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Mixed Greetings
Christina Ortega
Part 6 (FoR...with a hint of YYH)
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The sky was still swirled with specks of darkness that was mixing with 
flashes of orange and pink as the sun became barely visible over the horizon. 
Mikagami paused midway through a move with his Ensui to acknowledge the 
warmth that was now
bathing his body, closing his eyes and allowing the rays to dance upon his 
delicate features.

Honestly, he was exhausted, but the events of the prior day hadn’t allowed 
him the peace of mind to sleep. Mikagami raised his Ensui again, the water 
sword glittering in the morning light. In just one day his mind had gone from 
cluttered to utter
turmoil. Kai as his back up, Meguri Kyoza killing his sister, once again 
looking like a fool when fighting Kurei...that thought made him tighten his 
grip on the Ensui and stab at a nearby tree to vent his frustration. Though 
he would never admit it to
Recca or the others, a part of him had been waiting to try his hand at 
beating Kurei again, and yet he had made the same foolish mistake of going 
after his false image. Idiotic. How could someone make the same mistake twice?

Mikagami snapped out of his thoughts quickly as he saw something dark flash 
by in the corner of his eyes. Spinning around, he glared at the trees but 
only found the wind rustling through the trees. <I could have sworn that 
there was someone
there...> That’s when he first felt the hands on his neck, caressing the pale 
flesh lovingly. “Such smooth skin...like that of a woman and hair to match, 
but your masculinity shines through. For a ningen, you’re quite sensual, 
Mikagami Tokiya.”

Turning his head as much as he could, Mikagami caught sight of the 
man...being...His skin was olive-toned, and blond hair fell lightly onto his 
forehead. However, there was something in his dark green eyes that the Hokage 
member couldn’t place. Something non-human. He shoved his elbow against the 
man’s stomach which sent him flying backwards. “I’m not in a good
mood, so it would be wise not to mess with me.”

“Full of pride, are we?” The being chuckled, and it was at that moment that 
Mikagami saw that his ears were extra pointy and that there were long 
tendrils of braided brown hair hanging among the blond strands. “I like you. 
If you hadn’t woken up
to practice this morning I could have just taken you with me and enjoyed you 
to your fullest. However, you are a burden
now. Maybe I’ll take you anyway, but I have a policy of abducting just one 
person in a day.”

Mikagami froze at this, his eyes narrowing angrily. What the hell was this 
guy planning? “Who are you?” He questioned, a snarl forming on his lips. 
“Don’t make me fight you for an answer.”

“Call me Kuroino Ai. I haven’t come to fight you because I’ve already won.” 
Ai took a step closer to Mikagami, a soft smile on his full pink lips. “Don’t 
worry. We’ll be sure to take care of Sakoshita-san just as we’ve been taking 
care of
Misora-san.”

<Yanagi-chan?> Rage making his chest ache, Mikagami raised his Ensui and 
prepared to attack...or at least he tried to, but the sudden dark spots 
appearing in front of his bright blue eyes made him sway dizzily on his feet. 
<W...what the hell?>
“Feeling ill, Tokiya-chan?” Ai laughed softly to himself as he watched the 
Ensui slip from the grip of his opponent. “I know all of your pain, 
Tokiya-chan, and I know that Mikagami Mifuyu’s death was not the only aspect 
to classify your life as tragic.”

Green eyes sparkling, Ai ran out to catch Mikagami as his knees gave way, and 
he smiled, lowering him until the long-haired man was cradled comfortably in 
his arms. He felt along Mikagami’s neck and grinned as he felt the small hole 
over his brain
stem. “Beautiful...you know, in order to learn your tragic secrets I watched 
you as you slept...your face naturally glows with innocence.” As the man in 
his arms convulsed, pain shooting down his spine, Ai tightened his grip. 
“Beaten, bruised,
assaulted, tossed back and forth by fury...you physically show no signs of 
these things, but I know. I know all about you. 

“Accept my apologies, Tokiya-chan. My elemental weapon is called Kanashi 
Omou, and I guarantee that you will suffer from it.” Ai pushed a loose strand 
of his captive’s hair gently behind his ear. “This is not something you can 
fight with physical
strength but that you must fight with emotional and mental will. Your scarred 
past leaves you incapacitated in these areas.” Laying Mikagami softly on the 
grass, Ai stood before bowing politely. “Ja, until we meet again. You’ve 
stolen my heart...I’ll
admit, taking advantage of you in this position is tempting, but raping an 
unconscious ningen is not something I enjoy. Besides, I believe that taking 
you while you’re awake would be so much more fun.” With that, Ai slowly 
walked away,
casting one last glance at his fallen victim before disappearing into the 
morning mist.

