act44side

So, you're, er... you're fine?

I'M FINE! I'M VERY FINE! I'M GONNA BEAT THIS ASSHOLE INTO A PULP!!!

M-Momoka, calm down, he's not worth it, we gotta get out of here...

The rain of blows finally comes to an end, as footsteps fade into the distance.

That other voice must have belonged to Kichisei, the one who was with Momoka. Yes, it was Kichisei who took Momoka away, it must be her...

Thank you, Kichisei... you're my lucky star—

The novice ninja gives Kichisei his most sincere gratitude before passing out. Not that he is in any condition to verbalize it.

I've been waiting for you. No one can stop you, even after all these years.

Quit posturing. Your men have already scattered. I strolled right on in here.

What business does the 'Ao-Oni of Kinsekikai' have with a man who's already finished?

If you came to take revenge for yourself and Tessai, all you need to do is draw your sword.

Hoshiguma shakes her head.

Your crimes have been exposed on your own TV station. Your Diet member <i>upstairs</i> won't help you now, no matter how much bribe money he got from you.

How he may try to cover up his ill-gotten gains is none of my business.

It's enough for me that justice will be served for the people you actually killed.

You almost sound like a cop.

Yeah, I've been working for the Lungmen police force.

...Are you serious?

Yes, I am.

I want to laugh, but I'm not quite in the mood tonight. And I thought the L.G.D. was just a gimmick.

I only came to do what I should have done when I took that step twenty years ago. I came to cut my last ties to Higashi.

And how do you intend to do that? You can't cut yourself off from your past. Karma and fate will always follow you.

You could put them in chains, lock them in boxes, but they will escape when you're least prepared, and tear everything into pieces.

The only thing you can cut is my throat, and it would be nothing more than a formality if you did so. Nothing more than venting your anger.

Yeah, a formality.

There's nothing I want from you or Mitsukue. All I want is a formality.

A letter of excommunication. Tell all of Mitsukue that Hoshiguma no longer has anything to do with Mitsukue, the Kinsekikai, or the Ao-Oni kaidan.

The tall Phidia blinks, then begins laughing wryly.

I see Lungmen has indeed turned you into a cop, through and through.

But I refuse. We have a better way of disassociating someone.

Cross swords with me. Rebel against the oyabun of the Kinsekikai, and there will be no room left for the Kinsekikai to treat you as one of us, no matter which one of us falls.

Do we really have to do this?

This is the true meaning of finishing unfinished business from twenty years ago.

It's just...

Mifune casts a glance around his office.

I rather liked this place, and it would be a shame if a mess was made of it. Let's go somewhere else.

Where?

Kajimachi.

You've razed it to the ground.

Our memories remain, don't they?

You're one twisted bastard.

Let's go. Maybe we'll even catch the end of the fireworks show.

No, Madame Oni! I can't let you go any further!

I have to save him.

Madame Oni!

There is no time. I'll only say once more. Get out of my way.

Are you really Madame Oni? Is there any humanity left in you?

Why... why wouldn't I be Madame Oni?

Shuuji is dead! You killed him!

Shuu...ji...?

You're not Madame Oni anymore... you're just an Oni... a vicious Oni, even...

You would kill the brother you drank at the same table with, and you wouldn't even hesitate, as long as we're in your way...

Will you kill me too, vicious Oni?

Out of the way... Koutarou.

I can't turn back. I must stop Kinbee, no matter what!

Vicious Oni!!!

She instinctively raises her sword, pointing it in front of her.

The man charges towards her, but the sword goes through his chest, as though he has intentionally impaled himself upon it.

Did he do it on purpose? Or did she parry his blade, then...

Vicious Oni...

Go... to hell...

Vicious Oni?

Am I... a vicious Oni?

Oni?

Blood fills her eyes, blinding her.

She will cut down anyone who charges at her.

She will strike back at any weapon that strikes at her.

More cries, the sound of weapons cutting through the night, discombobulated sounds that blend into a single lump in her chest, beating with her heart, pulsing—

Until it fully synchronizes with her heartbeat, drowning out all other sounds.

In the bloody haze, the vicious Oni keeps walking and killing, leaving behind a trail of blood and bodies, until she reaches the run-down shack and kicks the door open.

There is no sound there.

The vicious Oni stands at the door, cocking her head, as though she is listening for some kind of sound coming from hell that humans cannot hear.

Until she hears a trembling voice.

...dead.

Who's dead?

The Diet candidate... is dead.

The Diet candidate is dead?

The cries fade. The sound of weapons cutting through air fades. The sound of heartbeat fades. All the sounds grow distant and fade.

Only the voices from hell echo by her ear, clearer than ever.

Oni.

Vicious Oni.

Go to hell.

This place.

I picked this empty lot by the riverbank rather than those ruins along the way, so you won't be distracted by the memories. No need to thank me.

Good timing, too. The fireworks show isn't over yet.

What? Getting cold feet now?

No.

I just wanted to clear up everything before we started fighting.

What else isn't clear?

Only one thing.

Where did your hatred come from?

I ran into Tetsuya at the TV station and heard from him what happened when Uncle Tessai died. You didn't have to be so cruel.

I don't know how he treated you all these years, but he must not have seen you as an adversary if you got as far as to turn him into a figurehead.

Beside, I didn't think I did you any wrong. When I came back to Mitsukue, all I wanted was to make sure that my sacrifice wasn't meaningless—

Sacrifice?

That's why you make me sick, you and Tessai.

You're a fool, and he's an even bigger fool. Even if you really did accidentally kill the candidate, did you think he wouldn't know to frame me for it, since I was there too?

He favored you, so I kept waiting for the day when he would make me 'take responsibility' for the murder.

It would have been the best result. He would protect his favorite, while eliminating a subordinate who had been going over his head.

As for that little thing about killing one's brothers... what does it matter? Who would be foolish enough to speak up, with Hannya in your hand and his support behind you?