Kekkaishi Volume 17

[TN: Sorry there was a longer gap between 16 and 17 than between 15 and 16. I'll try not to make the next one so long ~_~]

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Kekkaishi
17
Tanabe Yellow

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~Recap of Previous Events~
Sumimura Yoshimori and Yukimura Tokine, as Kekkaishi, members of a clan specialising in ayakashi extermination, fight to protect the Karasumori ground.
Dealing with not only ayakashi, but even the intervention of the Urakai, these two Kekkaishi are growing ever stronger little by little!
Just as Yoshimori was celebrating the start of the spring holidays, he recieved a phone call. It was a request from his older brother, Masamori, asking him to help out with his work!
Though a little reluctantly, Yoshimori agreed to help, and he and his brother have arrived at the entrance to a Shin'yuuchi.
What is Masamori's true goal here...? And what on Earth could be awaiting them within...?!

Kekkaishi 17 - Contents
Chapter 155: Pool - 5
Chapter 156: Tan'yuu - 23
Chapter 157: Mudou - 41
Chapter 158: Close Friend - 59
Chapter 159: True Zekkai - 77
Chapter 160: Immortal - 95
Chapter 161: Correction - 113
Chapter 162: The Elder Brother's Choice - 131
Chapter 163: The Master's Power - 147
Chapter 164: Envy - 165

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Flashback!Masamori: These two shrines are the entrance to the Shin'yuuchi. // Your task here... // ...is to stand guard over that place, and make sure nothing escapes from within. // And a little warning... // Whatever you do, // Don't even think about actually going through the entrance yourself.
[Chapter 155: Pool]
Yoshimori: Hey, wait up - !

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[Chapter 155: Pool]
Yoshimori: Dammit, I said wait up already! / You idiot brother!!

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Yoshimori: Whooaa!! // (The phone...) // ...... // Uh, what button do I press...? // This one! // No... / This one! // How about... / here! // No, that's not it... / One more try! // I got it!!
Masamori: Pretty slow, aren't you.

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Masamori: So yeah, Yoshimori... this may be a little sudden, but I'll be out of contact range for a bit.
Yoshimori: Huh?!
Masamori: Just keep a close eye on your post, all right? // There are about two hours remaining until sunrise. // You can hold out that long, right?
Yoshimori: What's actually in there, anyway? / Ayakashi?
Masamori: Nothing to do with you. // After all, it's my prey.
Yoshimori: You just gonna march in there all by yourself...? // Ain't that kinda dangerous...? [aside]not that I'd know...[/aside]

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Masamori: That's why... // ...I want you waiting there at the pool.
Yoshimori: (Pool?)
Masamori: Basically... / If sunrise is approaching and you still can't get in contact... // You need to call me out of the depths. // Your voice... // ...might just be able to reach me.

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Masamori: It's up to you.
Yoshimori: Hey - wait!! // Dammit...!! / What's with that guy?! / Talking like he's walking to his death...!! // He's just messing around! / Blowing it all out of proportion to make fun of me!! // ...... // (But then... // ...have I ever heard him ask me to do something quite so seriously before...? // "Your voice might just be able to reach me." // But even then... // ...why's it gotta be me...?

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Masamori: The lock is destroyed... // This must be it... // A mirror... // He's left traces behind, as well... // No doubt about it... // This is the entrance...

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[no text just portal]

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Masamori: ......... // (It's weak. // The boundary is already beginning to warp... // It wouldn't take much to break in there by force... // ...But that would make me the same as him...) // Hear me! / O Master of this land!! // The man who took refuge here last night... // I am in pursuit of him. // I have been pursuing him for a long time...

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Masamori: I want to capture him, whatever that may take. // I daresay he is a nuisance to you as well, yes? // That is my sole desire. / I wish for nothing beyond that. // Please, allow me entry.
Yoshimori: Lessee... redial...... // Wow... look at me, I'm actually using a mobile phone.
Phone: The number you have attempted to dial cannot be reached at present...
Yoshimori: Not that I can get through...

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Yoshimori: (So what, I just have to put up a kekkai around this place and wait...? // Maybe I should take out the ayakashi hanging around...?) // ...... // (I wonder what's going on over at the other shrine...) // ......? // (Something feels really weird here... // But...) // Ah, well, you know... / He can tell me not to go in and stuff... // But hey, / it's not like I even know how to get inside! // Well, anyway... / I can at least enter the grounds; it's not like I'm entering the Shin'yuuchi itself.

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Yoshimori: Guaaaahhh!! // Huh? // (Is that... Aniki's hand? // Come to think of it, he did say something about the two shrines being connected...)

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Yoshimori: What's it wriggling about for? // ?! // Don't tell me... he can't get out?! // Guess there's nothing for it... // (No... // This isn't... a human hand...!)

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Yoshimori: Ungh?! // Guaaaaahhhhhhh!

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Masamori: (This is the world within... // That went better than I expected...)

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Masamori: (His demonic power is hanging over this whole area... // Where... // Where is he?!)

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Yoshimori: Ugh...

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Tan'yuu: My... // What a nice little catch I've made.
Yoshimori: (What is this guy...? / Wait, is this place...?!) // !!
Tan'yuu: Time to hand over... // ...your body, / human.
Yoshimori: Whaaa?!

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[Chapter 156: Tan'yuu]
Tan'yuu: If you don't resist, then I won't do anything nasty to you. // Just hand over your body nicely. // I'd like to go outside for a little while.
Yoshimori: (Outside?)
Flashback!Masamori: ...make sure nothing escapes from within.
Yoshimori: (If this guy's... / ...the one Aniki's after...!)

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Tan'yuu: Owwie!! // Hm...
Yoshimori: You...
Tan'yuu: ...... // You idiot!! What did I say about not resisting?!!
Yoshimori: Hey, wait up!!

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[Chapter 156: Tan'yuu]

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Yoshimori: I said wait, dammit! // Ugh... // He vanished... // (But at any rate... // Where exactly is this place...? // I mean, I was pulled in through the boundary inside that shrine back there... / ...so I guess I must have ended up inside the Shin'yuuchi, but... // ...... // (How am I meant to get back out of here...?)
Flashback!Masamori: Don't even think about going through the entrance.
Yoshimori: Well, so much for following that instruction... I guess there's nothing for it but to try and find Aniki in here... / [aside]don't have much choice...[/aside] // And the phone won't connect... figures...
Masamori?: Hey.