From the trees surrounding the area, a small demon watched the being 
disappear, his mind working hurriedly. <Such a strong youki...he wasn’t an 
amateur.> As Ai disappeared from his view, the youkai peered down at the 
unconscious man lying
helplessly on the ground. “That guy’s just a simple ningen with nothing but a 
faint aura...Kuwabara, that idiot, probably has more spirit powers than 
him...why, then, did a powerful youkai use such efficient means to put him 
out of action?”

His eyes narrowing with confusion, Hiei jumped from the branch he had been 
perched upon and landed next to the fallen ningen, peering down at his 
pain-filled face interestedly. Folding his arms over his chest, Hiei’s frown 
deepened. “Exactly
who is Mikagami Tokiya?” With this last thought, Hiei moved at his incredible 
speed away from the area and went to join the others who had probably already 
reached Koenma.

***

Recca woke up feeling sick though he couldn’t explain specifically what was 
wrong. His stomach wasn’t upset...there was no headache...he didn’t feel warm 
or have any signs of the flu, but as soon as he opened his eyes he felt 
physically drained.
Sitting up on his bed, he swayed dizzily before putting a hand to his head 
which was spinning. “What the hell is wrong with me? I feel worse now than I 
did when I went to sleep!”

Forcing his best smile which, in his current condition turned out more like a 
grimace, Recca faced the bed next to his. “Hime, are you up yet? Man, that 
fight must have really worn me out yesterday! I really feel...Hime?” That was 
when he noticed that
Yanagi was no longer there. She was just...gone...leaving Koganei shivering 
and alone on the bed. “Hime!?”

“Recca-niichan?” Recca watched as Koganei sat up and rubbed his temples 
softly, his large eyes clouded with confusion and pain. “What’s going on? For 
some reason I...Yanagi-neechan wa doko desuka?” The child watched Recca shrug 
with
amazement before forcing himself to stand despite the pain, his mind racing. 
<What the hell is going on!? Where is Yanagi-neechan!? Maybe she went to the 
bathroom or to speak with Kagero-san...that has to be it!>

Stepping into the next room, obviously having the same thoughts as Koganei, 
Recca found a puzzled Fuuko and Domon sitting on the couch located on the 
right side of the room with Kagero while Ganko and Kondo were perched on top 
of the
empty couch on the opposite side of the room. “Hey, is Hime in the bathroom 
or some...thing...” The door leading to the bathroom was wide open and no 
lights were on within. “Where is my hime?”

“Yanagi is missing, too?” Fuuko questioned with surprise. At Recca’s 
uncomprehending expression, Fuuko explained, “Mi-chan wasn’t here when we 
came in to see how Kagero-san was doing.”

Ishijima Domon can put two and two together. Whoever said that the largest 
member of the Hokage team was stupid didn’t know what they were talking 
about. However, sometimes his conclusions were a little far-fetched. Thinking 
about the
situation, Domon put a hand over his mouth in shock. “Do you think they 
decided to escape Hanabishi and have a relationship together!?”

“Baaaaka,” Ganko muttered disapprovingly, and she shook her head at the 
thought. “Yanagi wasn’t Mikagami’s type!”

Not to be deterred, Domon tapped his index finger against his lips 
thoughtfully. “Mikagami never had a type. He was just...there... Who says 
Yanagi wasn’t his type!?”

“Plus, Yanagi looked so much like Mikagami’s sister Mifuyu!” Fuuko added, the 
idea beginning to sink into her head. Deep blue eyes widening, Fuuko covered 
her face with her hands in horror. “Ah! But to betray Recca like that! 
Yanagi, Mi-chan
was cute, but a goodbye would have been nice!”

“C...cute!? CUTE!? Fuuko, you thought he was cute!?” Domon glomped onto Fuuko 
quickly, tears rolling down his face as he chewed on his thumb. “He wasn’t 
cute! I’m MUCH better looking than Mikagami any day! Ne, Fuuko!? Ne!? NE!?”

Fuuko facefaulted and pushed against the large man, trying to get him to 
loosen his grip. “Let go of me!...DOMON, ECCHI!!! HOW COULD YOU TOUCH A HIGH 
SCHOOL GIRL THERE!?” Ganko sweatdropped as Fuuko kicked
Domon, sending him flying across the room and into a wall.

By this point, Recca looked as if he was going to explode...

...not that this mattered to the other people in the room. “They have a 
point, I guess,” Ganko admitted after watching Domon pass out on the floor. 
“Mikagami is a strong yet uncaring and silent type of guy. Yanagi is a 
cheerful and overly loving type of
girl. Opposites attract!”

