Note: This chapter will contain a bit of violence and bad language. There'll be nothing too graphic, but for some readers, reader discretion is advised.

Now that is over with, let this chapter begin!

It was Jiro.

Shit.

Takeo-kun was still on the floor, trembling. I had to do something.

"Jiro, snap out of it!" I shouted. I was scared as hell myself, but I had to protect Takeo-kun.

"You know this kid?" Takeo-kun said.

"He's my cousin!" I said, not knowing what else to say.

"He's crazy!" Takeo-kun yelled. I felt a lump in my throat. It's easy for us to defend ourselves against someone wielding a knife or gun; it's another thing to defend ourselves against a long-range weapon like a curved scythe and a chain.

"Jiro! This is Saku, your older cousin! Do you remember me?" I shouted. He apparently didn't, for he went at us again.

"He's a maniac!" Takeo-kun shouted. "A demon!" He then jumped out of the way just as Jiro attempted to strike him. I had to grab the chain to prevent him from getting at Takeo-kun. It took all my strength to do so.

"Jiro, have you gone crazy?" I yelled at him.

He then looked at me. I saw a blank look in his eyes. What on earth is going on with him?

'It's like he is possessed. Maybe he is-' I thought. I then remembered what Takeo-kun said earlier.

"All right! Who are you and what have you done with my cousin?" I demanded.

"Jiro" responded by attacking me with the kusarigama. I swiped him away, but he managed to get me in my right hand.

"Ow!" I shouted. I then saw Takeo-kun creep up behind him, his knife ready to strike. "No! Takeo-kun!"

"Jiro" looked back at him.

"Takeo-kun! Watch out!" I shouted. There was no way that Takeo-kun could stop someone with a chain weapon with only a knife.

I was about to throw myself on "Jiro" when my obviously possessed cousin suddenly stopped. He then looked down the hallway and growled.

Huh?

"Shirori-san, is that you?" I heard a man's voice. I turned my head to see a long, red-haired man standing there. He smelled of cleaning products.

"Shirori-san, I was passing along the street when I smelled a great deal of human blood," the red-haired man said. "At first, I thought it was just a yakuza killing, but then I sensed your disgusting presence, so I had to investigate." He then looked at me. "I'll not kill the boy's body. I'm going after the spirit that is possessing it for the moment." He then looked back at "Jiro." "Release him at once or I will call in the name of my mother!" His voice sounded really antiquated and foreign.

I then saw "Jiro" become still. A white light came out of him. I caught Jiro in time before he hit the floor. I looked up.

I was shocked to see what appeared to be a fox spirit in a white cloth standing there. He looked at the red-haired man with hatred. I moved Jiro back so the fox spirit wouldn't harm him again.

"Shirori-san, I don't know what business you have here, but why did you involve them for? They had nothing to do with the war!" the red-haired man said.

"Oh, but this family did involve themselves with my affairs," Shirori said. He then looked at me with his red eyes. "And this one had so much potential." He next looked at Jiro. I saw his cold stare, but I ignored it. If I could do so, I would have killed him right there.

"And what are you going to do about it?" Shirori sneered, looking back at the man. "Are you going to call on your mama or your God?"

"I do not need to call on my mother or my God yet," the red-haired man said. "For I am in my own element, while you can't do nothing but freeze time. And you know that it wouldn't do any good against me."

"Perhaps, but I can-" the white fox spirit said. At once, I swung the kusarigama at him. He dodged it, but the red-haired man went in front of me. I knew he was protecting me, but I still wanted to kill the evil fox spirit.

"You have done what you wanted to do, now leave!" I heard the red-haired man say. The white-haired fox spirit simply looked at him. "Or I will call for my mother and she'll hear me!"

I thought at first Shirori wasn't going to listen, but he then formed into a white ball and disappeared. I then saw the red-haired man look down at us.

"Are you all right now?" the red-haired man said. He then bowed. "I am Kon'ichi Oda, which is my birth name. I am known in this era as Jaapu Oda."

"Pleased to meet you," I said, not knowing what else to say. I then realized something. "Wait a minute! What do you mean 'in this era?'"

