Tetsu Tetsuya was listed as a peculiar dangerous person by Mythpool, around March of that same year. It was Suny's exclusive operation, a secret international-level mission that the Untouchable Killer ended up showing up. It consisted in an operation to burglarize a ship containing some Western mythological artifacts, which a terrorist group was in charge of; those who publish puzzles on the Internet to recruit new members.
What happened was Tetsu seemed to be on the same mission as my partner, only he acted more... rudely, if not to say inhuman or brutal.
Although Suny completed the mission, saving the artifacts and intercepting the ship, the Untouchable Killer decided to prove himself worthy of his nickname creating a horror show on the vessel; he tortured and mutilated all terrorists. And when I say everyone, I don't mean only those on the ship. Tetsu also proved to be much more informed than Mythpool itself and, not satisfied with the carnage on the seas, he teleported with the ship above the terrorist HQ.
He just popped up with the ship in the sky and let gravity do the dirty work.
I want to put emphasis on; The dude EMERGED with a ship in midair and smashed a terrorist den wanted for years.
The point is the Untouchable Killer came out as the operation terrorist. But just a statement without evidence from Suny wasn't enough. Especially because Tetsu was barely seen by my partner. She just assumed it was him, as supposedly the Untouchable Killer was a legend among Mythpool agents. And Suny believed that legend.
And then, the next day of what happened at the underground establishment, Your Humble Narrator and his partner arranged to meet Yuna at Tokyo Airport where a Mythpool jet was already booked to take us where the coordinates the shinigami gave us indicated.
Naha, Okinawa.
To the Land of the Rising Sun southern side.
We got there around 11:30 pm. Practically one hour and thirty minutes of an almost peaceful trip, if it wasn't for the weird mood hovering the aircraft, thanks to the exchange gazes between Suny and Yuna.
I feared the two of them would do something that could cause a plane crash.
"I'm glad we made it," I murmured.
"I still can't stand her." My partner said, walking past me and taking the lead.
Soon after the hanyou stopped beside me.
"Why all this jealousy? You're not even THAT much.
"Thanks for the honesty."
"You're very welcome, douchebag." She smiled.
That night, Yuna was especially striking. Usually only her young beauty was more than enough to draw the attention of others. Even though, as a murderer she managed to hide her presence; when she couldn't, was always a victim of the spotlights. But, especially at that summer day's end the girl showed up wearing a long yellow basketball jersey, covering half of her bare thighs. In addition to the eternal gray beanie, on her feet were white running shoes and in her left hand a purple glove extended up to half of her biceps.
Somewhat eccentric clothes, which draw more attention than that skin display from the previous day.
"Have you told her?" Said the hanyou.
"What? To tell what?"
"About us, yesterday. In fact, about you, taking advantage of my body."
"What? I didn't take advantage of anything."
"Admit it. You're a hopeless pedophile."
"Are you going to start that again?"
"No, no." It was faster than a snap; Two Yuna's fingers flew to my cheeks and squeezed them in a loving way. "I am just kidding."
Her fingers released my facial skin. She put her hands on her waist.
Noticing I was taking too long to process a reply, she kept going;
"Yesterday I saw this side of you, in addition to the usual fearful and useless one. I don't know if I can't call it fear, to be honest. You were really freaked out. But, whatever Kitsune showed you, by your behavior it had something to do with me. What was it?"
"..."
I didn't answer. I exercised my right to remain silent. I didn't want to say or even remember that delusional. It was all incredibly real; The blood warmth, the shouts of pain, the brightness in her eyes...
Yuna respected my silence. She didn't mistake it for intentional omission.
"If you don't wanna tell me, douchebag, that's fine. I didn't expect you to, I know how fragile you are. I suppose, considering her son's powers it was something very shocking about me."
"What's your point?"
"You care about me, don't you? You really do."
I glanced away. It was an embarrassing question.
"It's not like I feel something…"
"Thanks."
"What?"
That word made me stare her in the eye again. The pair of sapphires that Yuna carried on her facet penetrated deep into my soul as much as her ice spears stabbed her murder victims.