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Yoshimori: Gah - Aniki...?! // (Gahh, what's with this guy's timing?! Now I'm gonna get one hell of a lecture! // Just don't make it too long...!)
Masamori?: You okay? // Let's head back outside for a moment.

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Tan'yuu: Aaaghh!! // Nnnnngh!! // Ridiculous... you saw straight through my illusion...?! / But how?! I'm sure I conjured up exactly the person you'd want to see, doing exactly what you'd want him to do...!
Yoshimori: Yeah, but it kinda creeped me out. // [aside]I mean, even if he did randomly show up, he'd just grin and smack me one...[/aside]
Tan'yuu: Nnhh... // Right, then... I have a proposition. // How about this - I will grant any single wish you desire! // And in return, you just let me use that body of yours for a bit!

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Tan'yuu: Just name your price!! / Money?! Power?! Women?! Drink?!
Yoshimori: ...You're obviously just lying, though.
Tan'yuu: It's not a lie, it's an illusion!! Why can't you just indulge in your wildest dreams for one night, huh?!! // [aside]hell, I remember when people used to jump at this chance![/aside] // Honestly... what's so great about reality anyway? // Reality never turns out the way you'd like... / You'd be much happier living out your life in a beautiful illusion. // But you don't seem to be the sort of guy I can bewitch by force... / So I'm gonna need a little help from you here. // Just give me your head, okay?

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Tan'yuu: Owwwww!! // A third time?! Wasn't twice enough for you?!
Yoshimori: Oh, shut up! / Can't say I'm sure what's going on... / But I'm pretty sure I shouldn't be letting you out of here! // (Although...)
Flashback!Masamori: It's my prey!!
Yoshimori: (I guess I can't really eliminate him, either... // What now...?) // Hey...!!

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Yoshimori: (Whaaa?! // Aniki, why're you chasing a weakling like this...?!) // H - / Hey, don't cry... // (I shouldn't let my guard down... he could be deceptively strong... / Wait, is he even a guy? Is he a girl?)
Servant: Tan'yuu-sama~~!! // What on Earth are you doing?!
Yoshimori: (Ah, crap, here comes another one!) // Ah - / Look - / It's not like I made him cry or -
Servant: What are you doing back here?! / You should be fleeing as quickly as possible!
Tan'yuu: No... / I don't even have the power to ensnare a single human...
Servant: Tan'yuu-sama!! / I am begging you!

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Servant: It will not be long before this place comes to his attention. // As long as you are safe, Tan'yuu-sama... / We can restore this place no matter how much destruction might ensue. // He has human form. / He is not an opponent that we can hope to combat. // The transient world is certainly dangerous, but it is better than remaining here. // His sole target is the master of this land; that is, yourself. / You must run... you must escape.
Yoshimori: (Huh?! // This weak little thing is a "master"?!)
Tan'yuu: I cannot... // The dawn approaches... // I will not last without a host.

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Masamori: Kurohime. // (If I use Kurohime, he'll be sure to notice. // But then, I doubt he'll try to run... // Extend your shadow. // It's time to find out where he's hiding.

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[no text just kurohime getting pwnt]

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Masamori: Kurohime! // Ungh... // (That's...)

36-37
[no text just ooh.]

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Mudou: I thought you'd show up here, boy.
Masamori: ...... / I thought you intended to use this as a place of refuge? // Killing its inhabitants is not going to have a positive effect on this place.
Mudou: Oh, stop thinking of everything in terms of benefits. // You're getting old.

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Mudou: Haven't I told you to try and have more fun? // Power and such things are nothing more than tools that allow us to pass the time in interesting ways.

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Masamori: Was that the sole reason why you abandoned your humanity? // Mudou-san...
Mudou: You really never do change. // Always asking questions. // And always chasing after me, too. // So how are you liking it? That executive seat I gave up for you... / Are you finding it comfortable? // It's far from perfect, don't you think?

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Masamori: I'll admit... // The Council of Twelve is a more trivial sort of place than I had imagined.
[Chapter 157: Mudou]
Masamori: However, // I don't recall you ever giving me your seat.
Mudou: But you're sitting in the same seat that I abandoned, aren't you? // [aside]my lovely seventh seat![/aside]
Masamori: But, Mudou-san, I could have sworn you only held that seat for the briefest of times.
Mudou: ...... // It was an excruciatingly boring place to be. // Playing around with a young man like yourself is far more enjoyable.

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Masamori: In that case... // ...why on Earth would you lay to waste the Urakai training facility, which was filled with nothing but young people?
[Chapter 157: Mudou]

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Flashback!Someone: Who goes there?! // (An ability user... / And from the looks of it, a powerful one...) // I don't know what it is you want, / but there's nothing worth your while in here. // Besides which, we are all trained in combat... // I suggest you leave without stirring up too much troub - / unngh...

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[no text just ouch]

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Flashback!People: What's wrong?! // An intruder!
Flashback!Mudou: Tch. // Looks like I forgot to change my gloves...

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Flashback!Mudou: But, dear me, this facility... // Being a house of the young, / shouldn't it perhaps have been a little more modern? // Well, little point saying that now...

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Masamori: There must have been numerous students in that facility who looked up to you.
Mudou: You just don't get it, do you? // I told you already, I adore the young. / Killing the old is just no fun. // I specifically targeted a place where I knew you wouldn't be. // After all, I wanted to be able to observe the young sprout I had especially salted myself for a little longer!
Masamori: What exactly did you stand to gain from that thoughtless massacre? // I sincerely doubt your goal... // ...was the killing itself.
Mudou: Oh, I understand. // You always seem to come chasing after me most stubbornly... / ...when you are deeply worried.

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Mudou: You wish to understand the path of people like ourselves?
Masamori: I am not the same as you.
Mudou: Then do not come to me for answers.
Masamori: (Here he comes!)