“See, I knew I wasn’t off when I called Mikagami-niichan Yanagi-neechan’s 
knight in Kurei’s mansion!” Koganei added cheerfully as he flashed a ‘v’ 
sign. Small x’s appeared on Recca’s forehead, and he clenched his fists 
angrily.

Kondo stood from his place on the couch and raised a hand triumphantly in the 
air, announcing that he had something important to say. “Besides, Mikagami 
was so much smarter and more mature than Recca! Why wouldn’t Yanagi want to
elope with him...eep!” The stuffed animal soon found itself being held by the 
throat. 

Recca shook the fox in a rage and hoped that all of his stuffing would come 
out. “Hime would never do something like that, and WHY would Mikagami fall in 
love with someone who looked exactly like his sister!? That would be like 
incest, you
stupid moron!!” Kondo’s arms flailed wildly as he tried to get air. Everyone 
else in the room shared one large sweatdrop. While Recca DID have a point, he 
had easily forgotten Mikagami's protective nature towards Yanagi and his 
reactions whenever any other guy, especially Koganei, touched her. Oh well...

“Ano...Recca, I think Kondo has learned his lesson,” Kagero remarked after 
being silent through this whole ordeal. Blue eyes moving from his mother to 
Kondo and back again, Recca finally threw Kondo against a wall, apparently 
having let his
anger out. Kondo fell on top of Domon who was just beginning to get his 
bearings back. “I heard Mikagami get up this morning to practice with his 
Ensui, and I know for a fact that he was alone when he left. He probably went 
to the area in
front of the hotel where he’s been practicing for the last seven days.”

Fuuko stood from her spot on the couch and walked to the sliding glass door 
leading to the room’s balcony. Opening it, she stepped out into the morning 
light, a breeze flowing through her short purple locks as she looked about 
the area in front of the
trees circling around the hotel. “Hey, there he is! MI-CHAN!!!” Getting no 
response, she ran back into the room and smiled at the others. “He’s alone, 
but maybe he knows about Yanagi-chan!” With that, she sprinted out of the 
room and towards
the escalator that would take her to the first floor.

Domon felt a few more tears fall from his eyes. “Fuuko-chan, why are you so 
eager to see him!?” He promptly was kicked in the leg by Ganko. “Itai! What 
the hell is your problem, Ganbo!?

Ganko sighed sadly. “Idiot. If you really loved Fuuko then you would trust 
her around other men...guess you’re really not the romantic type, ne?” 

Kondo smirked at this. “Really, Ganko, think of who you’re talking 
tooooooo--!” Koganei sweatdropped as Domon punted Kondo through the ceiling.

***

After about five more minutes of arguing, the rest of the group finally made 
their way out of the hotel room and found Fuuko just outside of the hotel 
building kneeling in front of Mikagami who was sitting upright and staring 
ahead of himself...whether
he was looking at the trees or at Fuuko couldn’t be determined, and a large x 
appeared on Domon’s forehead. “Bastard...”

“Calm down, Mongoloid,” Recca instructed mockingly though he was shaking with 
fright inside. Where was Yanagi? If Mikagami had been practicing there the 
whole morning then he wouldn’t have missed Yanagi’s captors entering and 
exiting
the building. Finally reaching the two, Recca looked down at Mikagami as he 
continued staring blankly ahead. 

“Yo, Mikagami, have you been here all morning?” No answer. “Hime’s missing. 
Did you see what happened to her?” Again, he got nothing, and that was when 
he really lost it. Recca was not a man of patience...his flames echoed his 
personality quite
nicely, and so the others had no choice but to wince as he began his rant. 
“Stupid bastard! Don’t tell me you weren’t paying attention! Weren’t you the 
one that told me that if anything happened to my hime that you’d punish me!? 
Well, this is YOUR
fault!! If I find that she’s hurt I WON’T hesitate in burning you to a crisp, 
so where IS she!?” 

Once again, he got nothing from the older man...not even so much as a blink. 
“Damn you! Right now, Hime might be dead and it’ll be your fault! You do 
realize that, don’t you!? It’s all YOUR FAULT!! IDIOT! MORON! BAKA! ASSHOLE!
YOUR FAULT!!! Your...your...” 

“Recca...?” Fuuko looked up in wonder as she heard the crack in his voice and 
blinked in surprise after seeing the first tear fall down his cheek. <He 
really does love her, doesn’t he?> She faced Mikagami again. After all, while 
the oldest fighter on
the Hokage team was used to hurting other people’s feelings, he had never 
deliberately made anyone cry...and Fuuko was somewhat interested in how he 
would respond. Instead, all she found was a completely blank expression on 
his face...it was as if Mikagami hadn’t heard Recca at all.

