Urusei Yatsura Fan Fiction ❯ The Senior Year ❯ Spirit-War Tomobiki ( Chapter 10 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

A distant planet outside the Milky Way Galaxy proper...

Inside a vast underground chamber kilometres below the hot desert which
covers almost all of this Earth-sized world, several cryogenic suspension
chambers begin their down-cycle modes, their sleeping cargo awakening. Almost
all of the one hundred thousand chambers in this vast hall are inhabited with
women spanning two dozen humanoid races. As each chamber opens, the awakened
women inside step out, moving to a central mustering point. All are dressed
in a familiar phoenix-emblazoned jumpsuit, although the colours vary from
person to person, indicative of different departments. Six of them would be
surprisingly recognizable to anyone from Tomobiki...as a seventh would be very
recognizable to Lum.

"Are we ready?" Noa-chan inquires.

The other girls readily nod. "To Earth, then," the Seishin-born woman
indicates a nearby transporter room. "Our *daimon'cha* and his Other
await..."

* * *

Urusei Yatsura - The Senior Year: "Spirit-War Tomobiki"
by Fred Herriot
**** **** ****
edited by E.B. Kushnir
**** **** ****
Tenth in a series of fan-fiction stories based on "Urusei Yatsura," created by
Rumiko Takahashi
**** **** ****

WRITER'S NOTES:

1) This story concludes the "Saga of the Tiger" plot line in "Urusei
Yatsura - The Senior Year." However, while this story may end the immediate
problems facing Ataru and Lum, it will have long-reaching effects throughout
the remainder of the series. You have been warned...heh-heh-heh!

2) This story also serves as a foreshadowing for the "Great Father Ataru"
segment of the series, which is still way in the future (given after a
computer crash when this was edited, I lost a lot of materials that I'd have
to type over again [I hope not!...:-(]). However, for those of you who are
wondering, "GFA" is not only the storyline which both pulls Ataru and Lum
apart as well as brings them closer together than ever, it is also my personal
salute to the heroines of anime.

3) Again as before...no use of our characters in lemon fiction!

4) "Rei'cha" is the Sagussan word for "child."

5) "Te'a" directly translates "that which is above mortal understanding."
Sagussans do not believe in a Heaven or a Hell, nor do they believe in gods or
other spirits who actively interfere in mortal affairs. They simply state
that a person's *mei'na* (living spirit, similar to the Vulcan concept of
*katra*) passes from this dimension "...to those beyond mortal understanding."
The term *te'a* is a catch-all phrase for this sort of phenomena. They do
acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being, but in Sagussan myth, the
Supreme Being (who has no sexual gender) only existed to create the universe
and the conflicting energies of Creation (as personified by the mythical
version of the *daimon'cha*) and Entropy (as personified by the
*keiseiri'cha*). More elaboration will come in future stories. In this
context, the *te'a* serves a similar function as the Force does in "Star
Wars."

6) Lyna is not a goddess, although she is venerated highly on Sagussa (and
likewise on Zephyrus) for being a symbol of the War of Clone Rights, as first
discussed between Mie and Ataru in "Tag Race Mark Three." More information
about her and the war which destroyed the previous Sagussan race is
forthcoming.

7) "Aiha'cha" is the Sagussan equivalent of "friends."

8) "Marei'cha" directly translates "one with whom you raise a child." The
implications of what will happen to Lum in such a relationship will be
revealed in future stories.

9) For the Version 2.0 of this story, I decided to give Cherry his birth
name: Hayao Sakurambou. Only Alex and Nagaiwakai refer to him by his real
name.

10) "Mei'de" implies negative emotion. "Mei'te" implies positive emotion.

**** **** ****

"Now, I want you both to be good girls and behave yourselves," Ataru
admonishes.

Reiko and Belle nod as they embrace him, then embrace Lum. All stand on
the roof of the Toranoseishin Finances building, a helicopter bearing Komeru
Moroboshi's tiger-and-gaikatana insignia waiting for them. "We'll be okay,
Daddy!" Reiko beams. "I can't wait to meet Grand-uncle Komeru."

"Me, too!" Belle nods, then looks curious. "Uncle Ataru, will you adopt
me?"

"We'll think about it," Ataru chuckles. "Right now, let's get you used
to being human again, then we'll worry about family relations."

"Okay," the Ellsian nods.

"This way, Mistresses," a ninja indicates the helicopter.

The young girls wave as they run for the waiting machine. In a minute,
it rises from the tower, soaring north toward Miyagi prefecture, where Komeru
Moroboshi maintains his permanent residence. Ataru and Lum wave back, then
stare at each other. "Well, I better get to school," the Oni sighs, looking
down.

"Hey, now stop that!" Ataru cups her chin. "This isn't good-bye, you
know."

"I hope not," Lum sighs.

"Reigi-kun's waiting for you downstairs," Ataru nods to the elevator.
"He'll take you to school."

"I can fly..." the Oni looks surprised.

"He...wants to talk to you," her boyfriend interrupts. "Go on. I'll
give you a call from Sendai after I've settled in."

"Okay," she kisses him, then flies for the elevator. "Be careful,
Darling!"

"I'll be fine!" he waves her off. "Get going!!"

* * *

"'Morning, Cherry," Ashin Budou walks onto the empty lot where the
Buddhist monk currently makes camp. "You seem happy today."

"Good morning, Ashin," Cherry nods. Unlike the bitter rivalry the monk
holds with the elder Budou, Cherry held Ashin with very high regard. "Yes,
I'm very happy today. The chief druid of the McTavish Clan is coming by to
visit."

Ashin looks shocked. "Ringo's coming here?! You mean Dame Victoria
actually let the perverted creep loose?!!"

Cherry frowns. "I don't like Alex's habits as much as you, Ashin, but
as a spiritualist and shamanist, he is unparalleled."

"True. I just hope the women in this district are as forgiving," Ashin
sighs, then looks around. "Anyway, I'm looking for Lum. Have you seen her?"

Both look up as the helicopter taking Reiko and Belle soars away from
Tomobiki. "I believe she is with Ataru or else on her way to school," the
monk reports. "That must be the helicopter sending Reiko and Annabelle away."

"Good," Ashin's eyes narrow. "At least they'll be safe. Never mind,
Cherry. I'll find Lum soon enough. I just hope it's not too late. Thanks."

Cherry's eyes narrow as the Shinto priest heads off. "Ashin senses
something ominous," he muses. "I've never seen him so agitated in the years
I've known him. I best learn what is happening."

He turns to his pot...when a black sphere lands on his head.
"It's...fate..." the monk moans.

"Ooof!!" a voice with a thick Scottish brogue is heard from somewhere
inside the sphere...which is in fact a large laundry bag full of ladies'
undergarments! "Ooch, they nae hae ta be so rough!"

"Alex, would you get your load off my back, please," Cherry's voice
echoes from under the bag.

A head pops out of the bag, half covered in a bra. The fellow, a
Westerner about Cherry's size and age, has blue eyes with balding silver hair,
moustache and a beavertail-like goatee. Dressed in animal skins, he also
bears a grey Scottish tartan with mixed red, orange and gold stripes. Hopping
out of the bag, the fellow quickly retrieves a shillelagh from the bag, then
lifts it off Cherry. "Hayao, m'son," he looks pleased. "Sorry 'boot thot.
Dinnae see where I was a'flyin' ta!"

"It's alright, Alex," Cherry knocks the kink out of his back.

The two then greet each other with a high-five, a special handshake,
prayers, then a friendly embrace. "Yuir lookin' well, son!" Alex smiles, then
blinks. "Are ye well, laddie? Ye look bothered by somethin'."

"Yes, I was about to do a spell when you came," Cherry turns to his pot.
"Ashin Budou came by looking for Lum. The lad was most disturbed by
something, which is extraordinarily foreboding given his precognitive
talents."

"Ye dinnae say," Alex hums. "I know the laddie. He's way better than
his ol' man when it comes ta sensin' the future. I'll help ye."

"Thank you," Cherry nods. His visitor's help is highly appreciated by
the monk. Alexander Philip Macintosh..."Ringo" to those in Japan who cannot
pronounce his real name...is the chief Celtic druid of the McTavish Clan, the
ancient and powerful Scottish family who have been close friends and allies to
the Moroboshi Clan for over a century. While Alex does have his many
shortcomings, as witnessed by his cargo of underwear, his talents as a
spiritualist are Cherry's equal.

The two launch into a series of prayers, drawing incense and other
mystic items from their cargo bags and placing them inside the cooking pot
Cherry uses for his meals. After a minute, the pot boils, the incense forming
a kanji symbol. Looking into it, Alex squints. "Hayao, me kanji's a wee bit
rusty. What's that say?"

Cherry pales. "'Ran,'" he reads, then translates to English. "<<Civil
war.>>"

Both spiritualists gulp...

* * *

"Ashin-san, why did you want to see me?" Lum curiously inquires as she
follows Ashin to Sakura's shrine.

"Because if what I sense is true, then we're in more trouble than we
know how to handle," the Shinto priest grimly sighs. "At least Reiko-chan and
Belle are out of the way. Where's your cousin?"

"He went home to visit his mother this morning," the Oni reports.

"Good," Ashin sighs. "He's safe, then."

"Safe from what?!"

"We're about to find out," Ashin muses as they walk into the shrine.
"Sakura-chan!! It's Ashin! Are you here?!"

Sakura steps out from her private quarters, dressed in her priestess'
garments. "There you are, Ashin-chan," she looks relieved. "I was about to
call your father."

"He's in Sendai," Ashin reports. "Komeru's returned from his safari and
has gone to Hokkaido to meet with Nagaiwakai-sama."

"Darling's uncle is back?!" Lum looks surprised, then smiles. "Oh,
it'll be so nice to meet him!"

"Don't be too overconfident, Lum," Ashin warns. "If Nagaiwakai-sama
tells Komeru about all your excesses with Ataru-kun, then you'll have TWO
enemies to contend with, not just one."

The Oni then looks depressed. "I wish you hadn't've said that."

"Let us proceed," Sakura waves them into the chamber holding her crystal
ball. "The signs I saw this morning were horrendous to say the least."

"What's happening?!" Lum looks frantic.

"We don't exactly know," Ashin moves to stand beside the crystal ball.
"But since late last night, spiritualists everywhere around Tokyo have been
sensing something dreadful coming to this area sometime today. If we're
swift, we can learn what it is and try to prevent it."

The door bursts open as Alex and Cherry race in. "Sakura!!" the monk
calls out. "Where are you?!!"

"Right here, Uncle...oh, hello, Ringo," Sakura looks over.

"Ah, you're here too, Ashin," Cherry hops onto the table, drawing his
charms to further aid in the planned divination. "Good. We can move to
prevent this from happening. Now, Alex...eh?!" he looks around, noting that
his friend is nowhere in sight. "Alex?! Where are you?!"

Lum lets out a shriek as Alex stares up her skirt. "I nae be a'seein
tiger-striped knickers before!" he then produces the Oni's bikini bottoms
virtually out of thin air. "My, what a lovely scent!" he then takes a whiff.

Incensed, Lum belts him with a blast of lightning! "Pervert!! Give my
good clothes back!!!"

"It be...fate...!" Alex drops charcoal-broiled to the floor.

Lum slips her bottoms back on, then blinks, staring down her jersey.
"He even took my bra!" she gasps. "How'd he do that?!!"

"He used to be a stage magician before he delved into Celtic shamanism,"
Ashin's eyes roll. "Quite a good one, too."

"Alex, not now," Cherry shakes his head. "We need your help in finding
out what causes this civil war!"

"Ooch, ye nae be allowin' me ta have any fun!" Alex grunts.

Sakura then takes her place behind the crystal ball. "Oh, Orb of the
Future..." she chants as Ashin begins his banishing motion with his
spirit-sensor. "Oh, Orb of Destiny. A dark force has arisen in our
community. Show us what we must do to banish it from our lives."

The crystal ball then darkens as an image appears...a man's face.
"Darling!" Lum gasps on recognizing him.

Suddenly, Ataru is struck in the back of the head. The image fades,
quickly replaced by a horrifying tiger-striped monster. "A tiger-spirit?"
Ashin blinks confusedly.

"Th-the m-monster f-from m-my d-dream..." Lum stammers, paling.

Another man appears. "Nassur-san!" Sakura blinks.

He is then sliced down by a sword. Others appear, all of them quickly
cut down by tiger-striped energy. "All of my friends...d-dead...?!" the Oni
shudders, tears appearing in her eyes.

"This is the most horrible vision I've ever seen!" Cherry gasps.

"Aye...but the worst is yet ta come!" Alex warns.

Another image appears, this of a flower. "A rose?" Sakura blinks.

The rose is then passed from a small boy to a chestnut-haired Seishin
woman. "That's Ataru-kun when he was a boy!" Ashin blinks. "But who's the
woman?!"

"Noa-chan...!" Lum gasps.

The image then changes to Lum passing the rose to a barely conscious
Ataru. "Now Lum gives the rose to Ataru," Sakura comments.

"That rose is something very important," Ashin hums.

The image then melts into an Ataru surrounded by the tiger-striped
monster facing the Cyborg Ataru. "Darling...no, that monster...fighting the
Cyborg?!" Lum stammers.

The two beings clash, unleashing a fiery bird-like image. "The
phoenix!!" Cherry gasps.

The phoenix then consumes a whole city! "The phoenix...destroys
Tomobiki!" Sakura shakes her head. "Uncle, your prophecy was correct!! The
phoenix's coming will destroy Tomobiki!!!"

Suddenly, the energy inside the ball causes the crystal to shatter in a
burst of fire and light!! Everyone leaps back in shock, but no one is hit by
fragments. "I dinnae believe thot!" Alex blinks. "No crystal ball should be
a'doin' thot!!"

"This is truly ominous!" Sakura stands. "If the vision is that dark,
that horrible...then Doom IS coming to Tomobiki!!"

"H-how do w-we stop it...?!" Lum fearfully inquires.

"Simple!" Alex glares at her. "All this be started when yuir boyfriend
gets his noggin banged!" he points to the back of his head. "Ye stop that
from happenin' and we be alright!"

"It seems Koosei's warning now has new signifigance," Cherry adds.
"Lum, Ataru must be removed from Tomobiki at once!"

"Don't allow anyone to get in your way, regardless of what reason they
may have for him to stay here!!" Ashin augments. "Your lightning can help you
overpower anyone in the district, Lum!!! Use it to maximum effect to get
people out of the way!! Find Mie Seikou, too!! Explain the situation to
her!! She's Ataru-kun's friend; she can help you!"

"I will!!!" Lum flies out the front door.

"I'll call the school and tell Koosei-kun!!" Sakura runs off to her
apartment.

"I better call Sendai and get the Kuromoroboshi down here as fast as
they can come!" Ashin heads out the door.

Alex and Cherry remain in place. "They will not be in time," the latter
shakes his head. "Doom is coming...and there is nothing we can do to stop
it."

"Aye, lad," the former nods. "We best batten down f'r a hurricane!"

* * *

"Now, where is Lum?!" Koosei demands in homeroom class a half-hour
later. "I gave her permission to see Reiko-chan and Belle-chan off to Sendai
this morning, but she should have been back by now!!"

Not only is the Oni's desk empty, but so are five others. "Well, I'm
sure Ataru-chan's giving Lum-chan a nice going-away present before he heads
off to Sendai to see his uncle," Mie muses from her desk.

Koosei blinks, then smiles. "Oh, that's nice."

"Ryooki-sensei!!!" Shinobu bolts up. "Do you actually condone that sort
of lewd behaviour?!!"

"Shinobu, by Urusian terms, Ataru and Lum are consenting young adults
and they do use protection when they do it," the homeroom teacher returns to
his chair. "Besides, from the way Lum bragged about it at Benten's birthday
party yesterday, Ataru can really suckle her horns."

"But what if Lum gets pregnant?!" Momoe demands.

"Can we sing 'Here Comes The Bride?!'" Mie smiles. "And once that
occurs, Ataru-chan and Lum-chan'll be living off on their own...OUTSIDE of
Tomobiki, of course!"

All the boys have apoplexy on hearing that. Suddenly, Lum's voice is
heard from outside. "Ryooki-sensei!!! Ryooki-sensei!!!"

"Oh, there you are, Lum!" Koosei smiles as the Oni lands in the
classroom. "Don't tell me Ataru gave you a more intimiate good-bye before he
left!"

"I have to find him!!" Lum reports. "Koosei, please listen!! Something
awful is about to drop on all of us and we have to make sure Darling gets out
of Tomobiki!!!"

Confusion appears on many people's faces. "Who told you this,
Lum-chan?!" Mie walks up to her.

"Ashin-san and Sakura-sensei did!" Lum gasps. "Koosei, I just saw the
most awful vision in her crystal ball!! If Darling's hit on the back of the
head, then Doom IS coming to Tomobiki!!! We'll all be dead!!! Please, you
must believe me!!"

"Alright, alright, I do, I think!!" Koosei waves her down. "Now, when
did you last see Ataru?!"

"I just got a question," Mie looks back at the five other empty seats in
the class. "Where's Supersnob and the Four Tweedledees?!"

Everyone looks. "Hey, she's right!!" Ryuunosuke blinks. "They didn't
even show up for class this morning!!!"

"They're probably trying to give their own 'farewell present' to
Ataru-chan!" Mie looks disgusted.

Everyone moans. Koosei's glasses glitter as frustrated annoyance
crosses his face. "I smell a YEAR'S detention coming for those twits when I
get my hands on them!!"

"Don't bother with the detention!!" Lum growls, lightning flashing over
her. "When I get my hands on them, they'll be ashes in their family
graves!!!"

"Lum, get to your ship and call Nassur now!" Koosei barks. "The
'Renegade' should be on Triton! Mie, get a search party rounded up!! I'll
tell the other teachers to get everyone out there looking!!! Move!!!"

The teacher sprints out of the room. Lum flies off to her scoutship.
Mie faces the rest of the class. "Okay, everyone, we'll have two teams!" she
points to Ryuunosuke. "Ryuunosuke, you'll take the girls and go find Megane
and his nerd patrol!!" She then points to a homely looking boy. "Shinjin,
you'll take the boys and go find Mendou!!"

"Why should we help find Ataru?!" another boy demands.

"Yeah!" a girl nods. "If he goes, I say good riddance to the jinx!!"

Mie looks annoyed. "Well, as everyone who has an iota of brains knows,
Ataru-chan is not the only one who's caused the problems that've hit this
place!" she growls.

Everyone looks incensed by the Kyushu native's barb. Mie then turns to
Ryuunosuke and her search team. "Now, girls, listen up!! If you don't want
to listen to Megane's moronic tirades anymore, you'll do as I say!"

"I'll do anything to be rid of that idiot!!" Kumiko snarls.

The other girls readily nod. "Good!!" Mie smiles. "Now, here's
something I once heard when it comes to a fight! You kick them in the balls,
stab them in the back, poke their eyes out, and if they're still in the mood
to fight..." she gives them a fanatic sneer, "...THEN, you fight dirty!!"

The girls let out demonic cackles as they race out the door. Once thay
are gone, Mie turns to the boys. "I didn't want to say anything detrimental
about old Supersnob in front of those lifeless dorks," she snickers, then
glares at Shinjin. "Now, you guys know what to do when it comes to Mendou?!!"

The boys gleefully chant the instructions Mie gave to the girls about
the bodyguards. Mie then transforms into a female General Patton. "Then go
do it!!!" she points to the door with her riding crop. "Remember, you can't
serve your country by dying for your country!! You serve your country by
making the other dumb bastard die for his country!!!"

The boys stampede out of the room as Mie reverts to normal. "Ah, it's
so hard to get good help these days," she muses, then hums. "Now, I wonder
where I heard those instructions before..."

* * *

In deep space en route to Earth, a blonde-haired Yehisrite-born woman in
a dark blue and red jumpsuit sneezes. "Bless you, Lufy!" a lavender-haired
Tritonian-born woman in dark blue and red with green pants gasps.