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Masamori: Mudou-san! // I simply... / ...cannot understand why one such as yourself, who possessed such immense power as a human... / ...would feel the need to turn himself into an ayakashi!!
Mudou: "The Immortal Mudou"... // ...Hm. // I tired of that name.

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Masamori: Why...?! // Mudou-san! // Mudou-san!!

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Tan'yuu: This ground, too, has begun to weaken... // The time may fast be approaching already...
Servant: Tan'yuu-sama, / do not say such things! // You - human! / Why do you refuse Tan'yuu-sama your body when he is clearly suffering so?!
Yoshimori: Say what?!
Servant: If you would just offer it to him, why, all would be well!
Yoshimori: No, no, that wouldn't be good for me!!
Tan'yuu: No matter.
Servant: Tan'yuu-sama?
Tan'yuu: I will choose my own place to die.
Servant: Wha...?!
Tan'yuu: It is all mere illusion in the end...

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Servant: Please, I bid you wait, Tan'yuu-sama!
Yoshimori: Man, that's one depressing god right there...
Servant: Tan'yuu-sama, please, do not give in to despair... / Wait - you should not go this way! // Human! Can you do nothing to stop him?!
Yoshimori: Me?! // L - Look, okay... / I don't think you should just hurry to your death, y'know? // I - / I mean, I'm sure I could ask my brother to leave you alone, if he's the problem here...
Servant: Fool! Can't you try putting your body and soul into the effort of stopping him?!
Tan'yuu: I should like to die somewhere beautiful...
Servant: Tan'yuu-sama!

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Mudou: ...... // (Why? // Why can I not find him after this much searching? // Have I... // ...somehow missed something...?) // Ugh...

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Mudou: (The destruction is complete... / ...I suppose all that is left is to wait for him to show himself... // The water's surface...)

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Mudou: Ah, I see... // There you are.
Servant: Please, reconsider this!

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Mudou: So you are the master of this place!

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Servant: Tan'yuu-sama!!

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Servant: Tan'yuu-sama!
Mudou: My, my...

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[Chapter 158: Close Friend]

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Mudou: Just now... // That was the Hazama-ryuu Kekkai technique, was it not? // And that seal upon your clothing...
Yoshimori: The one my brother was chasing after... // ...wouldn't happen to be you, would it?

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Tan'yuu: N... // Noooo!! // I don't want to die! // I don't want to die!!
Servant: Tan'yuu-sama!!
Yoshimori: This guy really can't make his mind up, huh... // [aside]didn't he want to die a moment ago?[/aside]
Mudou: So you are Masamori-kun's little brother, now, are you?! // Now, that is interesting! / He brought you here, did he...? // However...

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Mudou: I would ask you to refrain from interfering.
Yoshimori: Agh... // ?! // (What are those balls...?!)

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[no text just action]

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Servant: Ungh... // Run away, please!!
Mudou: They switched...
Tan'yuu: Ahh!

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Tan'yuu: Waaaaaghhhh!! // It burns! It burns~!!
Yoshimori: Oh, shaddup already!! // Aghhh!! // Wh - // Hey!!

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Tan'yuu: Nnghh...
Yoshimori: Wait right there, old man! // What did that guy ever do wrong?!

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Mudou: Little brother... // I wonder... are you aware of this thing's true nature?
Yoshimori: Eh...?
Mudou: You should never judge a thing upon outer appearances alone. // Not all who are weak are victims. // The weak merely fight in a manner befitting of their weakness. // They use their fragile appearances... // ...to invite the protection of others. // Did you know that there have been a series of disappearances recently in the vicinity of these shrines? // This being here has been kidnapping unwary humans, night after night, and taking their souls for himself.

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Mudou: Has he not attempted to deceive you, as well?
Yoshimori: (It's true... that he was the one who lured me in here... // And he used those weird illusions...)
Mudou: You are a Kekkaishi, are you not? Then you must know how unstable this world truly is, yes? // If the master of this land did not do such things, then this place would no longer be able to survive. / Well, I can sympathise a little.
Tan'yuu: What are you...
Mudou: But, you saw what he did just now. // He used his own servant as a decoy so that he could run. // He is a coward and a liar. // Do you truly wish to protect one such as him?

69
Masamori: ......
Flashback!Mudou: Recently you've been declining my invitations... // ...and I hear you've been organising a little group of your own called the "Yagyou" or something, haven't you, boy. // Such a copycat.
Flashback!Masamori: I don't think it's such an unusual thing to do. / And I have no intention of taking it as far as you have, Mudou-san.
Flashback!Mudou: Oh, but that just sort of happened. / Since I do so enjoy scouting out potential.
Flashback!Masamori: Should you really be loafing about in a place like this?
Flashback!Mudou: Oh, they can manage fine without me; that's how an organisation works.

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Flashback!Mudou: In case you ever feel like changing anything... // As a parting gift, / I'll tell you what a person really needs to govern others. // Pure charisma. / Cha - ris - ma. // And in this world, attaining that charisma is a very simple thing. // You simply have to be earnest about becoming powerful... boy.

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Masamori: ......
Yoshimori: Hey... // I'm still not really sure whether that guy's good or bad or whatever... // But you're an ayakashi, aren't you? It's kinda weird to hear you preaching on like this.
Mudou: ...... // The thing is, / little brother... // This guy broke the rules. // Yes, it is only natural for ayakashi to kill humans, / but he has far overstepped the bounds, and made himself too obvious.

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Mudou: As such, // I am here to judge him.
Yoshimori: Judge?
Mudou: Is there something wrong with that? // Humans judge other humans. / This is the same thing. // I doubt you would understand, / but we have our own ways of doing things. // I hope you can at least fathom that much.

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Mudou: You are a stubborn one, aren't you.
Yoshimori: You leave him alone, old man. // I'm not in a habit of listening to the random blatherings... / ...of screwed-up guys like you.
Mudou: I see.

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Mudou: You're a simple sort of person. / Unhesitant. // I can see now where that inferiority complex of his comes from.
Yoshimori: (Huh? // That ball... // Isn't it slowly getting bigger and bigger?) // ! // Gahh!!