There was something in his eyes, however. While his face was 
relaxed...tranquil, even, there was a definite frantic glint to his eyes, and 
Fuuko could only gape in shock as she watched a few drops similar to Recca’s 
well up in Mikagami’s eyes, falling only seconds after they had appeared. 
<Mi-chan...is crying!? What’s wrong with him!? I never thought ‘crying’ and 
‘Mikagami’ could be used in the same sentance!> “Mi-chan, he 
didn’t...Recca...Recca’s just worried. If you couldn’t...if you
couldn’t stop Yanagi from leaving or being taken then we’ll just have to find 
her on our own, it’s really ok...what are you doing?” 

Koganei looked up at this, having preferred to stay out of this argument, and 
found that Mikagami was holding up the dagger form of the Ensui and examining 
it through eyes that didn’t hold the least bit of sanity. Fuuko scooted back 
a foot or two, not
knowing exactly what to expect.

Domon watched in shock as Mikagami placed the Ensui against his wrist and, in 
a fluid motion, pushed it down creating a deep tear in the skin. Fuuko 
gasped. Ganko turned away in terror as she clutched Kondo tightly against her 
chest. Recca
looked down at the bleeding wound on Mikagami’s arm, not knowing exactly what 
he was trying to do. “Oy, Mikagami...” He could only watch helplessly as a 
stream of blood poured from the wound and connected to the dagger, creating a 
red
version of the Ensui. 

Kagero watched the scene in awe, not quite sure what to make of it yet though 
she had her speculations. <No response, uncharacteristic emotional responses, 
self-injuring...could it be!?> Koganei took a step forward before his eyes 
widened in
shock. The Ensui’s position had moved from resting in Mikagami’s lap to being 
held against his neck threateningly. “What the hell are you doing!?”

“Mi-chan!” Fuuko cried in surprise, but before the older member of the Hokage 
could use the blood Ensui to finish himself, Domon lunged at him, pinning his 
hands against the ground and motioning to Recca with his head. 

“Damn it, hurry, Hanabishi! Get the Ensui!” As Mikagami struggled against his 
grip and tried to pull the Ensui back towards his neck, Domon pushed down 
harder. “Hey, I worked my ass off trying to tolerate you during the Ura Buto 
Satsujin! Now
that I can actually get along with you, Mikagami, I ain’t letting you go that 
easily!” Mikagami just looked back at him, frantic eyes slowly becoming 
lifeless as they had been before, his features still calm and expressionless.

Recca didn’t need to be told twice. Bending down next to the two, Recca tore 
the Ensui from Mikagami’s fingers, watching as the blood, no longer held 
together by Mikagami’s aura, splashed against the dew-covered green grass. 
“Mikagami, what
the hell is wrong with you!? Pull yourself together!”

“Kanashi Omou.”

Hearing the voice, Koganei looked up at Kagero questioningly. “Kagero-san?”

“If I’m not mistaken, the elemental weapon used on Mikagami is called Kanashi 
Omou. It’s one of the most powerful elemental weapons because it deals with 
psychological stress,” Kagero explained, her eyes all the while on Mikagami 
who
had finally stopped struggling and could have been mistaken for dead had his 
chest not been rising and falling. 

“It cuts the mental part of the opponent from the physical form, and the 
person can remember nothing but the tragic and embarrassing moments in their 
life, forgetting all the good that they’ve ever brought into the world. 
That’s why it’s called
Kanashi Omou. Such a high level of emotional stress usually tears the victim 
apart, and their minds give up on ever finding any good in themselves, just 
dying away. Either that, or the physical form tries to kill itself to escape 
the pain like Mikagami
has just attempted to do.”

Kondo scratched his head thoughtfully. “The only thing that has really 
happened to Mikagami is that his sister was killed, right? Even though that 
was a traumatic time in his life, it’s been playing over and over in his mind 
for seven years. He’s
proven that he has the power to move past that event and continue. How could 
this be such a dramatic thing for him?”

“Do you really believe that?” Everyone turned towards Fuuko who had folded 
her arms over her stomach as if cold. “Do you really believe that Mikagami is 
the way he is just because of his sister’s death? Everyone experiences 
sadness and
embarrassment throughout their lives. To say that Mikagami has only gone 
through one sorrowful period in his life is like saying that he’s literally 
perfect.” The controller of the Fujin then stood and began walking back 
towards the hotel, mumbling
something about wanting to get home so that they could look for Yanagi and 
find a way to switch Mikagami back to normal, before walking into the 
building and leaving the group behind. They stared after her for a short 
while, only following after a
few minutes that had felt like an eternity.

