Chapter Text
Chapter 63: Higan
Tarukane Mansion
"Yuck...teen romance...," Tarukane mocked as he watched the monitor outside.
Miyuki and Inmaki looked as Gokumonki continued to make a fool of himself.
However, their thoughts were elsewhere.
The former whispered into Gonzo's ears-
"Maybe it's unwise to fully trust the Devils. They tend to only work if they can exploit yo-"
Gonzo's angry veins burst out.
Leading to a wide right slap.
Whack
Miyuki landed on the ground before Tarukane stepped in the "female" demon's groin area...which was very sensitive and oddly bulged for a woman.
“Listen up.”
His lip curled.
“I don’t pay you to think.”
“I pay you to obey.”
He then turned back to the monitor as he saw Kichi amongst the group-
Just one second.
Beat
She smiled awkwardly.
Blink-Blink
His mouth opened.
"What's she doing with them?!"
He then turned to Inmaki-
"Grab her! I don't wanna have them to ruin her!"
The cloaked demon nodded as he vanished.
Outside Courtyard
Himawari stepped forward.
Unlike the others, she showed no confusion concerning what question mattered first.
"I need to know something. If you're going to screw us over...I...I'll kick your a-ass."
Beat
She blushed
"I need to know where you stand in this."
Higan looked relieved.
A tactical inquiry.
Simple.
Safe.
"I'm standing right here...what else?"
Beat
"I don't want to see you becoming a giant red monster to start rampaging."
Beat
Higan gave a trollish smile.
Not red huh...?, he wondered internally.
Gokumonki growled.
Himawari then walked away as she turned around as she continued to blush.
Yusuke gave a half-lidded coy smile as she walked by.
"None of the swear police crap right now?...(snickers) guess, being with punks is rubbing off on ya," he remarked.
She then looked at him as Himawari replied-
“He wasn’t…”
She paused.
“…covered in blood.”
Another pause.
“…or eating anybody.”
“…”
“So…”
“…that’s…”
She looked away.
“…usually a good sign.”
Yusuke then caught her in a noogie as Keiko sighed in annoyance.
Himawari continued to be flustered while still inside the noogie.
Higan watched.
No panic.
No hierarchy.
No punishment.
Just…
annoyance.
Playfulness.
Affection.
“…”
Weird.
Tenma then walked towards him as she said-
“Your reconstruction is extremely rare. The last surviving records date back to when papyrus was still common.”
Beat.
“I’d like to conduct several non-invasive examinations later.”
She adjusted her glasses.
"Only if you agree.”
Pink smoke rose.
Tenma’s adult form caught Higan by the chin and pulled his face level with hers.
“Spirit World will object.”
Her smile sharpened.
“But, they can object to me.”
Then she returns to her smaller form:
“Don’t make me regret it.”
Higan then picked her up as her eyes twitched in irritiation.
Maeko- having decided to swap from Osore during the car ride, then walked towards them while she and Raikou kept a close eye on Kichi, with the latter pulling her over.
Maeko watched him hold Tenma without immediately apologizing for occupying space.
She then observed-
“Y-You don’t make yourself smaller anymore.”
Higan looked at her.
“Neither do you.”
Beat
Maeko then escorted Tenma away
Beat
Higan then looked at Raikou who immediately clenched her right fist.
Higan saw her shoulder move.
He could have dodged.
He did not.
WHAM.
He bent over slightly as she breathed heavily.
Pant...pant.
“That one was for what Kirino did.”
She lowered her fist.
“Anything after this is for what you do.”
Higan blinked in disbelief.
"Hiei's done some nastier stuff and definitely Kurama for even longer. They're just making up for it- even if they're zipper-shut about it," she added.
But I am atoning..., thought Kurama.
Beat
Raikou then pointed her right index towards Higan
Beat
“Don’t do that to innocent people. Human, demon, ghost, whatever.”
Beat.
“You can scare the guilty ones.”
Beat
“This is Kichi (she gesutred to the silver-hairef girl) She says she lives here, which is weird, because everybody here acts like they’re guarding her instead of protecting her.”
Beat
Kichi lunges and slaps Raikou
Beat
“I’m standing right here!”
Beat
Kichi's expression turned to dread
"...where's Helen?," asked the silver haired girl with a very blushed face.
The others didn't notice the green creature of immense size being that stealthy.
Its drooling tongue lashing out as it neared Raikou.
Raikou struck without turning.
WHAM.
The creature rolled onto its back.
“I’m trying to talk here!”
“HELEN!”
Kichi’s scream stopped every conversation.
Raikou turned.
The pink bow rested crookedly within the silver mane.
