Shattered Plans

Hmmm..." the ghost grandpa continued deliberatimg my request, which was a good start at the very least. At this point in the 'conversation' I needed more leverage.

Although threatening to kill his family and the innocents around sounded dandy and all, if it really came to that I might as well pack up my bags and leave already.

"Kuzan," the man's use of my name gave me shivers, fortunately I just assumed he had gotten the name from Baki calling it to me earlier, "you're not my grandson."

'Ain't that fucking great, I'm a Hanma family member when it's convenient for them, but as soon as I run out of my usefulness, they throw me aside.'

'The more and more I deal with this family, the more I understand why everyone can't stand them.'

"And why does that matter?"

Still, the 'man' shook his head, at least this time giving me a valid excuse to reject my request instead of just changing the topic.

"Boy, I'm already dead, even if I wanted to train you it would be useless."

"Why?!"

"I can't stay here for long."

'Fuck!'

It was exactly what I had been afraid of. Not being able to physically touch the man was fine, I would just make do with Shadow Boxing him until I was satisfied, however even that required 'information' about the opponent to proceed.

The best-case scenario I was hoping for would be for him to be able to 'show off' some moves, which I could then use to 'picture' another Yuuchirou Hanma in battle. Even if 'copying' his father's moves wouldn't have been enough, I was sure using some of them to kill both Baki and his mother would have been more than enough for the demon to take me more seriously.

I had tried to interest and enrage him before, by using his father's technique to nearly kill Shobun Ron, however, I had been too impatient then.

Before recently, I could only think of two things that could possibly 'infuriate' the man into attacking me, either to use his boredom, which was practically gone due to my presence, or to threaten to wipe out the Hanma 'bloodline.'

Killing Baki, killing Jack, killing any of the other children he might have seeded might have sounded like a good idea at the moment, however, the plan went completely off the rails when Orochi told me that the man considered me to be his own son.

'I shot myself in the foot there, shouldn't ever underestimate someone who's crazy enough to kill his own lover.'

That was when I came up with my 'genius' third plan after realizing that even Pickle wouldn't be nearly enough to give me a 'fun' fight. Using the 'dead' to train the living into killing his own family.

It sounded like a wonderful idea, using Yuuchirou's moves to kill the 'weaker' members of the Hanma family, even Yujiro wouldn't be able to stand still if I hurt his family's pride to such an extent.

'Plus, from what I remember Yujiro always wanted to fight his dad, but he never could. Fulfilling his lifelong wish would have been even more impactful than bringing a dinosaur back to life to face him I'm sure.'

However, I was stuck once again in my plan.

'These fucking demons don't have anything else going for them other than their strength.'

"What about books? Anything you can pass on to your favorite grandson Baki over here?"

I had no shame in pulling the kid into this whole fiasco, which in turn resulted in a 'death' stare from both of the family members present.

However, by the smile still hanging onto that son of a bitch's face, I could tell that he had nothing to 'pass on' to the living.

Still, I wasn't ready to give up just yet.

'There has to be something, something, anything, think Kuzan think...'

And I tried...

"What if I promise to never fight a member of the Hanma family again?"

"What if I bring you back to life with the same body and everything?"

A mixture of empty promises...

"I'll kill your wife if you leave!"

"I'll bomb this whole island to ash!"

And a mixture of emptier threats...

Still, the man did not stop smiling, as if always at peace with his decision to leave me stranded.

"Kuzan my boy," he spoke while his voice grew fainter by the second, "you can't beat him."

You couldn't negotiate with someone who had nothing to lose and especially nothing to gain.

We both knew that I could offer him nothing, and if I really could 'trap' him inside myself like my Master, I would have done so already instead of continuing these useless words.

I had even tried to convince my most recent Master into Miyamoto Musashi-ing the whole situation and somehow 'trapping' his soul into a new body.

Unfortunately, the only response I got to my request was a firm 'beat down' from the old hag and worry from Mr. Tokugawa about how his plan had been 'leaked' once I brought him in as well to try and convince his dear old sister.

I highly doubted it was even in her control to 'meddle' with a 'demonic soul,' plus I couldn't piss off the only woman's help I desperately still needed.

