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Akito and his spectral companion travel down the Shibuya shopping mile. Akito is walking, the footsteps of his work boots echoing between the tall buildings. An allusion to the cold, deadly fog that is surrounding the district coats the air between the colored facades: The wet, gloomy remains of what swept through the city and swallowed its inhabitants whole.
KK is floating, a body without weight, still bound to his fleshly senses by the convenient vessel that carries his spirit around. They are sharing the same space like roommates that have by coincidence rented in the same address, but the living space is really only meant for one resident.
Moreover, they are caught in a complicated situation that requires them to adapt, and eventually … to cooperate. Akito has the advantage of being the rightful-by-birth owner of his flesh and skin, so he feels the duty to defend his own ideas and principles. There are some house rules which he struggles to uphold in the face of an ill-tempered guest. But the young man feels the added responsibility of being a good host to his cohabitant to maintain a mutually beneficial relationship. It is not like KK is planning to stay for long, so their relationship should preferably not be strained by fleeting complaints over missing amenities (in the case of KK) or uncontrolled misconduct (in the case of Akito).
Akito picks up the plastic wrapping of a sweet red bean ohagi, presented to him on the bar table of a café that has recently dried from the ghostly shock of rain. A tiny welfare gift for the hero of Shibuya, whose fight to free its disappeared residents costs him an enormous amount of energy. Some of which can be reimbursed through absorbing ether crystals from the other world, but the cost of carrying around two souls in one body while traversing the city is something he is not acclimatized to. His fingers tear through the unyielding wrapping to reveal the sugary goodness of Japanese culinary tradition. He chews on the glutinous ball, his soft brown eyes lighting up in delight. The sticky, saliva-inducing substance melts on his tongue and is immediately absorbed by his body like cells of highly concentrated vigor. His joy however is diminished, as he can feel the unmistaken sensation of KK shrinking back into a corner like a recoiling animal, far away from the cavity of his sugar-savoring mouth. The grumpy detective has long reached his limit of glucose intake for the day, struggling to process the sensory impression on his teeth and tongue. He cringes from the taste, the black fog clinging to Akito’s hand and the side of his face wavering in the process. He’s used to the strong, biting flavor of cigarettes after a glass of beer. None of that junk food that the kids gobble up in masses these days.
Akito swallows hastily and knits his eyebrows in confusion, letting the plastic float down onto the street like a guilty memory.
“It’s not like there’s anything else around!” he defends himself firmly, knowing exactly what the other man is craving instead. He’s made his want known in more than one way on more than one occasion. But Akito figures consuming that stuff would be even worse for him.
Fine, he thinks at the meaningful silence from his spectral companion. Perhaps he could buy a drink from the vending machines to flush down the sweetness. “How about some green tea, KK?” he asks overly cheerfully in an effort of appeasing the man, at the same time readying himself for the incoming nagging.
“Green tea?!” KK sounds offended. Instead of declining, however, he seems to give it another thought, as if the initial question was a complete surprise to him, and eventually takes the bait. “Fine, that’ll do, I guess.”
He could be a little more grateful, Akito immediately thinks. Obviously, he is not weak to the sight of nicotine or alcohol himself, so KK is not going to succeed in his repeated attempts at coaxing him into buying some. He is better than that. He knows that the voices, the ones that are speaking through KK sometimes, are the man’s weaknesses. Akito thinks, it is better not to pay heed to them.
The drink is good. Slightly bitter and cool; in a way, it fits the atmosphere. Akito empties the bottle within seconds, savoring the refreshing effect it has. He cannot imagine that sucking on a dry roll of tobacco would be more satisfying to the detective. There are many things he doesn’t understand or doesn’t know about the other man. He keeps this door ajar, in case the detective ever wants to open up more about himself. So far, they have communicated through the door crack through careless shouting, avoiding direct eye-contact. In moments like these, however, he imagines that KK is at least peeking through the slit, regarding him with squinted, scrutinizing eyes, before turning around and going back to his room. There, he sits with his arms crossed loosely, harboring all that suppressed energy that he normally expends through fighting. Waiting for the right moment to do his part.
As a detective, he is also used to being the brains of the operation. In that regard, he confidently takes the reins out of Akito’s hands, which the young man is grateful for.
“Akito!” he barks in his usual direct manner. “We may have to do one more thing, before we take the fight to the masked guy.”
“Oh yeah?” Akito perks up. “What is it?”
“The Hyakki Yako,” KK says plainly. “It is continuously sucking in spirits and trapping them. If we can stop it, it will for certain slow down his plans, giving us enough time to make our necessary preparations.”