"Oooh!" Lufy-chan rubs her nose. "Thanks, Catty. I must be coming down
with a cold."

* * *

Ataru's eyes flutter open. "Wh-where am I...?"

"Ah, he's awake!!" a snarling voice snickers. "COMMENCE THE
TORTURE!!!!"

Ataru lets out a squeal of laughter as Sedoyama assaults his naked foot
with his patented Number One tickle-torture. He looks surprised on seeing
that he is in a dark dungeon-like space. Behind the giant torture specialist
are Mendou and the guards. "Wh-what d-do y-you i-idiots
w-want...he-he-he-he-ha!!" he stammers, shaking with laughter.

Megane waves Sedoyama to stop, then kneels beside Ataru. "Why,
Ataru-kun! You must think we're very callous! Did you actually think we
would let you go without saying good-bye?! Nonsense!"

Ataru looks at himself. He is covered in chains and clamps, now nicely
weighed down by the mass of metal. "These chains are nickle-chromed steel!!"
Mendou boasts, waving his katana at Ataru's neck. "I doubt even that armoured
freak-show you transform into can break out of these!!! This time, you're
helpless, Moroboshi!!"

"So what do you idiots want?" Ataru sighs.

"We just want one thing," the scion of Japan's richest family kneels
beside him. "A place name. A town, city, township, whatever!"

"Furikan district in Nerima," Ataru quips. "Can I go now?!"

The five boys look incensed. "No, you idiot!!!" Megane snarls. "We
want to know the place where you're moving to!!"

"Now, why would you want to know that?!" Ataru smirks.

Megane straightens himself. "CONTINUE THE TORTURE!!!!!!"

Ataru howls with mirth as Sedoyama tickles his feet, but does not say
anything. Megane finally waves Sedoyama down. "You are not being reasonable,
Ataru!" the guard's leader kneels beside his former classmate. "Did you
actually think that we would permit you to go to some infernal place where you
will try to dominate us?! Did you actually think we would let you go to some
place where you could drag Lum-san away from her real friends, a place where
you can dominate her and enslave her?!! If you think you're going to get away
with the abuse and torture you have unleashed on us, think again!"

Ataru sighs, his left eye glowing. "**I was right!**" he snorts.
"**You idiots really don't have a life!!**"

The five boys shudder, then relax when they see that Ataru is not
initiating the transformation into the Cyborg. "So, you **are** helpless!!"
Megane cackles. "Fine, then!! Tell us where you're going to and we'll let
you go!!"

"**You're mistaken,**" Ataru smiles as his eye returns to normal.
"YOU'RE the ones who are helpless! Did you think I didn't suspect you'd try
to pull a stunt like this before I could get clear of all of you?! Be
serious! You dorks are dumber than even I assumed!!"

The five look insulted. "So, that's the way you want it, eh?!!" Mendou
raises his katana for the kill. "Fine!! You're about to become a head
shorter!! And with you out of the way, Lum-san will be mine!!!"

The guards suddenly turn on Mendou. "Yours?!!" Paama snarls. "Fat
chance on that!! Lum-chan's gonna be mine!!!"

"SAYS WHO?!?!?!" the other guards and Mendou jump Paama!

Sedoyama tries to get out of the way of the brawl, but is hit by
Kakugari. The torture specialist rams head-first into Ataru's face, slamming
the ex-student's head against the back wall!

* * *

Elsewhere, in a dark space floats an hourglass filled with a vicious
orange, tiger-striped energy. As the echo of the blow delivered to the back
of Ataru's head is heard, the hourglass shatters, causing the energy to burst
out like a tidal wave! *FREE!!!!* a haunting, dirge-like voice is heard.
*AFTER TWO HUNDRED YEARS OF IMPRISONMENT THROUGH COUNTLESS HOST BODIES...**I
AM FINALLY FREE!!!!!!***

* * *

"*Tcha!!*" Lum gasps, grabbing her skull as a psychic flash rips through
her mind. Horror then crosses her face. "Oh, no!! Darling...!"

* * *

"No!" Noa-chan pales, still hundreds of parsecs away from Earth.
"Lyna's Soul, no! We're too late!!"

* * *

"Bastard, I've had it with you and your snobbery!!!" Paama clobbers
Mendou. "You're the one who took all the girls away from us!! Once you're
out of the way, the rest of us'll finally have what we want!!!"

"WHAT?!?!?!" Megane slams his foot into the back of Paama's head. "You
slime, how dare you?!! Haven't you forgot your oath to protect Lum-san?!!"

Mendou backs off, katana at the ready as he prepares to attack the
guards en masse. "I have had it with you morons and your domination of our
lives!!! Once you are out of the way, Lum-san is mine!!!"

Howling with rage, the guards jump Mendou as one! As the brawl
continues, none of them notice the sudden changes happening to Ataru. His
body trembles as his skin turns a deathly white. Tiger striping appears on
the skin as his eyes open, now glowing a bright silver. His whole demeanor
changes from a calm rationality to a cold, cruel calculation which would
frighten Adolph Hitler were the Fuehrer still alive! The only one who sees
this is Sedoyama, who suddenly begins to realize what is happening to his
torture victim. Looking around for a moment, the possessed teen then glares
at the torture specialist. "*LEAVE,*" Ataru softly intones, his voice now as
cold as the dead.

Sedoyama races out of the dungeon. Mendou and the guards fail to notice
this as they continue to brawl. Ataru sighs, then looks up. "*SLOPPY,*" he
mirthlessly hums, one finger touching the brace holding his other hand to the
wall.

The metal suddenly shatters as if it had become catastrophically
brittle! With one hand free, the possessed teen then shatters the other
bonds, then gets to work on the chains bolting him down to the floor. In a
half-minute, he is free. Leaping gracefully to his feet, he waits until
Mendou is in close range...then his hand bolts out to seize the student's
katana. With a twirling motion, Ataru drives the blade right into Mendou's
stomach!!

The guards stop as Mendou lets out a startled gasp, dropping to the
ground as his white jersey is stained with his blood! Ataru calmly draws out
the blade. "*THAT SHOULD TAKE CARE OF THIS MORON!*" the possessed teen
snorts, disgust creeping into his hollow voice. "*HE NO LONGER IS USEFUL TO
ME!*"

The guards blink surprisedly as they finally register what has happened,
unaware of the awful truth of what is about to befall them. "Aw, thanks,
Ataru!!" Kakugari grins. "Now that we're rid of that snob, things can calm
down finally!"

Ataru fixes them with an icy glare. "*SILENCE, WHELP!*" his dirge-like
voice drops the room's temperature to sub-freezing. "*HOW DARE YOU ASSUME
THAT IT WAS THAT GIRL-CHASING MORON WHO ELIMINATED THIS FOOL?! I TAKE CREDIT
FOR EVERYTHING THAT I DO, INCLUDING WHAT IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN TO YOU!*"

The guards suddenly shiver. "A-ataru, y-you d-don't l-look s-so
g-good," Paama notices the very deathly skin.

"Wh-what's w-with th-the tiger-striping...?!" Chibi hesitantly inquires.

The possessed teen mirthlessly smiles. "*DON'T YOU FOOLS GET IT BY
NOW?!*" he cackles. "*AND YOU ALWAYS BELIEVED IT WAS MOROBOSHI WHO CAUSED YOU
SO MUCH PROBLEMS! HAH!! THE *REAL* ATARU MOROBOSHI IS WHAT YOU NOW CALL THE
CYBORG!! THE GIRL-CHASING MORON YOU ALWAYS THOUGHT HIM TO BE WAS **MY**
CREATION FROM THE BEGINNING, THE PERFECT WEAPON IN MY PLAN TO DESTROY
MOROBOSHI AND TAKE THAT WHICH IS RIGHTFULLY MINE!! AND NOW THAT THE CHANCE
HAS COME FOR ME TO ELIMINATE ALL WHO STAND AGAINST ME, YOU USEFULLNESS HAS
COME TO AN END!!!*"

He moves towards the guards, Mendou's bloodied katana rising to the
attack. The four boys begin to back away, their confusion melting into mortal
dread. "Aisuru-kun, th-that's n-not Ataru...!!" Chibi stammers.

"Wh-who are you?!!" Megane demands.

Ataru raises his blade for the kill. "*I AM DEATH!*"

The guards scream...

* * *

"Sedoyama!!!" Lum screams as she blasts the torture specialist with a
heavy dose of her lightning! "Hold it right there, buster!!! You've got some
explaining to do!!"

Sedoyama drops to the ground as the Oni lands beside him, seizing him by
his shirt. "Wh-what d-do you w-want, L-lum-san...?!" he stammers, still dazed
by her lightning.

"Where's Shutaro and the guards?!!" Lum growls, fangs splayed and murder
in her eyes. "What have they done with Darling?!!"

"Th-they're tr-trying t-to find o-out wh-where Ataru's m-moving t-to,"
Sedoyama stammers, the fear he feels at what Ataru is becoming all too
apparent. "They've got him in the Mendou Clan Emergency Sh-shelter..."

Lum blinks. "That's in the Tomobiki Ginza!! Darling!!!" she flies off
toward downtown.

"Lum-san, wait!!!" Sedoyama screams after her. "Don't go!!! You don't
realize what he's become!!!"

* * *

As Megane's shattered body drops to the floor, the possessed Ataru
smiles, wiping Mendou's katana with his fingers. Staring at the blood now
staining his hands, he lets out a morbid bark of laughter. "*THE IDIOTS!
THEY ACTUALLY BELIEVED THEY COULD PROTECT THAT ONI WHEN THE TIME CAME?! NOW,
EVERYONE IN THIS PARADISE OF MORONS IS ABOUT TO LEARN WHAT IT MEANS TO
CHALLENGE THE WILL OF THE GREATEST REPOSITORY OF THE MARTIAL ARTS EVER TO BE
CREATED!!*"

His laughter abruptly stops when he senses someone approach. "*THE
ONI'S COMING!*" he growls, his voice now filled with icy hatred. "*GOOD!!
THIS'LL MAKE IT THAT MUCH EASIER!!*" With that, he makes a waving motion with
his hand. "***EARTH-HEART FIRE-GEYSER!!!!!!***"

Energy warps around him as the ground literally erupts...

* * *

"I'm coming, Darling!" Lum gasps as she dives towards the Ginza.

Before she could get close to ground level, one of the buildings
explodes as a geyser of energy and lava rip through it!!! The Oni shrieks in
fright as she flies away from the blast, stunned that something like this
could happen here. "*Tcha!!!* A volcano?!!" she blinks confusedly. "What's
going on here?!!"
The answer literally flies out of the chasm where the Mendou Clan
Emergency Shelter once was located. "Darling!!!" Lum lets out a cry,
half-relieved that she had found him...and half-scared, wondering what has
happened.

Not noticing that his target is now quite close by, his hands cross
Ataru's face as his voice booms, "***COMBAT CLOTHING TRANSFORM
WHIRLWIND!!!!!!***"

A funnel of energy rips away Ataru's street clothes. They remold into a
black skintight combat uniform. The hands and feet are covered by finely
textured gloves and walking boots. There is no sign of any weapon as the
possessed teen pulls his hands away from his tiger-striped face. "*THERE!*"
he devilishly smiles. "*MUCH BETTER!!*"

Somersaulting to a nearby building roof, Ataru faces Lum. "*PITIFUL
ONI!!*" he points. "*SURELY THAT PATHETIC BRAIN OF YOURS HAS CONTEMPLATED HOW
YOU BELOVED DARLING COULD DO ALL THOSE HORRIBLE THINGS TO YOU AND YOUR
FRIENDS?!! DID YOU BEGIN TO REALIZE THAT **I** WAS THE ONE WHO WAS ACTUALLY
MANIPULATING THIS FOOL ALL THE TIME, EVER SINCE THE DAY TO RETURNED TO HIS
LIFE OVER TWO YEARS AGO?!! EVEN BEFORE YOUR ACTIONS FULLY UNLEASHED ME ON
ICARUS, YOUR MORTAL LIVES HAVE BEEN CONTROLLED BY **MY** EVERY WHIM AND
DESIRE!!!!!!*"

"Wh-what are you?!!" Lum hesitantly demands.

The possessed teen laughs as more energy billows around him. "*DO YOU
STILL HOPE THAT I AM THAT IDIOT GIRL-CHASER YOU LOVE SO MUCH?!! DO YOU
PERHAPS HOPE IT IS THE CYBORG, EVEN?!! FOOL!!!! I AM **NOT** ATARU
MOROBOSHI!!!! I AM HE WHO HAS BEEN TRAPPED INSIDE THIS IDIOT'S MIND FOR THE
PAST TWELVE YEARS!!!!!!*" Holding out his hands, Ataru makes another tai-chi
like manoeuvre, as if he was posing for a martial arts poster. "*I AM THE
UNHOLY DARKNESS WITHIN ALL MEN!!!! I AM LIFE!!!! I AM THE MASTER OF ALL
LIFE!!!! I AM THE LIVING PERSONIFICATION OF THE WAY OF THE SUPREME LIFE!!!!
YOU MAY CALL ME FOR YOUR PATHETIC UNDERSTANDING **SAIKOO JINSEIJITSU!!!!!!***"

Two fireballs appear around both hands as the psychic energy flows into
them. Lum shakes her head. "No...no, I must stop this!"

"*FINE...THEN STOP THIS!!!*" Ataru snarls.
"***PSYCHIC...LASER!!!!!!***"

The balls of energy become one as a beam of intense power projects from
it! A second later, there is a deafening explosion which renders the Tomobiki
Ginza into a giant pile of cinders!!!!

* * *

"You called us here on the crazed whims of a couple of priests?!" Nassur
demands as he, Benten and Oyuki stare at Koosei. "Koosei, how am I supposed
to take that?!"

Everyone is in room 337, just moments before the confrontation over the
Tomobiki Ginza. "Nassur, Lum wouldn't press the panic button unless she was
convinced something bad is about to happen!!" the teacher insists. "Look, you
know that there is some sort of psychic bond connecting Ataru to Lum! You've
always been able to sense it through your *pe'cha* bond with her! Now, if Lum
suspects that something strange is going on with Ataru, then I say it's
something to worry about!!"

The Vosian sighs. "I still haven't seen any evidence which can indicate
that some dark force is taking over Ataru! I agree that he's finally grown
tired of these idiots butting their noses into his personal business, but
that's hardly cause for complaint! I actually hope that Lum will finally get
it into her head to block them from hassling Ataru!"

"As do I," Oyuki nods agreeingly.

Ataru's former classmates and neighbours look incensed by Nassur's curt
criticism of their attitudes and behaviour towards Lum's Darling. "Then how
do you explain the Cyborg?!" Benten stares at her partner.

"Sadly, I can't explain something like that," Nassur admits, "...unless
Ataru's developed some sort of mutant power which allows him to sheathe
himself in that form."

"Nassur, surely after all your travels in space, you must believe that
there are certain phenomena which defy rational explanation," Ashin cuts in.
"Whatever cosmic power is now exerting influence over Ataru-kun is perhaps one
such phenomena. But right now, something else is trying to cut Ataru-kun away
from that power. And that conflict will soon involve us all unless we move to
stop it."

"I could agree to that...eh?!" Nassur jerks.

The whole district shakes as the sonic blast from the Ginza rocks the
school, nearly knocking everyone to the floor. "Holy shit, what was that?!!"
Benten gapes, staring out the window as a billowing cloud of smoke and debris
begins to pollute the sky.

The answer comes soon enough as a window shatters thanks to a flying
body flung at the school at near sonic speeds!! Everyone leaps out of the way
as the body crashes into the teacher's desk, totalling it and burrowing a deep
rut into the floor. As soon as the smoke clears, everyone stares
disbelievingly at who the person is. "LUM?!?!?!"

The Oni is mercifully unconscious, her body brutally cut up by flying
debris and burned by the psychic laser the possessed Ataru used on her.
"Bensaiten's Grave, who did that to her?!!" Benten gasps.

"I believe...he did," Oyuki points out the window.

Everyone looks...to see Ataru floating in mid-air some hundred metres
away, a devilish grin on his face as psychic fire burns the air around him.
"*CARE TO PARTY?!*" he coyly asks, his voice sounding like all the dead of
Tomobiki speaking at once.

Ashin turns to Nassur. "Now do you believe?!"

For once, the Vosian is speechless...

* * *

"Who are you?!!" Shinobu demands.

The possessed Ataru smiles. "*PERMIT ME TO DEMONSTRATE TO YOU!*" he
holds up his hand, psychic energy forming around his fingers. "***PSYCHIC
SHURIKEN!!!!!!***"

Energy similcra of the ninja throwing stars appear in his hands, then
with a fling, Ataru fires them at Lan. The bolts rip through the Seishin teen
without making any physical injury. "What did he do?!" Ryuunosuke looks
confused.

An evil smile suddenly appears on Lan's face as she spins on her
classmates. "*DEATH TO THE ALLIES OF LUM!!!!*" her voice booms with horrible
force as she draws her bazooka, firing several rounds in rapid succession.

The resultant explosions send every boy in the class flying against the
walls, ceiling and floor, all severely injured by flying shrapnel or shattered
wood!! Everyone dives for cover as Oyuki turns on her former classmate.
"That is enough, Lan!" she gestures.

Lan is immediately frozen in a block of ice! "*THAT WAS INTERFERENCE!*"
Ataru's eyes narrow as he draws more psychic energy from the very air itself.
"***AIR-WHIRLPOOL HEAT-FIRE STRIKE!!!!***"

Before anyone could react, a ball of fire rockets at Oyuki! Koosei
leaps to his girlfriend's side. "Look out!!!"

A kusarigama chain then snares the homeroom teacher's legs, sending him
flying *away* from Oyuki! "*I GAVE NO PERMISSION TO ANY OF YOU TO INTERCEPT
MY STRIKES!*"

The fireball hits Oyuki, engulfing her in a cyclone of pure flame!!!
She screams as the vortex whips her around again and again in a dizzying
circle!! "OYUKI-CHAN!!!!" Koosei cries.

The flames burst apart...and the scarred, burned body of Oyuki drops to
the floor! The kusarigama chain disappears. The mocking laughter of the
*saikoo jinseijitsu* echoes over the class as Koosei scrambles over to take
Oyuki's body in hand, tears flowing down his face. "Why...?!" he gasps.
"What did she do to deserve this...?!"

"*SHE IS A FRIEND OF LUM'S!*" Ataru declares. "***ALL** FRIENDS OF LUM
WILL DIE!!*"

With a howling laugh, the possessed teen summons the earth-heart
fire-geyser to vault him away from the school. Everyone still conscious
watches him go, disbelief and mortal terror on their faces. "Wh-wh-what IS
that thing?!!" Ryuunosuke stammers.

"No...it can't be *that!*" Ashin gasps.

"That what?!" Nassur demands. "Explain!"

"It has a name!" a voice speaks. "A name which once far better suited
the dreams its creators imagined it could have been."

Everyone nearly has a heart attack as Chie and Sakura appear beside
Nassur. "Budou-sama!!! Sakura-sensei!!!" Shinobu gasps.

"What are you two doing here?" Benten hums.

"You said this thing had a name," Nassur cuts in.

"*Saikoo jinseijitsu*," Chie explains. "Once the great gift of the
Moroboshi Clan. Now...the clan's ultimate curse and darkest secret."

The dire tone in his voice causes everyone to tremble. "Would you
explain that." Benten gulps.

Chie looks up. "It began eight hundred years ago in the mountains of
what is now called Miyagi prefecture," he sighs. "That was where the Tora
Seishin Clan...the tiger-spirit ninjas...arose. Their blood were touched by
alien influences...from where, I cannot say...and a great gift was bestowed.
The gift granted them the ability to psychically...although it was then seen
as magic...control the very life-essence of the Earth...to channel it, to
mould it, to command it to perform incredible acts of power...to literally
become masters of the source of all Life."