"Please, anything, ple-"

He disappeared.

"FUCK!"

"SLAM!!!"

I slammed my foot down onto the island causing it to shake a tiny bit due to my anger. However, I had much more important things to worry about rather than causing a tsunami.

My mind was about to explode from just how horribly everything had progressed. I had now lost 3 prey in total due to that fucking demon's cursed blood. And now, I had no idea about how to proceed further.

"SLAM, SLAM, SLAM, SLAM!"

"FUCK!"

I had planned so thoroughly, done everything I could think of to convince him into fulfilling my demands. Once again, I was found lacking one crucial thing.

Strength.

'That bastard thinks he's safe from me, that bitch thinks he can rest in peace so he can run away from me.'

He was right.

I could do nothing but sit here and wail about how everything had turned out.

Compared to all of my past fights, this had been my most devastating loss to date.

"Screw it all."

I dialed up Mr. Tokugawa's number, prompting the man to pick it up in an instant.

"Hello?"

"Wake him up, he's been dead for long enough."

I cut off the phone and dialed another number, this time of a familiar Captain who had just received a pretty heavy promotion for 'dealing' with me.

"Ring...Ring..."

"Captain," I spoke to the man with a deflated voice, "tell Yujiro that I want him to invite me over for dinner."

"And if he laughs it off, tell him that I have his dad hostage." I lied to the man with a straight face, not caring about using such a cheap trick to bait him into a confrontation.

It might not have been enough to get exactly what I wanted, but it might be just enough to secure a meeting.

I dialed another number once again, this time directly to the family's 'entourage' who would get things done.

"Find Yujiro's mother in the next few days or I'll sma-"

"Kuzan?" Melissa's voice caught me off guard over the phone.

"Why do you have this phone Melissa?"

Instead of answering me like she should, my sister instead took the high road, calling me out on my behavior.

"When are you coming back Kuzan?"

"Maybe in a few wee-"

"Diana's dead Kuzan."

"She's dead."

"Because of you..."

"THE FU-"

'That little devil cut off the line, she really cut off the line, she really hung up on me.'

I was in sheer disbelief at how badly it had all turned out, one horrible news after the other, one annoying task after the other...

"Baki," I spoke to the boy who was standing there, still trying to catch up with the series of events that had just occurred in a few minutes, "get back on the fucking plane."

As for why I was bringing the boy along, I had no idea anymore, I didn't know what to expect or what I'd do if what Melissa said was even true.

There was no way in hell that someone would be able to get past Master Kaku's 'defense' and even if someone did, then the first thing they would do would be to tell me.

I would never hear the news from Melissa in such a manner, and the last thing she'd do in such a situation would be to not explain it fully to me without crying herself.

It has been her alone who had cut off the line, I was sure of it, the way she talked, the sounds I could hear over the receiver, she alone had been the one to press the 'off' button.

It was a trick, a lie she had conjured up to bait me into 'coming back'.

Thus, I was in no hurry to go back...

'But I might as well.'

It had been too long since we had last spoken to each other, and all that time I had been keeping them 'trapped' in the temple all for my sake.

I had already established the necessary 'balance' to ensure their safety. Now no one would be stupid enough to try and 'get to me through them.'

The Queen and I had really 'hit it off', once I started talking to her a little bit more. She was perfect, having led a nation for so long, she was the epitome of everything that Diana could have ever hoped to become.

With her support, it was fairly easy to have the 3 nations commit to a 'standoff' where they'd be obligated to interfere should anyone ever threaten them.

Plus, they could always keep each other in check in case one of them got any funny ideas.

'And to think all it took me was promising to not engage in any wars or public contests of support.'

A Hanma who had both brains and brawn was their worst nightmare come to life. If I truly began my assault on let's say England, for instance, with China's support, I was sure it wouldn't take me long to cause a third World War.

'It's not gonna be a fun conversation.'

But it was necessary.

I had humored them long enough—my Masters, my teachers, my friends, my foes, my family, and now even the dead.

There was no need to stay somewhere where my presence wasn't appreciated.

'Why stay in the zoo when there's a whole jungle left to explore?'