"Thanks for caring about me... even though you know about my disease." Now she was the one avoiding my eyeing away. "You saw my biggest flaw and you still care about me. Regardless of what you saw, you shed a tear when you saw me well... no one has ever done it for me. So, thank you."
"..."
I still didn't know what to do.
"Say something, douchebag." She flushed. "Don't make it all…"
Suddenly, our conversation got cut off. Not for someone or anything, but for something. Something that happened out of the blue. As we left the airport Suny was ahead of us, and with a thud pulled the legendary Totsuka blade from its sheath. Although unperceptive by me, due to my partner's speed, dexterity and elegance, the hanyou had no trouble noticing that something wrong wasn't right there.
"Are you going somewhere, mutts?"
In front of Suny a blond guy with spiky hair emerged on a teleporter, making my partner stand on guard. The ruby-red eyes were already known by Your Humble Narrator. After all, hadn't he been the talk subject moments ago?
Tetsu Tetsuya, the Untouchable Killer.
"Tsc, what's he doing here? " Yuna murmured.
"You?" Said Suny, with her sword pointed at him. "I know you!"
"Hum?" The other hanyou had his attention more focused on us than on my partner, and aimed his red eyes at her pretty feature before scanning her from head to toe. "I don't remember you, commoner."
"Excuse me?" Suny gritted her teeth.
Tetsu ignored my partner's angry gesture and turned back at us. In fact, he eyed back at the Youkai Slayer. He passed Suny with a teleporter, standing in the space between us and her. The Untouchable Killer wore a military-green T-shirt, jeans torn at the knees and black sneakers with no laces.
The pair of rubies made contact with the pair of sapphires.
"What are you doing...?"
"The boss told me to escort you. You missed last night's meeting. You arrived this morning and didn't call. Then in the late afternoon you left without saying anything and using the 23rd Kyoto. Enough reasons for the chief to be suspicious since you're not on a mission. His eyes drifted slightly facing me. "At least, not for AAA."
"Hey. First of all, the douchebag here has nothing to do with it. Second, have you been spying on me, huh?"
"Tsc, I just followed orders. Did you see the time you spent in the shower?"
"Uh, I smell like a flower. So, I need long baths. You didn't complain about my smell, did you? Quite the opposite."
"Don't be deceived. You were just sex…"
SLAP! The arm movement of the hybrid was straight and dry. Fast enough to leave any mosquito unresponsive. The slap hit Tetsu without kindness. Even though, in addition to the speed it resembled a normal slap, the damage caused was more surreal than the agility it was applied to.
The Untouchable Killer's jaw got completely dislocated. Practically his left side seemed to detach completely from the rest of his face, hanging slightly. Too heavy of an image for a public place.
"Yeah, so were you." Yuna replied to the killer's last words. The same hand that slapped him shifted to her waist. And she smiled at him.
An honest smile.
Tetsu clenched a fist, which made me instinctively reach for my gun, but he did nothing against the hanyou, nor did he show any signs that he was going to, to be honest. He only used his fist to straighten his jaw and assist in his regeneration.
"Well," He began, "I'm going with you, mutts. I wanna know what you're doing."
"Boss' orders, huh?"
"No. It's a personal whim."
"So, not a chance." Yuna took a step to the side dodging the killer in front of her but had her arm grabbed by the blonde's hand.
"Let go," the girl said like a royal decree. "Let go if you don't want to start a relationship argument."
"Why didn't you tell me my father is alive?"
No intentions of being ironic here, but Yuna froze at that question. She didn't say a word. She exercised her right to remain silent. That behavior made sure the girl was hiding such information from her co-worker.
Tetsu let her go. Yuna stretched out the arm that's been held.
"How did you know?" She had the balls to answer with another question.
"He came to me. Yesterday in the middle of the night. He said he's going to meet a friend and was late. That's what led me to ask the chief if you were on any mission and that put us in the situation, we're in now."
"He's my department," The hanyou said. "It's a youkai, so you can leave it to me…"
"But you're not on a mission for AAA. You are acting for personal reasons. And also, you don't like my father."
