8 Kamen, the Multi-mask

"I'll ask you again, who are you?"

Akira pulled his Bladestaff from his back, swung it in a full circle and pointed it at the man.

"I'm here to kill you, Akira!"

The malevolence on the man grew denser, it gathered around his hands and face. The wretched smile on his face grew wider and his eyes turned as sharp as blade.

Sighed, Akira shook his head with closed eyes.

He then looked at the man with an annoyed look.

"Please answer the question, who are you?" Akira asked again.

The wretched smile on the man's face was frozen by the repeatedly question, so was Mako with her confused gaze at Akira.

"W-What? I said I'm here to kill you, didn't you hear me?" The man answered out of confusion.

"I know that already! I mean, what is your name? Who are you really?"

"M-My name? I said I'm here to kill you and you are concerned about my name?" The man stuttered.

"Yes, you name. Isn't it basic manners to introduce yourself on first meeting? You didn't tell me your name and you wanted to kill me? How rude are you?" Akira asked in a pout.

The man was even more confused before a sudden realization hit him. He thought Akira wanted to know his name so he could die with closure, so he said "Oh I see now, you are trying to know who kills you so you can die with closure? Not a chance, you will die a painful death and you won't even know who kills you. Hahahaha!"

The man laughed sinisterly, he thought he had the situation under control but when he spotted the blank gaze and even more annoyed face on Akira, he realized something wasn't right.

"Who are you, what's your name?"

"Wha-..."

"Who are you, what's your name?"

"Who are you, what's your name?"

"Who are you, what's your name?"

"Who are you, what's your name?"

Akira repeated his question endlessly.

The annoyance and confusion started to build up in the man's head, his patience was wearing thin.

He clenched his fists and teeth in anger. The repeated questions sounded like flies around his ears, buzzing him endlessly and he failed to swat it every time.

Mako was completely stunned by Akira's action, she had no idea why Akira was so persistent in knowing the man's name. She stood there blankly and continued watching the scene.

"Who are you, what's your name?"

"Who are you, what's your name?"

"Who are y-"

"Aaaaaaargh! ENOUGH! I am Kamen, the Multi-face!! This hot-tempered soul here is Ken! Now you can die with the mercy I show you!"

Malevolence burst from the man, which revealed to be the possessed Ken.

Kamen, a Yoma, had its patience worn off by Akira's annoyance, it shouted out of frustration and breathe heavily. It had no idea why Akira was so persistent with his question, but it knew that if it didn't cast the annoying questions away, it head would burst before it could kill Akira.

Akira curled his lips into a grin and lowered his Bladestaff. He took out his smart phone and started typing.

"Ka...men...possess...Ken…"

"Please wait a moment, I have to type it in my phone before I forget."

The malevolence around Kamen froze again, it was completely baffled by Akira's every action since their encounter. When it got the order to lure Akira out and kill him, Kamen never thought it would turn out so weird.

Mako's mouth started to twitch, she seemed to have found out why Akira was taking down the Yoma's name.

"Akira, don't tell me you are…"

"...taking down this Yoma's name so that I can write a report after this. You did tell me last time to hand in my own report right?" Akira looked at Mako and smiled.

Mako facepalmed herself, she knew Akira was always this weird but this untimely behaviour elevated his eccentricness to a new height.

While Akira was smiling at the embarrassed Mako, malevolence in front of them skyrocketed.

A dense, powerful malevolence exploded, causing a violent wind in all directions.

"Wargh! How dare you play me! I'll rip you apart!"

Kamen flew out like a bullet, it reached Akira like a bolt of lightning and landed a punch on his face.

Kapow!

Akira was caught off guard and sent flying backwards like a cannonball. He crashed into the wall further away and cloud of dust covered the site.

"You talk big, but you aren't as strong as your words!" Kamen mocked.

"AKIRA!" Mako screamed but before she could run over, a quick punch was coming at her.

The punch was also going for her face and it was accompanied by violent wind and dense malevolence.

Mako who had much better body reflexes than Akira felt the punch coming, she quickly tilted her body backwards and bent down, dodging it in the nick of time.

Kamen's punch grazed her face.

Mako went along with her body motion and lifted her legs up for a double kick at Kamen's chin.

Wham!