75
Yoshimori: Ughh...
Mudou: Such a pity. / I had hoped to be able to buy enough time by simply talking. // I was trying to avoid making things difficult here. // Incidentally, everything I just told you... // ...was a lie. // In truth, the one who has been consuming people's souls night after night... was me!
Yoshimori: Why, you!
Mudou: I've lost count of how many I've killed... // This may not be something that one should say of oneself, but... wouldn't you say I am a heinous sort of beast?

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Mudou: Also, I am a close friend of your brother's. // Do you believe me...? // Well, then... // After I dispose of you... // ...do you think he will mourn your passing? // Or perhaps he will be happy...?

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[Chapter 159: True Zekkai]

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Mudou: After you, his younger brother, have been taken from him... // Will he, the older brother... // ...be happy, or sad...? // Which do you think it will be?

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Mudou: Personally, I suspect he will be pleased. // No matter how much he tries to put on the proper airs and face to the rest of the world.
Yoshimori: What... do you mean?
Mudou: Because you are one of those who are naturally gifted. // "To hate those who are naturally gifted". // That is the natural role of those who are not.
Yoshimori: "Gifted"...? Me?
Mudou: Indeed. // Can you understand what your brother is thinking?
Yoshimori: Yeah, right...
Mudou: No, you could never hope to understand the profound feelings held by the unlucky ones. // That is the proof.

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Mudou: Now, it's about time...
Yoshimori: Wait! // That... / That stuff about being my brother's "close friend"... were you being serious about that?!
Mudou: I was lying.
Yoshimori: ...... / [aside]this guy...[/aside]
Mudou: Or perhaps more accurately, it was not strictly true. // We have not been friends since the days when I was a human... // ...when we used to kill time together as members of the Urakai.
Yoshimori: A human... // ...of the Urakai?!

81
Yoshimori: Then... why is my brother after someone like you?
Mudou: You do ask a lot of questions. // Besides which, surely I am not the correct person to answer that question. // But if I were to speculate... // Perhaps... // ...it is because I have knowledge that he does not?
Yoshimori: !

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Yoshimori: Unghh... // Ketsu!! // !

83
Yoshimori: Guahh!!
Mudou: That level of kekkai will not be enough to protect you. // These balls... / ...are similar to your Zekkai, in that they eat away at whatever they touch. / If they touch you, it will all be over. // Although... / ...it looks like you can't use Zekkai, can you?
Yoshimori: (! // Is he saying I could block these things with Zekkai?!) // Aghh...! // (But I can only pull that off about one in twenty times, and then only for a moment...) // Unghh!
Mudou: How fortunate. // This will be over quickly.
Yoshimori: Unhh... // Ughhh... // Gahhh!

84
Tan'yuu: What is it... that you desire? // If it is something that I could grant you...
Mudou: Silence.
Tan'yuu: Nghh...
Mudou: I will be the one to grant my desires.

85
Mudou: I am merely using you, and that little brother over there, as footholds to achieve them.
Yoshimori: (Crap... // My head's starting to get light... // I thought I might avoid using it, but I guess I've got no choice... // I'll just put everything into it... // It's sink or swim...!!)

86
Yoshimori: Ungh... // (What?! // Why did I hesitate just now?! // Something was wrong... / Something was missing... // That's right - I got the feeling my concentration and power swell... / ...weren't keeping up with my emotional surge... // I mean, usually, at times like this, I'd get... // I'd get... / ...like, a sensation soaring above anything I could imagine...)

87
Tan'yuu: Ahh...
Yoshimori: (Could it be... // ...it's because I'm not in Karasumori? // No... I've fought in places that weren't Karasumori before, and I didn't have any trouble then... // I mean, sure, at the Tengu castle, I was working with borrowed power, but then with the Kokubourou... // Was that... / ...really just my own power?)

88
Mudou: This won't do. // I have to retrieve it from his body before he dies.

89
[no text just nenshi]

90
Yoshimori: Aniki...

91
Yoshimori: (That's... // That's my brother's...)
Mudou: Dear me... // You arrived sooner than I expected, boy...
Yoshimori: (Zekkai...!!)

92
Yoshimori: (No. // I can't possibly be the one who's "gifted" here...)
Masamori: ...... // What are you doing here?

93
Yoshimori: No, / I...
Masamori: Didn't I tell you you mustn't come inside?!!
Yoshimori: It - it's not like I came here on purpose...
Masamori: Get up.
Yoshimori: Don't order me about...
Masamori: On your guard.
Yoshimori: Huh?
Masamori: That man was once known as "The Immortal Mudou".

94
Tan'yuu: Nnhh...
Masamori: That won't be enough to kill him.

95
[Chapter 160: Immortal]
Yoshimori: What do you mean, "immortal"...?
Masamori: It means even if you kill him, he won't die.
Yoshimori: That's not what I mean!! / What the hell is he?! // He said something about being a human from the Urakai!! // And... // About being your "close friend"...
Masamori: Close friend...? // He said a thing like that...?

96
Masamori: "The Immortal Mudou"... // ...is the name he went by back in the Urakai. // He wasn't even an ayakashi-majiri, yet no matter how many wounds he took in battle, / he'd just show up a few days later as if nothing had happened, // and just straight back into battle again. // At first we thought he had some trick up his sleeve, / or that he had access to some kind of incredibly skilled healer, // but that wasn't it. // This man has been confirmed dead, / cremated, and then buried... // ...at least twice, to my own knowledge. // The second time it happened, I stood there by his grave for days.

97
Masamori: And all this... // ...was back when he was still human.
[Chapter 160: Immortal]

98
Yoshimori: ...He's your prey, right? // You can handle him.
Tan'yuu: Nnghh...

99
Masamori: (That's the master of this land...)
Mudou: Truly... // ...it is quite something to annihilate a man who is in your debt.
Yoshimori: Are you okay?
Tan'yuu: Mm.

100
Tan'yuu: That man... // That man...! // That human who came bursting into this place, saying that he intended to do something about that human-form ayakashi... // Young fool... // Is that man strong?
Yoshimori: ...... // Yeah.
Mudou: Dear me. // Why this obsession with that? // Couldn't you try thinking about something more entertaining?
Masamori: There were subordinates of my own amongst the young men you slaughtered.