Her expression fell.
“…That’s your cat?”
Higan let out a short laugh.
“…”
His smile weakened.
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…Poor thing.”
Beat
She smiled.
Beat
Stomp.
Suddenly, Maeko noticed a blurred figure behind Kicki as the kanabo hit the ground.
Beat
She then struck his claws.
Inmaki had not been sent to retrieve Kichi.
He had been sent to make everyone believe he was.
The real extraction came from behind.
Just as attention was put on him-
Strands of blue hair wrapped around Kichi.
Tug.
She was pulled and then grabbed by Miyuki.
"Heh...better than being in that room," the blue-haired demon remarked as she pulled Kichi away.
Beat
Higan did not care how Miyuki identified.
Both of Miyuki’s hands restrained Kichi.
Which meant…
neither protected herself.
The opening required no further analysis.
WHAM.
The opening was obvious.
WHAM.
Miyuki's face contorted into intense pain as Gokumonki rushed towards her.
Beat
Higan gave a deadpan expression.
Beat
“I kicked an enemy in a weak point. Her identity wasn’t involved.”
Yusuke scowls in response
Beat
“So she’s—”
THWACK.
Kenjiko struck the back of his head.
“She’s a woman.”
Yusuke rubbed the lump.
“Then what was—”
“Anatomy.”
Kenjiko folded her arms.
“Not your business.”
Wham
"You...," Miyuki snarled with bloodshot eyes as tears welled up in her eyes.
Beat
He then blinked as she saw Kenjiko managed to close the distance.
Beat
The dark-skinned girl waved with a closed smile.
Then
Miyuki suddenly saw a rapidly incoming knee.
POW
The demoness was hit by Kenjiko as her nose started to bleed out.
Beat
Gokumonki turned his attenition back onto Higan. Clearly it was a mix of two issues-
First, he assaulted his leader in an unexpectedly underhanded manner as he expected that the group would be noble to a fault.
Second, and more significantly-
The newly arrived young man had made a fool of him while forcing the great Gokumoki to lie on his back like a scolded child while he had a reunion party.
Among physically powerful warriors, humiliation frequently produces greater violence than injury.
Pain eventually subsides.
Witnesses…
remember.
Tarukane Mansion
Kenjiko turned toward Yusuke.
“No need to stick around.”
A pause.
“You’ve got a—”
She stopped.
Everyone did.
A figure emerged from the mansion’s entrance.
Short.
Black-haired.
Jagged bangs.
White scarf.
Kurama’s pupils contracted.
“Hiei…”
Silence.
The Fire Demon walked forward at an unhurried pace.
His posture was unchanged.
His breathing remained steady.
His expression…
did not.
“…Well done, Spirit Detective.”
The words were calm.
Measured.
Almost courteous.
Yusuke frowned.
“…”
“…Okay.”
He scratched the back of his head.
“You’re never this damn chatty…”
Another step.
“… also Hiei doesn’t waste time doing this politeness crap.””
The sentence died before it reached completion.
There exists a subtle distinction between recognizing a face…
and recognizing the person wearing it.
Human beings identify loved ones through countless unconscious variables.
Cadence.
Posture.
Eye movement.
Breathing.
The interval between thoughts and speech.
The brain assembles these fragments into what people casually describe as “them.”
When enough of those fragments change simultaneously…
recognition becomes hesitation.
Not because the face is unfamiliar.
Because the person suddenly is.
⸻
Yusuke felt it first.
Not through Spirit Energy.
Not through Demon Energy.
Instinct.
Something…
was wrong.
⸻
Then—
a crimson line appeared beneath Hiei’s left eye.
Another beneath the right.
The liquid descended slowly across his face.
Not blood.
Not tears.
Both.
The droplets reached his jaw.
Stopped.
Solidified.
Faceted.
Each became a crimson Hiruseki jewel, suspended for only a heartbeat before falling into the grass.
Tick.
Another formed.
Tick.
Another.
The smile never changed.
That disturbed Kurama far more than the jewels themselves.
Pain possesses rhythm.
Even disciplined warriors unconsciously tighten muscles, alter breathing, or blink differently under sufficient agony.
Hiei did none of those things.
The expression remained…
perfectly consistent.
⸻
Keiko felt her stomach tighten.
Not because she understood what was happening.
Because she understood something worse.
Someone…
had taught Hiei to smile through it.
⸻
Kazuma’s grip tightened around the Spirit Sword.
“…Urameshi.”
His voice remained unusually quiet.
“…That ain’t Hiei.”
⸻
Higan’s smile disappeared.
Completely.