Nassur hums. "No race I know of has that ability. I'd have to check as
to what races which may be extinct to see if any would fit that ideal.
Please, go on."

"This gift had a side benefit," the high priest sighs. "It allowed the
clan's joonins to copy their personal experiences into a vast psychic database
which could, on the death of the joonin, be passed to the next joonin. As the
generations passed, this database became extraordinarily complex."

"The passing of memories from one generation to another," Koosei gasps
as he cradles Oyuki. "I can't conceive of a race capable of doing that
outside of the Sagussans!"

"Eventually it was decided to give this database a name," Chie sighs.
"The *saikoo jinseijitsu*...Way of the Supreme Life. It sounded so good back
then. It became the Moroboshi Clan's most closely guarded secret, since it
gave them an advantage over other clans, not to mention those forces which
opposed the daimyos of Miyagi Prefecture when they sought to ally themselves
with the Tokugawa bufaku. Such it remained until two hundred years ago. It
was completely safe for one to be the host of the *saikoo jinseijitsu*. It
was seen as the highest of honours to carry its essence within one's mind."

"What happened?!" Benten gulps.

"Two centuries ago, the Moroboshi Clan came into contact with the
natives of an island located near Rishiri-tou...Ummei-tou," Chie continues.
"Their chief family was the Hana Clan, of which Nagaiwakai-sama herself is
descent. Despite the name, the natives were friendly...and while they
despised visitors in general, the Hanas and the Moroboshis became close
allies. It surprised everyone when it was revealed that the Hana Clan also
possessed their own *saikoo jinseijitsu*."

He lets out a sigh. "Sadly, one day, the joonins of the Moroboshi Clan
and the Hana Clan went out to rescue fishermen in a storm...when the joonin of
the Hana Clan was fatally wounded. Before he passed away, he did the natural
thing...pass his *saikoo jinseijitsu* into the mind of the nearest person
which could absorb such information...the joonin of the Moroboshi Clan."

"And?!" everyone urges.

"Somehow...no one knows how..." Chie looks down, "...the two separate
*saikoo jinseijitsu* databases...became one."

Everyone looks horrified. "From that point," Chie looks up, "...the
hybrid creation of both families' dreams became a monster the likes of which
they could never imagine! It was as sentient as you or I, but its only desire
is to be in control of its own destiny! Holding onto it became a problem,
which forced the Moroboshis and the Hanas to become one family. Their
resources pooled together was the only way they could deal with that
thing...and still to this day, they have been...unsuccessful...in destroying
or lobotomizing it."

"And now...that thing is in Ataru-kun's mind...and has control of his
body?" Shinobu gasps. "Oh, no! What does this mean?!"

"Simple," Chie sighs. "Since Lum loves Ataru...and since the *saikoo
jinseijitsu* desires nothing more than to take control of Ataru's body...that
means that anyone who is friends with Lum is doomed to be a target."

"Can it be defeated?" Nassur cuts in.

"It has two weaknesses," the high priest crosses his arms. "One is an
attack based on water. The *saikoo jinseijitsu's* power is earth-based and it
cannot defend itself against something which has no solid shape. You must
understand that it knows this weakness and thus will keep itself far from any
rivers or especially Tokyo Bay."

"Terrific," Nassur shakes his head. "What else?"

"The host body itself...Ataru," Chie sighs. "Granted he is in very
decent shape...almost Olympic-level...but Ataru was not obviously prepared to
be the host body for the *saikoo jinseijitsu*. Whoever transferred that thing
into his mind did so in incredible haste. Furthermore, that person is
obviously dead...after all, no one knows how to transfer that thing from a
person who is still alive and with many years ahead of him."

"So the only way to destroy that thing...is to kill Ataru...and make
sure that thing doesn't do a mind-leap into another body," Nassur sighs.

"There's no way in hell Lum or Moroboshi's grandma would go for that,
Nassur," Benten shakes her head.

"Agreed," Chie nods. "Other than that, there's nothing I can think of
which can destroy that thing."

"Sensei, I think there's one other possibility," Sakura looks over.

"What's that?" Chie looks to his student.

"If what you once told me about the *saikoo jinseijitsu* is true,
Sensei..." the priestess hums, "...that thing feeds on emotion. The more
negative the emotion, the more power it can acquire." She looks to everyone
else. "Now, we have all to one extent or another given Ataru reason to
distrust us. Even all his girl-chasing could have raised some negative
emotions every time we rejected him...or in some cases led him on the wrong
path. Now, that thing has all that hatred and anger to feed on...twelve years
worth of it!"

"In other words," Benten sighs, "...we're in deep shit!"

"Not necessarily, Benten," Sakura shakes her head. "True, it has a lot
of energy to feed on...but even that has its limits...and if we can protract
the fight to force it to exhaust that energy...then we can wear it out."

"Yes, I see..." Nassur nods. "Once it's worn out, Ataru's own persona
or the Cyborg could take over! That's brilliant, Sakura!!"

"And there's another thing," Mie cuts in. "The *saikoo jinseijitsu*
must've been the thing that affected Ataru-chan so much after he was tortured
on Icarus. It must've tried to take over him then, but couldn't...and when it
did, it broke all the bonds holding Ataru-chan's repressed anger and hatred
back. Look at what he's been doing over the last while? He's been bashing
everyone who's got in his way, even Lum-chan!"

"And Ataru-kun's been using all that negative emotional fuel up," Ashin
adds. "Even the Cyborg must be feeding into that, even more so. I assume its
power consumption must be utterly enormous."

"This could be ended right away!!" Ryuunosuke breathes out in relief.

"I hate to spoil your enthusiasm," Chie sighs, "...but there is one
thing you all should consider."

"What's that?" Benten looks over.

The high priest sighs. "What if the *saikoo jinseijitsu* knows that?
Remember you're dealing with eight *centuries* of experience. Even you..." he
looks to Nassur, "...are but a beginner in comparison to **that**!"

"Unfortunately yes," Nassur nods.

Everyone fearfully gulps...

* * *

"*BLAST IT ALL!!!*" the possessed Ataru leaps from building to building
in the general direction of the Mendou estate. "*EVER SINCE I LET THE OTHER
PART OF MOROBOSHI LOOSE BACK ON ICARUS, IT'S BEEN DRAINING ALL THE *MEI'DE*
RESERVES I COULD HAVE USED AGAINST THOSE SWINE BACK THERE!! NO MATTER! I
KNOW THE PERFECT PLACE TO GET NEW FUEL!!*"

With another leap, Ataru lands beside the Tarouzakura. His sudden
arrival alerts the attention of a group of Kuromegane. "Intruder on the
estate!!" one draws his gun. "Hold it right there, Moroboshi!!!"

Drawing Mendou's katana, the possessed teen charges at the startled
bodyguards. "*GET OUT OF MY WAY, WEAKLINGS!!!*"

The Kuromegane are ruthlessly cut down before they could get off a shot.
Once the interlopers are out of his way, Ataru turns towards the young cherry
tree. "*NOW, TIME FOR A RE-CHARGE!!*" he cackles as the blade rises.

With a deft cut, Ataru slashes a fair-sized chunk of the bark away. As
with the two previous Tarouzakuras, the interior of this tree is not solid
wood but a hollow space leading deep into the earth. The possessed teen draws
back as the ground begins to quake. "*ANY TIME NOW...*"

The tree then explodes as a geyser of iridescent energy erupts from the
ground. In the middle of this phenomena is what appears to be a very
beautiful Japanese woman dressed in a traditional kimono decorated with cherry
blossoms and the kanji for "Tomobiki." Her eyes opening, she lets out a deep
breath. "***I...am...free!!!***"

"*NOT FOR LONG!*" Ataru cackles as he raises one hand.

The woman spins around to see the possessed teen point at her.
"***No...no...***" she fearfully cries. "***You cannot do this!***"

"*NO ONE TELLS ME WHAT I CAN AND CANNOT DO!*" Ataru snarls.
"***SPIRIT-BREAKER FIRE-LIGHT!!!!!!***"

A bolt of psychic energy lashes out to mercilessly tear into the hapless
woman!! She lets out a dreadful scream as energy explodes from her...

* * *

"...you better realize we're up against something which would consider
*me* a beginner!" Nassur gives the members of Lum's class a last-minute pep
talk. "Realize also that this think has one desire: to kill every one of
us!! Once it does that, it will have the freedom to destroy Ataru! Lecasur
only knows what could happen after that!!"

"This is not Ataru you're facing here!" Chie adds. "Remember that this
thing does not care about concepts such as compassion, trust, love or
friendship! It has one simple goal: freedom. Whatever you say to it, it
will ignore! Whatever your personal feelings towards Ataru may be, it will
not care about!! It sees all of you as obstacles on its path!!! It will kill
you without a seconds's hesitation!! Begging for quarter will only give you a
swift death! The complete destruction of its enemies is all the *saikoo
jinseijitsu* cares for!! Remember that well and you *may* survive this day!"

Nassur looks to a now-conscious Lum, now being tended to by Sakura and
Ashin. "Are Ten-chan, Reiko-chan and Belle-chan safe?! This thing would love
to kill Reiko-chan since she's Ataru's daughter!"

"Reiko-chan and Belle-chan are in Sendai," the Oni points north.
"Ten-chan went home to see his mother. They should be okay..."

There is a titanic explosion!!! Everyone spins around to see the small
hill where the Mendou Clan's Tarouzakura number Three *once* stood! "Hey!!!"
Koosei cries. "Who fired on Mendou's stupid tree?!!"

A burst of psychic energy flashes from the Tarouzakura! Nassur, Chie,
Ashin and Sakura wince in pain as the flash sweeps past them! Even Lum and
Mie feel uncomfortable. Then, as the flash fades, a fog settles on Tomobiki.
As soon as everyone's eyes clear, they look around. "What the hell?!!"
Ryuunosuke screams. "What's going on now?!! What's that thing up to?!!"

"Gaining more power," Nassur grimly sighs.

The fog then becomes as thick as pea soup in the classroom. "*HOW RIGHT
YOU ARE!!*" a dirge-like voice cackles. "***SOULSWORD!!!!!!***"

Darkness appears in the fog...as the possessed Ataru dives on Nassur,
his katana in the perfect killing position. Before the Vosian could react,
the blade slices down, magically cutting Nassur in half!!! The possessed teen
drops to a crouch on the floor, then flies back into the fog, knocking Nassur
over!! The Vosian hunter, a paralyzed look of shock and disbelief on his
face, drops like a marionette with his strings cut to the ground! Seeing
this, Benten and Shinobu let out shrieks of horror. "***NASSUR!!!!!!***"

The two women dive to his side, Benten gently cradling her partner in
her arms. "Nassur-kun, speak to me!!!" Shinobu cries. "Say something!!! Are
you okay?!!"

There is no sound as his eyes stare lifelessly into the sky. Chie and
Ashin move to his aid. "Let him go, Benten," the latter states. "There is
nothing you can do for him."

"Wh-what...?" Benten gasps.

"That was the soulsword the *saikoo jinseijitsu* used, Benten.
Literally put, it cleaves one's soul from one's body. Nassur's astral self is
permanently separated from his body."

The Fukunokami looks horrified. "H-he's d-dead...?!"

"No, not yet..." the high priest shakes his head. "But in twenty-four
hours, he will be. All you can do for him is put him on artificial
respiration to keep his body active and alive." Chie looks to his former
student. "Sakura, take him to your shrine."

"Of course," Sakura nods.

She and Ashin pick up the hunter and carry him out of the class.
Everyone watches with growing dread as Nassur is taken away. Benten moves to
follow him, but Lum stops her with a hand. "No, Benten!" the Oni shakes her
head. "We need you! Don't worry...Nassur-chan's under the best of care!!"

Hollow laughter is then heard. "*YOU ARE ALL SO PATHETIC!!!!*" the
possessed Ataru speaks from every place around them. "*DO YOU THINK YOU CAN
TAKE ME DOWN WITHOUT YOU PET VOSIAN TO AID YOU?!?! YOU MAKE ME LAUGH!!!*"

Benten has murder in her eyes. "You won't be laughing after we get
finished with you, slime!!!" she howls. "Do you hear me?!! When we get done
with you, Ataru won't have to worry about you anymore!!! Do you hear?!!
You're dead, creep!!! ***DEAD!!!!!!***"

Amused laughter is heard. "*YOU WISH TO CHALLENGE ME, THEN?!!*" the
beast cackles mirthlessly. "*VERY WELL!!! I AM IN THE TOWN PARK AS WE
SPEAK!!!! COME DOWN AND VISIT! I AM IN THE MOOD TO BE AMUSED...IF YOU
**DARE!!!!!!***"

Insane laughter echoes throughout Tomobiki. Murder in her eyes, Lum
faces everyone else. "Let's go, everyone!!! This is for **all** of us!!!"

Everyone cheers as they race off after the Oni. Chie remains behind.
"The power of youth. Will it be enough, I wonder..."

* * *

"Lyna's Soul, what hit this place?!!" Lufy-chan exclaims as she stares
at the wreckage which used to be the Tomobiki Ginza.

"It must be that creature which is presently possessing Ataru-sama,"
Catty-chan scans the area with a very complex tricorder. "The psionic
residual energy here is not compatible to our scans of the *daimon'cha* when
he visited Sagussa."

"Then that thing must've been put into Ataru-sama's mind after we
returned him back to Earth," Lan-chan growls. "Damn it all!! I knew we
shouldn't've let him go back!"

"Lan, we settled that debate twelve years ago," a double of Lum dressed
in a light blue and gold jumpsuit sighs, speaking without the Oni's
affliction. "What's happened has happened. It can't be changed."

"Lum's right," Sakura-chan nods. "What do we do?"

Everyone then stares to Noa-chan. "Why're you all looking at me for?!"
the Seishin-turned-Sagussan bureaucrat stammers.

"You're the one who found him for us, sis," a red-haired Seishin girl in
light green-gold-and-red comes up to place a hand on her sister's shoulder.
"What's the plan?"

"Gee, thanks, Honey," Noa-chan sighs, then looks up to see the fog
increasing. "By the looks of it, that creature has either destroyed or
seriously impaired the sentient *mei'te* calling itself Memory. If it's
drawing on all the *mei'de* everyone in this place of fools and madmen have
projected against Ataru-sama, then those idiots who fawn over the Other all
the time won't stand a chance."

"The only way we can beat it then is to counter it emotion for emotion,"
Benten-chan quickly concludes. "If it's using hate to destroy Ataru-sama,
we'll use our love for the *daimon'cha* to destroy it."

"The Other herself could do the same thing," Oyuki-chan adds, "...IF she
can be persuaded to trust us."

"I think she can," Noa-chan knowingly smiles. "Let's go!"

The team of Sagussans disappears into the growing fog...

* * *

A terrific explosion is heard!!

Now in the town park, Lum's group...augmented by Mendou, Megane and the
guards, now somewhat recovered from their ordeal in the torture chamber...is
presently in a defensive circle, having been forced back from Ataru, who
stands confidently several metres away. Incensed, Mendou draws his katana and
points it at his rival, sneering. "Now...are you prepared to face death for
your sins against Lum-san, Moroboshi?!!"

Lum looks upset. "Shutaro, that's *not* Darling...!"

"*WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I AM THAT GIRL-CHASING MORON, MENDOU?!!*" the
possessed Ataru cackles. "*AFRAID TO BELIEVE THAT I AM WHAT I SAY I AM,
PERHAPS?!! I AM THE *SAIKOO JINSEIJITSU*, SUPREME EXPRESSION OF ALL TERRAN
MARTIAL ARTS!!!! PITY YOU WILL NOT LIVE LONG ENOUGH TO TRULY BEGIN TO
APPRECIATE THIS FACT!!!!!!*" An energy bolt appears around Ataru's hand as it
is aimed at the people now facing him. "***PSYCHIC LASER!!!!!!***"

A beam of burning energy stabs downrange! It rips into the ground at
Mendou's feet, causing a tremendous explosion, which sends the hapless
fighters flying in every direction!! The possessed teen walks towards them,
smiling like the Devil himself. "*YOU POOR FOOLS!! I AM FED BY HIS HATE, HIS
ANGER, HIS JEALOUSY AND HIS FRUSTRATION!!! I **AM** HATE, I **AM** ANGER, I
**AM** JEALOUSY AND I **AM** FRUSTRATION!!!! ALL THE NEGATIVE AND DARK
EMOTIONS MAN HAS PRODUCED OVER THE YEARS!!!! ALL OF YOU ARE MERE SPECKS OF
LIGHT IN COMPARISON TO MY MAGNIFICENCE!!! SURRENDER AND YOUR DEATHS WILL BE
EASY!!!!*"

Lan looks down...becoming violently angry on seeing her blouse ripped,
exposing a very embarrassing part of her body. "Y-you...y-you ripped m-my
dr-dress...!!" she snarls, rising to her feet and aiming a bazooka.
"DIE!!!!!!"

The weapon fires. Ataru's hand turns into a blur as the shell is
knocked off-course! The round crashes into the ground where Lum, Mie, Oyuki,
Benten and Ryuunosuke had fallen, sending the girls flying into the sides of a
nearby tree!! The bits of shrapnel seem not to bother the possessed teen.
"*MY, SUCH VIOLENCE...*" he cackles...as a revolver suddenly appears in his
hand. "*...YOU'D THINK THIS WAS THE WILD WEST OF AMERICA!!!!*" he aims and
fires twice!

The rounds punch into Lan's shoulders, sending her flying back! Ataru
crushes the firearm, then walks slowly to the fallen Lan's side. "*WHERE IS
YOUR BRAVADO NOW, FOOL?!! I WONDER...DID YOUR SLUT OF A MOTHER FEEL ANY SORT
OF BRAVADO WHEN SHINGETSU DIED?!! OR DID YOU EVEN BEGIN TO REALIZE THAT IT
WAS BY **MY** ACTIONS, NOT THE LANNARKITES, THAT SHINGETSU WAS DESTROYED?!?!*"

He grabs Lan by the neck, hauling her to her feet...then squeezes hard
on her trachea. She begins to gag. "Awk...Dar-...ling...!" escapes from her
lips, then in a futile act of defiance, spits blood into his face.

Incensed, he punches her in the gut!!! "*THE TRUTH MUST HURT, DOESN'T
IT...EH?!!*" his eyes widen as he senses something odd. "*WHY, AN ENERGY
VAMPIRE!!!*" he cackles with delight. "*WHAT DID YOU EXPECT TO DO, GIRL?!!
KISS ME AND STEAL MY YOUTH?!?! YOU POOR FOOL, I **HAVE** NO YOUTH FOR YOU TO
STEAL!!!!*"

His right hand rips her dress and bra away. "*YOU HAVE DEPENDED MUCH ON
YOUR BEAUTY TO CALL YOUR VICTIMS INTO YOU WEB!! NOW **YOU** WILL BE THE
VICTIM!!!*" he icily declares as his hand draws back, forming a spider-leg
fist. "***PARANORMAL-POWER INVERSE-FIRE ATTACK!!!!!!***"

Everyone watches as the fingertips strike Lan's exposed skin. A white
fire surrounds the Seishin girl as she screams. Her whole body glows for a
moment, then it shrivels! When the glow dissipates, Lan's body is now that of
an *eighty* year old woman, her red hair now grey and falling off, face
wrinkled and her body frail. "Dar-...ling...!" her voice cracks.

With a piledriver slam, Ataru smashes Lan's body into the ground,
burying her a metre down!!! The possessed teen straightens himself, smiling
wolfishly. "*WALK FROM **THAT**, FOOL!!!!*" he disappears into the fog.

Panicking, everyone runs up to the edge of the hole. They look in, then
wince in horror at what they see. Everyone gasps and shudders, then relax.
"No great loss," the guards hum as one.

Everyone looks around to see the fog growing stronger around them.
"Damn!" Benten hisses. "In this shit, we won't be able to see him coming!! I
wish Nassur was here!"