Akito’s eyes widen. “The demon parade you’ve been warning me about? Uh, are you serious about this, KK?” His voice rises significantly in pitch, as does his level of concern.
“Hey, relax. I’ve encountered the Hyakki Yako once before and know what we’re dealing with. And I’ll be with you all the way.”
“Alright …” After thinking about it for a minute, he curiously demands to know more. “How did it go?”
“How you’d expect – I didn’t manage to beat them on my own and got my ass kicked.”
“Wait-“ Akito sputters in bewilderment. “Then how-?!”
“But there’s two of us now, so things are going to look much different. Besides, we don’t have much of a choice. Still, expect a hell of a fight.”
“You do know that I’m the one who is doing all the fighting?”
Akito stares incredulously into the silence. The detective has stopped replying. He’s retreated behind his door, playing the waiting game. Akito curses his nonchalance at a time like this. For how much he likes to voice his irritation about Rinko’s careless demeanor, he certainly behaves in a similar way.
They take the route over the rooftops, encountering many Tengus standing sentinel over the paths overlooking the city. It has become somewhat of a common sight. Kagerie is a lifeless husk of its former self, like anywhere else except for the gloomy little cemeteries, to which Visitors are drawn like moths. Only blindingly colorful street lights reflect off the blackened shop windows. It is a huge maze even when filled to the brim with shoppers; now, it has become a giant exhibit full of creepy monsters. Every hallway, escalator and viewing platform features a different grotesque human imitation that is after reaping its living counterparts’ souls. It sends shivers down Akito’s spine, whose footsteps have taken on a more cautious, frightened shape. Maybe it is the apprehension building up towards the upcoming brawl that KK is having him fight in. He has an ill feeling in his stomach about the situation.
“Huh, it’s actually quite nice and peaceful here without all the people.” KK’s inappropriately casual comment completely upstages the chilly draft of air that whistles through the shopping mall up there on the eighth floor, right below the Torii gate rooftop. With little regard to the missing souls and their current circumstance, he flings Akito out of his frosty bubble of tension.
“KK!” Akito reprimands him, disbelieving of what he’s just heard him say. “You’re real considerate, you know that?”
Hard-nosed as always, the detective continues, “I never got the appeal of these shops. It takes a lifetime to even walk up here, never mind trying to find what you’re looking for.”
“Great, I’ll keep that in mind for the future. Shopping trips to the mall – leave KK at home,” Akito creates a mental memo, sarcastically.
“Yeah, never gonna happen,” KK agrees confidently.
Despite himself, the young man smiles faintly. It’s one of the reasons he’s grateful not to be on this mission all on his own. He values the mindless conversations they occasionally share between them, even when they have nothing to do with the reality that awaits them. He is sure KK doesn’t mind, sometimes being the first to throw a witty comment at him in reaction to something he does, then feeling smug about Akito’s exasperated comeback. It is only fair to return the taunts. They are meant to be more playful than biting, anyway.
This time however, their little chat is interrupted by the sudden downpour of rain. In a matter of only seconds, little trickles have turned into heavy, fat droplets, which burst upon hitting the ground. The noise of the falling rain drowns out any further conversation; it also momentarily steals Akito’s attention. In an instant change of mood, the lights have turned into a demonic red hue as well, darkening the whole area into a sinister shade.
“H-hey …” Akito breathes abruptly.
“They know how to set the stage,” KK growls, less taken aback by the lightshow. “Get ready, Akito!”
The light is not only distracting, it also has a blinding effect – it makes it harder to notice the balls of flaming heat that, seemingly coming out of nowhere, blend into the blazing red environment and already hover dangerously close. Focused on the wall of floating fire which approaches menacingly, Akito neglects to scan the outer periphery of his surroundings. Before he can properly register it, something comes flying at a neck-breaking speed, flung at him from a Rain Walker who has apparently been hiding in the second row. It hits him squarely in the arm, which he manages to lift in an instinctive attempt to protect his head. A shrill pain flares up in his limb; the shield of earth ether he hastily deployed shatters into useless particles. A cry tears at his throat.
“You okay, Akito?!”
“Just a scratch,” he retorts, gritting his teeth and pulling himself together. The pain feels agonizing. It serves as a good reminder that he can lose his life at any moment if he doesn’t. He gathers his thoughts in order prepare his water weaving signs and conjure up a shallow but powerful, wide-area wave attack. The charge attack works. It clears away both the fire balls and the Visitors standing behind them.
“Good! Keep it up!”
