The rhythmic lapping of the waves woke Kurei up. He opened his swolleneyes, only to see the azure sky draped up above him, full of fluffy clouds. He tried to get up, but the excruciating drumming in his brain was too much. Kurei just lay there in the sand, and his past slowly crept into his mind. 

Happy memories of his time together with Kurenai and team Uruha drifted past… Followed by the painful images of Kurenai falling to the floor,with a bloody chunk of torn flesh and broken bone where her head used to be, and Kouran Mori's insane laughing echoing all around him. 

Leaving the terrible past behind, Kurei slowly woke up. The crazy drummer in his head had finally left, though his battered body still hurt. A dark silhouette slowly came in focus above him… Neon. She was gently using a piece of her dress to clean up his bloody face. 

"Kurei… You're awake!" Neon suddenly burst into tears and hugged Kurei. 

For the first time in a long while, Kurei strangely didn't feel any murderous demons dancing around in his heart. The urge to massacre innocents was gone. His lips were not twisted into the sadistic smirk he was so used to, it was a true smile. Happiness finally warmed his frozen heart. 

Kouran Mori was livid with rage. Standing around him in his massive office on the 154th floor of his corporate headquarters, were the terrified members of what remained of Uruha. 

They were certain their former master was no longer alive, after having been shot up and tossed over a cliff, but his body was yet to be found. Kouran Mori knew from experience that if you don't have a rotting 
corpse in front of you, your enemy was most likely to come back for revenge. 

"I don't care what you have to do, either you bring back Kurei's head or you'll all have your ears nailed to the wall, without your heads!!!" 

Recca sighed. It had been several months after the UBS, and unfortunately, life was back to normal for him. His mother no longer talked about defeating Kurei and saving Yanagi; instead, the only words to emerge from her mouth were about his often overdue homework. Risking his life to fight evil and protect his princess was far more 
interesting than mathematics. 

His thoughts slowly drifted from the boring algebra book in front of him to Kurei… Recca felt somewhat sad about Kurei. Kurei was a monster, yet he was also Recca's only brother. Kurei had gone through so many painful experiences, so one couldn't really blame him for his cruelty. 

"Recca." A voice snapped Recca out of his dreams. 

Recca spun around and got the biggest shock in his life. Leaning against the doorframe, was his dead half-brother. 

***** 

"So which jacket do you think suits Recca better?" Kage Houshi asked the perpetually well-dressed Tokiya Mikagami. 

Recca had a habit of dressing like a tramp, so Kage Houshi had dragged Mikagami along to the newly opened Hugo Boss boutique as a fashion consultant. Poor Koganei also had the bad fortune of being taken along on the boring clothes safari, to prevent him from getting into any mischief. 

Koganei was just standing at a corner of the store, staring into space and thinking. His heart hurt when he thought of the only person he had ever been close to, besides Recca and Team Hokage. Kurei had been a brother to him once, and even though attempting to murder Koganei was once of Kurei's last acts, the boy still felt tears coming to his eyes when he though of the kind and gentle Kurei he had once known. 

"Kaoru…." Mikagami was squatting down, facing Kaoru. "Kaoru, you Ok?" 

"Umm… yeah, I'm fine." Koganei quickly wiped his eyes and walked to Recca's mother. "Can we go for lunch now? I'm hungry," Kaoru impatiently tugged at Kage Houshi's skirt. 

"Mikagami, want to join us for lunch?" Kage Houshi asked the tall teen. 

"At McDonalds!" Koganei grinned. "I want the new toy." 

The ensui master declined, knowing well what the rancid oil and salt in the poison served at McDonalds would do to his complexion. 

"Ok then, but do come over for dinner tonight." Kage Houshi left, leaving Mikagami standing among the sea of dark jackets and slacks. 

"How are you, Recca?" Kurei's voice surprised Recca. It was a true question, not a sarcastic statement one had some to expect from an insane evil maniac. "May I come in?" Without waiting for an answer, Kurei strolled into the house, and spread himself out on the couch. 

After recovering from the minor heart attack Kurei's shocking appearance had brought on, Recca managed to blurt out a wary greeting. 

"I hope this isn't too shocking," Kurei smiled. "You thought I was dead, didn't you?" 

"Well…. I… I thought you were finally enjoying life with Kurenai", Recca cheekily replied, finally regaining some of his humour. 

Kurei chuckled. 

Again, the change in Kurei caught Recca's attention. His brother's laugh seemed so genuine, without the usual sadistic overtone. Recca was surprised at himself too, he felt so at ease, even though his deceased brother whose former job was an insane mass murderer, was sitting on the sofa beside him. 