101
Mudou: A lovely excuse. // But I know I have told you... / Such dregs in one's heart are a thing to be carefully saved up, as a lure along the path to power. // And then, // once one has established one's goal, then that power may be freely put to use. // Your own goal lies in a rather different area, does it not? // Do you truly have the time to be wasting on matters such as these? / You are still far from perfection.
Masamori: ...... // And you think you have obtained that perfection?
Mudou: Almost.

102
[no text just battle]

103
Mudou: Oh, dear...

104
Mudou: Trying to stop their movements and force them to scatter once more? // Not only is that useless, you have not the talent.
Masamori: I think it's time we brought an end... // ...to that little "immortality" legend of yours, Mudou-san. // Your ability is simply to steal the lives of others, is it not? // And to make that life your own. // But if you have the need to collect that life from others... // ...that means there must be a limit to your ability to resurrect yourself.

105
Masamori: I will kill you as many times as it takes for you to die.
Mudou: But will your power really hold up that long?
Tan'yuu: Nnghh...
Yoshimori: Dammit... what am I meant to do with this thing?! / [aside]it won't come off![/aside]
Masamori: Yoshimori!! // Destroy that sphere!!
Yoshimori: Huh?! // Easier said than done...

106
Yoshimori: Whoaa!
Tan'yuu: Aaahhh! // Ahh!
Yoshimori: Tan'yuu! // Ketsu! // Ngh... // Ketsu! / Ketsu! // Ketsu! // Ketsu!! // Ketsu... // METSU!!

107
Yoshimori: Hey!! // Are you okay?! // Huh...? // Ahh...

108
Yoshimori: The sky went dark...
Mudou: The master is the agent of the Shin'yuuchi's power. // This sphere contains the very life of this place. // It was my intention to take the time to squeeze a little more out of him, but...
Yoshimori: Mudou-san!!
Masamori: What exactly are you intending to achieve by stealing a thing like that?!
Mudou: Hah... / It certainly is on an entirely different level to the life of a human... // Perfect.
Yoshimori: ?!

109
Mudou: .........!! / I had not intended to overuse my power here... // ...But this... I must try it out. // I'll switch to a more battle-ready form... // ...and finish this up in one great sweep!
Masamori: !! // (This is bad... his demonic power levels are rising exponentially...!! // He's transforming...!!)

110
[no text just a villain who I'm really starting to like]

111
Yoshimori: Huh...? // He got younger...?
Mudou: How do you like this, now, boy? It's the new, youthful me! // Not bad, right?
Masamori: Don't... tell me... // This whole time... / ...what you were really after was... youth...?!
Mudou: Oh no, / this is still not quite perfect. // This is merely a step in the process. // Let me put it simply...

112
Mudou: I intend to start over completely. // Back to a mere babe, back further still, to the very moment I was born into this world. // Though I'm not quite sure just how much more I will have to steal to achieve that goal.
Masamori: ......... // And you think you can actually do that...?!
Mudou: Oh, I can, boy. // The way I am now.

113
[Chapter 161: Correction]
Mudou: I want to stand there once more, at the very beginning. // "Rebirth" is not quite the right word... // Perhaps, a "redo" of my own birth would be more accurate. // And then... // I will live out my entire life without a single flaw. // Thus, I shall finally achieve... // ...Perfection.

114
[Chapter 161: Correction]

115
Masamori: No... For... // For a meaningless, outrageous reason like that... // ...you saw fit to sacrifice scores of young men who believed in you?!
Mudou: Oh, but it is not meaningless. // In raising all those youths, I came to realise something important. // There is no such thing as a perfect "correction". // Flaws, distortions, introduced at an early stage, // will inevitably have a profound influence upon the final product. // No matter how great the qualities that a person may possess, / no matter how one improves oneself, // one can never achieve perfection.

116
Mudou: But the power of a Shin'yuuchi is a profound exception. / It is truly supreme... // The meaningless specks that I have been stealing from humans up until now seem laughable. // All those pieces of servant scum were not even worth stealing from... / ...but no matter how weak he may seem, the master was a different matter. // His was truly a life worth stealing. // Do you see? // Stealing from a master was a feat that I could never have achieved as a human.
Yoshimori: (The ball just got bigger!)

117
Mudou: Oh, you don't have to look like that. // I'm sure you should be well able... // ...to understand the way I feel.

118
Yoshimori: (He sliced the Zekkai?!)

119
Mudou: Tch. // At that size, they're a little difficult to control... // Boy... // As I said just now, I no longer have any interest in the lives of humans. // I will not hold back.

120
Yoshimori: Aniki...
Mudou: Ah, how sentimental you are! / Have I not told you that passion dulls one's judgement? // It seems you are not entirely pleased with my choice!

121
Mudou: I was your model, your aspiration. // Surely you must have sympathised a little? // And that is why you felt a greater shock than any other, / and the fear that you might stray down the same path.
Masamori: Shut up.
Mudou: The sheer desperation which which you deny me... // ...is proof of what I am saying, is it not? // After all, you trusted, didn't you? // Trusted in me.

122
Masamori: No... // !! // Ngh!!
Mudou: Amongst all the freaks and monsters that made up the Urakai... // To you, I daresay... / I seemed more respectable, more proper somehow, perhaps?!

123
Masamori: Ugh... / Nguahh!! // (To think he could go this far...!! // I never even imagined that he would absorb the power of the land itself through its master's body...!)
Yoshimori: Aniki!!

124
Masamori: Ugh...
Mudou: That Zekkai is impressive... you still haven't been fatally wounded.
Yoshimori: Hey... // (This is a joke, right...? // How can you be standing there looking so weak, Aniki...?! // That's not like you...! // You're always so composed and magnificent... / So full of confidence it makes me sick...) // ...... // (You're not meant to look like this...!)
Mudou: You are imperfect.

125
Mudou: This cannot be corrected. // No matter how you try, you can never escape the fact of your own imperfection. // Why did you bring your brother to this place?
Yoshimori: Ahh!!

