Black Star stood, kusarigama in hand, on one side of a gravestone. It bore no name, and rested atop a small hill next to a single tree that held no leaves and drooped a bit. Across from the ninja stood Josiah, six-shot pistol in hand.

"There's still time, you know," said Josiah, looking at the man with sad eyes, "to back down. And walk away with your life."

"I already told you, I'm here to prove once and for all who the strongest man is," said Black Star, voice adamant and very serious. He had a half smirk on his face and his eyes seemed to burn with determination. Josiah sighed at this.

"Very well," the Meister said, before raising his gun and pulling the trigger. The gunshot was deafening, and the bullet, made from a bit of the man's Soul Wavelength, cut through the air with such power that Black Star actually saw the tree sway in response. He raised one of his kusarigama and blocked the projectile, the force of it actually lifting him off his feet.

"Impressive. Most people go down after the first shot," said Josiah before squeezing off another shot, which Black Star dodged by rolling out of the way before seeming to disappear completely, moving at such a speed that he was before his opponent in a second, bringing his foot around in a powerful kick that would put down any normal man. Josiah, however, was no normal man, and with outstretched hand he caught his opponents boot.

"You think I'm going to get caught off guard by something so simple, boy?" the older man said, dropping the boot as Black Star darted back. His head was down as Josiah spoke.

"You'll have to do a lot better than that," he said, and at this Black Star raised his head, eyes blazing. Tsubaki felt the subtle shift in her Meister's Soul Wavelength and changed accordingly, turning into a giant shuriken. Black Star stood then, lifting the Weapon with lightning fast reflexes as another shot was fired, the projectile making a loud clang against the metal surface. Black Star was pushed back a couple of inches but his stance was still tall.

"Tsubaki," the ninja said, and at once the woman's face appeared on his side of the shuriken.

"Black Star?"

"Are you okay?" the question caught her off guard, and at first she didn't answer. Of course she was okay, he knew that. They'd fought tougher foes than this, and she'd taken harder hits than those, so what was the problem. She never received an answer because, as soon as she had assured him that she as all right, he went to work. He threw the shuriken with incredible power, the weapon practically rolling rather than flying along the ground, the blades taking out huge gouges from the earth. Black Star dashed behind it, his form a blur as he ran. Just before the shuriken hit Josiah, however, Black Star reached forward.

"Kusarigama Mode Tsubaki!" he cried, and the Weapon obliged, Black Star catching ahold of one of the blades while the other continued on, using the momentum it had built in the other form, chain swiftly wrapping around Josiah's legs before the blade bit into his leg. He grunted, clearly not expecting this form of attack, but he didn't have a lot of time to question it as Black Star pulled, knocking him to the ground, and began to spin. Once he was moving at a fairly decent pace, Tsubaki transformed again, this time into the Enchanted Sword. This, as Black Star had hoped, launched Josiah high into the air. With a great leap, Black Star was airborne as well, followed by a thin shadow.

"This is it for you!" called Black Star as he approached, sword held back for a powerful blow. To his surprise, however, Josiah had stabilized himself and was holding his weapon forward in the form of a sawed off shotgun. Before either could strike, however, the air around them rippled with power. They fell to the ground, both staring to the direction the pulse had come from.

"Tsubaki...any idea what that was?" the ninja asked, staring off into the distance. He couldn't see anything, and the power, while still there, was fading quickly. Black Star looked at his opponent, who shared his look of concern. Kim was at his side now, helping him to tend to the wound on his leg.

"I don't know what that was either, kid. Felt like a Witch to me…but a Witch that powerful could be…trouble," Josiah answered, standing when Kim had finished up. As the two began to walk away, Black Star straightened up.

"And where do you think you're going?" he asked, eyes narrowed. The Gunman turned and looked at him with a look of confusion.

"The fight's not over," Black Star said, despite the fact that Tsubaki had transformed and was standing next to him. Josiah sighed while Kim looked at the ninja angrily. She was about to speak when Josiah answered.