Preoccupied, Akito barely registers the encouraging words from KK. A much more shrill and frightening sound reaches his ears: the high-pitched, maniacal giggling of a Visitor dressed in a white sheet with a rope wrapped around it right underneath its round, doll-like head. Coming from around the corner, it floats down behind the escalator leading to the upper platform, and right as it appears in their range of vision, the rain changes its direction and starts falling in reverse, causing an eery, distorted soundscape to envelop them.
Lifting his fingers to prepare a wind-weaving attack, Akito slowly backs away, watching as the Rain Walker and the Paper Doll teleport back onto their feet from where they were knocked down. With nowhere to hide, he is now pressed into a corner as red flaming orbs once more fill up the area in front of him.
“What are you waiting for – Akito! Blast them!” His spectral companion gives him the push he needs. He starts firing at the lady summoning the orbs, but the wind ether projectiles are not accurate enough to pierce through to her, instead purging the orbs that are in the way. These replicate faster than he can keep up with, and he ends up with his back against the glass railing, charging another wave attack to wipe them out all at once. It turns out to be a mistake – the flying Shine Dancer has long since joined the fight. Its powerful projectiles are too fast to consider blocking them all, and with no time to think, Akito summons a Tengu to appear on the railing above them, grappling to it in the last second before three missile-like explosions strike the very spot he was just standing in. The rain rushes against his face, still caught in this surreal reversal of motion, running upwards along his exposed hands like worms made of liquid.
The Shine Dancer follows them easily, it is much more agile in the air than the other enemy types. Suddenly, a cold shiver reaches the hairs on his nape, he tenses up – and realizes too late the predicament he has ridden himself into.
The monstrous cackling of a lady announces her – a Kuchisake. A Visitor born from frenzied rage, it is the type that doesn’t involve any patience to mess about. He turns around to stare right at its horrible visage, and not a single thought manages to form in the time span it takes for him to recognizes the purple aura encasing the Kuchisake’s huge scissor blades as she lunges at him, the force of her momentum catching him completely off-guard. It happens too fast, he reacts too slowly, too humanly slow. As the fear takes hold of his muscles with an iron grip, his intent to evade her is turned into a futile attempt.
The scissors pierce through his torso and a soundless scream leaves his open lips. A physical rip jolts his body as he is pulled into two, rendering him momentarily immobile. As he looks up, the spirit form of his partner passes his line of vision in the air, dragged away by what appears to be the pale, ghostly hand of the Shine Dancer. It giggles a last time before floating away and disappearing behind the railing.
“No – KK!” Akito gasps, raindrops bouncing from his fingertips as he lifts his hand to grasp at thin air.
He can faintly hear KK’s voice calling him a coward, followed by the cold scorn of his sister berating him for running away. Yet again.
It is his fear speaking to him, like little spirits haunting his thoughts while he sprints through the long walkways of the mall. He shakes his head wildly, banishing the mocking voices he knows aren’t real, until the booming of his own heartbeat fills his ears. Out on the dark streets, the abandoned city stands eerily still. The absence of any sound is almost worse. It reminds him – he is all alone. Hollow inside and out.
He stops running. That’s right. His fears belong to himself once again. But is that all that he is? Where is the hero, the brave older brother that he acted in front of KK? His hand reaches behind him, resolutely grabbing the bow from behind his back and pulling out an arrow. He just needs to be careful, keep his focus, and trust in his abilities.
It is easier with a mentor, there’s no doubt about that, yet he tells himself that just because KK is separated from him, his guidance and his purging abilities are not gone. For one, he can still sense the thread that is connecting them, and he knows where all the lost spirits are headed – the Hyakki Yako.
Soon enough, the Shibuya scrambling crossing lies sprawled out before him, an ominous combat arena containing various forms of malevolent spirits. A place of old beginnings. Old, because it feels like a lifetime ago since he’s slipped into the world of the dead and let a ghost take possession of his body. As part of a deal, the ghost proceeded to haunt a part of his flesh husk. The original terms of the deal have since somewhat shifted. Mutual trust bends the rules. What hasn’t changed is that to pursue their goals, they need each other. And Akito is about to realize just how much that statement rings true, as apprehension freezes his blood once again. But since he needs KK back, he has to stay and fight, even if it is going to cost him his life.
This is all part of the plan, Akito thinks sarcastically as he is pulled onto another plane of existence. It was KK who suggested coming here in the first place, and now he gets his wish. And Akito did boast about doing all of the fighting by himself. If he does not focus on the details of the plan, this turns out to be a consoling thought.