"It's a long story," Kon'ichi said. He then looked at all of us more closely. "May I ask what is your names?" I looked at Takeo-kun, who didn't look that concerned. We normally don't reveal our names to people we barely know, but he did help us.

"My name's Saku Miura," I said. I then looked at Takeo-kun. "And this is Takeo Abe." I then looked down at Jiro. "And this is my cousin, Jiro Miura."

"Your last names are Miura and Abe? Interesting," the red-haired "man" said. "Do you know about your ancestry?"

"Um no?" I said.

"I suppose it doesn't really matter now" Kon'ichi said. "But the fact that you two witnessed what happened means that you both would need to be on the watch."

"Why? Is he planning to return to Jiro or someone else?" I questioned. Considering what had happened, I couldn't imagine anything could get any worse.

"Before he left Jiro's body, he weakened it," Kon'ichi said. The boy will recover, but I'm afraid that his mental state may not recover as you may hope." I then looked down at my cousin. His eyes looked dazed, but I believed that it was due to shock.

"What can we do now?" I asked. My throat must have been dry because I sounded weaker than I intended.

"If I were you, then I'll take that boy to the hospital. I'll pray to the true God for his recovery. He may need His spirit" Kon'ichi said. He then looked at the dead men in the hallway. "There's nothing you can do for these men. Pray to the true God, for He is the only one that can help them now." I looked at all the bodies in the hallway. Did Jiro really kill them all? The blood-stained chain blade of the kusarigama couldn't lie. I then looked back at Takeo-kun.

"Takeo-kun, get Bura-san!" I ordered. "Tell him there have been a mass killing! Don't tell him anything else, got it?" I saw him get up and ran off, probably grateful that he's out of the mess now. I didn't realize how much shambled my nerves were until now. I felt totally exhausted.

"What am I suppose to do now?" I asked.

"I'll talk to someone" Kon'ichi said. "You three need to be monitored very closely. I shall send Sa-kun to look after you two."

"Sa-kun?" I asked.

"I can't reveal his real name in the human world," Kon'ichi said. "But he calls himself Sasuke Kitsutobi in this world-"

"Sasuke? You mean that he's a ninja?" I asked astonished.

"A shinobi, yes," Kon'ichi said. He then put his hand on Jiro's head. "He needs to go to the hospital right away. He's showing signs of severe shock." At that, I looked down at Jiro again. His pupils were now dilated and he was breathing heavily.

"A kitsune of such power will not leave its host unwillingly without a price," Kon'ichi told me. "Your cousin must have suffered some type of trauma. Once you get your friend back, take Jiro to the hospital immediately." At that, Kon'ichi started to walk away.

"Wait!" I shouted. He then stopped and turned back. "When will you get Sa-Sa-kun to help us?"

"It's Sa-kun. And a ninja doesn’t reveal himself until the proper time" Kon'ichi said.

"Oh," I said. I should have known that. "So when will he make his appearance?"

"I'll try to find him as soon as I can. You don't have to worry about that," Kon'ichi said. "Just get Jiro to a hospital fast. I'll be watching from the shadows. Until we meet again, excuse me." At that, he left me behind with Jiro.

I then looked at my cousin. He was even more in shock than ever before. I held him closer to my chest. I felt so helpless- like I was caught in a really bad yakuza movie with all my comrades dead at my side. I just held onto Jiro, waiting until Takeo-kun and Bura-san came to this place and got us to the hospital like Kon'ichi told me to.

"So when is Sa-kun going to appear?" Takeo-kun asked me a few days later. We were smoking cigarettes in his bedroom.

"Kon'ichi told me he wouldn't make himself appear until he has to," I told him. I was reading a girlie magazine, but the old thrills no longer worked on me. I was only thinking about Jiro. Apparently, Takeo-kun was thinking the same thing.

"So how is Jiro?" Takeo-kun asked.

"The same" I said.

"So he's still in the hospital?" Takeo-kun asked. I didn't feel like answering him.

"Why don't we go to Shibuya Station?" I said, hoping to change the subject.

"You mean Hachiko Plaza?" Takeo-kun asked.

"Why not?" I said. I took a puff of my cigarette. "Let's go." Just then Takeo-kun's older sister Junko came in.

