"Yurien" Written by: N In the first month of Atsuko's pregnancy, she was still unaware about her condition. She's still not aware that she'll be having a male child whom she will name Yusuke. But during that time, there was yet another child living inside her - a female. This child had a weak spirit but still thrives to survive. But after a few weeks inside Atsuko's womb, the female child passed away leaving no mark of her existence but tiny spectacles of flesh which no one could ever notice. Her innocent spirit flew to Rei Kai and joined the section of unborn infants who died early like herself. In that section, the unborn infants were placed inside seikatsu ( life ) tanks until they are ready to emerge like being born except that they have no flesh. These tanks accelerates time for them, making them grow faster so they can join the rest of the spirits in rei kai. As Enma Daioh looked upon the infants one by one as he usually does in his free time, he sensed something different about the female child , the one from Atsuko's womb. He was curious about the child's ki because her ki was much higher than a normal child's. He also sensed something evil flowing inside the child. Enma ordered his men to monitor this strange infant and report any changes from her. As days went by, the child's ki kept getting stronger and stronger. Enma did not waste any more time and ordered his men to seize the tank and send the spirit to hell ( makai ). In other words, the child was sentenced to death because Enma feared that her power could cause great disaster to rei kai as well as Nigenkai when the time comes. And so the child was sent to Makai - left for dead. But because of the child's power , she survived . Her power sustained life for her unvoluntarily and gave her flesh. From a very young age, she started to confront demons who tried to eat her. She was like a berserker - when she's hurt or wounded, she fights back and attack with full power. Lucky for her that all she ever faced were weak demons classified as C-class and D-class. In order to survive, she eats animal flesh roasted in fire. This meal is her favorite because it makes her stomach full and her power regenerates. Meat is all that she eats because most of the Makai plants are deadly and poisonous. She knew about this because she once ate a glorious-looking fruit from a mysterious Makai plant a few weeks ago. Her blood began to freeze and she fainted. She woke up dizzy and baffled because she did not know what exactly happened to her . She didn't know that her human heart just stopped because of the deadly poison which was not treated quickly by her power. What sustains her blood circulation is the nucleus inside her, the nucleus that every youkai has. Knowing that she's still alive and well is all that mattered to her and she also learned that plants should never be eaten. The girl grew much stronger over the years. She learned how to use and control her power more efficiently. She does not use any weapons against an enemy, she only uses her own self-developed techniques of martial arts. She only uses it when she's in danger. She never tried to kill any demon out of enjoyment because eventhough her heart's gone, there's still part of her that's human. She does not know about having a human side but she feels it. Also, while engaged in battle, she does not show any weaknessess because once she's done that, she will be killed undoubtedly. Because of this, her senses became keen and she became familiar with some techniques she observed from her past enemies. She also learned how to speak or communicate through the foes she faced. To wrap it all, she was slowly becoming a professional fighter. When her mind started to mature, she began questioning herself why ? how? what? who? "Why am I doing this? How is it possible? What is my past? Who am I?" Is fighting all there is to do?. Questions like these kept echoing inside her head. She also does not have any memory of her past which made her more curious and troubled. She does not even know how she existed or what is her purpose in this place the demons called Makai. Until the day came that she could not keep it anymore to herself. She needed answers to have a peace of mind. And so, she decided to wander all over Makai in search for someone who she hopes that could answer her questions. Of course, this was a difficult task to accomplish because there is no one in Makai who knew about her past, or is there? During her journey, she was challenged by a mysterious youkai. This youkai's prowess is classified to be B-class. His weapon is a razor sharp dagger mixed with poison. B-class fighters almost have the same physical features as humans have and this was the first time that the girl ever encountered such a being. She was surprised to see someone who almost has the same physical features like hers unlike the demons she faced before. During their battle, the girl did not do anything but dodged this youkai's attacks. She took a few steps backward, then shifts swiftly to the right , then to the left. She kept doing this but not for long. One attack slipped through her defenses and cut her face. She touched her cheek and when she looked at her hand, she saw dark red fluid on her fingers. She was surprised to see herself bleeding for she never had that kind of situation before. At that point, she became mad and at the same time frightened. Exhausted from the swings that he initiated, the youkai paused for a moment to catch his breath. When the girl saw the opportunity, she disappeared in front of her enemy and appeared 2 feet away from her adversary. She kicked him two times in the face - a roundhouse kick followed by a back kick using only her right leg. The youkai could not match her speed and her power and so he went unconscious after he got smacked in the face. When he woke up, he saw the girl kneeling and looking in front of him. She wanted to know if he was still breathing. The youkai rose immediately but the pain in his face held him back. The girl asked him in a calm voice, "Can you move?" The youkai remained silent and did not bother to answer her question. He stood up slowly followed by the girl. He asked asked her, "What is your name?". The girl looked at him curiously and said, "Name? What ...name? ". They both stared at each other for a moment then the youkai smiled. Then suddenly, he noticed that she was getting dizzy. The girl suddenly fainted and fell into the youkai's arms. A thought suddenly came to him that his dagger could have poisoned her when he cut her on the face. He thought of leaving her behind so that he could think that he won the fight. He left her lying on the ground and walked away. But he suddenly remembered her eyes which he saw when he woke up. Her eyes were so innocent and there's something about them which he never saw from anyone else before. He also realized that she took care of him when he was unconscious. He turned around and went back to help remove the poison in her. He put some makai herbs on her cut where the poison entered. These herbs absorb any poisonous fluids and eliminates it inside its leaves, turning it to water after a few minutes. He stayed and waited for her to wake up. Two hours later, the girl was coscious. The youkai was surprised to her recover in such a short time. The poison is usually difficult to absorb when it's flowing inside a body. It takes the herbs two to three days to absorb all the poison. The youkai thought to himself that she is no ordinary being. "Could it be that she's an A-class or even a....no...it couldn't be", he said to himself. The girl rose and stared at him. "What happened to me?" she asked. "You were poisoned, but you're alright now," he replied. "Poisoned....this ...this...is the second time I got poisoned..." she said to herself in a soft voice. The youkai looked at her and thought about what she said. He stood up and took his dagger lying on the ground near him for he decided to leave . " There's no more reason to stay, I'm leaving", he said. As he was walking away from the girl, the girl told him to wait. The youkai stopped and looked at her. "N..ame... what is....your name?" she asked. The youkai smiled and told her his name , "......Ryokou... My name is Ryokou. " The youkai walked away after saying this. The girl watched him walk away until he disappeared. At that point, she also decided to go on with her journey as well. From that point on, she always hold the thought about Ryokou and what he has done for her. Day after day, she holds the same thought, "His name is Ryokou... what is mine?" To be continued...