Warning: Spoilers for anyone who has not seen beyond the Sensui Arc.

Last chapter of the Makai "Arc." Enjoy?

One More Secret: Chapter 3 Legends Don't Die

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"And what, pray-tell, is this, fox?" the Midnight Kitsune whispered next to Youko's ear. Gently laying her hands on his shoulders she peered over them to take a look at what lay out on the mahogany conference table that took up most of the space in the room. Thieves and bandits of Youko's troupe sat lining said table and examined the representation with interest. Only enough space to walk around the seated demons remained in the mainly blank room, meant to reduce as many distracting factors as possible. The singer raised a delicate eyebrow. "Planning a heist? Think I can help?"

"No," was the immediate response from the silver thief as he pried Myou's hands of his shoulders and brought her around so he could watch her out of the corner of his eye.

Myou puffed out her cheeks and pouted. "Fine," she stomped her foot, "be that way." And with that she sunk down into the floor. Mind you, she did not sink down to the floor, but through it.

"Did you know she could do that, boss?" One of Youko's followers asked him.

"She can do many things, Tamachi. Now, back to the plans." Youko gestured towards the map layed out on the table. "The Ruins of RaiLaren will only be guarded by booby traps as the place was long since abandoned. There will be relics scattered around in various rooms, but the real treasure will likely, either be hidden underground or on the top floor. We have to be careful because the place is a maze, and if you get lost no one's going to save you."

A few grumbles of assent and arrogant comments about not needing saving were heard along the table for a brief moment.

"Feel free to snatch whatever you want of the few pieces scattered around the Ruins, but the main cache will be split when we get back by me." No one commented on this set up, considering it was quite the standard procedure for the King of Thieves. "So, who's in?"

Hands shot up all around the table as everyone wanted a piece of the goods. Well, most everyone. Those who knew they'd get little else but what they picked up outside the treasury room decided that dodging booby traps wasn't worth the effort for trinkets someone else might get to before them. After Youko acknowledged those who wished to participate he made to dismiss the others. Something stopped him however.

A sharp whistle pierced through the room, bringing all attention to the far corner of the room. "Missing something?" At first all the demons were surprised to find a human girl had managed to sneak into the room without any of them noticing, but when they saw the pile of stolen goods sitting at her feet, they were outraged. Even more so when they took in her appearance. Dressed in complete black, including boots and belt, the human woman possessed blonde hair and clear blue eyes.

"Hey! That's the candleholder I swiped last night!"

"And that's the ash tray I lifted this morning!"

"How'd she get my ring? I swear it was in my-"

"Correction, how'd I get Cera's ring," the vindictive intruder cut him off. "You slipped this off her finger last night." An accompanying glare fully rebuked the tricky tiger demon. The stranger continued to address the rest of the room. "I do admit that some of these are yours by right, but you had no right to steal from the woman giving you a place to stay."

"And who are you to tell us what we can and can not do?" Yomi stood from his seat.

"Always looking for a fight." The stranger shook her head. "Hold your horses and sit back down, goat."

"Shade," came a whisper from one of the less formidable of those present. The human raised an eyebrow in his direction. "I've heard of her. Her name is Shade Owlmerra, the Shadow Thief."

"That's about right," Shade admits. "Though I resent the Shadow Thief thing. Makes me sound like I'm stealing people's shadows. I'm a Realmer, not a Handler, thank you very much."

Shade Owlmerra
Shado Ewlmerra
Shado Welmerra
Shadow Elmerra
Shadow Elmrera
Shadow Elrmera
Shadow Erlmera
Shadow Relmera
Shadow Relmear
Shadow Relmaer
Shadow Relamer
Shadow Realmer

See the logic going here? Yes? No? Oh well, at least some of them got it.

"How did you get past Myou's security? She has energy grids all around the mansion, shadow realmer or not. Those nets would have set off an alarm, if not snagged you, when you entered." Youko narrowed his eyes. "No one can get through her security."

"You're right. No one can get through Myou's security unless she wants them to. But I didn't have to." Shade's sassy tone was starting to tick the demons off.

"Youko, Shade is a legend. She's been around forever. Sometimes she disappears for years, but she always comes back and continues to outdo even the most state of the art technology." The same quiet demon voiced again.