"I just came here to tell you that I got a call from my boyfriend so I'll be leaving soon," Junko said. She had on a long, slitted red dress. "Bye for now!" At that, she left.

"A date?" I asked Takeo-kun.

"By the look of things, it's going to be a long one," Takeo-kun said. He then looked at me. "It's going to take a few hours for her to return, so let's go now. You know, we can check out the girls too."

"Hmm…" I said, not really interested. Takeo-kun gave me an odd look.

"Man, you're so out of it!" Takeo-kun said.

"Hmm?" I said, now more alert.

"Let's go already," Takeo-kun said. So we went out to the spot.

Everyone in Japan knew the story.

"Hachiko, an Akita dog, walked with his master to Shibuya Station every morning and greeted him there from work every evening," I said to Takeo-kun as we walked there. "Then one day in 1925, his master had a heart attack at work and never came home again. But Hachiko never stopped waiting for him every day until he died in 1935." I then looked up at the statue. "Just as we have to wait for Sa-kun now."

"Let's hope that it wouldn't take ten years for Sa-kun to come," Takeo-kun said. "Do you know what he looks like?"

"Kon'ichi knows him, so he could be a fox spirit too," I said. "But if he's a real ninja, he wouldn't show himself up until he really has to."

"I wonder when he'll appear," Takeo-kun said. All of a sudden a flash of light appeared in my eyes. I then saw everything except Takeo-kun… stop.

"What just happened here?" I said. Even the trees stopped moving. "Takeo-kun, what is-" I then stopped talking when I saw him looking up, so I did the same.

Atop of the dog statue was a young-looking, white-haired man in full ninja gear. It had to be Sa-kun!

"Who are you?" I yelled, pointing my finger at him.

"You don't know who I am?" the fox spirit ninja said surprised.

"Kon'ichi told me that you call yourself Sasuke Kitsutobi" I said.

"That's right," the kitsune ninja said. He then did a flip landing on the ground in front of us. "So you're my students."

"Your what?" I said, shocked.

"You want us to be ninjas?" Takeo-kun said. "That's so cool!"

"Not really…" Sa-kun said.

"So are you going to tell us all your clan secrets?" Takeo-kun asked him.

"Oh no!" Sa-kun answered. "You have to understand that I'm a rogue ninja, a nukenin. Even if you can be taught kitsune ninjutsu, if my former comrades heard of it, I'll be killed and so will you two."

"Oh," Takeo-kun said. I could tell he was disappointed.

"But I could still teach you human ninjutsu" Sa-kun said. "I can teach you how to use ninja weapons and fighting techniques, and I can help to hone the skills you may already have." I thought about it for a second.

"No offense, but can you give us a DVD instead?" I said. I could see the disappointment on his face.

"You'll hear from me again in a few days," Sa-kun said. All of a sudden I saw a flash come before my eyes again. I then heard people talking and walking and birds singing. Takeo-kun and I looked at each other in disbelief. It was like an episode from "The Twilight Zone"- only this wasn't the TV show but real life. Afterwards, we decided to split up for the day.

"Moshi-moshi, Miura Demon Extermination Services! Yes, we can exterminate all kinds of demons. No, mother-in-laws don't count," I heard Kazuko speak on the phone a few days later. I was on the sofa smoking a cigarette.

"How many people called you to exterminate a person?" I asked her out loud. She then hanged up the phone.

"We're not hit-men!" Kazuko said. "Speaking of which, are you going to the hospital again?" Jiro was still in the hospital. The doctors told Jijii and Ofukuro that he was talking about killing himself, so they're going to keep him there until he gets better.

Which means it could be for a very, very long time.

"By the way, did you order a DVD?" Kazuko asked me. I then looked at her and noticed that she was still wearing the same green kimono.

"Are you going to keep wearing that?" I asked.

"Answer my question!" Kazuko said. "Did you order a porno video?"

"What! I didn't order one, and why would I sent it here anyway?" I said.

"Then why doesn't this have the name of the sender and the return address?" Kazuko said.

"Let me see that!" I said. She then handed me the small package. It was the size of a DVD. I then remembered something.

'Did Sa-kun really send a DVD to me?' I thought. I then ran to the home phone (not Kazuko's phone) and called Takeo-kun.