"I don't like youkai in general," She said.
"Hmph, you know I am the only one who can confront my father on an equal footing. Besides, judging by your uniform I have an idea of who was the friend my father mentioned."
Yuna sighed. A sigh of giving up.
"Okay, you can come but no extravagant things."
"Wait a minute." It was Suny joining the conversation. "This isn't your mission." She placed the tip of her blade on the Untouchable Killer's chest. "I'm the one who makes the decisions here. It's more than enough a murderer corrupting my group, now you… tell me; were you the one who beat up that terrorist group in March? Are you really the legendary Untouchable Killer?"
"Legendary? Tsc, I don't know what you're talking about, mutt."
"Don't mess with me! I remember those eyes... you... you're the legendary, aren't you?"
"That word again," muttered Tetsu.
"Hey..." Your Humble Narrator finally got into the discussion. "Suny…"
"What? She asked, without taking her eyes off the killer.
"People... are starting to get their cell phones."
My partner kept staring at Tetsu for a few moments, but eventually lowered her sword. She scanned the few people who noticed the situation around and hid her blade in its scabbard.
"Let's focus on the mission," I said. "If Tetsu is going along, he can take us straight to the shield bearer's location."
"True." Yuna agreed. "We'd save time, even if I don't like his company."
"Here." I took my phone out of my pocket and opened the map app, where I saved the coordinates. I showed the location image to the Untouchable Killer and he clicked his tongue.
"Come on, commoners, touch my shoulder."
Yuna, the most intimate, was the first to put her hand on Tetsu's left shoulder. Then, gently and excusing myself, I put my hand on his right shoulder. Suny, in turn…
"I won't touch him."
"What? Suny, we have a mission…"
"This mission is no longer ours????! You're the only one who doesn't realize you're too attached to these half-youkais. First the brat, now this one! This mission is no longer a Mythpool operation and you no longer are who you used to be!"
"Suny, I…"
"You what? Just say it!"
"I..." I didn't know what to say. I didn't expect that reaction from Suny. Little by little her eyes were filled with tears.
"Why did you choose me for this mission, huh?"
"Because you are a great agent and…"
"And nothing else! She cried, regarding away from us. Looking away from me. "I'm out of this mission." She walked away, stomping.
"Suny! Hey! Hey!"
She didn't look back. She went forward to the airport and didn't move a muscle to glance back.
"It's not what she wanted to hear, douchebag."
At Yuna's almost murmured comment, I call in to her, hoping to find a solution to that situation. However, the only thing I got was a cold gaze of judgment and disappointment. And after that expression showing me how dumb I am, the girl discarded me.
"Without further ado, commoners."
With a thud, the three of us were thrown into a psychedelic corridor that propelled like the projectiles of a machine gun of colored light. Pushed by an unknown force above the speed of light we suddenly reach our goal.
An abandoned school.
A weird abandoned school.
"Well." Yuna's hands moved to her waist. "I hope the Kagami bearer is not a character in some horror game."
I took my hand off the hanyou's shoulder and explored around to check the surroundings. Although the school was abandoned, the corridor lights still worked, making everything clear even at that time of night. We were on the first floor at a two-lane T-junction. Ahead of us in the main corridor's entrance, there were windows on the left, the right side had a sequence of three rooms and at the end, one last door labeled Library.
"Is there a Gorgons Hunter there?"
On the opposite side it was pretty much the same. Of course, the windows were on the right and the rooms on the left. The only difference was the last room was just another regular room.
The main corridor was slightly longer on the sides. There were windows to its left that overlooked the courtyard and to the right the entrance to a small room, a staircase giving access to the ground floor, and beyond the entrance to the Principal's office.
At the first corridor's windows I mentioned, you could see the sports court on the ground floor. That corridor covered almost the entire court length, from basket to basket. The bleachers were only on the window opposite side and behind the basket close to the library. Behind the other basket, there was the wall with the very blurred symbol of that educational institution probable team.
And, in the middle of that court...
An elderly person.
An old man quietly meditating with the Kagami shield on his lap.
"So, it has to do with one of the Three Treasures," said Tetsu.