"Well, at least somebody knows their legends. And I'll have you know, most of my vacations are gaps of fifteen years." A golden necklace continued to twirl between the shadow realmer's fingers as she stood before them nonchalantly.

Youko growled. "Myou, enough of your games."

Shade looked up. "Well, it's about time." And with that, the Shadow Thief transformed into the Midnight Kitsune.

Surprise registered on many demon faces and whispers could be heard among the men. The silver fox glared at Myou, and Myou held a bemused expression on her face.

"The best bandits in the Makai," the gold chain continued to twirl on her fingers, "these men are supposed to be. What I see is a bunch of sloppy, unruly, and arrogant low-lives." Blue eyes looked pointedly at Yomi at the last two adjectives. "You didn't even notice the change in weight as I lifted these-" a gesture at the pile of valuables at her feet, "from your pockets." Her old stare swept over the entire room. "Pathetic."

Narrator

After having proved herself to the bandits as an adept thief, Myou was allowed to assist on any heist she saw fit to join; much to Youko Kurama's displeasure. However, as the year progressed, the King of Thieves found Myou's advice sound and reasonable, the logic in her words ever undeniable. So when Myou suggested to the fox that he exterminate his second command, Yomi, he could not find any reason not to follow her advice, other than his friendship with the goat demon.

Yomi was a loose cannon. He loved confrontations and challenges. So much so that he disobeyed Youko's orders and took their best men into risky situations. Many of these good men fell at Yomi's expense, his thirst for power overcoming his patience. It only made sense to get rid of him.

But because of his friendship with the goat demon, Youko could not bring himself to dispatch Yomi personally. No, he found it better that he lure Yomi into an ambush, killing not only Yomi, but also which ever men he chose to bring on the expedition to raid yet another "impenetrable fortress."

Setting up an award for the assassin who killed Yomi in such a way, Youko left it to others to do his dirty work. But then again, you could say the same for Myou, even though she had done so knowing she had not the right to kill one of Youko's men. Especially since killing Yomi would mean everyone else in the gang of bandits would either fear or despise her.

Ah, but we are forgetting something. I believe as the saying goes, "If you want something done right, do it yourself." Of course, our two main characters were not so inclined to do such a thing, and as it was, Yomi was not killed as planned. He was not killed, but he was not saved. He was blinded by the double swords of the assassin that had backed out after one simple cut, saying "Life is more valuable than the reward," leaving Yomi to cry out in his blindness, "Wait, what reward!" And then he was alone.

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But a week after this fiasco, Myou Shinri's seventy first birthday rolled around. To celebrate, Kirai Koigokoro, once more Myou's singing partner known as Dreamer, held a small concert for the Midnight Kitsune. That night, all of Youko Kurama's legendary bandits attended. The concert was held right in the great hall of Myou's mansion and the only guest that didn't reside within the walls of her mansion was one purple haired priestess.

Kasumi Kouken of the Tsuriai Bonsatsu was an honorary guest of what we would now call Myou's birthday bash. But this guest was unknown to even the great Youko Kurama. Only Myou, Kirai, and the servants knew of her presence.

Ah, but I digress. All you really need to know is that the bandits, glad to finally be permitted to eat, drink, and be merry, partied like there was no tomorrow. As was true for Myou. But only three other people knew that.

As the night drew to an end, Kirai sang his final song in honor of Myou. That song was entitled, "One More Day" by Diamond Rio. For this, the lights were dimmed, and a wave of silence washed over the great hall. Those who knew not the secrets of Myou's life were unaware of why it was they were silenced, but they quieted all the same. Gently, the music began to play into the silence, and soon these words could be heard:

Last night I had a crazy dream, a wish was granted just for me.
It could be for any thing. I didn't ask for money or a mansion in Malibu.
I simply wished for one more day with you.

At this point a quiet contralto joined in.

One more day, one more time, one more sunset maybe I'd be satisfied, but then again, I know what it would do, leave me wishin' still for one more day with you.
One more day

First thing I'd do is pray for time to crawl. I'd unplug the telephone and
keep the T.V. off. I'd hold you every second, say a million I love yous,
that's what I'd do with one more day with you.

One more day, one more time, one more sunset maybe I'd be satisified, but then again, I know what it would do, leave me wishin' still for one more day with you.