Suddenly, a scream, followed by a gasp and a loud crash jerked both brothers back on their feet. 

Standing at the doorway was Kage Houshi, together with Kaoru Koganei, both of whom had their jaws stuck to the doormat. What had been Recca's McDonald's lunch lay at Kage Houshi's feet. 

Koganei was the first to recover and uttered out, "Kurei!" He impulsively dashed towards the man he had once treated as an older brother, and hugged him tightly around the waist. 

Kurei was surprised at this gesture from the small kid he had nearly cut in half once, but still smiled at the impish boy. 

"Hello M'am," Kurei greeted Recca's mother politely. "I'm glad to see you too Kaoru", looking down at youngster whose arms were still around him. 

"Wh…what are you doing here?" Kage Houshi managed to force those words out of her mouth, eyeing Kurei suspiciously. 

"Oh, I just dropped by for a visit. I hope it's Ok." Kurei grinned, "Don't worry, I'm not here to kill any of you." 

Kage Houshi too noticed the subtle change in Kurei. She picked up what remained of Recca's meal and stepped into the living room. 

The situation suddenly became very awkward. Standing around the room were two brothers, both of whom previously wanted the other dead, a 400 year old lady and a cheeky kid. 

Kurei suddenly glanced at the timepiece under his bangles, "Sorry, I've got to go. I'll catch up with you later, Recca. See you later Kaoru. Bye." As quickly as he had appeared, the flamecaster disappeared. 

All three of them stood there for a few seconds, reeling from the shock of what just happened. 

***** 

The sun had just set, and Team Hokage were sitting around the table at Recca's place, enjoying Kage Houshi's and Yanagi's excellent culinary skills. 

"WHO CAME HERE?" Domon nearly shouted, dropping a large piece of meat into some soup, splashing the vegetable broth all over Mikagami, who promptly started cursing and swearing, before storming off to clean up 
his new Armani jacket. 

Fuuko started choking on something and Yanagi's eyes widened. 

Suddenly Mikagami reappeared in a spotted green jacket, after what Recca had said sunk in. "Did you say KUREI came in the afternoon?" 

Recca answered all their questions at once, "Yes, the one who is my bother. The homicidal son of a billionaire who runs around in a crimson cloak, wears a bangles and has little round earrings. *That* Kurei." 

"And you're still breathing and not missing your head?" Ganko asked, while trying to wrestle pork rib away from her stuffed fox. 

"Well, Kurei wasn't exactly his normal self." Recca said with his mouth full. 

His mother pinched his arm. "Recca! Don't talk with food in your mouth." 

After swallowing the chicken, Recca continued, "Kurei just came in, said hello and then left." 

"Is this some sort of a plan to get revenge on you, Recca?" Mikagami asked, as cautious as ever. 

"Well, I don't think so. He did say he wasn't here to murder any of us and he did seem quite nice." 

"Yeah, Kurei was very, very nice," added Koganei, defending the evil flamecaster. 

"Then why did he appear?" Fuuko asked, "I find it hard to believe that Kurei just came for a social visit." 

Kurei sat in a large chair on the verandah of his massive hill top mansion. "I wonder what Recca and his friends make of my visit," he said to himself, chuckling. 

Sitting in the driveway was his long black Bentley convertible, like a huge panther ready to pounce on its prey. His loyal servant, Raiha, was meticulously polishing the onyx paintwork. 

Kurei's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Neon, who had just brought him a cup of herbal tea. 

Neon handed him the cup of liquid which resembled crude oil. "Kurei, drink this. I was told it's good for your skin." 

One look at the murky dark drink with small bits of lord-knows-what floating inside told Kurei he would probably die a horrible death if he sipped it. He thanked Neon for her concern, and as soon as his considerate girlfriend was out of sight, he poured the entire cup into  the unfortunate flowers below. Raiha, who had witnessed the whole 
thing, started laughing. Kurei gave him the stop-laughing-or-I'll-make- sure-you-polish-every-car-I-have look, drawing a sheepish grin from the ninja who turned back to his job, still giggling. 

***** 

Later that evening, Kurei sat in his large bed, reflecting on himself. He found no way no explain why the inner demons which had been torturing him for so long had vanished. 

In such a short time, he had totally changed. Coldness and a hard heart were still evident, but no longer as strongly felt as before. He still  felt a tinge of amusement when seeing others in pain, but the urge to increase the suffering had gone. The nightmares about Kurenai's murder, which had been occuring so often in the past, had suddenly stopped. 