"You're right. But we've got more to worry about now. If you got any common sense kid, you'll do what we're going to do."

"And what's that?" Black Star asked, folding his arms and eyeing Josiah coldly. The Gunman smirked.

"We're going to Death City."

Meanwhile…

Another soul-tearing wail pierced the foggy night as Meister and Pre-Kishin collided in battle. The Banshee fought with long claws on her hands, and met Argath again and again without receiving so much as a single scratch.

"This is unreal!" cried Spirit as his blade, made of a dull and near freezing cold iron, rocketed through the night air. Argath was quite skillful, but each stroke was met with a quick claw strike that batted the weapon away in a shower of sparks. All the while the woman had a dark smile, and her eyes glowed a malicious shade of red.

"Keep on your toes, Death Scythe. She will fall if it's the last thing I do!" Argath cried, dashing into the fray. Scythe locked with talons as the two combatants faced off once more.

"Tell me, Argath. How long are you going to hunt me? You're little tricks grow tiresome," the Pre-Kishin said, her voice raspy and far-off sounding. Argath focused his Wavelength into his weapon, the resulting power forcing the two combatants away from one another.

"You should have died long ago, Bryn!" Argath answered, pointing the weapon at her. She growled at the name and he smirked.

"That name, that woman, is dead, Argath. She died and I took her place!" With her piece said, the Banshee leapt forward, claws extended. Argath sidestepped her attack and brought his weapon up to her belly, making a horrible gash there and spilling blood on the ground. He smiled in his victory, but was surprised, when her hands came up, grabbing the staff of the scythe and wrenching it from his grasp before tossing it away, the blade sinking into the ground as a soft rain began to fall. Spirit tried to transform but found that he could only watch as the Banshee sunk her talons into his shoulders, a raspy laugh escaping her lungs.

"You thought… you could end me?" she asked, and Argath only stared hatefully into her eyes before she loosed her lethal scream. Argath's eyes rolled into the back of his head and Spirit tried his best to change, but was stuck in his Weapon Form. He began to cry out but stopped as he felt himself pulled from the ground, a familiar Wavelength washing over him – one he could have sworn he would never feel again. His blade returned to its cold iron state as his new wielder dashed forward, the Banshee dropping her prey as they approached. The Banshee lashed out at the Meister but she proved to be quicker, leaping over her opponent and placing the scythe blade under her chin as she landed.

"Bryn, The Banshee of the Moors," said the voice, so strong and so familiar to Spirit, "Your soul is mine," Before the Banshee could make the slightest scream, the Meister pulled the scythe blade back, cutting through her neck with ease as her body dissipated, becoming a glowing red Kishin Egg. The rain intensified, and the Meister dropped the scythe, kneeling next to Argath.

"Argath," she said, voice concerned, and Spirit found that he could transform again. He did so and stared in disbelief, "Hang in there, it'll be okay."

"Have no fear for me child…I'm glad you came back when you did," the older man said. Argath took the hand she held out to him, grunting in pain as she helped him sit up. Spirit noted the dirty blonde hair, long and let down, and the emerald green eyes as they darted up to him for a second, face set in a straight line. She wore a heavy jacket with grey fur lining and a green color overall, a white button up shirt and a pair of jeans with a pair of boots. Spirit couldn't believe it, but couldn't stop himself from blurting his thoughts out.

"Kami?" he asked, and the woman looked him full in the eye this time, eyebrow cocked as she eyed him up and down. She stood fully and smirked.

"Hello, Spirit. You look like hell."

So, updating has always been a problem for me, yes? I can't promise that this will change, but you guys know I'm good for it. This was originally supposed to be two updates, but I figured I could mix them and get back to the main story faster, yes? Stay tuned for more, as there will be. Thank you sooo much for reading, and please leave a review for me, they help a lot.