Mako landed backwards with her hands after landing the two kicks and continued to retreat, drawing more distance from Kamen with several backward flips.

The kicks landed powerfully, but it didn't seem to inflict a lot of damage.

"Very nice, it seems like you are stronger than that idiot! I'll have a good time playing with you, little girl." Kamen tilted his head back down and looked at Mako with a wicked smile.

Dense malevolence then gathered around his face and eventually covered it up. A second later, when the aura dispersed, a white mask showing an abstract angry face appeared.

Kamen's body started to grow bigger, his arms got thicker and his body grew larger. The gray suit he was wearing was pushed to its limit before breaking off, leaving him with his pants.

Dark spots covered his body and it would move along like floating clouds, eventually making his hands black.

Mako landed firmly with a squat. She pulled out her tonfas and entered her battle stance, but before she threw herself over, she saw the dead hostess beside her.

Her eyes showed a little sorrow, she clenched her weapons tighter before replacing the sorrow with determination.

"You bloody Yoma, I'll make you pay for disregarding human's life, especially a lady!"

"We shall see about that!"

Kamen's voice turned rough and heavy after the mask covered Ken's face.

Orange spiritual aura enveloped Mako; Dark malevolence enveloped Kamen in his buff body.

Bam!

Kamen jumped back into the alley, where Mako was, with a powerful punch. He thought Mako would also jump toward him for a clash, but to his surprise Mako stood still. Kamen grinned and tightened his fist.

When Kamen was a meter away from punching Mako, Mako did a backflip followed by a double kick again. She tried to trick Kamen into her pace so that she could get an upper hand but the same trick would not work twice.

Kamen knew the moment Mako stood still, so the punch that he dished out was actually a fake. His true attack was a mid-air forward flip into a falling kick, welcoming Mako's with his own.

Bash!

A ring of air burst out in every direction when the kicks met.

The kicks locked for less than a fraction of a second and split.

Mako did a backflip, regained her steps and took the charge on Kamen this time. She swung her tonfas in circles as she was charging forward.

Kamen jumped higher into the air as he rebounded on the kick, found his landing on the flickering lamp pole at the entrance of the alleyway and pushed himself back at Mako.

Kapow!

Mako's right tonfa clashed with Kamen's right punch, a barrage of punches and tonfas strikes were dished out at each other.

Kabam! Bam!

Each time the fist clashed with the tonfa, a ring of air would burst; each time the punch or the tonfa grazed their opponent, a powerful wind would follow.

Exchanging 5 to 6 hits later, they picked up pace and unleashed fury of attacks at each other.

Right tonfa swing, left punch, left tonfa strike, right uppercut!

Hit after hit, blow after blow. Mako managed to land a good amount of hits on Ken's body, but Kamen didn't seem to be really suffering. On the contrary, Kamen landed punch after punch at Mako's abdomen and the damage seemed to be piling up rapidly.

After the 30th punch and the 5th that landed on Mako, she spat out a mouthful of blood but she did not delay or pause her attacks.

Mako landed twice as much as the punches she received from Kamen with the same amount of attacks, and as she further pushed the attacks, the malevolence around Ken's body started to show signs of weakening.

"You are also quite a persistent one, but in a less annoying way!" the heavy voice of Kamen sounded.

"I won't stop until I punch that mask off your face! Hyak!"

A strong shout later, Mako exchanged another punch on her body for a charged up tonfa strike on the mask. She had been charging her tonfas with her spiritual energy as she unleashed the attacks, hence she had to take the sacrifice in order to land the powerful blow.

Kabam!

Kamen was caught off guard after landing a successful hit on Mako's chest, so what he welcomed was a powerful thrust that broke the nose.

The powerful blow didn't just break Ken's nose, it even sent his body flying backwards but he managed to regain his steps quickly and did not fly far.

He landed on his wide-spread feet and slid backwards for a few more meters. His head was looking down, his hair covered his face and his hands were swinging like a pendulum.

"Hehehehehe, a powerful blow, but how long can you keep this up?"

A heavy voice came from the unseen face, malevolence gathered around his head.

Kamen suddenly lifted the head up. The eyes on the mask started to glow in red and every breath he exhaled was in white.

He stared at Mako with a grudgeful gaze.

Panting heavily, Mako placed her one of her hand over her chest, where she was hit, and raised her other hand holding the tonfa at Kamen.