For the first time since his reconstruction…
no joke arrived.
His mismatched eyes remained fixed upon the crimson diamonds gathering at Hiei’s feet.
“…”
“…Those…”
A pause.
“…aren’t voluntary.”
⸻
Torture seeks one of two outcomes.
Information…
or obedience.
The latter proves considerably more valuable to organizations interested in long-term exploitation.
Pain eventually becomes familiar.
The victim adapts.
True obedience is achieved only when agony and reward cease existing as separate experiences.
When smiling…
becomes part of surviving.
⸻
Yusuke took one step forward.
His fists were already clenched.
“Hiei.”
No response.
Another crimson jewel struck the ground.
The smile remained.
Yusuke’s voice lowered.
“…”
“…Who the hell…”
“…did this to you?”
Miyuki then though this will definitely make them submit. They had come not only for the Ice Maidens, but for this irritable urchin. And now, they'll have to fight him in a vain attempt to rescue him on top of everything. While she didn't like the methods, the results of the new variant of Hiruseki would be seen as very valuable. Maybe enough to cut th middle man- Gonzo Tarukane- and just exploit the riches to promote themselves within their group- the Apparition Gang organization. The red diamonds looked fancier the golden yellow orbs. Maybe she could buy some makeup and a new dress first. Inmaki and Gokumoki could do Janken to decide who got the remainders of the first spending.
She then smirked as she moved towards Hiei, her expression became dissonant and sinister- deliberately gesturing to try and provoke them into submission or more likely blind rage to exploit. She slowly carrassed his face as Hie's eyes twitched. She finally spoke-
"I don't like what Raigo did...yes, that's his name...he's apparently a Devil. But his handiwork- even if it's unsavory does extraordinarily well in paying dividends. Plus...(licks her lips)."
"The less they resist…”
She smiled.
“…the easier everything becomes afterward.”
Beat.
“My sister always says I’m too blunt.”
However, she didn't finish her sentence. Her provocation brought force anger- but not the reckless kind. Kenjiko immediately summoned Qilin- the azure dragon boots. In an instant, she blitzed as Miyuki barely had enough time to generate a spherical barrier of hair to block the strike. However, the vibrations generated a recoil that caused Miyuki to bleed purple from her eyes and mouth.
Kenjiko did not attack because Miyuki insulted Hiei.
Insults were noise.
She attacked because Miyuki transformed Hiei’s suffering into negotiation.
For Kenjiko…
there existed very few statements that immediately justified violence.
Reducing another person’s trauma to commercial convenience was one of them.
Beat
“…”
“…”
“…She was serious.”
Not because of the pain.
Because…
Kenjiko didn’t shout.
Didn’t threaten.
Didn’t posture.
She simply attacked.
That’s terrifying.
Beat
Hair barriers protect by dispersing force across countless flexible strands.
Hands…
ignore flexibility.
They create anchors.
Beat
A hand pierced through the hair to Miyuki's dread.
Beat
Kenjiko had no intention of pushing through Miyuki’s defense.
She intended to grab it.
Then pull the owner toward the opening.
Beat
The hand grabbed Miyuki to pull her through the opening like a wet blanket, regardless of how many joints broke as the demoness was pulled. Miyuki then spiked her own hair to pierce through Kenjiko's hands. It shouldn't be too long. Humans were so fragile-
She saw that Kenjiko was in her purple-haired, green winged Tengu form with her human face intact. Just as she was about land the finishing blo-
Hiei’s body moved before conscious evaluation.
Conditioning rarely asks permission.
It simply recognizes:
Threat.
Protect asset.
Eliminate interference.
The original Hiei would have attacked Miyuki for standing in his way.
The conditioned Hiei attacked the obstacle preventing her escape.
Then suddenly-
Hiei noticed his right side as a familiar fist came barging.
Wham
Yusuke had not struck Hiei.
He had struck…
the command currently wearing Hiei’s body.
The distinction mattered.
Only one of them deserved the blow.
Beat
Yusuke gritted his teeth as he stared at the Demon Triad-
with pinprick pupils.
Beat
Violence possesses many languages.
Most demons feared overwhelming strength.
The Triad had survived enough battlefields to understand another dialect entirely.
Protective rage.
Unlike ordinary fury…
it rarely stopped after satisfying itself.
The demons immediately started to sweat.
Beat
Gokumoki immediately changed focus. Anxiety consumed him as he futilely hit the shields of Higan over and over- all to avoid Yusuke's wrath. After all, Higan seemed the easier target-
In a mere moment, Higan's form darkened.