Perhaps it was because of Neon. For the first time in years, he finally felt for someone else. 

***** 

The chirping birds and gentle morning sun roused Kurei from his  slumber. He sleepily prodded to the toilet, stubbing his toe the doorframe along the way and cursing the stupid architect who put the doorframe there. 

Still groggy, the flamecaster descended the massive oak staircase and  proceeded to the kitchen. Even in his half-asleep state, he noticed something was amiss. Sunlight was intruding though a gap in the massive 
steel backed main door. Perhaps Raiha had neglected to close it. 

Upon entering the kitchen, his eyes came to rest on large brownish pool of congealed blood that covered the table and floor. Kurei immediately snapped awake and knew something was terribly wrong. He rushed to the 
main hall and heaved open the heavy doors, only to be greeted by a shocking sight. 

Raiha was lying on the hood of one of his Ferrari's, with a nasty looking gash in his head dripping blood all over the white sports car. Suddenly, it hit him that Neon might be hurt as well. He dashed up to her room, only to find everything in a mess. The chairs had been overturned and the vases lay in small pieces on the carpet. Worst of 
all, blood was generously spattered on the wall, like some macabre piece of modern art. 

A few seconds later, in the long driveway, Kurei was shaking the wounded ninja, trying to wake him. "Raiha, where's Neon? What happened?" 

"Master K…Kurei…. Neon was…" Raiha coughed, splattering Kurei's clean attire with small drops of scarlet liquid. "Was… kidnapped by…. by   Kouran Mori's men." Unable to continue, Raiha lapsed into unconsciousness. 

Kurei clenched his fist and his eyes burned with the evil flame that 
had lain dormant since the Ura Bato Satsujin. 

***** 

Tokiya Mikagami was studiously scribbling down the complicated formulas and equations covering the blackboard on a large exercise book when the creaking of the old classroom door caught Mikagami's attention. 

A girl stepped inside… Mifuyu!! 

Mikagami blinked and stared hard. No… that wasn't his dear Mifuyu, though the resemblance to his sister was striking. 

The lecturer, who permanently carried a dazed look in his eyes, took notice of the raven-haired girl in the doorway only after she hadknocked a few times. 

"Oh, you must be the new student!" The bespectacled teacher shuffled towards the pretty girl. "Welcome! I'm Mr. Tagata, your teacher. Class, please say hello to umm… What's your name?" 

"Ayumi, sir," she replied. 

"Her voice is so soft and fluid, so much like Mifuyu's," Mikagami thought. 

"Oh… Class, let's all welcome Nikki," Mr Tagata turned to Ayumi, "Ayumi, go pick a seat." The entire male population of the class started clapping loudly, except for Mikagami, who was suddenly reminded of his murdered sister. 

"Sit here!" 

"No, here!" 

"Come on, sit with me!" 

Every single boy in the class would have committed a felony to have the lovely new student beside them. 

Mikagami stared at Ayumi. Her face was like that of a delicate porcelain doll, so much like Mifuyu's. 

His memories of the last night he had spent with his beautiful sister who had sacrificed herself in order to save him came flooding back… 

The memory of pale Mifuyu lying on the floor, with an ever-growing poolof blood around her slowly soaking into the straw mat, stood out like a huge shadow forever etched in his mind, blacking out everything else. 

"May I sit here?" 

Mikagami was pulled out of his memories and turned towards the voice. 

"Umm… Sure," he replied to the much sought after girl.. 

He quickly turned his attention back towards the board and away from his bad memories. All the other guys would have been elated if the new girl had chosen to sit with them, but her likeness to his sister didn't particularly excite the ensui wielder. 

***** 

Mikagami always sat on a ledge at the far end of the school during recess, a solitary figure framed against the trees, just staring into the endless sky and carefully listening to the deafening silence. He had always been a loner, true friends were something he had never had. Even the members of Team Hokage, whom he had fought alongside in the UBS, were just mere acquaintances to him. 

Occasionally he wished for a friend, and to be able to mix around with the others, but he just never could get along with people. His abrasive nature and cold arrogance had driven many a prospective friend away from him. 

"Would you like this?" A voice pierced the quietness. 

Mikagami turned, and there stood his new classmate. 

"I couldn't find you in the canteen and some of the boys told me I could find you here." Ayumi was standing at the edge of the dimly lit corridor, holding out a freshly baked meat bun, "I thought you might behungry." 