One more day, one more time, one more sunset maybe I'd be satisified, but then
again, I know what it would do, leave me wishin' still for one more day, leave
me wishin' still for one more day, leave me wishin' still for one more day, with you.

One more day (One more day)

As this song came to a close, the room remained laden with silence. And solemnly, Kirai spoke once more.

"At this point, I'd like to bring up the Midnight Kitsune to end the night. Listen well to her words, even if you do not comprehend their meaning. This will be the last time you hear her voice before she retires." Eyes downcast, the illusionist stepped off the stage, making way for Myou's entrance.

With a grave expression, Myou eyed her guests as she began singing her song. She knew that these men before her would not understand the meaning behind her words. They were too drunk to care. Only by the spells woven by Kasumi did they still stand at attention with ears unclogged. She knew they could hear her, but were they really listening?

And she said, how can I help you to say goodbye
It's okay to hurt, and it's okay to cry
Come let me hold you, and I will try
How can I help you to say goodbye

I sat on our bed, he packed his suitcase
I held a picture of our wedding day
His hands were trembling, we both were crying
He kissed me gently, and then he quickly walked away
I called up Mama, she said, time will ease your pain
Life's about changing, nothing ever stays the same

And she said, how can I help you to say goodbye
It's okay to hurt, and it's okay to cry
Come let me hold you, and I will try
How can I help you to say goodbye

Sitting with Mama, alone in her bedroom
She opened her eyes, and then squeezed my hand
She said, I have to go now, my time here is over
And with her final words she tried to help me understand
Mama whispered softly, time will ease your pain
Life's about changing, nothing ever stays the same

And she said, how can I help you to say goodbye
It's okay to hurt, and it's okay to cry
Come let me hold you, and I will try
How can I help you to say goodbye

This song is now known as "How Can I Help You to Say Goodbye," sung by Patty Loveless or Reba McEntire. At the end of the song, Myou's eyes fell shut as she swayed on her feet. But the crowd did not see this, what they saw was merely an illusion of the Midnight Kitsune walking off the stage.

They did not see Myou falling backwards into Kirai's arms, nor the yellow envelope that slipped out of her hand as her consciousness drifted away, or even Kirai checking for a pulse and solemnly praying over her body that her next life be good to her. None of this did they see, none of this did they hear. And soon enough, the partying resumed with all the bandits perfectly oblivious to the fact that their host had just passed away on her seventy-first birthday.

The bandits partied late into the night and shook of hangovers in the morning, or for some, the late afternoon. It was later discovered that the letter left on the stage was addressed to all residents of Myou's mansion. The letter read as follows:

To all of whom it may concern:

By now you must have discovered that I have passed away. I am sure this event will be of no consequence to many of you, so I will not dwell on the fact. This letter was composed only to inform you that all those who obey Youko Kurama, the Legendary King of Thieves, are welcome to continue to stay in the mansion. I leave all my belongings to be divided amongst my people as well as those of Youko, as the King of Thieves sees fit. My people may do as they like from this moment forth. And whether the mansion continues to prosper will be the result of those who reside in it. Do what you like. But I must ask that Kirai is given all the stage and musical equipment for his benefit. And the Guardian Priestess of the Tsuriai Bonsatsu is entitled to all the treasures concealed within the greeting hall. She will know where to find them. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Myou Shinri


Okaaaay. That royally sucked. But I'll live with it. And I do not want you all reviewing to me and telling me it didn't, cause I know it did. Anyway, I can't exactly respond to reviews, supposedly. Besides I'm lazy I'm sorry to say, and I have homework to attend to. Just started High School and I can't afford mistakes this time. Sorry about the slow update, I seriously had writers block and my brain produced this new idea called I See the Color Red. The description is on my profile. Yeah, and so are a few others. . I'm gonna wait till after I post I See the Color Red before I continue on with the Ningenkai "Arc" of this story. I've already got 1 out of 4 chapters for Red done already. Yep, and it's a long one too. But I'm afraid 2 and 3 will be shorter…way shorter. Anyway, there are only 4 chapters anyway, and this story begs to be written, when my mind is idle and in access to writing utensils at least. Oh well, there's my excuse. I'm going to go tell my friend to stop talking so I can study. Erm, and Dark tells me to stop dissin my writing. So I'll stop now.

Diclaimer: I own nothing by my own imagination.