"I doubt Nassur could help us," Koosei looks to the sky. "Even if the
*saikoo jinseijitsu* is sentient, all it is...is just a bunch of memories
gathered over the centuries. That wouldn't be enough to allow Nassur to track
that thing!" He then looks to Lum. "And if Ataru's gone...then there's no
hope for any of us to stop that thing without his help."

The Oni looks horrified by Koosei's suggestion. "No...no...no...Darling
can't be dead...!"

"Even if this thing is some ancient ninja mental program brought to
life, it still has to be influenced by some sort by being in Moroboshi all
these years!" Mendou snaps, holding a sore arm. "We can still beat that
thing!"

"Are you still under that illusion?!" Shinobu snaps, the anger in her
voice tempered by mortal dread. "If that thing could beat Nassur-kun, we're
all dead!!"

Mendou looks frustrated. The hollow voice of the *saikoo jinseijitsu*
then speaks out of nowhere. "*PERMIT ME TO RE-INSTRUCT YOU FOOLS IN THAT
MATTER!!!!!!*"

A black blur whips past Mendou! The scion of Japan's richest family
cries out painfully, then collapses. Everyone spins around, immediately
seeing that his shirt is ripped open, revealing deep blood welts in his back!!
"Shutaro!!!" Lum cries.

"Gods!" Koosei gasps. "Six broken ribs and five vertebrae knocked out
of line!! We try to move him to safety, we could wind up break his back and
cripple him forever!"

"No loss!!" Megane snorts, crossing his arms. "We get rid of him, then
that's one less person to take Lum-san away from us!!"

Benten looks up. "LOOK OUT!!!!!!"

Everyone leaps back as the possessed Ataru drops down, crashing into
Mendou with the force of a cannonball!! The possessed teen gives Benten a wry
smile, then disappears.
Incensed, the Fukunokami grabs her machine gun and aims! "Come back here, you
coward!!!" she screams, firing away.

"Benten, wait...!" Koosei tries to stop her.

A kusarigama chain whips out, snagging Benten's gun and sending it
flying! "*DO YOU THINK THAT COULD STOP ME?!?!*" that voice laughs.

Another black blur races at the Fukunokami. Two fingers jab into her
chest! As the blur vanishes, she cries out, then drops to her knees gripping
her chest. "No...!"

Ataru appears some distance away. "*ANYONE WHO ALLIES HIMSELF OR
HERSELF WITH THE ONI DIES!!!!*"

"Darling!!!" Lum cries.

A storm of shuriken rips out, nearly cutting Lum into ribbons before she
could get close!! "*I WILL STATE IT AGAIN BEFORE FINALLY SENDING YOU TO YOUR
VARIOUS AFTERLIVES...I AM **NOT** ATARU MOROBOSHI!!!!*"

He disappears...to reappear behind Benten. His fist smashes into the
back of the Fukunokami's neck!! With a strangled cry, the huntress collapses!
Ataru disappears. "Wait...!!" Lum cries.

"Benten!" Oyuki runs to her friend's side.

The Tritonian kneels beside the fallen Benten. Her eyes are open and
hollow. "I screwed up..." she gasps, then passes out.

"Benten..." Oyuki gasps.

Everyone shudders. Lum angrily faces the guards. "Well?!!" she snaps.
"Does that thing behave like Darling?!! Huh?!! Answer me!!!"

The guards are speechless. "Th-that th-thing *is* a monster...!" Megane
stammers.

Suddenly, Lum jolts. "Eh?! Who said that?!"

"Lum-chan, what's wrong?!" Mie inquires.

The Oni's eyes glaze over as she listens to whatever is speaking to her.
"Remember...the rose..." her voice chants. "Find the Rose of Memory...listen
to the question..."

"Rose of Memory?!" Koosei blinks confusedly. "What's that?!"

"I understand!" Lum nods, then without acknowledging her classmates,
flies into the fog.

"Lum-san, wait!!" Megane cries as the guards try to follow their
classmate.

An explosion then occurs, knocking everyone aside!! "FORGETTING ME SO
SOON?!!*" the possessed Ataru howls derisevly...

* * *

"A rose garden?!" Sakura looks confused. "Why do you want to know
something like that?!"

"Because I think the Rose of Memory came from there," Lum explains. The
two now meet in the latter's shrine. Nassur lies nearby, his body on
life-support thanks to the Kuromoroboshi ninjas, who arrived in Tomobiki just
as the fight began in earnest. Mendou, Benten and Lan are now being brought
in, Oyuki having come with her friend. "Remember the vision! It showed
Darling giving a rose to Noa-chan! He must've been five or six at the
time...!"

"I understand, I think," the priestess halts the Oni's tirade with a
hand. "Yes, there was a rose garden in a park not far from here. It's just a
small playground these days."

"Which way?!" Lum looks anxious.

"Head towards Lan's ship," Sakura points. "It's about halfway between
here and there...eh?! Lum?!"

The Oni has already flown out the door. Oyuki looks quizzically at
Sakura. "Who's this Noa-chan?"

"Search me," Sakura shrugs...

* * *

"Where the hell did Lum-chan go?!" Mie ducks some flying debris. "What
made her take off like that?! We need her!"

"Bitch, how dare you question Lum-san's actions?!" Megane grabs the
Kyushu native by her jersey. "Your disrespect shall be punished...!"

"Ah, put a sock in it, four-eyes!!" Mie clobbers the guards' leader.

"Brother, doesn't that jerk ever give it a rest?!" Ryuunosuke growls.

"The idiot doesn't know how!" Shinobu snorts.

Mie then senses something come at her. Instinctively, she dodges
right...just as a blast of the earth-heart fire-geyser nearly incinerates
Ryuunsouke! "*YOU!*" Ataru snarls, threateningly pointing at her. "*YOUR
INFLUENCE ON MOROBOSHI SHALL END RIGHT NOW!! **SOULSWORD!!!!***"

The mystic katana appears as Ataru charges at Mie. The Kyushu native
stands her ground as the blade sweeps up, then down. Eyes wide, Shinobu just
stands there helplessly. "MIE!!!!"

But before the weapon could do its fearful damage, Mie...catches the
blade between her hands! "You were saying something, jerk?!" she snarls.

The possessed teen yowls in pain as he leaps back, as if Mie had
splashed him with acid. "*N-NO!!*" he stammers, the soulsword fizzling out.
"*HOW IS IT POSSIBLE...?!*"

Mie smiles. "Thanks for the info!"

She then runs off into the fog. "Mie, where are you going?!" Shinobu
blinks confusedly, then angrily spins on Ataru. "You kami!! What did you do
to her?!"

"*SILENCE, FOOL!!*" Ataru growls as a psychic laser rips at Shinobu.

Ataru's ex-girlfriend yowls in shock as she jumps out of the way. The
blast nearly incinerates Koosei! "Ooops!!" Shinobu looks contrite. "Sorry
about that!"

"It's...okay..." the homeroom teacher moans.

Now all that are still standing and fully cognizant are Shinobu and the
guards. "What do we do?!" Kakugari gulps. "Everything we do to this thing
just bounces off!!"

"Idiot, this is Ataru, remember?!!" Megane snaps. "Only by our divine
resolution and with Lum-san's guidance can we restore this moron back to
normal and have our lives the way they were before!!!"

Shinobu lets out a disgusted moan. "*YOU FOOL!!!*" Ataru mirthlessly
cackles. "*YOU STILL DON'T UNDERSTAND ME, DO YOU...?!!*"

He fades into the fog. A second later, a black blur smashes into
Kakugari! The heavyset member of the guards collapses, his rib cage
shattered!! "*I AM NOT THAT GIRL-CHASING MORON YOU HAVE DERIDED OVER THE PAST
TWO YEARS!!! I AM THE FORCES OF NATURE BROUGHT TO LIFE!!!*"

A glowing kusarigama chain snares Paama by the neck!! He is dragged
into the fog. "Awk...guys!!" he reaches for someone to catch him.

"Shitto-kun!!!" Megane gasps.

The sound of breaking bones is heard. Paama's strangled screams are cut
off, then people hear the sickening thud of a body hitting the ground.
Shinobu is speechless. "*WHAT'S THE MATTER, MIYAKI?!!*" Ataru taunts.
"*PERHAPS YOU'RE HAVING...A BAD HAIR DAY?!!*"

A storm of shuriken flies at Chibi! "YEOW!!!!!!" the smallest of the
guards is cut down by the flying projectiles.

Panicking, Megane swings his heavy machine gun in the direction where
the shuriken appeared. "DIE!!!!!!" he screams, firing wildly!!!

Shinobu tries to stop him. "Knock it off, Megane!!! He wants you to do
that!! Get a hold of yourself!!!"

A shadow appears in the fog. They watch as the shadow becomes the
figure of a man, head and body protected by his arms. The bullets impact the
body, but there is no affect. On seeing this, Megane really loses control.
"***DIE, YOU INHUMAN BASTARD!!!!!! DIE!!!!!!***"

The machine gun clicks on an empty firing bed. The man's arms fling
out...and the bullets, deformed by impacting on something akin to
battleship-class armour plating, fall away from Ataru's body. "*SURPRISE!!*"

Shinobu and Megane are flabbergasted. "*THAT IS CALLED THE STONE-BODY
SHIELD DEFENCE!!*" Ataru smiles. "*PERMIT ME TO SHOW YOU SOMETHING ELSE!!!*"
he snickers, then points a hand at Megane. "***HEART-BLAST TOUCH!!!!!!***"

Before the leader of the guards could dodge, the fingers land on
Megane's chest! He lets out a strangled cry, then collapses, blood exploding
from his nose!! Before Shinobu could restrain him, Ataru disappears.
"*SO...WHERE ARE YOUR FRIENDS NOW, MIYAKI?!!*" he howls. "*HOW DID IT FEEL
WHEN HE SLAPPED YOU?!*"

"That was you who slapped me, bastard, not Ataru-kun!!!" Shinobu snarls.

"*OH, ARE YOU SURE?!*" the possessed teen hums. "*IDIOT, YOU HAVE BEEN
USING HIM TO ATTEMPT TO WIN THE LOVE OF THAT VOSIAN YOU ARE SO ENAMOURED
WITH!! IT MATTERS NOT! WITHIN THE DAY, NASSUR WILL BE DEAD...AND SO WILL
YOU!!*"

Hearing that, Shinobu lets out a howl of rage as she grabs the nearest
tree, then lets it fly. "DIE, YOU KAMI!!!!!!"

A psychic laser blasts out from behind Shinobu to incinerate her!
"*THERE YOU GO!!*" Ataru's voice echoes. "*A LITTLE OF THE RESENTMENT AND
HATRED **YOU** FELT TOWARDS MOROBOSHI WHEN HE FINALLY SHOWED THAT HE WAS MORE
INTERESTED IN THE ONI THAN YOU!!*"

Shinobu screams as she is flung against the ground. Ataru appears out
of the fog. "*TELL ME SOMETHING,*" the possessed teen mirthlessly smiles.
"*HOW WOULD YOU FEEL IF YOU KNEW THAT MOROBOSHI AND LUM HAVE BEEN BONDED FOR
**FOURTEEN** YEARS?! YOU NEVER STOOD A CHANCE OF WINNING HIS LOVE AS LONG AS
THAT BOND EXISTED!! AND WITH THAT BOND, MOROBOSHI WAS INSPIRED TO ENSURE THAT
NASSUR WOULD LOVE *BENTEN*, NOT YOU!!! YOU STUPID, IGNORANT LITTLE GIRL!! AS
LONG AS YOU CONTINUE TO INTERACT WITH THE ONI AND MOROBOSHI, YOU WILL NEVER BE
ABLE TO OBTAIN THAT WHICH YOU DESIRE!!!*"

"N-no...it's not true...!" Shinobu shakes her head, tears welling in her
eyes.

"*IT IS,*" Ataru crosses his arms. "*THE HATRED HE EXPRESSED TO YOU
BEFORE THE THIRD TAG RACE AND YESTERDAY WAS **HIS** HATRED OF YOU, NOT
ANYTHING I EVER DID!! ALL I DID WAS JUST GIVE HIM THE NECESSARY PUSH TO
BETTER EXPRESS HIS EMOTIONS!! DIDN'T FEEL GOOD, DIDN'T IT?!*"

Hearing that, Shinobu lets out a mindless shriek as she leaps up,
groping for Ataru's neck. Before she could get close, her own neck is seized
by the possessed teen. She lets out a shocked gasp as he immediately applies
pressure on her trachea! "*YOUR STRENGTH IS NOTHING TO ME, GIRL!!*" Ataru
snorts. "*EVERYTHING YOU DO TO ME IS NOTHING! I AM FUELLED BY THE VERY
HATRED, RESENTMENT AND DISGUST ALL OF **YOU** HAVE EXPRESSED TO MOROBOSHI
SINCE THE DAY THE ONI RETURNED TO HIS LIFE! THE VERY HATRED, RESENTMENT AND
DISGUST THAT **I** MANIPULATED, NUTURED AND DEVELOPED SO THAT WHEN THIS DAY
CAME, I COULD TURN IT INTO THE MOST POTENT WEAPON AGAINST ALL OF YOU WHO
SUPPORT THAT ONI SO MUCH!! ALL OF YOU HAVE BEEN CAT'S PAWNS IN MY GAME...AND
LIKE THE FOOLS AND IDIOTS YOU ARE, YOU NEVER ONCE SUSPECTED THE TRUTH!!!*"

Shinobu lets out a weak cry as she loses consciousness. "*ALL TOO
EASY,*" Ataru snorts as he tosses her aside. "*NOW...EH?!!*" he spins around.
"*NO!! BLAST MEMORY!! SHE GOT THAT ONI TO FIND THE ROSE OF MEMORY!!! IF SHE
FINDS THAT, MOROBOSHI IS AS GOOD AS RESTORED!!*"

He moves to leap off in the general direction of Lum when a shillelagh
flies out of nowhere to trip him up! As Ataru collapses, an incensed voice
growls from behind him, "And just where do ye think yuir goin', laddie?!!"

Ataru spins around to see Alex standing nearby. The druid does not look
the least bit pleased. "*AND WHO ARE YOU?!*" the possessed teen snorts.

"Me name's Alex Macintosh!" Alex smiles. "I be the chief druid of the
McTavish Clan...plus, I'm an old friend o' Cherry's! And I nae be any way
impressed by an old, dillapidated thing like ye!! Ye should've been
decommissioned ages ago!"

Hearing that, Ataru's eyes burn bright white. "*WHAT?!?! YOU FOOL, YOU
DARE INSULT ME?!! I COULD CRUSH YOU LIKE A TWIG IF I WANTED TO!!*"

"Then if ye think yuir so strong," Alex icily smiles, "...prove it!"

The slowly-recovering guards and Koosei are flabbergasted. "Is that guy
nuts...?!" Paama exclaims, wincing. "Ataru'll stomp him into paste!!"

"I somehow think that fellow knows what he's doing," the teacher muses.

Ataru and Alex face off, their battle auras beginning to burn the air
around them. To everyone's surprise, the druid's aura is just as impressive
as the possessed teen's. "What were ye a'sayin' about snappin' me like a
twig?!" Alex cackles.

"*I'LL PUT AN END TO YOU RIGHT NOW!!!*" Ataru snarls.

Suddenly, with a delighted cackle, Alex leaps at him, bouncing off his
head, lands on the ground, then takes off after scooping up his shillelagh.
"Ye'll have to catch me first!!"

"*I WILL!!!!*" Ataru roars as he runs off after the druid.

"Hey, wait up!!" Koosei bolts to his feet as he runs off after the two.
"Don't get yourself killed on account of these idiots, old timer!!!"

Of course, Koosei's departure leaves the guards alone with Shinobu and
Ryuunosuke, still passed out. "Ryooki-sensei...!" Megane moans, then lays
back. "Oh, Lum-san, why did you abandon us so?! Are we so unworthy of your
divine attention that you would leave us to the dogs while you flee home?"

"Lum-chan...!" the guards moan as one...

...then all four are silenced as sledgehammers smack them in their
faces! Out of the fog emerge four beautiful women dressed in the uniform of
Butsumetsu Girl's High School seniors. "Quiet, Aisuru-kun!" their leader, a
statuesque woman with long black hair partially tied with a locket, sighs.
"Lum's not here to help you! We are!!"

The four girls proceed to drag the bodyguards to Sakura's shrine...

* * *

"*Tcha...!*" a mystified Lum walks through a fog bank. "I can hear
you...can sense something...but why won't you come out and show yourselves?!
Where are you?! Noa-chan?!"

She then walks into clear sunlight. "Eh?!" the Oni looks confused.
"What the?! What's going on here...eh?!"

Ahead of her is a small park. Lum is quick to notice some differences:
this park, which today serves as a children's playground, is covered in flower
gardens. Further, the skyline of Tomobiki is not as well developed. "I've
time-shifted back!" Lum gasps. "This must be some time before Darling got
that monster fired into his head...eh?!"

She then sees a five-year old version of Ataru Moroboshi play near
several rose bushes. Lum's eyes widen. "Darling...!! Oh, kawaii!!!"

A young girl walks up, dressed in a 1970s-era school uniform. Lum's
eyes widen even more. "Hi, there!" Ataru waves.

"Sakura-sensei!" Lum gasps.

"Hello!" Sakura Sakurambou nods.

She walks on to school. Ataru turns to see another girl seated by a
rock garden. She is stocky, with freckles on her face, and crying. The young
boy walks up, confused by her sorrow. "Hello, pretty girl!" he smiles. "Why
are you so sad?"

She looks up. "B-because m-my boyfriend left me...!" she sniffs back
tears, then lets out an anguished wail.

Looking sad, Ataru sees a daisy nearby. Picking it, he hands it to the
girl. "Here!" he smiles. "Pretty girls shouldn't cry."

The girl looks surprised, then smiles. "Th-thank you..."

Lum smiles. The girl heads to school. Ataru begins to sniff some
roses. Lum's attention is then taken by a wolf-whistle. "Hello, nurse!!!"

Lum and Ataru see some tough-looking young men, their uniforms messy and
disorganized, standing around a cherry tree. Also there...is a girl. "Who?!"
Lum gasps, then blinks. "Noa...!"

Noa-chan is presently leaning against a tree. She is dressed in a
no-sleeve tank-top shirt over shorts, knee-length socks and tennis shoes, a
purse slung over her shoulder. She looks at the men staring at her with
curiosity. "Are you speaking to me?" she hums.

"Who would I be speaking to, babe?!" a man cackles. "Shit, you are one
hot little item!"

"Then you are in error," the Sagussan sighs.

"Error?!" another snaps. "What the hell...?! What are you talking
about?!"

"I am not a nurse...nor part of the medical services of my homeworld,"
she evenly sighs.

The young men faint! "Man, what a zero this chick is!!!" another
scratches his head. "Gorgeous as all hell, but with the brain of a total
nerd!!"

"She sounds like that guy from that freaky show on television...you
know, 'Star Trek,'" another nods.

"Yeah!!" another grabs her breasts, giving them a squeeze. "Man, check
these tits out! C'mon, babe," he slips an arm around her, "...let's go
somewhere for some serious necking!!"

"You desire sexual intercourse?" Noa-chan hums.

"What do you think?!" he snorts.

"We have not mind-melded, so I cannot tell what you are thinking," she
replies with all honesty.

The young men faint again!! Lum looks disappointed. "And Darling was
touched by *this* race?!!"

The young men have recovered, now angrily eyeing the strange girl. "I
think this bitch needs a little education on what being a woman's *supposed*
to be!!" one growls. "Right, guys?!!"

"Right!!!" the other men nod.

A very young male voice then yells out, "Idiots!! Get away from that
girl! She doesn't want to date you!!"

Everyone sees that it none other than Ataru who had spoken, a defiant
look on his face and a finger pointing at the girl. "Why don't you leave her
alone?!" the pre-school student makes a banishment motion. "Get lost!!"