"Thank you, but I have no appetite," Mikagami replied icily, without even bothering to look at her. 

Ayumi was slightly taken aback by his sharp reply, but she persisted. "May I sit down?" 

"Go ahead, I don't own the ledge," Mikagami replied, his voice dripping icicles. 

"Since I'm sitting beside you in class, I'd like to make friends with you." Ayumi knew that was a lame statement, but Mikagami's attitudemade her feel so awkward. 

Mikagami shook Ayumi's outstretched hand brusquely. 

"I'm Ayu…" 

"I know your name. I'm Tokiya Mikagami," Mikagami abruptly cut her off. "Now, if you don't mind, I'll take my leave." 

Mikagami silently got up and strolled towards the dark corridor, leaving Ayumi sitting there, still holding the warm bun. 

Ayumi watched as the tall teen's figure slowly merged into the shadows. "He is so cute," she grinned to herself, as Mikagami's long silver locks were swallowed by the darkness. 

***** 

When Kurei, in his mask and crimson cloak, strolled through the impressive entrance to the lobby of Kouran Mori's monumental building in the downtown business district, none of the petrified security personnel dared to even glance at him. Kurei entered the wood panelled private lift, unhindered even by the two heavily armed members of Kouran Mori's bodyguard standing outside the life door. 

"I love the reputation I have." Kurei said aloud, laughing as the luxurious elevator silently zoomed into the clouds. 

Kouran Mori was pouring himself some cognac, when Valentin Borlovsky, an ex-KGB officer and his chief of security, burst into his massive office, causing the billionaire to drop the $15,000 bottle of amber liquid onto his expensive shoes. 

"What the hell are you doing!" Kouran Mori shouted furiously, glaring at the cowering Russian. 

"It'll take another week before another bottle of the costly drink could arrive from France," Kouran Mori cursed silently, "and another pair of custom-made footwear would take a month to arrive from London." Now he would have to be content with the case of  $3000 low-grade cognac he had received as a gift. 

"My apologies for startling you, sir," Borlovsky tried to catch his breath, "but Kurei is on his way up!" 

"Kurei?" Kouran Mori's voice was tinged with surprise. 

"Yes sir, Kurei." 

"I want my helicopter ready to go in one minute's time." Kouran Mori was strangely calm as he gave out his orders, "and get the girl onto the roof." 

The tall Russian bowed and quickly dashed out. Kouran Mori pressed a button on his telephone. "Mokuren." 

A sniveling voice answered, "Yes, Mr. Mori?" 

"Get all the members of Uruha on the roof now. My beloved son is here to collect his lady." 

Kouran Mori laughed quietly. "It seems like the spilled cognac is the least of my problems now," he thought to himself. 

A frighteningly familiar voice halted Kouran Mori in his tracks as he proceeded to his aircraft. Forming a tight ring around him were the members of Uruha, all scared out of their wits by that soft, yet threatening voice they knew so well. 

Casting a long shadow over the roof, the former leader of Uruha stood behind them, his long blood red cloak fluttering in the strong wind. 

"Kurei… So you're still alive." Kouran smiled evilly, his voice oozing with hatred for his traitorous son. "Come any closer and your pretty friend will take a 5 second express ride to the gravel below." 

Kurei stood there, motionless, just staring at his father, with the threatening blue flame on his right hand slowly growing. Fear was visible in the eyes of all the Uruha members, who had seen what their master was capable of when angry. 

Kouran Mori arrogantly climbed on board his black helicopter, which, like a huge bird of prey, was ready to swoop into the clouds. 

"Good bye, son," Kouran Mori spat sarcastically. 

Kouran Mori's insane laugh grew louder as the helicopter carrying him and the kidnapped girl took off and started hovering over the rooftop, leaving the flamecaster standing below. 

"Kill him!" Kouran Mori shouted to the Uruha members below. None of them dared to twitch a muscle, all were far too fearful of the slim figure standing just a few feet away from them. 

"You incompetent fools! I said kill him!" Kouran Mori's laughter had ceased. "You'll pay for your insolence!" He turned to his son below andglared venomously at him. 

"This, is for betraying me, dear beloved son!" He shouted as the doorof the aircraft slid open and Neon plunged out, still strugglingagainst her bonds. The cross-eyed criminal's maniacal laughter rung ineveryone's ears. 

"NOOOOOOOOO!" Kurei leapt off the roof, in a useless effort to save Neon. 

***** 

Neon hit the sidewalk with a horrendous tearing sound as Kurei watched helplessly. Her abdomen was split open by the tremendous impact, much like a sledgehammer effortlessly smashing a watermelon. 