Beat
"She didn't say red...," Higan said as his darkened silhouette gave two white circles and a crescent for a smile as his form warped and mutated before the Oni's terrified eyes.
His body had expanded…
His shoulders had broadened…
CRACK.
Bone.
Armor.
Muscle.
Gokumonki instinctively stepped backward.
Too late.
The helmet formed.
Not placed.
Grown.
The eyes opened one by one.
Not all of them belonged to the head.
Beat
In his previous life, Kirino had been always secretly desiring for the strength to never be vulnerable- because vulnerability meant exploitation by others who saw those unable to fight back as easy prey. Shields mean defense and protection. Not just from battle, but from the potential threat of being exposed.
Beat
Shields protect.
They do not conceal.
They announce vulnerability by their very existence.
Kirino had spent an entire lifetime hiding behind apologies.
His second life quietly rejected that solution.
And he was still a baby by Demon terms, this new life- Higan altered his body to exploit his currently limited moveset. Higan would eventually expand on the power.
Beat
By the end, the transformation concluded-
Higan had turned into an imposing demonic entity whose proportions and anatomy bear little resemblance to his human form. His body becomes dramatically larger and far more muscular, with an armored physique built around massive shoulders, a broad chest, and powerful limbs. The transformation replaces youthful elegance with overwhelming physical dominance, making him resemble a living fortress rather than a conventional demon. Despite the increase in size, he maintains a crouched, agile stance that suggests explosive speed.
His head is encased in an ornate crimson-purple helmet that resembles both a glass dome and a demonic mask covering the upper part of his face and upper jaw. A red left eye and a blue right eye- completely azure and crimson respectively in sclera with any of the prior nuance of his human form vanishing. while the primary faceplate conceals any remaining human facial features beneath segmented armor.
Demons recognized one another instinctively.
This…
did not feel entirely familiar.
Flowing from the back of the helmet is an enormous cascade of brilliant white hair that extends almost to the ground. Unlike his spiky human hairstyle, this mane is thick, luxurious, and windswept, spreading outward behind him like a supernatural cloak.
It gave him in addition to his large physique- much like Tenma- the illusion of being more intimidating with a body to match up with his newly acquired ego.
Several additional living eyes emerge across his transformed body, giving the impression that every angle is constantly under surveillance. Large eyes decorate his shoulders, knees, wings, hips, and other armored sections, alternating between vivid blue and crimson irises. These eyes appear embedded within organic armor rather than painted onto it, enhancing the unsettling fusion of flesh and exoskeleton. Their presence makes the demon form seem constantly alert, as though every limb possesses its own awareness.
The body had solved a problem its previous owner never could.
Every direction now possessed an observer.
The body itself is protected by dark violet organic armor that seamlessly covers nearly every inch of his frame. Thick segmented plating wraps around his chest, abdomen, shoulders, forearms, thighs, and shins, leaving no obvious gaps in his defense. His hands end in elongated, clawed fingers capable of both slashing and grasping prey, while his digitigrade legs terminate in heavy talons resembling those of a massive predatory bird or dragon.
It was overall more refined than the grotesque chimeric centaur of his past life.
Extending from his back are two broad bat-like wings with purple membranes stretched between armored bones, each wing displaying another enormous eye near its outer section. Behind him coils a long, muscular tail ending in a sharp, bladed spade-like tip.
Gokumoki immediately changed his opinion as he saw the sight-
Devil...a Demon...no...
A Daemon.
The word had not been spoken in centuries.
Not because they no longer existed.
Because they almost never survived long enough to be remembered.
Born from the despair of mortals…
they retained the direction of the previous life…
without necessarily retaining the person.
Beat
Demons followed instinct.
Devils followed obsession.
Daemons…
rewrote themselves.
Nothing frightened old demons more than an opponent who could decide what it wished to become after the battle had already begun.
Beat
Higan, now much taller than the imposing Gokumaki lowered himself as if savoring the turnaround.
"You ok?," he said in a much deeper, more masculine voice than his prior effeminate voice of a young man.
Gokumoki swung his kanabo-
The kanabō bent backward.
The stored force returned.
Iron that had spent centuries rejecting outside impact had never been required to endure its own momentum.
Gokumonki’s body convulsed.
Cracks raced beneath his skin.
Blood erupted from every seam of his armor-like flesh.
Gokumoki was launched through three mansion walls before finally collapsing. His bloodshot eyes rolled to the back of his head as the body went limp.
Higan scratched his dome of a head.
"Guess they're the Demonic Duo now..."
Beat
"That sucked."
Beat
Gokumonki believed durability meant refusing outside force.
Higan quietly disagreed.