126
[no text just zekkai]

127
Yoshimori: Ahh...
Masamori: Run, Yoshimori.
Yoshimori: Wha...?
Masamori: Take the master, and hurry...
Yoshimori: But, Aniki...
Masamori: I said, hurry!! // Go!
Yoshimori: No...
Masamori: You understand the situation, don't you?!
Yoshimori: No...
Masamori: Can you use Zekkai?!
Yoshimori: No...
Masamori: I told you, this guy is my prey! / I told you in the first place you were not to enter this place!! / Do as you're told!!
Yoshimori: NO!

128
Masamori: WHY CAN'T YOU EVEN ONCE IN YOUR LIFE... // ...ACTUALLY LISTEN TO A THING THAT I TELL YOU?!!
Yoshimori: BECAUSE YOU... // ...NEVER EVEN TRY TO LISTEN TO ME!! // You never listen, you just stand there like you know better... // Always acting so damn self-important...!! // Who was it who brought me here in the first place......?

129
Yoshimori: If you're gonna keep on acting like that, then why don't you just beat this guy already?!!
Mudou: Oh, I think I shed a tear.

130
Mudou: Right! // I think in deference to your splendid brotherly love, I'm going to make a special offer and let one of you live!
Yoshimori: Wha -
Mudou: Oh, no, I'm afraid you don't have a choice in the matter. // I'm talking to Masamori here. // You're not going to get a chance like this again. // Now then, boy... / Your cute little brother or your cute little self... // Which one do you choose?

131
[Chapter 162: The Elder Brother's Choice]
Flashback!Yoshimori: Wait... // Wait up, Nii-chan! // Ah - ! // Uunhhh...
Flashback!Masamori: ......
[sFX: waaaaaahhhhhhhh]

132
Masamori: Don't cry, Yoshimori. / You're the one who said you wanted to carry the stuff. / [aside]and I said you could, but...[/aside] // Are you hurt?
Yoshimori: N - No...
Masamori: Then... can you stand?
Yoshimori: Nii-cha... // Ahh! // Nii-chan...

133
Yoshimori: Nii-chan!
Masamori: (Such... // Such... // ...a small hand.)
Yoshimori: I'm sorry...!
Masamori: (Why on Earth did Karasumori choose him...?)
Yoshimori: Nii-chan!
[Chapter 162: The Elder Brother's Decision]

134
Mudou: Now, make your choice, boy. // You're pretty smart, you ought to know full well that you can't defeat me as you are right now. // Yourself... your brother... / For whose life will you choose to plead?
Flashback!Mudou: (I suspect he will be pleased if you die.)

135
Mudou: Quickly, now...
Yoshimori: Aniki!! // Putting on the old big-brother act at times like this... // Please... stop it now. // I can't... // ...stand it any more... // The rest of the time you do nothing but make a fool of me and stuff... / ...but when things get tough, you protect me to the point of using yourself as a shield... // I'm just fed up with it, all right? / Let me handle myself for once. // It pisses me off.

136
Masamori: ...... // Mudou...san...
Yoshimori: Wait! // You can't listen to a guy like that!! // Don't answer him!! // He's just a filthy liar!!
Masamori: My brother...
Yoshimori: He's not going to keep a promise like that!!
Masamori: My brother's life...
Yoshimori: Stop it!! // I don't mind you making a fool of me, okay... // But just stop with the protecting!!
Masamori: ...Take it.

137
Masamori: Please... // Just let me go.
Mudou: Oh, my.
Masamori: I... / ...really don't think I can allow myself to be killed here. // The Yagyou and I... we're not like you, Mudou-san. // They'd be far too lonely without me around. // But most importantly...

138
Masamori: I don't want to die... // ...with unfinished business.
Mudou: And you'd even sacrifice your own brother for that purpose?
Masamori: I don't know if "sacrifice" is the right word. // I don't think he himself is aware of it, but... / I've already more than fulfilled my role as an elder brother. // All I'm doing is finally letting him go. // Besides which, he's... lucky, perhaps, or even gifted... / Frankly, I envy him in all sorts of different ways... // And yet somehow in the end, I always seem to end up reaching out my hand to save him. // I told him not to come here. / If he truly is some kind of "chosen one", then this will work out one way or another, don't you think?

139
Mudou: ...... / Very good, Masamori. // You made the same choice as I.
Masamori: A person who cannot make choices can never hope to amount to anything. // You were the one who taught me that, weren't you, Mudou-san?
Mudou: Very well.

140
Masamori: This is what you wanted, right?
Mudou: Well then, I think I'll make these ones extra-large. // Enjoy, splendid little brothers!!

141
Masamori: (So far, so good. // Now, Yoshimori, I'm betting the rest on you. // It's up to you to escape from this man! // Zekkai is a technique created through the accumulation and domination of negative feelings. // With your hatred and mistrust towards me, and this critical situation... // This is the perfect situation for you to finally achieve it... // No matter how gentle you may be!! // I will defend. // And what... will you do?)

142
Yoshimori: Aaahhh!! // Huh...?
Mudou: Oh, and when I said the larger ones are more difficult to control? // Another lie. // You're not weaseling your way out of this one with words, boy.

143
Masamori: (He saw through me?! // He was aiming for me alone from the start?!)
Yoshimori: Ahh...
Masamori: Nghh...! // (And he's been holding back until now, as well!!)
Yoshimori: Wait... // Ani... // Aniki...!!

144
[no text just bright]

145
Mudou: What...
Masamori: This is...

146
Mudou: ......!!
Masamori: The thing I witnessed at the Kokubourou affair... Yoshimori's... Zekkai...?! / And this incredible size...! // Yoshimori?!