"Do you think he noticed our presence?" I asked.
"Yes," replied the hanyou. "He already knows we're here."
+++
Song Lee was the Kagami shield bearer. An old Chinese man with long white hair tied in a samurai bun who wore a blue monk's robe and walked barefoot everywhere he went. He had something against shoes, I would say. However, the real reason was his feet were his guide. Yes, I know this is the job of human paws, but the role of guide of that wrinkled pair was a little more complex than the usual walk. Song Lee was blind. His feet were his eyes. He was practically an American comic book character.
In fact, I reckon I saw a character with similar aspects in some animation series... I can't quite remember...
Anyway.
The old man might be blind but he's a Martial Arts genius.
I don't know if genius is the word but he was at Yuna's level.
The funny thing here, dear reader, is that Song Lee was dead when we arrived.
We just didn't know that.
When we walked inside the gym, the old man remained still in his lotus position. The legendary shield was on his crossed legs. And really, it was more of a mirror than a shield. It was shaped like a shield. Its edges were gold as a mythological shield must be, but from the edges to the center, it was all glass. Simplifying, it was a mirror in the form of a shield.
"What does that mutt of my father want with the shield?" Tetsu thought aloud.
"Douchebag, let's do the fusion."
"What?!"
"I'm kidding." She took two steps forward. "Doesn't he listen? He knows we're here, but didn't speak up." The hanyou eyed at us over her shoulder. "I wonder if that's what it means to be an elderly person"
"Yuna, this isn't the time for jokes."
"What?" She raised her eyebrows. "But these are serious questions crossing my mind, you douchebag."
"What?! Seriously that…"
"I can hear everything you say, visitors."
We all drew our attention to the old man, who was still in his meditation posture. He only incited his lips to utter those words, clearing up one of the Youkai Slayer's doubts.
"And no, that's not being an old man," He continued. "Clearly I'm a man of a certain age but not an ordinary one. Therefore, the answer to your second question is no."
"Oh thanks."
"Anytime. Now, I will ask you a question."
"Oh... okay." Yuna nodded.
The old man continued.
"How did you find out I knew about the three of you?"
"Well, you're a chi handler, aren't you? Since we arrived, I felt your energy crossing the building like a sort of spider web. That is why you are meditating, to keep this web connected and to know the location and arrival of any individual. Since all living things have chi, you can detect anyone, even those who don't know how to manipulate the energy."
"Interesting. The girl is right." The old man picked up the shield and undid his lotus position, slowly getting up like a real old man and somehow holding the Kagami on his back, resembling a turtle shell.
"I also know how to handle chi, old man. It's not my specialty, but I can also detect another handler depending on the distance."
"Impressive. In fact, I didn't expect Yuki-onna's daughter to be so competent."
"You know me?"
"Not you. Your legend, yes. Yuna Nate, the Youkai Slayer. Although young and beautiful as spring, the girl has a heart cold as the most terrible winter night. As you may have noticed, I'm blind, so I cannot appreciate your beauty in the traditional way. I'd like to touch you to get to know your body."
"What?" She took a half step back. "You pervert, you won't touch my breasts, sorry." She hugged her breasts completing the step. "Douchebag, is he known to you?"
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Sorry," said the old man. "I didn't think it would sound weird, forgive me."
Yuna lowered her shoulders and then dropped her arms. She took a step forward going back to the previous position.
"I forgive you considering your old age. September must be very difficult for you. Now let's get down to business. Old man, I need the shield on your back. Pass it on to me and we won't have to start an uproar."
"Hmm..." The old man's arms shifted to his back. "I beg your pardon again. As a carrier, my job is to protect the shield with my life."
"I know, I know, the old cliché. I understand. However, I have a theory, old man."
"Theory? What theory?"
"Well, I believe this shield is fake. In fact, I believe you are a fraud."
"Hmph, what makes you say that?"
"Because I lied. One cannot feel the chi of someone who doesn't manipulate chi, regardless of whether all creatures have it. A chi handler would know that but you didn't hesitate to agree with me. The point is I'm the only one who has an active chi flow, since I'm a handler of it. That said, the question is; how did you know we were three? Did you feel our presence when we entered?