"Darling, what are you doing?!!" Lum looks aghast.

The men look unimpressed. "Well, well, well," one chuckles. "Check it
out, guys!! The nerdy bitch has a boyfriend!!!"

"A little young, don't you think?!" another laughs.

"Pity he won't get older!" a third snorts.

Belts, chains and other blunt instruments appear as they advance on
Ataru. "Okay, shrimp," one cackles. "Let's see how tough you really are!"

Noa-chan looks horrified. "They...they seek to injure that
*rei'cha*...?" she gasps. Her eyes then become steel as she draws a
futuristic weapon. Taking a ready stance, she aims. "Leave that child
alone!!!" she snaps.

The men turn around, expecting that she would allow herself to fall
under their "interest." "Alright, babe, we'll leave...eep!!!" their leader
turns white on seeing the pistol pointed right at his face!

"Holy shit, she's got a gun!!!" another gasps.

"Y-yo, babe...!" a third embarrassingly giggles, "...t-take it easy! We
were just g-going to have s-some fun...!!"

"So...you desire fun, do you not...?" Noa-chan's eyes narrow...then she
fires! "HOW IS THIS FOR FUN?!?!?!"

The bolts of particle-proton energy go wide, but the message is all too
clear; the men race out of the park as fast as their feet can move them!!
Ataru sticks out his tongue. "Creeps!!!" he screams. "That'll teach you to
leave pretty girls alone when they don't wanna be bothered!!!"

The Sagussan sighs, then holsters her weapon in her purse. She turns to
leave, but is stayed by Ataru's hand. She looks down at him. "Is there a
problem in which you require my assistance?"

"Come over here," Ataru points to a flower bed.

She follows him. "What is it?"

The young boy pulls out a red rose. He then hands it to the woman who
saved his life. "Here...this is for you," he smiles.

Stunned disbelief and confusion appear on Noa-chan's face, as if she has
no comprehension as to why Ataru is doing this. "Wh-what is the logic of
presenting me with a flower...?" she stammers as she takes the rose from him.

Lum looks sad. "You didn't understand, did you...?"

Suddenly, the fog appears to erase the image of Ataru and Noa-chan. Lum
looks down for a moment, then blinks on hearing a familiar voice. "Now, do
*you* understand, Lum?"

Lum blinks, then finds herself staring at Noa-chan, once again in her
uniform. "Noa..."

The Sagussan bureaucrat walks up to gently stroke the Oni's face. "So
beautiful," she hums.

"You're really here!" Lum looks surprised, then with a yelp of joy,
embraces her. "Oh, thank the gods, you're really here!!"

"Yeah, we're here!" Noa-chan returns her gesture. "Sorry we were too
late to stop that thing inside Ataru's head."

"It's okay," Lum smiles, backing away. "But...if that thing has control
of Darling, how do you hope to help him?! That monster's a devil of a
fighter..."

"Relax, Lum," Noa-chan conspiratorally winks. "It's all being
handled...I hope."

The Oni suddenly looks nervous...

* * *

"There you are!!" Mie looks relieved as she picks her way through the
pile of rocks where the Tarouzakura once stood. "Ataru-chan!!"

Now unconscious in this morass of destruction is Ataru, who presently
looks so deathly ill, it makes Mie wonder if he is still alive. "Hey, you
okay?!" the Kyushu native leaps down to gently prod her former classmate.
"Ataru-chan!!!"

His eyes flutter open, a weak but hoarse gasp escaping his lips.
"Mie..."

"Ataru-chan, are you okay?!" Mie looks fretful.

"No..." his eyes close. "I...seriously...goofed..."

"Yeah, you did, didn't you?" Mie sighs as she leans down to gently lift
the wounded Ataru into her arms. "C'mon...let's go find Lum-chan."

A small point of light then appears in front of Mie.
"***Mie...Seikou...***" a haunting voice calls out.

Mie nearly drops Ataru in shock. "Who are you?!!"

"***I am...the Memory...of Tomobiki...***" the voice hesitantly
responds. "***Please...you must...be quick. The Black Death...of the Martial
Arts...has drained...all my power. He is...using Tomobiki's...hatred of...the
Supreme Agent...of Order...to destroy all...Creation and Entropy both...only
to leave...cold Oblivion...in its wake...***"

"Then how do we fight it?!" Mie demands.

"***You must...return the...Supreme Agent...of Order...to the
place...where the Rose...of Memory...now is...***" the voice begins to fade.
"***Hurry...there is...not much...time...***"

The light fades out. "'Rose of Memory?!'" Mie blinks confusedly, then
realization dawns on her. "That's what Lum-chan's looking for! I better go
find her!!"

The Kyushu native turns...then tenses as she senses something approach.
"*IF YOU THINK I WILL PERMIT YOU TO DESTROY THAT WHICH I HAVE CREATED, GIRL,
THINK AGAIN!!*" a very familiar dirge-like voice growls.

Mie dodges, rolling with Ataru as a blast of the fire-geyser incinerates
the Mendou estate. The *saikoo jinseijitsu* emerges from the fog,
methodically advancing on Mie. "*NOW, GIRL...IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO DIE!!!*"
the creature growls as a soulsword appears in its hands.

Suddenly, a shillelagh slips between the creature's legs. It suddenly
finds itself flung away from Mie. "If ye think I'll be a'standin' by while ye
hurt such a bonnie lass, think again!!" Alex snarls.

"*CURSE YOU...!!*" the *saikoo jinseijitsu* screams as it flies away.

"Thanks, old timer!!!" Mie gets up, Ataru in her arms. She then sprints
off into the fog.

"Me pleasure!" Alex gives her a jaunty wave, then blinks as he realizes
something. "Uh-oh!! Better find out where I flung thot thing tae!"

He runs off...

* * *

While total war is now brewing in the centre of Tomobiki, at its
perephery, calm seems to envelope the Mizunokoji estate. The only odd thing
is the intense fog, which blankets the estate like it blankets the remainder
of the district. This has not stopped Asuka Mizunokoji from some physical
training. Now sheathed in her "Iron Maiden" battlesuit, the younger
Mizunokoji daughter is preparing to do a one hundred yard dash. "Wish this
damn fog would finally lift!" Kinko Makige, the beautiful curly-haired leader
of the Kurotenshi bodyguards, mutters as she looks around. "Weatherman didn't
say anything about fog coming in." She then stares at her employer's
daughter. "Are you ready, Mistress?"

"I'm ready," Asuka confidently calls out from inside her armour.

Kinko looks at her stopwatch, then hits the start button. "Go!!!"

Asuka sprints off...only to be smashed down by a flying body!! The
Kurotenshi confusedly blink as they watch a slim male form rise from the
stunned Asuka. "*THAT WAS DISCOURTEOUS!*" the *saikoo jinseijitsu* snarls as
it looks around. "*THE MORE I DELAY, THE MORE CHANCES THAT ONI HAS IN
RESTORING MOROBOSHI!!*"

He tenses as something flies at him. The creature reaches up to catch a
flung axe, then contemptuously shatters the handle without much effort.
"*NOW, THAT WAS REALLY DISCOURTEOUS!*" he glares at the Kurotenshi.

"Bastard, get away from the Mistress at once!!" one levels a machine gun
at it.

"*DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH!!*" the creature sneers as a psychic kusarigama
lashes out to disarm the Kurotenshi in the blink of an eye.

"Uhh..." Asuka's moan escapes from her armour. "What...hit me...?"

She looks up to see Ataru standing right by her face. Her starry eyes
widening in panic, she lets out a scream. "A MAN!!!!!!"

Grabbing the creature, the fear-stricken young girl prepares to send him
on an impromptu flying lesson. "*I DESPISE THIS!!*" the *saikoo jinseijitsu*
grunts.

"I HATE MEN!!!!!!" Asuka screams as she launches the creature into the
air.

The beast spins around. "***AIR-WHIRLPOOL HEAT-FIRE STRIKE!!!!!!***" he
snaps, aiming at the armoured woman.

The Kurotenshi watch in dumbstruck horror as the blast of superheated
air races at their mistress!! Seizing Asuka before she could leap clear, the
thermal cyclone spins her around for several seconds, then deposits her most
unceremoniously back at the starting line! "ASUKA!!!!!!" Kinko screams.

The *saikoo jinseijitsu* lands on the ground, then vaults to the fallen
Asuka's side. "*LET'S SEE HOW YOU FEEL WITHOUT YOUR PROTECTIVE SHIELD!*" it
snickers, his fists rising to strike. "***TYPHOON WIND-FIST!!!!!!***"

Asuka is blasted again and again by punches which come at machine gun
speed! In seconds, her armour implodes, nearly killing her with the shards of
flying metal!! Dropping dazed to the ground, she is in no shape to resist as
the *saikoo jinseijitsu* yanks her back to her feet. "*NOW, LET'S UNDO ALL
THE CORRECTIONS THEY MADE TO YOUR MIND!*" the creature mirthlessly cackles as
it touches a point on Asuka's forehead.

A small bolt of light punches into her mind! It lasts a second, then
the creature lets her go, allowing Asuka to drop unconscious to the ground.
The *saikoo jinseijitsu* turns to depart...then ducks as Mendou's katana
nearly makes it a head shorter. "*YOU ARE SO PATHETIC, IT ISN'T FUNNY!!*" the
beast snorts as its foot back-kicks Mendou into Asuka!

Mendou lets out a blast of air, then realizing who he just fell on,
spins around to shake his fiancee awake. "Asuka!! Asuka-chan!! Are you
okay?! Speak to me!!"

"Uhh..." Asuka moans, then as her eyes open, she looks confusedly at
Mendou. In her eyes, however, she does not see the handsome man she was
promised to years ago...but a dark masculine monster worse than anything
Stephen King could ever conceive. "AIYEE!!!! A MAN!!!! GET AWAY FROM
ME!!!!" she screams, summoning all her strength to bash Mendou into a nearby
tree!

"Mistress!!!" Kinko gasps, then snarls at the creature. "Moroboshi, you
bastard, what did you do to the Mistress?!!"

"*I AM NOT MOROBOSHI!!!*" the *saikoo jinseijitsu* looks disgusted. "*I
AM THE SAIKOO JINSEIJITSU!! MAKE THAT MISTAKE AGAIN AND I'LL UNLEASH WORSE
HORRORS ON YOU!!!*"

The Kurotenshi let out disbelieving gasps as they stare at the creature
in their midst. "Th-the *s-saikoo jinseijitsu*...?!" one fearfully stammers.
"It has c-control of Ataru...?!"

"I think we're in big trouble now!!" another gulps.

Mendou lunges at the creature, katana raised for the kill. "Bastard,
what did you do to Asuka?!!"

The beast stops the blade with one finger. "*FOOL, DID YOU ACTUALLY
THINK YOU WOULD ESCAPE HER PHOBIA OF MEN?!! THE CONFUSION HER OWN FAMILY HAS
SEWN WITHIN HER WOULD HAVE EVENTUALLY TURNED HER AGAINST **ALL** MEN,
INCLUDING YOU AND HER BROTHER!! I JUST MERELY HASTENED THE PROCESS TO ITS
NATURAL CONCLUSION!!! NOW, IF YOU'LL EXCUSE ME, I HAVE AN ONI TO KILL!!*"

And with that, the creature sends Mendou flying right at Asuka.
Freaking out, the poor woman begins to mercilessly bash her fiance with her
shattered helmet! "I HATE MEN, I HATE MEN, I HATE MEN, I HATE MEN...!!!!" she
screams over and over again.

"*ALL TOO EASY!*" the creature cackles as he turns to leave...

...then gets blasted into orbit by Alex's shillelagh!! "Thot's what ye
think, me bucko!!!" the druid laughs.

"*CURSE YOU...!!!*" the creature howls as it flies away.

The Kurotenshi are awestruck. "Did you see that?!" Kinko gasps. "That
old fellow stood up to that monster and saved us!!"

"I saw it, I saw it!!" another gushes. "He's a hero!"

Before the dumbfounded druid could do anything, he finds himself swamped
in Kurotenshi. "Lassies, l-lassies, please!" Alex gags as he is deluged with
kisses. "Ye dinnae have ta be sae passionate aboot thankin' me! 'Twas
nothin' at all!!"

His laughter is soon muffled by kisses and romantic sighs...

* * *

The *saikoo jinseijitsu* crash-lands on the front lawn of Tomobiki High
School! Shaking its head, the creature rises to try to orientate itself to
its surroundings. "*A THOUSAND CURSES ON THAT PERVERTED OLD FOOL!!!*" it
snarls. "*THE MORE I DELAY, THE MORE CHANCES THE ONI HAS OF RESTORING
MOROBOSHI!! NOW, WHERE IS SHE...?!*"

Its eyes then narrow as a voice echoes from behind it. "Tell me
something...you ever dance with the devil in the deep moonlight?"

Before the creature could defend itself, it is sent sailing through the
front fence by a snap side kick!! Walking out of the fog is Lufy-chan.
Running a hand through the green streak in her sunflower hair, the
Yehisrite-turned-Sagussan combat pilot crouches in a ready stance. "Anytime,
bugger!"

The *saikoo jinseijitsu* growls as it leaps into the sky.
"***EARTH-HEART FIRE-GEYSER!!!!!!***" it aims its hands at Lufy-chan.

The Sagussan literally disappears as the blast of energy demolishes the
school and four blocks behind it!! Landing on the ground, the creature is
then punched in the jaw! "Ameteur!!!" Lufy-chan cackles as she hits it with
sweep punches and elbows. "A baby on Sagussan could've avoided that in her
sleep!!!"

The creature screams with mortal pain as every blow seems to melt its
skin. Backing away, it tries to martial some sort of defence against the
oncoming Lufy-chan. "*AT LEAST HAVE THE COURTESY OF INTRODUCING YOURSELF,
WITCH!!!*"

"Name's Lufy!" the Yehisrite-turned-Sagussan cracks her knuckles.
"*Daishi'cha* Twenty-nine-three-sixty-three!! And you're dead!"

"*WE'LL SEE ABOUT THAT!!!*" the creature cackles. "***PSYCHIC
LASER!!!!!!***"

The blast of energy hits Lufy-chan in her stomach! However, the laser
does not even darken her uniform. "Nice try!!" Lufy-chan cackles. "Now,
Kei!!!"

A red-haired Ellsian in dark green-and-black emerges from the fog to
side-kick the creature in the face. It screams painfully as it drops to the
ground. Kei-chan takes a ready stance. "Now, we'll teach you what it means
to take control of OUR *daimon'cha!!!*"

Summoning another fire-geyser, the *saikoo jinseijitsu* tries to get
away from the attacking Sagussans, but a length of chain seizes it off the
pillar of lava, sending it falling head-first to the ground some distance away
from Lufy-chan! "Going someplace, *de'ne?!!*" Benten-chan growls as she comes
out of the fog.

"Won't be for long!!" Kei-chan's co-worker Yuri-chan leaps out to touch
the creature's face with both hands.

The *saikoo jinseijitsu* screams as the raven-haired Fukunokami-born
administrator tries to force a mind-meld. "*UNHAND...ME...WITCH!!!!*"

Summoning what strength it has left, it foot-locks Yuri-chan's head
between its legs, piledriving the Sagussan into the dirt. Before it could
roll back to its feet, Kei-chan and Benten-chan double-team it back to the
ground! "Bastard, if Yuri's hurt, you're psychic toast!!!" the Ellsian-born
administrator snarls.

"Yuri, you okay?!" Lufy-chan runs up to help Yuri-chan out of the dirt.

"I'm fine," the latter grunts as she pulls her head out of the ground.
"But that thing has no vestige of Ataru-sama in it!! It's some sort of
psychic construct powered by the *mei'de* that's rampant in this place!!"

Honey-chan rushes up with the others. "By the looks of it, Ataru-sama
was left behind at Mendou's cherry tree," Noa-chan's sister reports. "And
crazy as this sounds, I think I just saw *daishi'cha* Three-thirty-seven carry
him toward Lum!!"

"What?!!" Lufy-chan exclaims. "My shipmate's alive?!"

"Hey, how about a hand here!!!" Benten-chan grunts as she tries to
full-nelson the creature. "This damn thing's more hostile than a rabid
sandpanther!!"

"Don't worry, Benten!" Lan-chan hefts a giant bazooka-like weapon. "I
can try out my Anti-De'ne Missile Launcher on that thing!!"

"Is that a joke?!" Shinobu-chan stares quizzically at Sakura-chan.

The Terran-born bureaucrat rapidly shakes her head. The armourer takes
aim at the *saikoo jinseijitsu* as Benten-chan and Kei-chan leap clear. "DIE,
YOU POSSESSOR OF INNOCENTS!!!!" Lan-chan screams as she squeezes the trigger!

A storm of missiles explodes from the muzzle. But instead of zeroing in
on the *saikoo jinseijitsu*, the missiles rocket off in countless directions
to pulverize any building possessing a connection to Ataru's parents and
former classmates!!! "*NICE TRY!!!*" the creature cackles as it leaps clear
of the assembled group of Sagussans.

Everyone fires Lan-chan incensed glares. "Oh, my..." the Seishin-born
armourer embarrassingly chuckles. "I guess I've got to work on the guidance
system a little more!"

"Oh, well, it's no loss," Honey-chan muses. "It's only just a
tomobiki!"

* * *

"There you are!!!" Mie gasps as she emerges from the fog to see Lum and
Noa-chan standing over the spot where the latter met Ataru years ago. "I've
been walking around blind trying to find you...eh?!" she stops on seeing the
Sagussan. "Um...who's your friend?!"

"Oh, this is Noa...!" Lum proceeds to introduce them, then balks on
seeing the limp Ataru in Mie's arms. "DARLING!!!!"

The Oni lunges over to take Ataru into her arms, then gently lowers him
to the ground. "Darling, Darling!!" she tries to shake him awake. "Darling,
are you alright?!! What's wrong?!!"

"Simple!" Mie looks sad. "That thing's got control of Ataru-chan's
life-force! It's trying to drain him so that it can finally take over
Ataru-chan's body!!"

"And with the *mei'de* it drew from Memory, it stands a good chance of
success!" Noa-chan grimly notes, then taps the communicator in her
wrist-bracelet. "Catty, can you come here, please?!"

"On my way," the Tritonian-born doctor responds.

Now that Ataru is at the site of his meeting with Noa-chan, something
happens. The three women quizzically watch as a beautiful rose grows out of
the ground, then blooms, showering the scene with tiny flecks of iridescence
that seem to be drawn toward the unconscious Ataru. "The Rose of Memory!" Lum
gasps, then flies over to take it from the ground. "Now, Darling'll be
alright...!"

But as she touches the rose, the Oni lets out a shriek of pain as it
emits a powerful psychic burst. "Lum-chan!!!" Mie and Noa-chan gasp as they
lunge to her side, catching the Oni before she could pass out.

"That...hurt..." Lum moans.

"What happened?!" Mie inquires.

"I don't know," the Oni stares at her burnt hand. "As soon as I touched
that thing, it nearly burned my hand off!! Why's it trying to stop me?!
Darling's here!"

"No," Noa-chan shakes her head. "Ataru's here."

"Eh?!" Lum quizzically stares at the Sagussan. "What do you mean, Noa?"

Before Noa-chan could answer, Catty-chan emerges from the fog. "What's
going on, Noa...eh?!" she balks on seeing Mie. "It's...!"

Noa-chan fires her a steely glance. "Check Ataru!!"

Recovering, the Tritonian-born doctor kneels beside the unconscious
Ataru, tricorder in hand. Running a scan over the prostrate form, Catty-chan
looks worried. "His vital signs are very weak. It's a wonder he isn't dead!"

"What about his *mei'na?!*" Noa-chan demands.

Catty-chan reaches over to touch Ataru's face. After a moment of
concentration, she utters a forlorn sigh. "He's dying."

Lum turns ashen. "No...!!" she gasps, then lunges for the rose. "I'll
save Darling!!!"