"We shall see!" Mako licked away the blood from the corner of her mouth with her tongue before showing a determined grin.

Her spiritual energy burned higher, she adjusted her stance and was ready for another round.

Kamen too raised his hands covered in malevolence, he was also ready to brawl it all out with Mako. Although Ken's body was damaged, Kamen could easily shed this vessel and find a new target. Still, he ought to keep the option as a last resort because Ken's anger level was quite matching with Kamen's Anger mask. So he would try to bring Mako down before he heads back to deal with Akira.

Fwooosh!

Both Mako and Kamen jumped at each other again.

Barrage of punches, kicks were launched at each other, but this time Mako was much more reserved. She was more defensive compared to the first round, she would defend against a kick from Kamen rather than seizing the window for a counterattack, as though she was stalling.

Kamen, on the other hand, noticed the change too but he didn't care, he thought it was Mako's body wearing down, so he seized the chance and went all out with the punches and kicks.

"What's wrong now? I thought you still can put up a fight? Why are you holding back?"

Kamen mocked her. Mako remained quiet.

Two more successful blocks and a missed punch later, Mako curled up her lips for a grin.

Kamen noticed the little reaction and was puzzled by it.

What caused her to grin? She was under heavy attack from Kamen and she still had the heart to grin?

The reaction angered Kamen even more.

"Little girl, you will!...What!?"

"Dharma Radiance, First Light!"

After the little grin, Mako did a backflip and landed a kick on Kamen's chest, pushing herself away from him.

Kamen was caught off guard by the sudden retreat but before he could, Akira's voice entered his ears.

He quickly turned around to the voice but before he could have a clear look, a beam of light struck him and pierced a big hole on the edge of his neck, it also damaged his mask a little.

"Aaaaaaaaargh!"

Kamen was forced to the ground on his knees, his left hand was covering the wound on his right neck.

"YOU!"

The painful grunts subsided before Kamen turned around with gnashing teeth, he saw Akira standing on the rubble with white spiritual energy swirling around him.

"I thought you said you are here to kill me, but you forgot my existence after a punch? That's a bit careless of you."

Akira had one hand at his waist while his other hand was holding his Bladestaff up straight.

His smile was bright even at night. Despite he was punched into the wall by Kamen earlier, it didn't seem to hurt him for a bit.

Kamen finally realized the situation, he had underestimated Akira from the start because of his frivolous attitude. That was the reason why he decided to focus on Mako first and not kill Akira after he punched him into the wall.

"You tricked me from the start?" Kamen squeezed the words out of the seams of his teeth.

"Hey, I am an honest person, I don't lie. It's your fault that you underestimated me, don't put it on my head." Akira shrugged.

It was Akira's plan all along to disturb Kamen's thoughts with his annoyance, endure the punch so that he could mislead Kamen to lower his guard, getting to know Kamen's name was just an extra bonus.

"We have you surrounded, tell us who sent you?" Mako said behind Kamen.

She stood up straight and firm for she did not really suffer damage from Kamen's attacks.

After Akira crashed into the wall, she had been communicating with Akira through her earpiece.

The purpose of engaging Kamen was to make time for Akira to charge up his Dharma Radiance and the reason why she became more defensive on the second round was also because of Akira needed more time to aim.

"Both of you are much smarter than I expect." Kamen on his knees smiled bitterly underneath the mask, his mind however was thinking of a way to escape the situation.

Splat!

"We are not smart, it's just that you are stupid." Mako threw a packet of liquid on the ground.

Kamen was shocked under his mask when he saw the packet, it was ketchup!

The blood that Mako spat out earlier from the hits was an act!

The ketchup actually came from the Sawabe-san's izakaya where they visited earlier.

Mako prefered ketchup over traditional Japanese sweet sauce, so she purposely asked for more and packed the unopened ones.

"Aaaaaargh!"

"There's no use in screaming now, tell us who sent you!" said Mako.

"You think you've got me? This isn't over, you fools have no idea what you are dealing with!"

Malevolence around Kamen surge to an all time high, the muscles around Ken's leg clenched tightly.

Bam!

Kamen jumped up in the air.

"Guess our meeting comes to an end for now, I will see you so-"

"Oh no you don't! Light Chain!"