His feet land on what feels like solid ground, yet his eyes tell him that he is walking on the surface of water. The second thing he notices is that the pull of their thread has become stronger, which is a relief. The third thing is a bit of a party pooper, but not a huge surprise: they are not alone.
Akito draws the string of his bow, calmness settling in him like a comforting weight in his limbs as he widens his stance. He has done this before, so in theory, this is not so different. The first arrowhead pierces its matching counterpart in the form of a Rain Walker’s faceless visage. With a fluid motion, Akito prepares the next arrow, releases it. Another enemy vanishes. He repels the first wave, and not a single arrow misses its mark. But he knows that this is only a taste of what’s to come, a warm-up before the main event. Hyakki Yako – the parade of a hundred demons supposedly awaits him.
Sure enough, the enemies are multiplying faster than he can count them, becoming stronger and more tenacious. Akito is starting to struggle with keeping up. “KK, I could really use your help right about now,” he pleads for the detective to react to him, between dodging flaming orbs and giant mallets.
KK is floating in mid-air, at the other end of the arena. He is unaware of his surroundings, completely shut off from his senses of seeing, hearing, smelling, or feeling. The involuntary separation from Akito’s body causes this, his dependence on a physical form to function. It is up to Akito to reconnect with his spiritual partner and to regain his spiritual powers for himself. A responsibility that he has gotten quite used to, strange as it may sound. His chances are looking slim, now that the waves of Visitors are pushing him back while he needs to reload his bow, but nothing like the stone-cold death sentence that awaits him if he loses his partner right now.
With Visitors approaching him from left and right, Akito does something that thoroughly surprises him. He is unsure when he has even learned this technique. He stops retreating and kneels down onto the black reflective surface to steady his aim. A tunnel opens up in front of him, blocking anything that isn’t an immediate threat from his sight, and he focusses on his targets one by one. As soon as his shot is lined up, he fires the arrow, turns to the next enemy and takes aim. If he times it with his breathing, it is almost as if he doesn’t have to think; he watches his enemies disappear before the arrows have even landed. A moment later, they do. His arrows fly faster than their floating fire orbs. They puncture their targets swifter than their materialized weapons of anguish, and their pathetic wails fall silent one after another. With the last shot, silence has reclaimed the arena and the void which surrounds it. For a moment, Akito wonders if he has gone deaf, since the blood is rushing through his ears louder than anything he can register, until after a few seconds, he notices how something much more sinister is simmering underneath the dark waters. Before he can concentrate on that feeling, two familiar foes draw his attention, materializing on both of his flanks. Kuchisakes.
Akito’s heart drops to his stomach. His hand wanders to his back, feeling for the plastic tip of his arrows, and he bites his lips as dread twists his heart even more.
Two. That’s all the arrows he has left.
Akito stands up and starts running. He only needs to reach KK, he tells himself, and now that the arena is wide-open, he can just run for it. He doesn’t have to fight by himself. He can’t! He’s run out of options. Now that he is practically defenseless, faced with two highly agile enemies much larger than himself, he feels the weight of the responsibility shackled to his feet.
But he is done underestimating his own strength. With a shout, he runs towards the Kuchisake on his right, drawing her towards the edge of the arena. Her speed is staggering, she flashes in and out of his sight in the blink of an eye, getting closer and closer. Just before they are about to clash, Akito jumps to the side and throws a stun talisman. Caught in the stun effect, the crazed monster shrieks, but is unable to move for the next few seconds. Just then, the sound of maniacal laughter in his periphery makes him turn his head in surprise.
A blurry moving image before his eyes reveals itself as a Crimson Kuchisake, much closer than he expected. How did she cross the wide space between them so quickly? It is the last thought that flashes through his mind before her gigantic scissor blades slash through him.
The long shears ram into his shoulder. Akito crashes to the ground, his body bounces off the floor from the brunt of the impact. The entire left side of his body feels like it’s on fire, a sensation that makes him gasp and sob as he tries to twist his body away from the sharp weapon. He scrambles away on all fours, but the Kuchisake merely lets out her distorted wailing laughter, taking two big steps to bridge the distance between them. Her arm lifts the scissors up into the air, blades wide apart and ready to close them around Akito’s neck at any moment.
There is no way he can survive a fight against her in this condition. With two arrows left, he can’t even hurt her enough to slow her down. Akito raises his fearful eyes to the scissors glistening with his blood, baring his teeth in the face of his demise. As the blades come down, he lets out a yelp and does the only thing that he can think of.
His fist shoots up while holding the bow around its tail-end, effectively using it as a spear to parry the scissors away from his torso. As the Kuchisake loses her balance for a moment, he uses this window of opportunity to push himself up onto his feet again. And then he runs, without looking back.