All that futile act does is burn her hand again! Yowling, Lum grips her
wounded extremity as Catty-chan leaps to her side, tricorder in hand.
"Why...is it...trying to...stop me...?!" the Oni groans.

After the physiological scan, Catty-chan touches Lum's face. "It's no
wonder!" she whistles. "Your *mei'na* is no longer compatible with
Ataru-sama's!"

"What?!!" Lum angrily spins on the doctor. "What do you mean my
*mei'na* isn't compatible?!! I'm Darling's wife!!! They have to be
compatible!!!"

"Oh, I get it now," Mie nods. "If Lum-chan and Ataru-chan were bonded,
the *saikoo jinseijitsu* must've been using that bond to turn Lum-chan away
from the real Ataru Moroboshi and have her interested in her Darling!"

Lum looks very confused. "But...they're the same person...!"

"No, they aren't," Noa-chan shakes her head.

"I...don't understand..."

"Think of it this way, Lum-chan," Mie cuts in. "Twelve years ago,
Ataru-chan was probably as normal as one can get. Then he meets Noa and the
others, which must've been one hell of an experience for a young kid of five.
Shortly after that, the *saikoo jinseijitsu* gets fired into his head. Now,
given what that monster wants, Ataru-chan should've been overwhelmed. He
wasn't. Guess why?"

Lum contemplates the question. "I can't guess," she shakes her head.

"You saved him, Lum," Noa-chan smiles.

"I saved him?!" the Oni points to herself.

"Of course you did," Catty-chan nods. "Why do you think we call you
'the Other?!' When we met Ataru-sama twelve years ago, we sensed he had a
bond with someone else. Only now do we understand that someone else is you."

"And because of that bond, Ataru's mind had a life-line to cling onto to
prevent the *saikoo jinseijitsu* from overwhelming him," Noa-chan adds.

"And once the *saikoo jinseijitsu* realized that, it realized that if it
was to realize its dream of freedom, it would have to isolate Ataru-chan from
the one person who was keeping him alive," Mie places a hand on Lum's
shoulder. "That's you."

Lum blinks as she absorbs that information. "It...used me," she
gasps...a statement, not a question.

"That's right," Noa-chan nods. "It's played on your naivete and
egocentricity ever since you decided you wanted to marry Ataru. In you, it
smelled the perfect opportunity to gather the necessary *mei'de*...negative
emotion...to finally break the bond between you and Ataru, thus allowing it to
finally destroy Ataru. And in doing so, it created a whole new aspect of
Ataru's personality. That's what you call and think of as 'Darling'...the
helpless, lustful, not-so-intelligent babe you could protect and guide in ways
you could never guide Rei!"

"It made Ataru-sama behave like a sex-crazed idiot in an attempt to
disinterest you and your allies in him, if not turn you and your allies
against him," Catty-chan adds. "It succeeded, too. Look at the way Mendou
and your *de'ne* club treat him, not to mention the way everyone else treats
him?! And while all that was going on, the real enemy was building a massive
store of *mei'de* thanks to Memory it could later tap into when it felt the
time was right to make its move against you."

"But to ensure you would stick around, it always allowed Ataru-chan's
real feelings for you to emerge every once in a while," Mie concludes. "Now,
it didn't control Ataru-chan in the normal sense of the term, but it sure as
hell was the biggest influence on Ataru-chan's life, even more so than you."

Lum blinks as the words sink in. "All the time I zapped him...all the
time I let everyone try to keep control of him..." she gasps, shamed tears
welling in her eyes, "...I was letting that monster gain enough strength to
kill Darling...to kill the man I love...!!"

The Oni wails as she buries her face in her hands. Noa-chan and Mie
reach over to gently comfort Lum...

* * *

Nearby, the *saikoo jinseijitsu* comes to a landing, scanning around for
its target. "*BLAST THEM TO A MILLION YEARS IN THE AFTERLIFE!!*" it painfully
snarls, gripping a wounded shoulder. "*THOSE REANIMATED ZOMBIES WERE
LITERALLY MELTING ME BACK THERE!! AT LEAST I'VE GOT ENOUGH STRENGTH TO FINISH
THE ONI OFF ONCE AND FOR ALL!*"

Suddenly, Lum's voice echoes through the fog. "Darling!!"

The creature looks up, then smiles. "*I KNOW HOW TO FINISH THE BITCH
OFF...*" it snickers as its skin reverts to a healthy pink-white, the glowing
eyes fading to normal brown and his fighting gi altering back to normal street
clothes. "...and I'll let her precious Darling do it for me!" Ataru cackles.

"Darling, there you are!" Lum suddenly appears out of the fog. "I was
so worried about you!! Are you alright?!"

"Lum, there you are!" Ataru beams as he opens his arms. "Oh, I'm so
glad to see you!!"

Lum flies into his arms. "I'll take you home, Darling..." she purrs as
she tightly embraces him...as her voice drops its accent and her tiger-striped
bikini fades out to be replaced by a light blue-and-gold Sagussan jumpsuit,
"...back to the pit of Entropy where you arose!!!"

Ataru howls in mind-wracking pain as Lum-chan belts him with a violent
empathic force-blast at point-blank range!!! The teen is flung through the
fog to crash-land on the opposide side of the Rose of Memory from the
unconscious Ataru Moroboshi. "Down!" Noa-chan calls out as she, Lum, Mie and
Catty-chan duck the flying form.

Lum-chan emerges from the fog. "Swine!!! How dare you pervert my
spirit-sister's dreams like that?!! Destroying you is going to be such a
pleasure!!!"

Lum looks up in shock on seeing herself in a Sagussan uniform.
"You...you're me...!"

The conscious Ataru groans as he tries to pick himself up from the hole
he made in thr ground. "Lum...help me..." he gasps. "That...doppelganger of
you's...trying to kill me...!"

Bolting up, Lum gasps, "Darling!!!" She then stops, looking back to see
the unconscious Ataru as still as death where she had placed him. "Oh,
no...!" she gasps. "Which one's the real Darling...?!"

"I'm your Darling," the conscious Ataru gasps, unsteadily rising to his
feet. "I'm the one you've always wanted, Lum."

"Spirit-sister, don't be deceived by that creature!!!" Lum-chan warns.
"If you allow it to deceive you, you'll never be free of that monster!!"

"She's wrong, Lum!" Ataru counters. "It's me you want, not that metal
freak-show he can turn into!!" he points to the unconscious Ataru. "I'm the
one you never had to be afraid of, never have to worry about any girl trying
to take you away from me, never have to worry about leaving Tomobiki! I'm the
one you liked to zap whenever I misbehaved!"

Lum balks. "You actually want me to zap you?!! Darling, I never wanted
to keep hounding you like that!!"

"But you always liked it...!" he cries.

The Oni blinks as a startling realization dawns on her. This was Ataru
to a degree...the Ataru she had to contend with before Icarus made such a mess
of things. The part of Ataru the *saikoo jinseijitsu* had influenced the most
according to Noa-chan, Catty-chan and Mie...and a dream she had sometime ago
about her destroying a tiger-striped monster and freeing the Cyborg...

...the Ataru who said he wanted to learn how to love her!

She also remembers another time when something tried to play on her
dreams, not more that two months previously. And with the power source the
*saikoo jinseijitsu* had to turn to destroy her with, its presence was all the
more possible. "Dark Memory!" she icily snarls, barring her fangs. "I
should've guessed you'd be somewhere nearby!! You're influencing the *saikoo
jinseijitsu*, aren't you?!"

Everyone watches as something emerges from Ataru...something that looks
like some demonic version of Sakura! Ataru's skin pales as tiger-striping
appears, his clothes reforming into a ninja's gi. "***A pity you guessed too
late, Oni!!***" Dark Memory snarls as it turns on the Oni. "***Now all those
who have tried to destroy the Agents of Chaos will die!!***"

However, it does not pay any attention to the creature it joined with to
destroy Lum. "*YOU DARE MANIPULATE ME AGAINST MY WILL?!!*" the *saikoo
jinseijitsu* snarls as it angrily glares at Dark Memory.

"***You fool, we need each other if we're going to destroy these Agents
of Order!***" the darker manifestation of Tomobiki's dreams spins on the
Moroboshi Clan's sentient ninjitsu database.

"*I HAVE NO NEED OF YOUR ASSISTANCE ANYMORE!*" the *saikoo jinseijitsu*
raises a finger. "*I NEVER WANTED IT IN THE FIRST PLACE!! REMEMBER IT WAS
**ME** WHO PRODUCED THE NECESSARY *MEI'DE* YOU REQUIRED TO BREAK AWAY FROM
LIGHT MEMORY AND BECOME YOUR OWN BEING!! I CREATED YOU, DARK MEMORY! IN
FACT, I CREATED MEMORY ITSELF BY MANIPULATING THE ONI INTO REMAINING HERE,
GIVING BOTH YOU AND YOUR COUNTERPART THE NECESSARY POWER TO BECOME
SELF-COGNIZANT!! AND NOW, I WILL DESTROY YOU!!!*"

A finger points at Dark Memory as it panics. "***Agents of Chaos, come
to me!! Destroy this traitor!!!***"

The fog suddenly transforms into raven-black energy which literally
flows into Dark Memory. The *saikoo jinseijitsu* remains in place, its finger
pointed on target until the manifestation of Tomobiki's dark dreams is about
to explode with psychic energy. "*JUST ABOUT RIGHT!*" the ninjitsu database
cackles as energy appears at its fingertip. "***SPIRIT-BREAKER
FIRE-LIGHT!!!!!!***"

A blast of psychic energy punches through Dark Memory like a needle
punching through a balloon! The creature screams as it literally explodes,
its energy flying right back at the *saikoo jinseijitsu*. Everyone hits the
dirt as the energy wave rockets out to shatter windows and knock down
buildings within a ten-block radius of the park!!

"Spirit-sister, this isn't good!" Lum-chan warns as she covers her eyes.

"Don't bet on it!!" Lum smiles.

Finally, the energy fades, revealing the *saikoo jinseijitsu* virtually
aflame with energy. "*NOW, WHERE WERE WE?!!*" it cackles, angrily turning on
Lum.

"Ladies, I could use your help right about now!!!" Lum calls out.

Before the sentient ninjitsu database could react, it is beseiged by
Lufy-chan, Benten-chan, Honey-chan, Kei-chan and Yuri-chan. "Spirit-sister,
cover me!!!" Lum flies at the Rose of Memory.

"Go!!!" Lum-chan calls out as she, Noa-chan and Mie leap into the fray.

Landing beside the glowing rose, Lum pauses as she stills her thoughts,
casting her mind back to the first dream she had about the Sagussans. She
remembers the pit she was cast into when the Cyborg and Noa-chan rejected
her...no.

When she rejected them.

For it was fear that had brought this day about. Fear that made her
reject Ataru's maturity all along. Ataru was transforming into something she
felt she could not control. In truth, he was growing up. She did realize it
at times, but at other times, afraid that Ataru was deserting her, she tried
to assert what she believed was his proper place in life. But Ataru...the
REAL Ataru Moroboshi...had no intention of throwing her out of his life, even
at the times he had lost his temper when she balked on the idea of his moving
out of Tomobiki.

Before Icarus, Ataru could probably have never conceived of leaving
Tomobiki even if his grandmother beckoned. After Icarus, he wasted no time in
slamming all the doors on people who had tried to influence Ataru...on her
behalf, admittedly. However, there was one person in Tomobiki who was not
really touched by this: Lum herself. After all, had not Ataru, be he Cyborg
or normal, said that he was doing this for both of them?

Letting out a calm sigh, she reaches down with both hands to the rose.
With a gentle tug, she draws it from the ground. This time, it does not burn.
Shifting herself to face Ataru...the real Ataru...she places the rose on his
chest. "Darling..." she calls out. "Darling...wake up..."

"Uh..." his eyes slowly flutter open. "Lum...?"

"Darling, please, you have to help us!" the Oni soothes. "Help
yourself."

His eyes close, tears glistening in them. "It's my fault...I let that
thing...out and it...nearly killed you..."

"I'm a lot tougher than that, you know," she playfully growls.

Ataru weakly turns to see the *saikoo jinseijitsu* being bashed by
Noa-chan and her friends. "They'll have...to kill me...before they
can...destroy it..." he gasps, turning back to Lum. "It's...the only
way...you'll be safe...from that thing..."

"Darling, I have a question for you," Lum cuts in.

"Lum...this isn't the time...for a pop quiz..."

"Only you can answer this question, Darling," the Oni presses on, then
taking a deep breath, she speaks. "Darling, what is the logic of presenting
me a flower?"

The Rose of Memory glows, bathing Ataru with its light. The teen lets
out a startled gasp as his whole body begins to burn, the skin melting away to
reveal gunmetal-grey cybernetic parts and a black-and-gold Sagussan jumpsuit.
Lum grabs his hands, allowing the fire to burn her. Suddenly, a burst of
psionic energy obliterates them from the others. "*NO!!!*" the *saikoo
jinseijitsu* howls as it sees this. "*I SHALL NOT BE DENIED!!!*"

Out of that light, the Cyborg and Lum, now dressed in an orange
tiger-striped Sagussan jumpsuit, lunge, their fists sending the ninjitsu
database on a premature flying lesson in the direction of Sakura's shrine!
"***OVER OUR DEAD BODIES, BASTARD!!!!!!***" both scream.

As soon as the creature is out of sight, Ataru and Lum race off in
pursuit. The Sagussans remain in place. "Oh, this is going to be good!!"
Lufy-chan chuckles...

* * *

"Thanks for your help, Tanoshii," Sakura smiles.

The four girls who brought the bodyguards to the priestess' shrine
smile. "It's our pleasure, Sakura-sensei," their leader bows. "Anything to
protect these lugs from their pathetic disease when it comes to Lum."

The other girls giggle. The shrine has seen better days; as its
resident is one of the *de'ne* Ataru has rejected in his attempt at leaving
Tomobiki, it became the target of Lan-chan's attempt at destroying the *saikoo
jinseijitsu.* Nassur is still on life-support, Benten cradling him. The
guards are still unconscious, mostly thanks to being bashed unconscious by
their rescuers after they kept moaning about Lum. At that time, Koosei walks
into the shrine. "Holy shit, what hit this place?!"

"Koosei-kun!" Oyuki looks relieved. "How is everything out there?!"

"Not good," the teacher shakes his head. "Half of Tomobiki's a
constructive write-off! I can't begin to estimate what sort of casualties
we're talking about here. And I lost track of that monster when it blitzed
its way through the Mizunokoji estate."

"The Mizunokoji estate?!" Sakura looks confused. "What happened there?"

Koosei rubs the bridge of his nose. "That thing went after some poor
girl named Asuka, really made her freak out when Mendou showed up."

"Uh-oh!" the priestess looks concerned.

"I just hope Lum-chan's alright," Lan rubs her bandaged shoulder.

"Strange to hear concern about Lum coming from *you!!*" Koosei sneers.

Lan looks incensed. "Idiot, if you think I'm going to allow that
monster the chance to kill Lum before I can get my revenge on her, think
again!!!" she bolts up, fangs barred and murder in her eyes.

At that time, the roof collapses in as the *saikoo jinseijitsu* crashes
on Lan's head!! The creature flips around until it is face-to-face with the
Seishin teen. "*WHO CARES ABOUT WHAT PATHETIC REVENGE YOU DESIRE, SLUT!!*" it
snarls, eyes glowing. "*YOU ARE BUT A BABE IN COMPARISON TO ME! NOW GET OUT
OF MY WAY!!!*"

Lan fearfully falters back, remembering what the sentient ninjitsu
database did to her not just an hour before. Tanoshii then leaps to the
attack, a spirit ward appearing in her way. "BEGONE, FOUL DEMON!!!!"

The ward impacts on the creature's head...then burns up. "*NICE TRY!*"
psychic energy forms around its hand. "***PSYCHIC LASER!!!!!!***"

The bolt of energy zeroes in on Tanoshii...then impacts on a bird-shaped
enameled shield emblazoned with the motto LOVE AND TRUTH!! "**Nice try but no
cigar!!!**" a metallic-tinged voice snarls.

"Moroboshi!!!" Benten screams out in relief. "It's about time!!"

Ataru now stands defensively in front of Tanoshii, a stun-stick in his
hand. "**Now...what say we take this outside?!**"

"*AS YOU WISH!!!*" the *saikoo jinseijitsu* cackles as it leaps through
the hole it made in the roof.

Before Ataru could run out the door, he draws out a phoenix-embossed
staff and tosses it to Benten. "**Think fast, Benten!**"

"What's this?!!" the Fukunokami looks confused as she catches the staff.

The staff suddenly glows as it encompasses both Benten and Nassur.
"What's going on?!" Tanoshii gasps.

The glow fades just as quickly, the staff disappearing. Benten has a
dazed look on her face. "What the hell was that about?!"

Suddenly, Nassur's eyes flutter open. "Oh, my head..." the Vosian
hunter moans as he pulls off his oxygen mask, "...what happened to me...?"

Everyone looks thunderstruck as Nassur slowly sits up, shaking his head
to get the cobwebs out. "N-n-nassur...y-y-you're okay...!" Benten stammers
disbelievingly, unadulterated joy crossing her face.

"Just a little dizzy," Nassur moans as he stares at her...then pauses, a
confused look crossing his face.

Benten finds herself flushing under that gaze. "Wh-what's w-wrong?!"
she gulps.

"N-nothing," he blinks. "I just have the mad urge to do THIS!!!!"

With that, he sweeps her into his arms and covers her with a very loving
kiss. "Nassur...I...umpth!" Benten gurgles as she nearly passes out from his
kiss...

...just as Shinobu walks in! "Oh, Nassur-kun, you're alright...eh?!"
she lets out a shocked squeak as she stares disbelievingly at the sight of the
man she is interested in kissing Benten!

Nassur does not respond as Benten finally warms up to his passion.
Shinobu shudders with a mix of rage and shocked sadness as this beautiful
scene continues. Finally, the two part, staring in each other's eyes.
"Wh-what w-was th-that f-for?" the Fukunokami deliriously gags.

"You look like you needed it," the Vosian gently coos, rubbing his nose
against her neck. "What else would you expect me to do for my partner?"

"I want to be more than just a partner, you know," she hums.

"You will be," he assures her.

Shinobu falls back, tears welling in her eyes as she shakes her head in
denial over what she just heard. With a shriek of heartwrenching pain, she
spins around and runs out of the shrine. At that moment, Nassur confusedly
blinks. "Now, what made me do that?!" he wonders, scratching his head.

"I didn't mind," Benten romantically sighs, leaning into his side.

"Someone else did," Sakura warns.

"Well, that's what the idiot gets for pissing off Ataru-chan," Tanoshii
snorts.

Her three friends nod agreeingly...

* * *

An explosion occurs!! "Darling, be careful!!!" Lum warns.

Lum and Ataru now face off against the *saikoo jinseijitsu* by the
Moroboshi home. Everything within a five block radius has been knocked down
and crushed. Ataru's parents are now huddling in mortal terror by the front
door, which is all that stands of the Moroboshi home, his father shaking as he
tries to hold up a bokan stick. "**I'm fine, Lum,**" the latter sighs.
"**Actually, if I can time this right, I could get rid of two headaches with
one blow!!**"

"*THAT'S WHAT YOU THINK!*" the creature snarls as it transforms back
into Ataru, then faces his parents. "Dad, Mom!! Are you okay?!"

His father blinks, then lowers his stick. "S-son...is th-that r-really
you...?"

"Baby, are you hurt?!" his mother gasps.

"I'm fine!" 'Ataru' beams. "See?! You don't have to worry about me
leaving you or taking that cow's side against you ever again!"

With a joyous cry, Ataru's mother leaps over to embrace the human Ataru.
"Oh, I knew you'd come to your senses sooner or later!"

Lum blinks, then she turns to her companion. "Darling, what's going on
here?! Don't they realize what that thing is?!!"