Plausible, but Tetsu has his presence hidden, it would be difficult even for a tracker to detect him. So, you waited until we all spoke and just said it. A real blind man would do that, but as I said, you are a scam. You can see. However, in order to keep the role of blind you waited until the three of us said something to have an acceptable excuse."
Beautiful as spring. Cold as the most terrible winter night. Which season of the year would represent her cunning? The girl wasn't just pretty. She wasn't just a supernatural killer. Yuna was also a top strategist. She could be the Youkai Slayer even if she were only human.
"So, let me get this straight," she continued, "It's very likely the real bearer is dead, and you're the same person who pretended to be me last night. So, no more games, accept checkmate and show your real image. We'll work our differences out today."
"Hmm... I must praise you for your insight, Youkai Slayer." The blind man said that and his image began to melt into black smoke. And when I say image, I mean the one he copied from Song Lee. The skin, clothing, shield, everything evaporated and vanished in mid-air.
What was revealed to us underneath that disguise was a whole dark man.
He was a humongous black man.
He had no eyes. He had no mouth. He had no nose. He had no clothes. He had no hair.
He was a mannequin made of the purest darkness.
"Obake," said Tetsu. "It was a youkai breed master in metamorphosis."
"What do you mean by was?"
"They should be extinct, commoner. Obakes are known as ghosts today, but this one is an original one. Besides transforming, they learn very fast and have an incredible ability to memorize."
"I'm surprised. I didn't really consider it could be you, Obake. As Tetsu pointed out, I thought it was extinct. But that's not the point. This is the time where…"
Interrupting Yuna's words, the one who takes the Untouchable Killer title, showed up between the girl and the youkai with his teleportation. He watched over her shoulder.
"I'll go first. I'll fight him first."
"Wait, Tetsu, we have to know where the shield is," I said.
"I don't want to agree with the douchebag, but it's true. It's very likely the shield was taken and we need to know where. Obake must…"
"You must be searching for this, right?"
The new voice echoed throughout the gym. It came from a higher position, close to our group. Specifically, the basketball hoop on our side of the court. In perfect balance on the baskets' rim, Tengu stood upright with the Kagami shield under one arm. With his red eyes, watched us like a bloodthirsty watchman.
"Mutt!" Tetsu didn't take long to turn to him, leaving aside the presence of Obake. Red as his father's, his eyes burned with anger.
"A little too much." Noted the youkai. "You shouldn't talk to your father like that."
"Get down here, commoner! Let me beat you down again, old man!"
"You should be more attentive, son. I'm already there."
At about the same time Tengu finished his sentence, he popped up behind Tetsu's back but not with his teleportation. The youkai's image was drawn on the spot with a scarlet glow. It was almost as if he had been materialized by an unknown force. Tengu, standing on the rim of the basket, faded with the same reddish glow as if his image was being erased.
"Tsc."
The father touched his son's shoulder. It was too unexpected for the Untouchable Killer to live up to his name. The magic, or anything doing that trick with the youkai, apparently ended up erasing his presence until it was 100% materialized in that place.
That way, the Untouchable has been touched.
"After that cheap trick," said Tetsu, "I'm sure who's involved."
At first, I thought the killer was referring his words to his father but soon I saw the line was being addressed to Yuna. Therefore...
"That's all you wanted to know, right?" She said, staring at the other youkai.
"You'll have to leave the discussion for another occasion." Tengu put an end to their dialogue.
Still with his hand on the Untouchable Killer shoulders, without even exchanging a real glance with his son, the youkai disappeared with him in a teleportation.
Tetsu Tetsuya had been kidnapped by his own father.
Now, it was just Yuna and me in front of Dark Obake.
"Don't worry." The hanyou said to me, still keeping her eyes on the youkai "He'll be fine."
"Not that it's my concern, but why didn't he teleport back?"
"What? That? Well, just like my mother, Tetsu's father can somehow nullify his powers. Even so, douchebag, you don't have to worry, Tetsu has beaten his father once. You should be worried about the enemy in front of us."