In front of him, his eyes focus on the sight of his partner. Behind him, the stun talisman fizzles with a last pulse of electric arcs, then gives way to the sound of agitated ghostly laughter. Akito barely registers how it sends a shiver down his spine, since the adrenaline from the blood loss has taken over and drowns out those distracting sensations. With his last strength, his legs catapult him forward. He lets out a roaring cry.
“KK!!!”
The cackling behind him grows louder. But he is so close now – he only needs to stretch out his arm to finally reach KK. A vibrant current runs through his fingers. It is like he becomes aware of a vacuum, a nothingness, inside his hand that craves for another being to replace it. As KK’s spiritual form touches him, his entire body becomes immerged in a hot and cold sensation, a jarring shift in his perception as KK comes alive and reconnects with his physical senses. Within a split second, a searing pain sets his nervous system on fire, before reaching its zenith and then promptly ebbing away.
Like a delayed soundwave following an explosion, Akito feels his whole body release an immense shockwave of spiritual energy. He feels like he is flying, weightless almost, his cells feel whole again, fully regenerated, and as he lifts his hands in front of him, he senses a warm and powerful presence guide his every movement.
He knows that it is KK.
“Thanks for joining the fight. Took you long enough … old man,” Akito grins, barely concealing the elation that colors his voice, even while he pretends to admonish him.
A fiery and glowing energy wraps around his limbs, guiding him into taking a combat stance. It feels like they are moving completely in unison, sharing the same intent, the same awareness.
“Yeah, my bad,” the older man replies evenly. There is a wrathful fire simmering underneath his cold exterior, which Akito recognizes immediately as his desire to purge the evil spirits standing in their way. This hunger to fight, to eradicate the harmful forces that have taken their city and its people hostage, he knows it so well. It is the reason he fights too, to protect the only ones left to him.
As they form his hands into a summoning hand sign, their combined energy flows into his fingertips, transforming into a large sphere of fire between his hands. Both the Kuchisakes are frozen in place before them, catapulted backwards by the powerful shockwave. As the unleashed fireball hits the space between them and explodes on impact, flames of ether tear through their weakened bodies, burning through their cores and completely disintegrating their spiritual manifestation in this plane of existence.
“Try to hurt me again,” Akito growls, while a deeper, gruff voice mirrors him word for word.
Suddenly, a large vibration shakes the ground beneath them, and it is as if the dark water surface itself rises into the air. A storm of snow and ice materializes in front of them, and in its center, a gigantic, looming stature appears, clad entirely in a white flowing gown reflecting the icy environment.
“Let’s do it, partner.” There is no hesitation in KK’s voice.
Akito nods. It’s as if KK is standing right there next to him. The experienced detective, next to the unwavering, determined student. The protective father and husband next to the brother who is not about to lose his last family. The mentor and his protégé. And here, right now, two equal partners, sharing the same fight, the same pain and the one mission to make it right again. And coincidentally, possessing the same powers, the same body.
This is what he had meant. There are two of them now, and that amounts to more than just a shared responsibility.
“Ready when you are,” Akito confirms. Their thoughts, bleeding together, a symbiosis of worries, protectiveness, pain and empathy. Not alone anymore, but strengthening each other, feeding each other, with each act of affirmation.
Against the fortress of impenetrable ice, four stories tall and as destructive as an apocalyptic hailstorm, their explosive fire charge attacks prevail. In a matter of seconds, the monstrously sized Visitor crumbles, unfit to withstand the powers of their synergy.
As the ice slowly dissolves, merging with the black water surface, the sinister aura of the spectral dimension dissipates as well, perpetual darkness returning to the physical binary of light and shadow; streetlamps, illuminated billboards, the full range of prismatic colors reflected in the glistening asphalt of the Shibuya Crossing under the downpour of rain reappearing.
The soft tapping of the rain on his clothes and the brighter sounding splashes of the raindrops bursting on the ground clear his thoughts as well. Akito feels his own being separating from the other entity in his body, returning to a semblance of autonomy. It is not exactly the same. How do you disentangle after being fused together and changed from within?
“Thanks, Akito,” the voice that doesn’t belong to him speaks up. “You managed to fight most of them even without my powers. I’m truly impressed.”
“Are you surprised?”
“Well, I’m pretty sure you would have died at the very end, if it weren’t for me saving your ass just in time.”
“Uhm, I’m pretty sure it’s the other way around, actually.”
At Akito’s sassy retort, the older man chuckles for the first time in what seems to have been a very long while.