"**No, they don't *want* to realize what that is!**" Ataru shakes his
head. "**That's how much that thing's affected everyone in this town!**"

"What are we talking about?! The *saikoo jinseijitsu* or Dark Memory?!"

The machine-man shrugs. "**Both, neither...it really doesn't matter. I
suppose you could think of it as a textbook case of the Brigadoon syndrome.**"

"Brigadoon?" Lum looks very confused.

"**I'll tell you about it sometime later,**" Ataru sighs.

At that time, Shinobu runs up. Surprised to see two Atarus standing
there, she races over to grab the fully human one. "Ataru-kun, you bastard,
how dare you make my life so miserable?! How dare you slap me because I
wanted to be with Nassur-kun?!"

"Even Shinobu?!!" Lum stares agape at this insane scene.

Shinobu then socks him into a wall. 'Ataru' is still laughing. "Hey,
if you want to be with Nassur, that's okay by me!" he chuckles.

"You really mean that?!" Shinobu drops to her knees in front of him.
"You won't try to interfere?!"

"Of course not!"

"You won't try to keep Nassur-kun away from Earth?!"

"Nope," 'Ataru' suddenly appears behind her, giving her a tight embrace.
"Now give me a kiss!"

"Eeek!!" Shinobu bashes him away, laughing with a mix of relief and joy.
"You pervert!! Get away from me!!"

Suddenly, the crowd is surrounded by Mendou, the guards, Lan, Sakura and
Ryuunosuke. "What's this?!" Megane grabs 'Ataru' by his shirt. "So, you're
finally back to normal, eh?! Good!! Now we can go back to normal, too!!"

"Besides," Ryuunosuke cracks her knuckles, "...I owe you one for that
slap you gave me last night!"

"Ah, Ryuu-chan, you always were such a softie," 'Ataru' appears behind
her, giving her backside a more-than-friendly squeeze.

"Pervert!!!" the tomboy piledrives him into the front walkway.

Lum and Ataru continue to stare at this. "They don't realize what
they're doing!" the Oni shakes her head. "Every time they hurt that thing,
that monster gets more power! Are they that blind?!"

"**Unfortunately!**" Ataru sighs.

By that time, Nassur, Benten, Oyuki and Koosei walk up. "Uh...now this
is unique," the Vosian hunter shudders, then stares at Ataru. "So...who
exactly are you?"

"This is the real Darling," Lum waves at her boyfriend. "That *thing*
over there," she points at 'Ataru,' "...is a construct the *saikoo
jinseijitsu* created so that it could manipulate me and everyone in this place
of fools and madmen to so it could get enough negative energy to break free
and destroy Darling."

"Oh, I get it now," Nassur hums.

"Lum-chan, what are you talking about?!" Lan appears in front of her
friend. "That's Darling, not this monstrosity!" she points at 'Ataru,' then
the real Ataru.

"Well, that's what you get for being an airhead!" Lum sneers.

Shocked by the Oni's insult, Lan then looks incensed. "Oh, yeah?!!" she
growls, then spins around, her 'cute' self back. "Darling!! Come give
Lan-chan a kiss!!"

'Ataru' is right beside her, trying to pucker up. "One kiss coming up,"
he lecherously cackles.

"Gotta catch me first!!" Lan slips out from his arms, then runs away.

"Hey, don't play hard to get!" 'Ataru' chases after her.

Lum's friends are not impressed. "I cannot begin to believe how stupid
they really are," Oyuki sighs.

"They really are a bunch of (blank)-ups, aren't they?!" Benten moans.

"Benten, you can be more coarse than that, you know!" Koosei sighs.

"So, what now?!" Nassur looks at Ataru. "Do we allow that thing to live
on? With it out of your mind, you'll be finally free to live your own life!"

"**Oh, don't worry,**" Ataru chuckles. "**While I can't destroy its
persona now, I can cut it off from all the power it presently controls.**"

"How?!" Lum looks confused.

"**The *te'a* is around to help me,**" Ataru winks. "**Don't you
remember the time our other selves came to us?!**"

Lum nods, remembering a doppelganger of her forged from a sea of flame.
"What's this *te'a*...?" Benten looks confused.

"Stick around and you'll find out," Koosei warns.

"**I highly suggest you don't,**" Ataru gives them a knowing glance.
"**In fact, I suggest that you all get as far away from this tomobiki right
now!**"

He holds up an arm-shield, what looks like a very large Bowie knife
partially ejected from one of the housings. "We get the idea," Nassur nods.
"Let's go, people."

All scramble aboard Benten's airbike as it blasts off in the direction
of Lum's orbiting scout. By this time, 'Ataru' is now caught in an argument
with Mendou and the guards. "Lum, what are you still doing with this
monster?!" Ataru's mother marches up to her. "Get away from that thing! He's
just another trick that cow's using to break you away from us!! My son's over
here!"

Lum and Ataru stare at each other, then the Oni sighs. "Oh, okay..."
she moves to follow Ataru's mother, her hand reaching back to draw out the
knife from Ataru's arm-shield.

The machine-man relaxes as Lum approaches 'Ataru.' "Darling," she
sing-songs, keeing the knife hidden behind her back. "Come here, please!"

"Sure, Lum!" he appears in front of her. "What is it?!"

The Oni gives him a mirthless smile. "Die."

With that, the knife is plunged right into 'Ataru's' heart!! He lets
out a hoarse gasp as he staggers to his knees. Everyone is horrorstruck as
Lum steps back, sweetly smiling. "I don't care what you people think," she
hums as she slips an arm around Ataru. "For you see...*this* is Darling!"
She then looks at her boyfriend. "Care to give me a lift?"

"**Going up!**" the machine-man crouches, then with one leap, rockets in
the direction of Lum's scout.

Everyone else is still stunned silent. "What's going on here?!!" Megane
demands.

They then notice a brilliant light bursting from 'Ataru's' skin.
"*CURSE...YOU...ONI!!*" the *saikoo jinseijitsu's* voice utters from the dying
teen as his skin peels away, revealing a tiger-striped monster.
"*I...WILL...BE...AVENGED...!*"

The ground suddenly shakes as everyone begins to realize their fatal
mistake. "I think we're in trouble...!" Lan gulps.

Tomobiki then detonates!!!!

* * *

"Whoa!!!" Benten howls in awe as the psychic blast rips out from the
Moroboshi home, watching from the same altitude as Lum's scout.

The burst of energy rips everything apart within a three-kilometre
radius of the Moroboshi home, encompassing almost all of Tomobiki! Buildings,
streets, cars, even Lan's parked scout, are all burned into ashes as the wave
of energy wrecks everything in its path. After a moment, the psychic blast
fades, the fires evaporating into a miasmic cloud which hangs over the
destroyed district like a shroud. Through the smoke, everyone sees that
virtually NOTHING remains of Tomobiki. "The whole country's going to
celebrate this," Koosei muses.

At that moment, Ataru lands on the upper works of Lum's scout with the
grace of a swan, Lum protectively in his arms. "**And that...**" he places
her down, then reverts to normal, "...is that!"

With that, Lum's tiger-striped Sagussan jumpsuit fades back to her
normal school uniform. Both then stare at what just happened. "*Tcha!*" Lum
gasps. "Memory had THAT much energy inside her?!!"

"'Fraid so," Ataru nods. "Amazing what the mind can produce, eh?!"

"Frightening," the Oni shudders.

Suddenly, a point of light appears above the apex of the blast. The
black smoke then is sucked into the point of light, allowing it to grow in
size until it assumes the dimensions and shape of a beautiful humanoid female.
She wears a black kimono emblazoned with a cherry blossom pattern and the
kanji for 'Tomobiki.' As soon as the last of the smoke and fire evaporates,
the woman's eyes open. Staring at Lum and Ataru for a moment, she projects a
celestial smile as she ascends into space...on the road to seek her own
destiny. "***Good-bye...Father...Mother...I'll never forget you...***"

With that, Memory disappears from Tomobiki. "Darling..." Lum blinks
confusedly, "...why did Memory address us as her parents?"

Ataru shrugs. "I guess it's because when we freed ourselves of the
madness of that place, we freed her, too...freed her to allow her to seek her
own life."

"Or maybe because you influenced her creation and maturity," Nassur
adds. "After all, Lum, didn't you once tell me that the first time you
encountered Memory, she was in the form of a baby?"

"That's true," the Oni nods. "Well, I hope she does make it in whatever
she wants to do," she stares heavenward.

"She will," her boyfriend slips an arm around her. "With your tenacity
and my energy, you can count on it."

Everyone then boards the scout so they could descend into what is left
of Tomobiki...

* * *

Watching this unseen from their own place in the realm of the *te'a*,
two familiar faces smile. "So, our spirit-descendants have succeeded in
freeing themselves from their tomobiki," the woman, Ram, smiles.

"And they're free to pursue their own destiny, just like we did," the
man, Atar, sighs, embracing his child-mate...

* * *

"She did it!!" Noa-chan smiles.

The group of Sagussans watched the destruction of Tomobiki from the
safety of the only part of the district to survive the detonation of the
*saikoo jinseijitsu's* energy unscathed: the Seikou home. "She did!" Mie
nods. "Good for her...for both of them!"

"So what now?!" Lufy-chan stretches herself. "We all go back into
cryosleep?"

"Not yet," Noa-chan stands. "Lum still needs some help in keeping her
mind on track when it comes to where her destiny truly lies. We'll have to
hold Council for that."

"A Council in the middle of a tomobiki," Shinobu-chan groans. "The
other *daishi'cha'll* never let us live it down!"

The others shudder. "What about me?" Mie stares at her fellow
Sagussans.

"She should come back," Catty-chan notes. "She doesn't belong here!"

"Does she?" Noa-chan stares at the doctor. "Mie has a family here, not
to mention friends. Besides, if she stays here, she can also help Lum turn
herself away from the denizens of this tomobiki."

"Yeah," Mie nods. "I don't think I'm ready to pack up and head back
just yet. Besides, I still don't remember any of you."

"Relax, shipmate," Lufy-chan kneels beside Mie, patting her shoulder.
"We haven't forgotten you."

"Thanks, Lufy," Mie smiles. "In the meantime, I better go check in on
Lum-chan and Ataru-chan. See you guys later."

With a wave, she heads off toward the site of the Moroboshi home.
"She's had such an experience," Catty-chan sighs. "Actually being raised and
cared for by a loving family. Now, that's incredible!"

"It is, isn't it?" Noa-chan muses. "No sense in wrecking it by
reminding her of where she was reborn. Let her come to us when she's ready."

"True," Lufy-chan nods. "Now, we've got a problem."

"What's that, Lufy?" Sakura-chan looks at the pilot.

"Who do we tell?" the Yehisrite-born pilot shrugs. "Makoto or
Reinoevan?!"

The other *daishi'cha* moan...

* * *

"*Datcha!!!*" Lum exclaims as she walks out of her scout to see the
devestation. "Who's going to fix this mess?!!"

At ground level, Tomobiki looks as if it had been raized by some cosmic
knife. No building, tree, telephone pole, street lamp or elevated train
stands, everything being severed at a couple of inches above ground level.
The wreckage, which was blasted away from the Moroboshi home when the *saikoo
jinseijitsu's* energy detonated, is now in giant heaps at the edge of the
blast zone. "Don't look at me!" Ataru shakes his head. "I've got nothing to
do with this place anymore!"

"Lucky you," Koosei sighs. "I better call an intergalactic contractor
to get my place rebuilt."

"I'll make sure of that, Koosei-kun," Oyuki smiles.

The homeroom teacher sputters as he falters under the princess' amused
gaze. "Is anyone still alive?" Benten looks around. "I wanted those idiots
to finally wake up and smell the coffee, not get killed!"

"They're alright," Nassur's eyes flash for a moment. "They just got
knocked into basements or flung around a bit. I think they weathered this
better than the town."

"That's too bad," Ataru snorts. "This country could do better without
them! Besides, if they die, they'll have no place to go! Heaven won't take
them and Hell'd be afraid they'd take over!"

"True, true," Koosei nods.

The people tense on hearing something peel apart. "Aye, is it safe tae
come oot, now?" Alex inquires as he pokes his head out from an underground
cellar.

"Hey, you okay?" Lum kneels beside the Celtic druid.

"Ooch, lass, I'm fine," Alex smiles as he comes out from the cellar,
dusting himself off. "Thot was loads o' fun! What d'ye think, Hayao?!"

Cherry emerges next. "Well, it's something I wouldn't like to repeat on
a daily basis. The spirit world couldn't take the strain...oh, my!" he stops,
gasping on seeing the level of destruction Tomobiki suffered.

"Awful, ain't it?" Alex muses.

"'Awful?!'" Cherry stares at his friend. "It's wonderful!! The first
prediction I was ever involed in which came true right to the letter!!"

Everyone save Alex faints! "Aye, it is, ain't it?!!" the druid cackles.
"C'mon, laddie!! I'll whip ye up some haggis f'r dinner tonight!"

"You're too courteous, Alex!" Cherry beams.

Laughing, the two spiritualists saunter off to locate Cherry's camp.
"Well, at least someone's happy about this," Ataru muses.

"Then why am I scared?" Lum sighs.

The group then walks toward the site of the Moroboshi home, now a
darkened hole in the ground which was the basement. Stopping at the edge,
everyone peers down. "You guys okay?" Lum calls out.

Everyone who was at the epicentre of the blast is now flat on their
backs, the wreckage of the house nearly burying them. "Lum..." Shinobu grunts
as she tries to pull herself out from under a collapsed wall, "...next time,
tell us when you do things like that."

"Even if I did tell you, would you have listened?!" the Oni snorts.
"Darling's right! You ARE a bunch of idiots!!"

Moans escape from inside the wreckage. "Finally, she listens for once!"
Ataru looks relieved. "Now things are right!!"

Punctuating his outburst is the thunder of helicopter blades and
turbojets. Everyone spins around to stare northward...as a giant fleet of
helicopters and attack jets soars towards Tomobiki. All the machines are
emblazoned with Komeru Moroboshi's tiger-and-gaikatana insignia. Riding the
lead Huey is Reigi Yumoa, along with Chie and Ashin Budou. "Ah, the rescue
party's arrived!" Lum waves. "Hi, everyone!!"

The helicopters land, disgorging a brigade's worth of Moroboshi Clan
troops. Reigi directs them. "Get the tents set up!! I want a hospital ready
to go in an hour! Search teams check out the primary schools and
kindergardens first!! Get the EOD teams to the Mendou and Mizunokoji estates
to detonate any explosives that are still active!! Move, people!! Let's get
it done!!!"

Lum and her companious come up. "You guys made good time!" Benten
smiles.

"Hey, organizing a rescue effort like this takes time," Reigi smiles.
"You guys okay?"

"We're fine now," Ataru nods.

Suddenly, a starship appears over Tomobiki. "There's the 'Renegade!'"
Benten exclaims. "Guess Hazel and the others were worried about us!"

As Nassur's ship lands, allowing a small group of hybrids to emerge,
rescue teams go to work pulling people out of the wreckage. By that time,
everyone has dug themselves out of the basement of the Moroboshi home. "For
once, I'm actually glad to see old Broken Balls' people," Kinshou muses.

"'Broken Balls?'" Lum quizzically stares at Ataru.

"It's because he can't have children," the latter sighs. "He was in
Nagaisaki when 'Bock's Car' came by in 'forty-five. His sperm count's so way
low, everyone just says he's sterile."

Lum sighs. "You've got a weird family, Darling."

Ataru nods. "Why do you think I'm so tempted to disown the lot?"

"I don't blame you a bit."

By that time, everyone has warily come up to stand around the man who is
the repository of the monster which came so close to killing them all.
"A-a-ataru...y-y-you o-o-okay?" Ryuunosuke hesitantly inquires, looking ready
to bolt and run if something happens.

Ataru shrugs. "I'm fine."

With that comes an explosion of relieved sighs. "He's fine!!" Megane
moans. "Oh, thank the gods, he's fine!! Now things can go back to normal
again!!"

"Oh, I'm so happy!" Shinobu beams, leaping over to embrace her former
boyfriend. "Now we can all relax...!!"

Sneering, Ataru shoves her away. "Get your filthy hands off me, you
bitch!!" he growls, gleaming hatred in his eyes.

Everyone jolts as they involuntarily step back. Shinobu falls
unceremoniously on her backside. "Ouch!!" she yelps, then confusedly stares
at Ataru. "Ataru-kun, why'd you do that for?!"

His response is to spit at her feet. "We're still strangers, Miyaki!"
he icily intones, freezing her with his glare.

Confusion appears on many people's faces, including Lum's. "Who...are
you, then?" the Oni hesitantly inquires.

Ataru looks away. "That which you knew as 'Darling'...is dead," he
sighs, then wryly smiles. "You killed him, remember? As for who and what I
am...well, I guess I'll have to go off and learn who I am."

Everyone blinks. "You mean...you're still going?" Sakura gasps.

"No, I'm actually going to Disneyland to do a film!!" Ataru sighs in
exhaspiration, then angrily spins on Sakura. "***OF COURSE I'M GOING, YOU
PATHETIC, INCOMPETENT EXCUSE OF A PRIESTESS!!!! THAT WAS THE GENERAL IDEA OF
THIS WHOLE EXERCISE, WASN'T IT?!?!?!***"

Hearing that, Megane's eyes glow. "You slime...!" he hisses, grabbing
Ataru by his shirt collar. "You mean to tell us that you could've prevented
that monster from coming out in the first place?!!"

A second later, Megane winds up twisted into the shape of a pretzel!
"Yes, I could've prevented it if I wanted to!!" Ataru sneers as he turns his
back on his former classmates. "But I didn't!! Care to know why?!"

"Why?!!" Mendou snarls, partially drawing his katana.

Ataru stares at them, a devilish glare on his face. "I gave you a taste
of death. *Real* death, just like I got it on Icarus!! Better to make you
appreciate life a little more," he then turns away. "A life without Lum, that
is."

Hearing that, Mendou and the guards let out murderous growls, the air
around them ablaze with their fury. "You slime, if you think you're going to
get away with what you've done to us, think again!!!" the scion of Japan's
richest family snap-draws his katana. "DIE!!!!!!"

An explosion later sees the four boys smashed into the dirt thanks to
the Cyborg!! "**Don't forget, jerks...I'm still around!!**" the machine-man
cackles as he turns to leave, transforming back to normal.

"Hey, there you all are!" Mie yells as she runs up. On seeing what just
happened to Mendou and the guards, the Sagussan-born Kyushu native snorts.
"Oh!! I see Supersnob and the Four Tweedledees are at it again!"

"It is a pathetic habit, isn't it?" Lum muses.

"One they are going to lose even if it kills them!!" Koosei growls.
"Your family okay, Mie?"

"Ah, they're fine!" Mie smiles. "Actually, by the way Mom can sense it,
no one got killed in this fight!"

That news makes everyone smile. "Well, that's a relief!!" Reigi
breathes out. "The last time the *saikoo jinseijitsu* came storming out of
its host's head two centuries ago, half of Hokkaido was nearly turned into a
second Atlantis."

"Ouch," Nassur winces. "Brother, you people really do rewrite the book
on urban renewal, don't you?!"

"We try not to," Reigi chuckles.

Everyone laughs as the tension of the day finally starts to lift. "Um,
I hate to put a dampener on this, but who's going to pay for this mess?"
Ryuunosuke cuts in.

"And who's going to actually do the repairs?!" Shinobu adds. "I can lay
bets that all the construction crews Mendou-san and Tobimaro-san have at their
beck and call lost their equipment when that thing blew up!"

"Moroboshi, of course!!" Mendou snarls. "He's the slime who caused this
mess in the first place!!"

"Hear, hear!" the guards chant, nodding approvingly.

All five boys then wind up being zapped by Lum! "***OH, NO, YOU
DON'T!!!!***"

They collapse in a burnt heap on the ground. "L-lum-san...?!" Megane
stammers.