147
Yoshimori: All right~!! / [aside]here I go!![/aside] // Ah...
Masamori: Oh, Yoshimori. // Want me to move?
Yoshimori: (Oh, yeah... // Aniki's home right now, isn't he...)
[Chapter 163: The Master's Power]

148
Masamori: My, you have a surprising enthusiasm for your training.
Yoshimori: Hey, stop watching me! // Get out of here!!
Masamori: I want to see how far you've improved. // (I'd heard that he'd changed since that incident where Tokine got hurt, but...)
Yoshimori: Houi! / Jouso!! // Ke - / - e - / - e - / - e - / - e... // ...tsu...
Masamori: Hard luck...
Yoshimori: It's 'cause you're watching me!!
Masamori: Well, if a simple thing like that is enough to put you off...
Yoshimori: Shaddup!! / I'm gonna... I'm gonna get stronger and stronger!!
Masamori: "Stronger", huh...? // And why exactly do you want to be so strong?

149
Yoshimori: Well, you know... // I just don't like seeing people around me... / ...get hurt...
Masamori: Tokine-chan, for instance?
Yoshimori: I - / I'm not just talking about her!!
Masamori: (Not that he minds getting wounded himself...) // Well, then... // You planning on coming to my rescue, too?
Yoshimori: Wha?! / Yeah, like you'd need help from a guy like me.
Masamori: Oh, no, even I have my rough moments, you know. // (This one takes a lot of thought, huh...)
Yoshimori: Well, just a little, then... // I'll help you out for just a moment!! // [aside]guess it can't be helped...[/aside]

150
Masamori: Well, thanks for that. // Then how about... // How about if I was actually the kind of scoundrel who kills people without a second thought? // Would you still save me then?
Yoshimori: That's got nothing to do with it. // I said I'd save you, and that's what I'll do. // Just for a moment, okay?

151
[Chapter 163: The Master's Power]

152
Masamori: Yoshimori!! // Yoshimori!! // Yoshimori!!
Yoshimori: Unhhh...
Masamori: What an incredible kid... / Saving me even after I said all that...
Tan'yuu: You two...

153
Tan'yuu: Leave this place. // Honestly... you said you just wanted to capture that human-form... / You said you wouldn't do anything beyond that... // And now just look at this place... it's falling apart...
Masamori: ......... / My deepest apologies...
Tan'yuu: No matter. // I will bring this world to an end.

154
Masamori: Huh?
Tan'yuu: And then... // I will recreate it again from scratch. // There is always the possibility that I and this land will simply die together... // And I cannot say whether this land will see fit to choose me as its master once more, weak as I am... // But even so... / I have no desire to see this place simply crumble away... // I will create an exit for you.

155
Tan'yuu: Naturally, I will save that young fool who, despite knowing nothing, gave everything he had to protect me... / ...and I think I will save you too. // Everything in here will be returned to nothing... / As long as that human-form is still in here, that will be the end of him. // Everything... will end well.
Masamori: Please... // You deal with my brother. // I have... // ...to finish things with that man myself.

156
Tan'yuu: Are you sure you want to take your eyes off him? // This child is something special. // That scene back there made one thing clear... // He is the most dangerous one of all. // He may be even more dangerous... / ...than that human-form, in the end.
Masamori: Just a moment... // Back there, surely that was because you lent him your own power -
Tan'yuu: No.

157
Masamori: I leave my brother to you.
Tan'yuu: I am about to end this place completely.
Masamori: I will find my own way out.

158
Tan'yuu: Once, upon this ground... // ...there lay a beautiful lake. // And I... // ...was given life by the memory of that lake... // Just a little longer... // I wanted to stay in this place a little longer... weaving that dream...
Yoshimori: (A bird...?)

159
Yoshimori: ! // Aniki?! // Where's Aniki?!
Tan'yuu: Don't move about like that.
Yoshimori: ?!
Tan'yuu: That man... // ...told me to ensure that you escape this place safely...
Yoshimori: Huh?

160
Mudou: I must say, I was surprised. / Your little brother is a real "black box", isn't he? // You are far easier to read than he. // I'll wager those things you said about your brother back there... // ...were not truly lies at all.

161
Mudou: What is this...?! // An illusion?!
Masamori: You have earned yourself the master's wrath. // This place is going to collapse completely... // ...and that immortal body of yours will be destroyed along with it. // Right now... // There is just one last thing I want to ask.
Mudou: Hah... // I know what you're going to say.

162
Mudou: You want to know how to escape the "reason" of this world, do you not? // Being an ayakashi works. / We have true freedom. // If you want to join us quite that much...

163
Masamori: I'm perfectly aware... // ...of all that nonsense. // Unlike you, Mudou-san... / I have no desire to reject my own self. // There's just one thing that I want to hear from you. // Even if only a little, you found a true purpose in life in raising those children. // What happened to change all that so completely?
Mudou: Change? // My ideas have never changed -
Masamori: I'm tired of your lies.

164
Yoshimori: Ahh! // Oww! // Oww... // Ahhhhh... // Aniki?! // ANIKI!!

165
[Chapter 164: Envy]
Yoshimori: Dammitall!! // Open up!!
Flashback!Masamori: My brother's life... take it. // Please, just let me go.
Yoshimori: (Even after saying all that... // ...you're still letting just me escape?!) // You liar!! / I told you not to act that way, dammit!! // Why don't you ever listen to me...?! / STUPID ANIKI!!

166
[Chapter 164: Envy]

167
Masamori: I'd like you to answer the question, Mudou-san. // Why was it that you changed? // Mudou-san!!

168
Mudou: (The entrance I used was around here... // Closed off, is it...?) // Tch!! // I'll just have to use force!!

169
Mudou: What...?!
Masamori: You're not going to be able to just wrench it open like that. // The master of this world said he was ending it completely. // This world is being taken apart, and you are caught up in it. // I think you've underestimated the master's power.
Mudou: I still haven't released the full extent of my own power.

170
Masamori: (A child... // To think he had such ridiculous amounts of power remaining...!!)

171
Mudou: Hahh!! // Let's see how you like THIS!!

172
Mudou: Ridiculous...
Masamori: Looks like you just don't know when to give it up, Mudou-san.
Mudou: ......... // You seem awfully calm about all this, boy.

173
Mudou: Yes, I see... you have the ability to create kekkai - your own personal little world... // I suppose you think you can survive even the destruction of this entire plane.
Masamori: If you give me an answer... // ...I might help you escape, as well.
Mudou: Liar.