"Moshi-moshi! This is Junko Abe. May I help-" she started to say when I interrupted her.

"This is Saku Miura," I said. "Will you get me Takeo-kun?"

"What for?" I heard Junko say. I really wasn't in the mood for this.

"I'M HIS FRIEND, DAMMIT!" I said out loud. I then lowered my voice. "Will you get him on the phone?"

"All right, all right," I heard her say. I then heard her say his name. I waited until I heard someone pick up the phone again.

"Hello?" I heard him say. I sighed in relief.

"Takeo-kun, did you get a DVD today?" I asked.

"You too? I didn't think Sa-kun would take your suggestion so seriously," Takeo-kun said.

"I know. Listen, do you got the time to watch them?" I asked him. "Kazuko wouldn't let me off the hook with the DVD!"

"Junko too," Takeo-kun said. "And she has a dirtier mind than me."

'Or me,' I thought, which was frighteningly true enough.

"Listen, is she going out soon?" I asked.

"Yeah" Takeo-kun replied. "She's going out with her boyfriend again, or she says." I winced. I still didn't tell him that I thought she was a tramp, but with Kazuko nearby, I couldn't say it.

"Alright. I'll see you in ten minutes," I said.

"I'll put a white string out if she's still here," Takeo-kun said.

"Got it. I'll see you in a few minutes then" I said. I then heard him reply the same and hanged up. I turned to Kazuko. "Alright, I'm leaving!"

"Only if I can watch it too," Kazuko said.

"What are you talking about?" I said. "I don't know what's in it!"

"So it is a porno DVD!" Kazuko said. If this were an anime, I would have dozens of anger marks on my head by now.

"That's it! Time to meet your maker!" I shouted. I then chased Kazuko all over our apartment. Since she still wore a kimono, I managed to get caught up with her and smacked her a few times on the back. I then quickly put on my shoes and jacket and ran out of the house before she could retaliate.

Actually, I was glad that I had that tussle with Kazuko, as it probably gave Junko enough time to leave without me encountering her. At the high-security apartment lobby, Takeo-kun let me in and I went up to his apartment.

"So did you play your DVD yet?" I asked as I walked into the living room.

"I tried" Takeo-kun said. "But when I did, it said, 'Please play DVD 1 before proceeding,' and after that it wouldn't work anymore."

"So I got DVD 1, huh?" I said. It did make sense, as I was the one that asked for it.

"I didn't think he would actually do it" Takeo-kun said. "I mean, make a DVD for us."

"I was serious but I didn't think he would too," I said, nodding. "But now I'm curious what he put in it."

"Yeah" Takeo-kun said. With that, I put my DVD in the DVD player and waited for it to load.

When it did, we were surprised to see Sa-kun's face show up instead of a menu.

"Greetings, my future students" he spoke. "Before we begin, let me tell you that when you put in the DVD, time instantly froze outside the room. This is done to prevent any interruptions." Takeo-kun and I then looked out the window. Sure enough, not even the trees were moving.

"Ahem!" Sa-kun said. We then looked back at the TV. "Anyway, I'm not going to bore you with the history of human ninjutsu, which you can find out on your own if you want to. But you should know that ninjutsu, no matter whether it's human or kitsune, is the art of blending with one's environment. The goal is to make oneself to be with the surroundings, so as to do your mission. Of course, you may have to reveal yourself, but only when necessary. The most important thing is, to remain in a secret place using your surroundings until you get the job done or if you have to reveal yourself to do it.

However, in order for you to be considered worthy of being a ninja candidate, I'll have to give you an assignment. It's really a simple assignment, but it'll determine whether you're really ninja material or not. The assignment is this: Find someone." At that, we went closer to the TV.

"This is the picture of the person I want you to find" Sa-kun said. At once, we saw a picture of a high-school girl.

'She's cute,' I thought. I then looked at the high school uniform- it looked like a white and blue sailor suit. I only knew a few schools nearby, but none of them had that design.

"I only want to know what school she attends," Sa-kun told us. "But she mustn't see you. If she does, you would've fail this assignment and your other DVD will not work, no matter how much you try. Feel free to play this DVD again if you have to. By the end of the week, play this DVD again. I'll ask you a question. If you answer correctly, you'll proceed. If you don't, I'll let Kon'ichi handle your case. Remember you have one week, starting now. Good day and good luck!" At that, the DVD went off.