White chain sprung out from the ground, flew towards the jumping Kamen and caught his arms and legs.

"YOU BLOODY BASTARD!"

Kamen was 2 meters off the ground when the chains caught him. The chains weren't that powerful to completely bind him down, he could have easily broken free with a powerful swing but since he was in mid-air, things turned out different.

Plus the hole in Ken's neck extended to his shoulder, Kamen couldn't exert enough strength from the body to break free in mid-air. He was slammed back down on the ground.

Bam!

"Since you won't talk, I guess we will have to purify you and find out for ourselves." Mako said as she tapped away the dust on her shoulders, "Let's go Akira!"

"Ready when you are!"

Mako then jumped towards Kamen. Her orange spiritual energy gathered around her hands.

"True Blossom Hundred Art—Dynamite Knuckle!"

The orange energy around Mako's right fist shined brightly, coupled with the speed of her fist, her tonfa looked like a speeding dynamite.

Kamen saw the explosive punch coming at him but he had barely gotten up on his feet and when he finally did, it was already too late.

KABOOM!

Orange spiritual energy explode upon impact, the blow landed on Kamen's chest and the powerful impact sent him flying back towards Akira.

Ken's body had suffered irreversible damage, but not yet completely destroyed. Kamen still has plans for this body and was not yet ready to part with it, therefore when he was sent flying towards Akira, who was preparing his attack, Kamen activated his trump card.

While Kamen was flying towards him, Akira charged his Bladestaff with his white spiritual energy until it was as bright as a fluorescent tube.

"Amaterasu Descend—Flash Cross!"

Akira swung his glowing Bladestaff in a frontal circle with one hand before he entered a thrusting stance. His left hand held the center shaft tightly while his right hand held the end, providing enough strength for a thrust.

He jumped out. He then swung the Bladestaff horizontally to a downward circle and followed by an upward vertical slash, forming a white cross with his motion.

However, before the white cross damaged Kamen, something jumped in between them and took the hit for Kamen.

It was an eerie Happy mask!

Slash!

Akira landed on the other side with a slide and ended up beside Mako.

He then turned around with an annoyed look.

The thing, or person, that jumped in and blocked his attack was actually the dead hostess beside the alleyway.

The woman fell to the ground and a big cross was carved on her chest, the cut extended all the way up to the Happy mask on her face and her dress was torn to shreds, revealing her naked body. The mask on top of her face resembled the one on Ken's face..

The Anger mask, on the other hand, floated in mid-air as dense malevolence clouded Ken's body. The malevolence then got sucked into the mask, together with the physical body.

Mako locked her gaze at the woman with the broken mask on her face, she was a little frustrated and angry.

The body then slowly turned dark and withered.

The night breeze then carried the Anger mask higher.

"Hahahaha, I admit I've underestimated you, but so do you me!"

Kamen's voice sounded from the wind, as the mask flew away like a paper.

"A cheap way escaping using a dead person!" Akira shouted to the air.

"I may be cheap but I'm not stupid! If I stay and fight after you forced me to use my second mask, then I am really stupid! I will see you again next time and I will be prepared, hehehehe…"

Mako jumped up quickly and punched the Anger mask flying in mid-air, but her tonfa went through it as it faded away.

"Hahahaha! Try harder next time, little girl, I will come back for you two!"

The wicked laughs faded away together Kamen's presence.

Mako landed with a squat.

"Damn it, that cheap bastard escaped, tsk." Akira clicked his tongue.

Mako didn't care about the escaped Kamen though, her eyes were locked to the ground where the naked lady died. Her brows furrowed in anger.

"Mako, are you alright?" Akira went over and tapped her shoulder.

"I'm fine, but she's not." Mako's words sounded her empathy for the dead hostess.

"We did our best, don't blame yourself."

"I didn't blame myself, this is not the first time anyway, but I'll make sure that mask bastard pay, twice as much when I locate him!"

Mako's eyes were burning of determination and anger. She knew a long time ago that she could not save everyone, but whenever she failed to save life from the grasp of the evil, grievance would come afloat.

She looked up to the direction where Kamen flew away.

"Call the police." Mako said.

"On it!" Akira touched the earpiece in his right ear and made a call to the police.

After the call, Akira nodded at Mako, she closed the eyes of the death hostess and both of the left the scene.