"Yes, but I don't know if I'm going to be useful against this one."
"I'm glad you noticed. Recognizing you're a loser is the first step to success."
Dickinson, Yuna. Beautiful words, but they created a sentence way too heavy for my ego to ignore. Anyway, my concern was different, above all at that moment;
The shield.
"Hey, Yuna, there's no way you can handle this one quickly? Is that the Kagami…"
"I know, I know, douchebag. The problem is this door knob is hard to kill, don't you remember? At least this time we won't be interrupted!"
And Yuna sprinted. Once again, showing all her speed force. The couple feet ahead were covered in the blink of an eye by the Youkai Slayer, and when I realized she was already in front of Obake clenching her fist for a punch. However, it wasn't a punch the girl threw against the youkai. What hit the chest of the supernatural creature was Yuna's palm. An open-handed blow throwing the dark youkai against the bleachers on the other side of the gym.
Obake's body sank onto the long concrete steps, creating a crater design and lifting on the spot a curtain of dust.
"Given his resistance on the golf course," began the hanyou, "I believe that was enough to knock him out." She glanced at me over her shoulder and gave me a mischievous smile.
"Well, you should recalculate your math, daughter."
The voice came from the hole in the bleachers. It was different from any other one Obake had shaped into so far. But for some reason, at that voice, Yuna's expression changed dramatically. From smiling like a child in the middle of a game, the hanyou's facet became the personification of astonishment. Her blue eyes widened. Her smile faded and her mouth inhaled a little too much oxygen.
"Yuna? You…"
The dust curtain has ceased. The Youkai Slayer, still startled by something, flipped close to the damaged bleachers. Her shoulders dropped, as if she gave up on something. Her arms also seemed to lose strength, as well as her legs that were no longer steady on the court.
She finally said:
"Dad...?"
Down the bleachers steps and firmly walking on the woody floor, a man who was neither too old nor too young, introduced himself to us. He was wearing the Chicago team's red basketball jersey, light jeans and white sneakers. His black and tousled hair had a bang like Yuna's and his dark blue eyes lacked just the same magical glow that would hold any man's attention.
"N-No…"
"What is it, snowflake? Are you scared to see your father again? Am I not the thing you love the most?"
The Youkai Slayer dropped to her knees.
Further back, seeing that situation I knew things were not good for our side of the island. I had to do something. I grab my pistol and put Nicolas Nate in the crosshairs.
Suddenly, my gun's mouth was frozen.
"Don't you dare do that!" Cried the hanyou. "If you don't wanna die... douchebag…"
"Yes, daughter, you should protect your father from this delinquent and…"
BOOM! The gym's front door was broken. I looked over my shoulder and what I saw was a large gray fury wolf invading the court and going straight to the space between Yuna and her father's copy. The dog soon let out a bark launching a sound wave at Obake. However, the youkai jumped to the side in time to dodge the strike that completely devastated the area of the bleachers' hole.
"Wait, Ulim!"
The wolf ignored the girl's request and snarled with a wild gaze fixed on Obake. He breathed in through the canine nostrils, probably preparing another super bark. But as getting ready, the dog's nose was covered by a muzzle in the solid state of the water.
The dog moaned something, turning to the girl. In that time frame, the youkai changed his shape. He converted into an eagle and flew over us towards the entrance. I tried to hit it by throwing my pistol like a boomerang, but the bird copy was as fast as a real one and dodged my gun in mid-air.
Again, Obake slipped out of our hands. And now, they had the Kagami shield.
A very bad scenario.
"Kid, what do you think you're doing?!" The voice was the wolf's. "Why did you stop me from killing him?"
"It was... my father…"
The dog snorted.
"And it rocked you, did it? Weren't you the one who was going to end all youkais?"
"..." She just disregarded.
"Hmph, you have a lot to evolve, kid." The wolf passed her by and laid eyes on me. Two hazel strands in the middle of that sea of cloudy hair. "You're from Mythpool, aren't you?"
"Y-Yes, I am."
"Excellent. You'll come with us."