"How's he suppose to know what we're going to say?" Takeo-kun questioned.

"This DVD isn't the normal type," I said as I took the DVD from the DVD player. "As far as I know, he may have created the DVD himself."

"That's so cool!" Takeo-kun said.

"In any case, I want to train so as to avenge our dead comrades, especially Boss" I said. I then saw Takeo-kun nod. "Well, he didn't say we couldn't get any help. Let us call Bura-san. He likely know a few other schools around here."

"But what are we suppose to say?" Takeo-kun said. "We're suppose to do this in secret."

"We don't have to tell him the whole truth," I said. "After all, we're just looking for a girl."

"We don't know her name," Takeo-kun said. "And what is her connection to all of this?"

"I don't know" I had to admit. "Maybe Sa-kun knows her or even Kon'ichi does. In any case, we have to get this started. We have only a week. There must be hundreds of schools in Tokyo alone." At that, we got started.

That week was the busiest one I ever had. After saying to Bura-san that we need to find a girl that could have the answer to who killed Boss and the others (of course I knew who did it, but no way was I going to say that Jiro did it!), we went to work. As part of our search, we went through every school website.

"I found it!' Bura-san said. We both looked at the bleach-haired smuggler. "The description of the high school uniform that you described is from Genkuro High School!"

"Genkuro High School!" I said, looking up from reading a high school directory. I then looked at the computer screen. It appeared to be a class photo- but I could tell the girls' uniform was identical to the girl's uniform from the DVD.

"So should we go to this school and find her?" Takeo-kun asked me.

"I guess so," I said. So the next day- the seventh day- we all went to Genkuro High School. Sure enough, we saw the girl and a boy- a boyfriend, perhaps? - talking to each other outside. Takeo-kun and I got out of the car and put on our sunglasses to conceal our identity.

"It's her, alright," Takeo-kun said. I took out a cigarette and lit it.

"He looks like he's going to be with her for a while," I said, smoking.

"Yeah," Takeo-kun said. We watched them for a few more minutes. I then dropped my cigarette and went back to the car. Takeo-kun took my cue and followed me inside the car as well.

"You're not going to confront her?" Bura-san questioned.

"She's with someone," I said. "At least we know where we can find her." The man nodded.

"You got anyone else?" Bura-san asked.

"Not yet" I said.

"I know she didn't kill everyone, but if she knows anyone that killed Boss, she'll be on the list," Bura-san said.

'What list?' I thought, hoping he didn't mean a hit list. Still I felt relieved. Takeo-kun and I have passed the assignment. As far as I know, she hasn't seen us. I just hoped that being a 21st century ninja trained by a kitsune ninja would be a little less tough than usual, but both of us wouldn't know the rough road that would lie ahead just yet.

End of Chapter Six

Woo-hoo! I finally finished this chapter! I'm so sorry that it took so long for me to do this but I had to re-do some of the story plus I had a period of illness and injury (which I still have). Below is the profile of Jii-chan, Yoshiyuki Nishiyama. Please don't forget to review!

Name: Yoshiyuki Nishiyama

Nickname(s): Jii-chan

Sign: Boar/Rooster (November 1933)

Blood Type: B

Likes: Family, flower shop, nature

Dislikes: Rude customers, fighting and bad jokes

Favourite Foods: Plums and green tea

Disliked Foods: Anything too salty

At the age of 12, Yoshiyuki met Nari and fell in love with her. However, it was only until he was sixteen that he confessed his love to her at the Inari altar his mother made. Nari immediately appeared, and Yoshiyuki told her about his love for her. After courting her for a time, he married Nari who later gave birth to Ichiro (Kon'jiro). However, when Ichiro was two years old, Nari left for her world. Yoshiyuki raised their son on his own, making the excuse to everyone that his wife died of an illness. He watched over his son until he grew up, became fully human, married Matsuko, had Jiemi and Kitsuko, and then died of cancer before he reached thirty. At present, Yoshiyuki owns and manages a flower ship with the assistance of Seiichiro. He also likes to paint pictures.