikes in one second.

However, that second of blocking was the opening the fire demon needed in order to blast a Dragon of Darkness Flame straight at the night sky before it came crashing from behind Uonuma while he was busy defending against the Sword of Darkness Flame.

One of the Kuronues ended up protecting Usui from the rear, his chain scythe weapon turning into a mine's worth of steel and iron ore that melted from the heat of the Black Dragon Wave Technique, which in turn flooded the bamboo forest with molten metal.

Also, the Tinbe was now about two-thirds complete instead of just once half, with it having a pie-sized opening left on an otherwise finished turtle shell shield.

They were running out of time. They would be back to square one or worse if the Onmyouji managed to escape Daiji's seal before Yahiko could get to him and neutralize his connection with the Almighty Chojin.

Again, Kurama used the Invasive Kudzu to smother and eat the fire and demonic energy away, making it grow with the same uncontrollable menace as the Hydra Bamboo had over being sliced or physical torn apart.

Kuronue said, "I've seen that technique of yours before as well!"

From there, one set of Kuronues served as gardeners who chopped and diced up the Invasive Kudzu before it could absorb enough energy to become a problem, with them even sacrificing several of their own in the process.

The other set of Kuronue's kept the blaze of the growing forest fire alive, filling the air with smoke and flames that ate up the bamboo before it could grow enough to become unstoppable.

Unlike the mindless clones of Gein and the Nameless Yatsume, Kuronue's phantoms had a frightening hivemind that learned from every mistake they made and adjusted thusly with every new generation of himself.

One Kuronue branching out into multiple versions of himself, thusly exploring infinite possibilities. The Quantum Kuronue.

Maybe he should've gotten hold of the Demon Sword and finished all the Shin Ju off with one or ten slashes. A potential eleventh slash for the Onmyouji.

But that was the boring way of doing things. And Kurama loved a challenge. How should he solve this puzzle that Kuronue suddenly became?

Besides which, Kurama noticed that Hiei had been hiding one more ace up his sleeve all this time. An ace that the Shin Ju were probably also aware of, but had yet to experience firsthand.

Hiei backed off from Usui's Rochin stab, sheathing his sword and adopting the same battoujutsu/iaido (sword-drawing) stance that Himura Battousai would do.

The whole park had become a mess. One part of it was composed of a bamboo forest engulfed in flames and molten metal that was starting to harden.

The other parts were bits and pieces of kudzu grass reaped apart by scythes, with several of them allowed to eat the red and black flames and grow, controlling the blaze.

That was one helluva landscaping job Kuronue did.

The army of Kuronues had remerged unto one body, awaiting for the next attack from Kurama to occur that they'd dissect and deconstruct.

Once Uonuma's Tinbe was completed, nothing in their arsenal would be able to take down his defensive turtle shield.

The shell had already tasted every last technique they could throw at it, from Demon World Moss to Makai Flames. Everything but the kitchen sink.

Hiei disappeared, and Kuronue multiplied once more.

Usui lay in wait, his Shingan soaking in all the different noises yet his supernatural senses able to distinguish which ones were Kuronue and which ones were Hiei. He also screamed, "Hey, Newbie! When you decapitate the fire demon, make sure to keep his Jagan intact! I need that!"

Kurama walked calmly towards the chaos of burning bamboo, chopped kudzu grass, a self-contained forest fire, and what seemed like an army of Kuronue converging into what appeared to the naked eye as empty space but instead was actually Hiei.

He then snatched the jewel necklace hanging from the neck of (one of the many clones of) Kuronue.

The youko figured out the new powers that the Chojin bestowed upon Kuronue. All of his clones were the real him.

On a quantum level, Kuronue managed to exist in multiple planes of existence and manifest himself in one reality, allowing one of his selves to die and his other selves to live at the same time in an infinite loop.

It allowed him to interact in one dimension in a multi-dimensional manner, so that he could do one, two, three, or more things at the same time until he succeeded in an instance, his realities branching forth endlessly as he explored every possibility.

For a schemer like Kurama who tended to finish off opponents with cunning and wit, he was an absolute nightmare to handle. He was like Yusuke. Creative. Unpredictable.

A demon who'd never attack you from behind but knew every trick in the book because he was an expert in unraveling mysteries, traps, techniques, and lies. He loved figuring out the truth behind everything.

The same bat demon who ended up dying, ensnared by the simplest and most primitive of bamboo traps due to his immense sense of sentiment, which was ironic and truly unbecoming of someone as clever as him.

He should've known better.

Kurama figured out that the Meikai God who impersonated the Fake Kuronue was a fake with the way he discarded the jewel around his neck. In the same vein, he knew this Kuronue was the real deal when he... all of him... scrambled for the jewel with a high amount of sentimental value to him.

The seeming dozens, perhaps hundreds, of Kuronue all jumped at grabbing hold of the jewel Kurama threw away in the same manner that the Meikai God Kaiki did to finish him off.

This was the opportunity Hiei was looking for.

"Jaou-En-Satsu KOKURYUHA!"

***

A bloodied young Kuronue cackled with gnashed teeth and a raspy throat at Youko Kurama and his bloodstained claws.

Maimed but not broken. His body scourged with lacerations. His limbs flopping uselessly on the floor.

His clenched teeth gripping the string of a necklace.

The leader of the demon bandits looked at the bat demon with disdain and confusion. The kid managed to steal a necklace from their haul.

"Why are you so happy? That's just a trinket compared to the treasures we've gathered," Youko Kurama said with a toss of his silken hair.

On shaky legs, Kuronue rose up, his bloody back on the craggy wall. "If it was so insignificant, you wouldn't have almost killed me to get it."

Kurama raised his clawed hand, the constant lightning from Makai's dark clouds illuminating his silhouette. "Would you die for that necklace?"

Again, through clenched teeth, Kuronue spoke. "What an honor it would be to do so. Let me die a martyr. Let me be known as the one demon who outwitted the Legendary Youko Kurama."

Kurama changed his mind then and there. He put down his raised arm, turned, and walked away.

"HEY! Are you just going to let me go, you coward?" Kuronue spat, which led to him dropping the necklace, leading to him going on a mad scramble for it, willing his trembling arms to catch it.

"Rest up. Heal your wounds. You're now part of my bandits. Bring my jewel along with you," commanded the youko. "We hunt in the next earth day."

After finally grabbing hold of the jewel, Kuronue demanded, "And if I refuse?"

While still facing away from him, Kurama turned his head and gave the bat demon a sidelong glance. "I don't think you will."

From that point forth, the youko ended up with an ally more valuable than the trinket he stole from him.

***

The Dragons of Darkness Flames killed every last one of the Kuronues with its flames of the Demon World burning them to sublimation at an atomic level.

Kurama went down on his knees, exhausted. He'd lost a lot of blood from his battle with what seemed like a thousand Kuronues converging at him at once.

However, in the corner of his eye, he could've sworn he saw at least one Kuronue move out of sight.

If a Kuronue had survived, then there was at least a one in a hundred or one in a thousand possibility that if Kurama had thrown away that necklace, he wouldn't have gone after it.

He was learning. He was evolving.

Kurama smiled. At least something good came out of the Chojin's plans to revive their dead enemies/comrades to use against them.

***

To Be Continued...

I based Kuronue's new powers on the version of Kuronue featured in my first-ever fan fiction, "Shonen". Something about the (watered-down for fiction version of the) Many-World Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics with a dash of Schrödinger's Cat thrown into the mix.

The boss battle is fast approaching, but those mini-bosses can be quite the handful!