***

“Who are they?”

Koenma, Botan, Kurama, Yusuke, and Kuwabara watched as Hiei appeared at the 
far end of the room, his back against the wall and his arms folded over his 
chest. “It’s about time, Shrimp,” Kuwabara sneered, his eyes teasing. “Koenma 
just
finished telling us about these youkai that are hiding out in the Ningenkai. 
It’s too hard a case for you anyway. Why don’t you sit this one out?”

“Who are who?” Yusuke questioned, ignoring Kuwabara’s comment and focusing 
all of his attention on the youkai who was walking closer to them. Seeing 
Hiei’s sharp glare, Yusuke sighed with boredom. “Who pissed you off now?...or 
do you just
feel like being pissed off?”

Shrugging off the jeer, Hiei snorted before stepping in front of Koenma’s 
desk and slamming his hands onto it angrily. “I want answers from you about 
something I saw today.”

“If this is about a youkai attack, you can save your breath,” Koenma 
muttered, Hiei’s attitude not even fazing him. “What I just finished telling 
the others is that a whole army of youkai has--”

“Kuroino Ai and Mikagami Tokiya. I want to know all that you have on those 
two,” Hiei stated, seeming to enjoy cutting Koenma off. Yusuke glanced at him 
with a raised eyebrow. This inquisitive attitude wasn’t common of Hiei...he 
never really
asked about the demons they had to face; he just fought them. End of story.

Kurama watched Hiei with some amount of surprise. After they had left his 
house, Hiei had gone off somewhere and he hadn’t seen him since. “Youkai or 
ningen?” He asked finally, deciding that if Hiei was naming specifics then it 
was important.

“Kuroino Ai is youkai and Mikagami Tokiya is ningen. I want to--”

“Wait a minute...” Kurama mused, interrupting Hiei which really seemed to irk 
the small fire demon. Before he could rant about how he had wanted to say 
something, Kurama put a hand through his hair as he pondered the name. 
“Mikagami
Tokiya...he goes to a neighboring high school if I’m thinking of the right 
person. He had long hair like me, right?” Hiei nodded wordlessly. 
“Supposedly, he’s one of the top students in this area...the smartest in his 
school’s history or so I’ve heard. Straight A’s all the way--”

“Sounds like someone we know,” Yusuke muttered as he jabbed Kurama in the 
ribs.

Pushing his arm away, Kurama sighed as Yusuke began to chuckle before 
continuing, “However, I’ve heard he’s kinda withdrawn...doesn’t really talk 
to anyone and has a real attitude problem. People have told me that they’re 
afraid to talk to
him because of his personality.”

“He has a fair-sized aura for a ningen,” Hiei commented after swallowing the 
information Kurama had provided. Now he was positive that they were talking 
about the same person. “I found him fighting the youkai, Ai, today, but Ai 
was using some kind of weapon to weaken him before he could start fighting. 
That Mikagami guy had some kind of weapon, too...a weird one...something to 
do with water...”

Botan smiled widely at this. “Well, this is my department! I can find you 
information on this guy, and who knows? Maybe if you talk to him you’ll be 
able to find some information about this Ai character. Any link to the youkai 
army is going to be
helpful. We need to get them back to Makai as soon as possible before they 
cause any damage.” 

Taking a few minutes to look up the information, she read it quietly to 
herself before reporting, “Mikagami Tokiya, age: 17, will be restarting 
school in a week as a third year high school student. Youngest child of 
Akawaru and Aomi. The first
child was Mikagami Mifuyu who was...killed when Tokiya was ten years old. 
Seeking revenge, he joined with Meguri Kyoza and trained in the ways of the 
Hyomon Ken, becoming a master of the Ensui, a sword that uses the power of 
water...there’s
more, but it’s not really dire information...all I can say is that his life 
is tragic.”

“His sister dying is kinda sad,” Yusuke commented. “It sucks to be dead, 
doesn’t it?” The words wasn’t meant as a pun. After all, he had been dead, 
and it had sucked. Luckily, he had been able to come back, but many weren’t 
as lucky...

“That’s not all I was referring to,” Botan muttered with a sorrowful shake of 
the head, and with that she continued reading from the file, and so Team 
Urameshi was the first to know the full story behind Mikagami Tokiya’s 
past...soon, a member of
the Hokage would be forced to learn the surprising truth, as well...

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O-wa-ri!!
More to come!
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