Durability, he had concluded only minutes after acquiring a second life, meant surviving the consequences of one’s own decisions.
The oni’s body had mastered the first.
It had never been asked to endure the second.
Beat
Kurama was the first to realize the implications.
First, the shields- already unconventional in combat- unless one is very clever. Now counterforce, thought the redhead.
He then noticed that Kenjiko was looking in Higan's direction with a blushing, affectionate look. All while reactively blocking Miyuki's hair tendrils.
The same kind of look Maya would give to Kurama himself.
Beat
In actuality, he had seen that expression before.
Not often.
Maya wore it whenever she forgot he could notice.
Kenjiko…
had worn it exactly three times.
Once toward Yusuke.
Once toward Hiei.
Now…
toward Higan.
Kurama’s brows lifted.
“…”
"Perhaps she simply prefers confident men."
He returned Miyuki’s strike automatically.
So strength wasn’t the attraction.
No.
It was something subtler.
People who survived carrying impossible burdens…
without asking anyone else to carry them first.
That appeared to be her weakness.
Beat
Then Higan changes back.
Looks at everyone.
Gives the V-sign.
Kurama then gives a nervous laugh.
Genkai's Compound
Genkai sat cross-legged near the center of the temple.
Kazemaru did not.
He paced.
Stopped.
Turned.
Then paced again.
Kibano watched him for several seconds before becoming irritated.
“It shouldn’t take them this long to deal with a few tailed frogs.”
Kuroda kept his eyes closed.
“Every assignment involving those children begins simply.”
A pause.
“By the end, the original objective is usually the least complicated part.”
Kazemaru stopped.
“That isn’t reassuring.”
“It wasn’t meant to be.”
Musashi looked toward the tapestry hanging along the temple’s inner wall.
Eight figures traveled across its weathered surface.
Different heights.
Different shapes.
Different shadows.
All converging upon a single silhouette.
“Their priorities have improved,” Musashi said. “Not their tendency to attract catastrophe, but their priorities.”
His eyes settled upon the eighth figure.
“…I wondered who would complete it.”
Genkai looked ahead.
Chinpo smirked.
“The final presence has appeared.”
Silence.
Genkai’s mouth curved upward.
“Took Hell long enough to spit him back out.”
Kazemaru stared.
“You knew?”
“I knew someone was missing.”
Her expression sharpened.
“If I’d reached the boy before he decided death was his only exit, the last year might’ve gone further.”
A pause.
“Doesn’t matter what name he carried then.”
Her eyes returned to the tapestry.
“He calls himself Higan now.”
“Then Higan is the name we use.”
Kazemaru’s pacing stopped completely.
“Oi.”
Beat.
“Oi, oi, oi, oi.”
Nobody answered.
“You mean those techniques?”
Genkai nodded.
Kazemaru’s face lost color.
“The Spirit Wave?”
Another nod.
“The Spirit Orb?”
“Yes.”
He pointed toward the converging figures.
“…Fusion?”
Genkai chuckled.
“Don’t get excited.”
Her gaze became severe.
“They’re not ready to fuse.”
Kazemaru blinked.
“Then why teach them?”
“Because they’re finally ready to fail without eating one another alive.”
Silence.
Kibano frowned.
“That can happen?”
“With those idiots?”
Genkai snorted.
“It almost certainly will.”
She stood.
“The Spirit Wave teaches one body to answer one soul.”
“The Orb teaches one soul to carry power another person entrusted to it.”
Her eyes moved across all eight figures.
“Fusion teaches several complete people to share one body without anyone being erased.”
Kazemaru swallowed.
“And if they can’t?”
“Then one dominates.”
“Another disappears.”
“The rest become passengers.”
A pause.
“And whatever walks away calls itself teamwork.”
No one spoke.
Genkai folded her arms.
“If they’d acquired it during that rainbow-frog mess, they would’ve treated it like another shortcut.”
Her expression darkened.
“One frightened brat would’ve taken control.”
“Another would’ve surrendered because supporting everyone felt easier than protecting himself.”
“And the others would’ve confused surviving the result with succeeding.”
Musashi looked toward the tapestry.
“But now?”
Genkai smirked.
“Now they know how badly they can hurt one another by assuming.”
Beat.
“The dimwit encountered something resembling Fusion during that amusement-park incident.”
Kazemaru leaned forward.
“So he’s already done it?”
“No.”
Genkai’s answer came immediately.
“He stumbled into an overlap.”
“One person acted.”
“The rest were carried.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“This will be different.”
Another pause.
“This time…”
“…everyone stays awake.”
Next Chapter: The Inheritance of Idealism