Lum turns to Reigi. "Reigi-san, you tell Uncle Komeru straight from me
that he is not to pay A SINGLE YEN for any repairs which need to be done
here!!" she wags her finger at the financier.

"WHAT?!?!?!" everyone from Tomobiki screams.

"What about my home?!!" Lan appears in front of Lum. "Who's going to
fix that?!!"

Lum snorts, then looks back at Reigi. "Oh, Reigi-san, would you also
tell Grandma that she is not to pay a single uniCredit so this airhead can
repair her scout!"

Lan faints! "That's no problem," Reigi chuckles. "After all, we don't
have to pay anything for damages the *saikoo jinseijitsu* causes in the first
place."

Everyone faints! "***WHAT?!?!?!***"

Reigi extracts a rolled sheet of parchment from his jacket. "This is
dated in the year 1808, during the tenure of Shogun Tokugawa Ienari," he
proclaims. "Eighteen-oh-eight was the year the *saikoo jinseijitsu* first
became sentient, by the way." He then reads. "'Be it proclaimed that after
tragic events in the northern part of the Emperor's realm in the last couple
of months, that ever again should the dark kami known as the *saikoo
jinseijitsu* ever emerge from its host to plague mortal men, that
responsibility for whatever damage done to property or lives lost shall not be
bestowed to the loyal House of Moroboshi-Hana from which this dark kami, in
times more innocent, first flowed. Be it proclaimed that all those who were
directly responsible for unleashing this dark kami from its host's mind, as
well as all those whose thoughts, actions or deeds influenced this dark kami's
power, shall be held morally and legally responsible for all damage done and
lives ended at the hands of this dark kami.'" He rolls up the sheet. "This
was signed by the Emperor himself back then and it was never altered by either
the Meiji Restoration or the imposition of our present constitution by General
MacArthur! Anyone looking for something to heap on Ataru-kun or us better go
look elsewhere!!"

Stunned disbelief appears on everyone's faces. "That's good," Mie
crosses her arms, "...because I just happen to remember the fact that five
certain twits were conspicuously absent from class this morning!!"

She glares at Mendou and the guards. "Hey, that's right!" Shinobu
growls as she lunges over to seize her former boyfriend by his shirt. "Where
WERE you idiots when Lum was trying to prevent this from happening?!"

"Yeah!!" Lan aims a bazooka at Megane. "So which one of you is going to
pay for my wrecked home?!!"

"Or my wrecked shrine?!!" Sakura snarls.

"And all our homes, too!!!" Ataru's mother chimes in.

"And what about the school?!!" Koosei yanks out the Saturn Five.

The five boys find themselves surrounded by very angry people all
glaring at them, many weapons appearing out of nowhere. "Lum-san, help us!!"
Megane cries.

"Help yourself, jerk!" Lum turns away from them. "You caused this
mess?! You pay for it!!"

Mendou and the guards quickly run away, an incensed lynch mob right on
their tails! Watching this, Ataru smiles. "Ah, I do love it when a plan
comes together," he muses, then hums, "...even one which I really didn't
plan."

"You, too, eh?!" Nassur chuckles, then winces. "Ouch!" he feels his
forehead.

"Ah, I thought as much," Chie walks up, supporting the hunter. "Your
mind's still trying to recover from the shock of what the soulsword did to
you." He then looks at Benten. "Benten, will you see to it that he gets to
Sakusei Station, please? I'm sure Koruneko-san has some herbal medicines
which can help him get back on his feet again."

"We'll take care of Sensei, sir," Hazel runs up, then gestures to Daros
and Nobinba to help their teacher to the "Renegade."

"And he should be on light duties for the next two weeks," Chie calls
after them. "No sense making matters worse!"

"I'll make sure of that!!" Benten smiles. "AND make sure that he
doesn't come back in a while so that hussy Miyaki doesn't get her hands on
him!"

"Oh, you won't have to worry about that anymore, Benten," Ataru
chuckles. "In fact, I GUARANTEE that when Nassur gets married again,
**you'll** be his bride."

"How can you guarantee that, Darling?" Lum quizzically stares at her
boyfriend. "Recognition is unpredictable, remember?"

"Yeah, but it's genetics, too," Ataru winks at her. "And genetics can
be affected, you know. Why do you think I gave Benten that staff so that
Nassur could be revived?"

"What?!" Benten exclaims. "You mean...?!"

"That after his *nicha*, you'll be the one he recognizes," Ataru smiles.

Hearing that, the Fukunokami lets out a delighted cry. Everyone else is
surprised to hear this news. "Darling, that's the most heinous, devilish,
monstrous thing I've ever thought you could do!!" Lum gasps, then icily
smiles. "And it's perfect! Shinobu won't know what hit her!!"

"Naturally," Ataru chuckles, then grunts, feeling his heart. "And I
think I'm about to pass out right about now," he feels the strength in his
legs go.

"Ah, I thought as much," Ashin appears beside his friend. "Looks like
your body's demanding some sleep after what you just went through."

Yukio comes up to support him. "C'mon, Koichi. I'll take you home."

"Hey!!" Lum growls, fangs barred and lightning dancing over her.
"Hubby-thief!! Get your hands off MY Darling this instant!!"

"Lum, if you don't want Yukio to kill you, you'll back off," Benten
warns. "Besides, after today, I don't think Moroboshi'll have eyes for anyone
else other than you."

"I hope so," the Oni frets.

"And as for you, Lum," Ashin stares at her. "I think it's time you also
took a break from living in this zoo. Why don't you head home for a bit? Or
even better, stay with Nassur on Sakusei Station. You two and Ryooki-san,
too," he points to Benten and Oyuki.

"Why?!" the three women wonder.

"Because you'll be needed for the next stage in Ataru-kun's maturity,"
the priest winks. "Trust me, you'll like this one. Take care!"

He heads off to supervise the rescue effort. "What do you suppose that
means?!" Benten scratches the back of her head.

"Well, Darling says that Ashin-san is better than Budou-sama or
Sakura-sensei when it comes to predicting the future," Lum notes.

"I guess we'll have to go to Sakusei and find out," Oyuki muses.

Everyone then watches as a helicopter lifts off, flying north toward
Sendai. Lum watches it go, then waves. From the machine, Ataru returns the
gesture. <<I'll come back to get you out of this place, Lum-chan,>> he
telepathically calls out.

<<I'll be waiting, Darling,>> she responds...

* * *

"Ready to head off?" Benten peeks into a tent.

Night has fallen on Tokyo. Tomobiki now looks like a giant tent city in
the middle of a dustbowl. Many people are still up, trying to pick through
the wreckage at the district's edges in hopes of finding personal belongings.
Lum presently is relaxing in a tent being used by the Moroboshi family. In
her hands is a roll of parchment. "Almost ready," the Oni yawns, rolling the
paper up.

"What's that?" the Fukunokami muses.

"It's from Uncle Komeru," Lum smiles as she and Benten head out of the
tent. "He heard from Darling about how I helped stop the *saikoo
jinseijitsu*. He's really impressed."

"So what does that mean for your engagement?"

"Well, he supports the idea," Lum sighs. "After all, anyone who can
stand up to the *saikoo jinseijitsu* is okay in his books. But he warns me
that the real hurdle is still Grandma."

"I guess you won't have a happily-ever-after soon," Benten wryly smiles.

"I guess so," Lum moans. "Ah, well, maybe this was for the best. What
happened to Shutaro and the others?"

"They're still making themselves scarce," Benten cackles. "Lan's not
going to stop until she gets them for her scout being wrecked."

"A pity that thing didn't kill her right off," the Oni hums.

"And ruin my fun?!" the Fukunokami mock-angrily glares at her friend.

Both women laugh. Lum then feels a curious tingle in her mind.
<<Lum-chan...we have to talk,>> a familiar voice echoes.

"I have to go somewhere," she announces, flying off. "I'll see you in a
bit, Benten."

"Hey, where are you...?!" Benten calls out.

By that time, Lum has disappeared into the night. "...going?" Benten
finishes.

Oyuki, Sakura and Shinobu walk up. "What's with Lum?" the priestess
looks curious.

"I dunno," the huntress shrugs. "She said she had to go somewhere, then
took off."

"You don't think that thing's going to try to possess her now?!" Shinobu
looks scared.

"I hope not," Benten shudders. "C'mon...let's go find her!"

* * *

Lum sighs as she lands in the middle of the park where her destiny,
through Ataru's, was forever changed a dozen years before. To her surprise,
the Rose of Memory is still there, warmly glowing. "Noa, where are you?" the
Oni looks around.

A pair of hands cover her eyes. "Surprise!"

Lum spins around to embrace the Sagussan. "Oh, I'm so glad you didn't
leave!" the Oni beams. "I wanted to see you before you went."

"As we wanted to see you," Noa-chan smiles, then laughing, boosts the
Oni into the air and twirling around like a ballerina. "You did it!!! You
really did it!!"

"Hey, Darling deserves credit for it, too!!" Lum gasps.

"No, you silly!" Noa-chan shakes her head as she sets Lum down. "Today,
you proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that you really are the Other!"

"Then I'm free to marry Darling?!" Lum looks hopeful.

Noa-chan looks uneasy. "That's...well, that'll have to be up to you and
Ataru. Remember that we still have interest in him. We just can't let him go
like that, you know."

"But that's what you want, isn't it?" Lum looks confused.

"Yes...but if he just walks away from us, a lot of the *daishi'cha*
would believe that you were trying to hog him on your own. Doesn't our love
for Ataru matter?"

Lum blinks as that information sinks in. She had always felt confident
that no other girl would desire to claim Ataru in the way she did. Elle was a
laughable threat at best, after all. But if what Noa-chan was affirming was
true, then she had more rivals than she knew what to deal with. Or were they
rivals? "I still don't understand who you are...or why you want Darling," the
Oni admits.

"Yes," the Sagussan nods. "We'll have to solve that first."

Noa-chan and Lum then kneel on both sides of the Rose of Memory.
Coughing, the former then calls out, "I demand Council!!"

Just at that moment, Benten, Oyuki, Sakura and Shinobu walk up. Also
with them are Momoe, Kumiko and Natsuko. "Hey, there's Lum!" the Fukunokami
points, then stops. "Eh?! Who's that with her?!"

"I've never seen her before," the Tritonian muses.

Suddenly, space above Lum and Noa-chan darkens as faces appear.
<<Council has been called!!>> Asuka-chan calls out. <<Noa, you demanded
council. Please make your petition.>>

The witnesses are stunned. "Th-that's Asuka...!" Shinobu points.

"And Ryooko...and me, even!!" Ryuunosuke stammers. "What's going on
here?!"

Their voices are not heard by Noa-chan and Lum. "Honoured sisters," the
former declares, waving to the latter. "It is my great pleasure to present to
you all our *daimon'cha's* Other...Lum no Midorinokaminoke-oni of Uru."

"Hello, everyone!" Lum respectfully bows.

"'Other?!'" Benten exclaims. "Other what?!! What's going on here?!"

The huntress moves to march over to confront Lum. She is stayed by
Sakura. "Don't, Benten!!" the priestess' eyes narrow. "Great spiritual
forces are in play here! If we try to interfere, we'll be destroyed!!"

The sterness in Sakura's voice causes Benten to shudder. <<We greet
you, Lum-san,>> Ryooko-chan calls out. <<While many of us believed in our
hearts that you indeed are the one with whom Ataru-sama was bonded to before
our meeting him twelve years ago, we had to make sure that you indeed were the
Other! We are more than pleased to be proven right.>>

"I'm just as pleased, Ryooko-chan," Lum blushes.

"Asuka, do the others agree to the idea I presented in the Dreamscape
prior to our coming here?" Noa-chan inquires.

<<They have,>> Asuka-chan nods. <<It is the only way a true
understanding can exist between Sagussa and Lum-san...and, we hope, that will
foster a greater understanding between Lum-san and the *daimon'cha.* It is
the only way they can be severed from the influence of Entropy both have been
exposed to when they have lived in that place of fools and madmen called
'Tomobiki.'>>

Everyone from Tomobiki faints! "They don't like us, don't they?!"
Natsuko moans.

"Very well, then," Noa-chan sighs, then turns to Lum.

"What did you propose to them?" the Oni looks curious.

"Lum," the Sagussan sighs. "As you might guess, all of us are
empathically bonded in one way or another to Ataru. This happened when he
visited Sagussa twelve years ago. The *saikoo jinseijitsu* obviously
perverted his memories of us, causing him to dream of a harem...which of
course was one of the big stumbling blocks in your attempt at forging some
proper type of relationship with him. Further, those dreams could certainly
sour any thoughts you have about us. You are quite defensive when it comes to
Ataru, for more than understandable reasons. We don't want you to become our
enemy, Lum. You're a part of us because you're a part of Ataru.
Therefore...we feel that you will have to be properly immersed in Sagussan
society and culture to better allow you to understand why we want Ataru to
become our *daimon'cha* and *daite'cha.*"

"You mean I'd have to go to Sagussa," Lum concludes. "I don't even know
where that is!"

"No, you don't, because no one in this local cluster has the technology
to reach us," Noa-chan shakes her head. "Further, if you attempted to come to
Sagussa, that will only produce a lot of unnecessary grief between you and the
Agents of Entropy which live in this place. Our approach to the problem is
far more personal...but it is guaranteed to succeed and there's no way anyone,
even Nassur, could interfere."

Lum considers the point. "Well, I suppose I don't really need any sort
of interference. Even when I tell people to back off, they don't. I can go
along with that."

"Hold it," Noa-chan warns. "Lum, what I'm proposing isn't just a simple
*pe'cha* bond. It's much deeper, more personal than that. When you are
bonded in this way, you will change. Both sides heavily influence the
other...and since you're nowhere near us when it comes to telepathic powers,
you'll be at a disadvantage here."

"Will I?" Lum blinks. "Noa, now I know that I've been at a disadvantage
when it comes to Darling since I decided to live here on Earth, what with the
way that monster inside him's been manipulating him. And after seeing how
easily you people took care of that monster, I can use all the help I can get
when it comes to Darling."

Noa-chan wryly smiles, giving her a warning look. "Lum, at the same
time, we're not going to give you a chance to dominate him."

Lum smirks, then both burst out laughing. "I'll do it," the Oni sighs.
"After all, look at how much Darling's changed. I've got to catch up."

"That's good," Noa-chan nods, then looks up. "Girls, come on down."

Transporter beams allow the other Sagussans who came with Noa-chan to
beam down from their ship. "Spirit-sister!!" Lum-chan flies into her
namesake's arms. "Oh, I'm so glad you've decided to join us!"

"Thanks, Lum-chan," Lum beams.

The witnesses are flabbergasted. "There's another Lum...?!" Momoe
stammers.

"And a Benten, Oyuki, Lan, Sakura and Shinobu, too?!" Kumiko blinks.

Noa-chan then proceeds to introduce everyone. Lum is taken by surprise
by one thing. "You mean all of you have names now?" she hums. "But the last
time I was involved in Council, all you had were numbers."

"Well, that's thanks to you and Ataru-sama," Yuri-chan explains. "With
the *saikoo jinseijitsu* now out of the way, our bonds with the *daimon'cha*
have begun to improve. Further, since you came to the Dreamscape, we were
able to mind-scan you. A lot of us have taken inspiration for our names from
that."

"Mostly from Ataru-sama's interest in those silly stories he reads all
the time," Kei-chan emphasizes.

"Ah, I get it now," Lum nods, then stares at Lan-chan, Shinobu-chan and
Sakura-chan, all of whom appear very angry. "What's with you girls?!"

"I've never been so thoroughly insulted in all the nine thousand years
I've been alive!!!" Lan-chan snaps, eyes ablaze. "Did you see that *kimei'ne*
Ataru-sama chased after believing she was me?!! That airhead's so twisted, it
isn't funny!!!"

"You believe you have problems, Lan?!" Shinobu-chan sneers. "Take a
gander at that fat-hipped titless wonder Ataru-sama chased after believing she
was me!!!"

"Not to mention that oversexed incompetent excuse of a spiritualist who
looks like me!!" Sakura-chan moans.

Nearby, Sakura and Shinobu are ablaze with fury. "'Fat-hipped titless
wonder?!!'" the latter growls, twisting an I-beam with her bare hands.

"'Oversexed incompetent excuse of a spiritualist?!!'" the former snarls.
"They're bucking for a curse!!"

"At least our spirit-sisters were much better suited to be the
*daimon'cha's* friends," Oyuki-chan muses.

"We're lucky," Benten-chan nods agreeingly.

"I think we just got paid a compliment," Benten whispers to Oyuki.

The Tritonian nods, giggling. <<Choose any one of these, Lum-san,>>
Asuka-chan instructs. <<Remember Noa's warning. The one you choose will be
bonded mind and soul with you...but we believe that such a bonding will not
only save you from Tomobiki's perverted influence, it will ensure that the day
will come when you at last can fully bond with the *daimon'cha.*>>

Lum nods, then looks at each of the *daishi'cha* surrounding her. The
Sagussans nod or wave at the Oni. Her eyes then lock on Noa-chan. They gaze
at each other for a minute. Tears brim in the Sagussan's eyes as a light
smile crosses her face. Lum finds herself crying...not in sadness, but in
joy. "You," she softly intones.

Noa-chan holds out a hand. <<The choice is made,>> Asuka-chan
announces. <<Let the bonding be done. Let them become *marei'cha.*>>

Lum slips her hand in Noa-chan's. The latter guides the hand to her
face as her other hand reaches for the former's face. Soon, both are touching
the other's face with both hands, their fingers splayed to both sides of the
nose and over the eyes. The other Sagussans quickly form a psychic circle,
linking by touching their neighbours by their fingertips. "She really is the
Other," Lufy-chan smiles.

"It's a match made in Heaven," Yuri-chan romantically swoons.

"What sort of match are we talking about here?!" Benten scratches her
head.

The Fukunokami faints as the answer comes; Lum and Noa-chan slide
together, their lips brushing the other's, passionately embracing the other!
"Am I seeing that?!!" Shinobu gasps, pointing.

"What type of people are these, anyway?!!" Ryuunosuke demands.

After a wonderful eternity, the new bond-mates reluctantly part.
"*Tcha!*" Lum gasps. "I don't know what made me do that!"

"Don't worry," Noa-chan winks at her. "We'll be doing a lot more than
just kissing when we learn more about each other."

"I can't wait," Lum playfully growls, then blinks. "But...when can you
come by again? Darling needs you!"

Honey-chan pats the Oni's shoulder. "Let's let you and Ataru-sama have
the necessary time to rebuild your relationship first," she winks. "Besides,
we have to prepare ourselves for his return."

"I hope it comes soon," Lum beams.

"Hey, you horse-thief!!" Noa-chan growls at her sister, the air around
her boiling with her jealous fury. "Hands off **my** bond-mate! Go find your
own!!"

"Oh, Lyna, now she's going to be a lovesick sandpanther in heat when it
comes to Lum!" Honey-chan's eyes roll. "I can imagine all the wet dreams
now!!"

"Honey, you're just jealous because you're still single," Kei-chan
smirks.

Everyone laughs. With that, the other Sagussans are taken away via
transporter to their ship. Noa-chan and Lum embrace once more. "Don't worry,
love," the former winks. "We'll see each other soon...in our dreams."

She disappears in a transporter beam. "Yeah," Lum smiles. "In our
dreams."

By that time, the witnesses have mustered enough courage to approach the
Oni. "Lum," Shinobu hesitantly inquires. "What was **that** all about?!"

The Oni snorts. "None of your business, Miyaki!" she sneers, then
smiles at Benten and Oyuki. "Well, shall we go?!"

"You bet!" the Fukunokami beams.

The three aliens head off for Benten's airbike. "Sakura," Ryuunosuke
stares at the priestess. "What did we just witness?"

Sakura looks helpless. "I couldn't even begin to interpret that."

Her statement is haunted by a hollow wind...

*** The Beginning ***