Neon's blood and mangled intestines splattered over the pavement in avery curious pattern. It reminded one of a large red and pink butterfly, with wings outstretched, ready to catch the breeze and flyoff. 

"Even in death she is still so artistic," Kurei thought, managing to smile before his forehead touched the concrete and his mind abruptly went dark. 

***** 

Poor Ayumi had been sitting next to stony Mikagami for practically a whole day and the only time he had said anything to her was when he needed to sharpen his pencil. 

"I guess less subtle tactics will have to be used," the frustrated girl thought as the handsome teen left the room for biology lessons. 

As soon as the bell sounded for dismissal, Ayumi sprinted out the door, trying to catch Mikagami in the hallway before he left. 

"Mikagamiiii!" she shouted, panting and sweating as she finally caught up with her target. 

"Would you like to go for dinner with me?" She was practically pleading with him. 

"Sorry, I'm not free," came the curt reply. 

Before Mikagami could escape, Ayumi's face scrunched up, like an infant who was going to cry. 

"Ok, ok, I'll go," Mikagami said reluctantly, quickly changing his mind to avert a major disaster. 

***** 

A loud crash echoed through the mansion, startling everyone. It was soon followed by a string of curses that came from the master bedroom. 

Raiha burst into Kurei's luxurious bedroom. His pajama-clad master was lying on the floor, covered in sweat, gingerly rubbing his head. 

"It was only a dream." Kurei started laughing as relief washed over him 

"Master Kurei, are you all right?" asked Raiha, his face full of concern that his master might have hit his head a tad too hard. 

"I'm OK. I just fell off the 158th floor of a skyscraper, that's all,"Kurei replied, smiling. 

"Huh?" Raiha frowned and looked at the flamecaster quizzically. "Miss Neon has been very worried about you." 

"What do you mean?" 

"Well, it's already dinner time, sir. You didn't wake up this morning so Miss Neon thought you were ill." 

"Dinner time? Are you sure?" 

The loyal ninja nodded. 

"I'm alright, I just had one long nightmare, that's all." 

"I'm glad you're alright, sir." Raiha backed out of the room. His voice betrayed the fact that he thought Kurei needed admission into a mental institution. 

"Don't worry Raiha," Kurei's amused voice came from inside the room, "I'm fine, just don't tell Neon or she'll give me more of that terrible toxic muck." 

***** 

After dinner, which Mikagami had been forced to pay for as Ayumi claimed her wallet had vanished, the female had dragged to unfortunate ensui master to the riverside for a stroll. 

Mikagami dragged his feet along sullenly, his face as sour as a lemon, partly due to his much lighter wallet and also because he had just missed his favourite TV show. Ayumi bounced along beside, smiling 
gleefully. Her arm was locked around his in an iron grip, probably to prevent the prisoner from fleeing. 

"Why do you keep acting like this?" Ayumi's innocent question came out of the blue, breaking the cold silence. 

"Because of you!" Mikagami snapped viciously, before realising his mistake, which had caused poor Ayumi's pretty eyes to cloud with tears. 

"I'm sorry," his voice apologetic. "I didn't mean to offend you, I just had a lousy day." 

"It's OK," Ayumi quietly replied. "I think I'll go home now." 

As if to atone for his mistake, Mikagami offered to see the girl home. 

***** 
"Come on," Ayumi was trying to drag the hapless teen upstairs as they stood at the bottom of her block. "Come up with me and meet my bro. He's about your age." 

Mikagami, still feeling guilty about his earlier mistake, reluctantly agreed and stepped into the ancient lift. 

Finally finding her keys after digging around in her bag for a nearly a minute, Ayumi unlocked the door, allowing the pair to leave the dim corridor. 

"I apologise for the mess," Ayumi said, referring to the stacks of boxes cluttering the place. "My brother and I just moved in here." 

"You live alone with your brother?" Mikagami was surprised. "What about your parents?" 

Ayumi silence told him not to question further. 

"Hey Ayumi, is there anything to eat?" Asked a tall male figure who had just emerged from the toilet with a towel draped over his head and was busy drying his hair. "I'm starved and all the instant noodles have expired." 

"Bro, I would like you to meet my friend, Tokiya Mikagami." Ayumi said, ignoring her brother's question. 

As soon as that name left Ayumi's lips, her brother stopped his towelling abruptly. 

"Mikagami, this is…" Ayumi trailed off as she noticed the men staring at each other, mouths agape.