174
Mudou: As though the likes of yourself has the power to save me!!

175
Mudou: Oh, I see it all now! // You're trying to act all smart, but you're at your limit here too, aren't you, boy! // I can see now that there is no way out of here for me! / But even if you do have the ability to get yourself out of this place... // How exactly do you intend to take me along with you with this technique that annihilates everything but your own body?! // Oh, I understand... / Let me say this quite clearly... // You may call yourself a "Kekkaishi"... // But the only way you can create a world is by rejecting everything else.

176
Mudou: Not like that little brother of yours...! // ......... / If you really want to know so much, I'll tell you. // The reason why I changed... // Is that I finally understood... / ...just how you feel. // In the innermost levels of the Urakai, I witnessed it with my own eyes...

177
Mudou: A truly unparalleled being......!! // I tried to face up to it, but I was killed time and time again... // It was unbelievable... // ...particularly my own emotions. // For the first time in my life... // For the first time, I knew true, overwhelming envy...! // Up until that moment, I had been under the illusion that my own power was something special, that I was some kind of chosen man...

178
Mudou: But before them... // I was beyond worthless... / I had never before been subjected to such an unbearable feeling...!!
Masamori: "Them"... // Somebody from the Council of Twelve...?!
Mudou: Heh... // At the rate you're going, that meeting will be sure to come. // And then, you will understand. // But there is a way to elevate yourself to that level. // That is the path that I chose, in the end. // Don't you think it's rather similar?

179
Mudou: Just the same as the feelings you have held all these long years towards your own brother...! // Don't you wish you hadn't asked now, hmm? // You just try witnessing them for yourself, and you'll see what I mean. // And just one last thing... // I hope you don't think I'm the only one who's going after the Shin'yuuchi. // The single greatest shortcut to obtaining incredible power... / Mine isn't the only way, there are plenty of ways to go about it. // You don't have to be an ayakashi... / ...or a human... // ...You don't have to have a stealing ability, like my own... / ...or to have been chosen by the land, like that brother of yours...!

180
Mudou: Places like Karasumori are a natural target. // Don't you think it would be more interesting... // ...to take that power for yourself, before someone else does?
Masamori: What's that... // ...supposed to mean...?
Mudou: Like I told you, there are any number of ways to go about it. // That's my final message to you. // Although of course, that's always assuming you can even get out of here...

181
Masamori: ! // (Just now... this world was... // ...ended...!)

182
Yoshimori: Why?!! / Why can't I get in?!! // This is where I entered in the first place!! // Shit... // Shit...!! // (I still don't know what the hell's going on in that head of yours... / You need to explain it to me... // Get back here, you stupid Aniki...!!)
[Kekkaishi 17: Fin]

183
Kekkaishi

184
[Text: All-out special feature: "Author's Secret Story"]
OMAKE MANGA
[Text: The Birth of a New Character!! // To begin with, I was thinking of making the enemy(?) character of this volume, Mudou, a skin-and-bonesy old man.]
Yellow: ah - I like these Noh mask faces...
[book: Noh]
[sFX: wahahahahah]
[Label: Mudou's Initial Design]
[Note: He really looks like he's abandoned his humanity.]
[Text: However...]
Itachi: It would be nice to have a character who doesn't look all completely-deranged like Kaguro and all that did...
[sign: Boss / Itachi]
[Note: In a business meeting]
[Text: ...Basically, stuff happened, and...]

185
Yellow: (Ah... that's no good.)
[Text: That idea got abandoned. // So I thought the thing over again, and had some kind of odd inspiration that was like a cross between a Mafia boss and a magician...]
[Note: seems more human]
[Text: ...and that's how I came up with his current image. // When I presented this to my boss, the first thing he said was...]
Bossun: Another ossan...?
[Text: ...and I thought...]
Yellow: What does he mean, "again"...?!
[Labels: him? // or him? // or him...?!]
[Top note: Ossan-ish characters who have appeared recently]
[bottom note: Aside from the guy in the middle, I'd say they're pretty young, actually.]
Yellow: (Hell, they're still younger than you whichever way you look at it...)
[Note: Tanabe's poisonous strike!]
[Text: ...and other such nasty things, but still...]
Yellow: (But well... he's gotta seem at least older than Masamori, so doesn't he kind of have to be a bit of an ossan...?)
[Label: more of an ossan than Ma-san]
[Text: ...is what I thought, so...]

186
Yellow: Well, how about if he gets younger over the course of the fight?
Itachi: Ahhh... / I see... // Sounds okay.
Yellow: [aside]really...[/aside] // (He's still an ossan on the inside, y'know?)
[Text: That got the "OK". // And so it was that my skin-and-bones old man ended up as a cute little kid. // Speaking of which, in the comments section at the back of Shonen Sunday, there was this one question asking "If you could return to your childhood days, what one game would you like to play again?"]
[box: Kekkaishi / Tanabe Yellow / Keidoro. Ousama-jindori.]
[TN: "Keidoro" and "Ousama-jindori" would be his answers to the question. They're both children's tag-style games. "Keidoro" is short for "keisatsu to dorobou" - "cops and robbers", and indeed it sounds almost entirely identical to the English game of the same name described here. Ousama-jindori, I don't know if there's any kind of English equivalent. The name literally means "King-capture-the-base", and it's pretty much what it sounds like, I guess. Kids split into two teams, each with a secret "King" and their own "base", and it's like a kind of mass-tag war - if you get touched by/touch a member of the opposing team, the two of you have a Janken "battle", and the loser has to freeze on the spot until their King revives them (preferably, of course, without revealing himself to the opposing team). A team wins the game when either they defeat the opposing King at Janken, or their King sets foot in the opponent's base.]
[Text: More important to me than the actual contents of the game would be regaining that ability you have as a child to just lose yourself in the game, forgetting about everything else.]
Cat: Hold it~!
Others: Hahahahahah!
[Label: good at running]
[Text: I'd really like to be able to just enjoy those things with all my heart like I did back then - looking back, I find I've lost the ability to even understand what was so fun about it. // That kind-of-lonely feeling when evening fell, though... // ...I find I can still recall a little even now.]
Friends: See you~!

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Kekkaishi