Subject: _Koutarou Magaritooru!_ Character Guide, Part 4 A 3-Minute Guitar Solo through Tatsuya Hirota's _Koutarou Magaritooru!_ (Koutarou, Break Through!) =================================== Volumes 36 through 45 =================================== Character Guide Notes NOTE: [fa:v??] == First Appearance in Volume ??. [la:v??] == If the character warrants it, Last Appearance in Volume ??. [ls:v??] == Sometimes, a character will disappear for a while, only to surface again a long time later. Last Seen in Volume ??. =================================== New Main Characters =================================== Steve Pie: This shaggy, long-haired glam-rocker wears snake-skin pants, always has a guitar with him, and a speaker hung around his neck. Is a brilliant guitarist who can make his axe speak Japanese. [fa:v36] Kyou Otomi: (Last name translates to Beautiful Sound.) This boy is quite pretty, and is constantly mistaken for a girl, which is part of the problem. Back when he and Shindou were in the same junior high school, Shindou had snuck into Kyou's room one night, dressed the boy up in panties and a bra, and blackmailed Kyou with the photos. However, one photo still made it's way to the campus bulletin board. So, Kyou has a permanent hate for Koutarou. Kyou is also a brilliant young guitarist, who walks everywhere with his guitar. [fa:v36] Kaiser Lastelli: This is a very vicious, effeminate-looking young man. Long curly blond hair, babyish features, and half-asleep eyes. However, he's also the most powerful mogul in the rock business, and he doesn't want Steve Pie to be teaching ANYONE. Kaiser's guitar work is so good and cold, it can freeze an audience to death within 30 minutes. [fa:v38] Mr. Savant: Kaiser's #1 man -- a bruiser who also makes a good butler. He only thinks of the work at hand, and can take a backfist to the nose without flinching. Kind of a Telly Savalis with a goatee. [fa:38] Sonny Black: One of the world's greatest black drummers, and a master of the Brazilian martial art of "Kapoera." Bald, with a scarf on his head, sunglasses, a walkman always plugged into his ears, and baggy clothes. Works for Kaiser as a part-time enforcer. [fa:v38] Yousui Hinoue: An assassin who uses an "assassin's karate." This raggedy, emaciated young man trains while wearing iron geta (sandals), and enjoys popping out people's eyes. VERY strong and ruthless. Actually, he uses his mother's last name, but has shown up to avenge the evil things that Shindou did to his father. =================================== Story Arcs =================================== Each major plot line covers several volumes, and usually begins with the introduction of a few new characters before the action kicks in. (R == Real story. o == Ignorable one shot.) Gags and start up Book 1 o Snake Bones and the Clock Tower Secret Book 2 -- 5 R Princess Kurara Book 3 -- 9 R War in Block D Book 10 -- 16 R To Get 4 Teammates for the AST Book 17 -- 20 R The All Sports Tournament Book 20 -- 26 R The Freak Show and the Pretty Boy Book 27 -- 29 o The Real Training Begins Book 30 -- 36 R Searching for the Lost Chord Book 36 -- 41 R The Trashmen Arriveth Book 41 -- 42 o Blasts From the Past Book 42 -- 45 R The White Rose: It All Comes Around Book 45 -- ?? R (Lost characters: These are incidental characters that play a major part in some story arc, only to disappear forever from sight later on.) Hiromi and Kenji: Well, Kenji's eyes eventually heal, but we don't see him for a long time afterwards. [ls:v36] Hiromi and China Rose now have their own bar in Tokyo. [ls:v39] Gonzaemon Yonedara: Gon returned to his home in the country, with his teammates. [la:v36] Kiyomasa Katou: The dark-skinned teenager, with up-slanted eyes and very heavy eyebrows. Probably trucked off to a hospital. Afterwards, he probably returned home to give up karate and to take up knitting. [la:v35] Kenbei Inushima and Jun Masaki: The Osaka pervert and his girl friend probably echo Shindou and Mayumi's adventures off-camera. [la:36] Gensui Akaiwa: Our pompous karate tournament windbag simply disappears into obscurity. [ls:36] =================================== Volume Outlines, and New Characters =================================== Volume 36: Cement Match: A threesome would-be heavy metal band. These losers consider themselves a "dangerous" band, and like to beat up people for fun. They ask Otomi to join them as a guitarist, and then try to beat up the boy when he refuses. Bishi Bashi: The sounds made by hitting things. This place is a small music shop in Tokyo. It has a couple of sound studios on the upper floors where students can practice on the instruments. This is where Otomi takes his amp for repair. Yusushi Bishibashi: Age 39. Was once a good studio musician, before quitting the business to open his music shop. A rather round guy with perpetually puzzled-looking eyes, black hair, moustache, and beard. Time has passed since the tournament, and Shindou is watching an old video tape made when he and Mayumi had debuted in their own band in junior high school (they hadn't practiced previously, and they were so bad, they never played again.) At the same time, Shindou's father calls from L.A., to say that a friend of his is coming to Japan to stay at the dojo for a while. Inamori, Mayumi, and Shindou go to the airport to pick up the guy, and run into an American heavy metal rocker, instead. They avoid the guy, but Steve Pie plays his guitar, making it say (in Japanese) "Hello, excuse me you three, but do you know where the Shindou place is." That evening is another "show off party." Inamori uses his penis to imitate the Loch Ness monster (it's understandable now why Yurie sensei likes him so much.) As a follow up, Steve plays a short solo on his guitar. The music is fantastic, and Shindou is moved to tears by it. In the middle of the night, Shindou pulls out an old guitar from the closet, and gives 100 panties to Steve to pay for guitar lessons. It doesn't work that way, and the next day, Mayumi is enlisted to act as interpreter, to ask Mr. Pie to teach Shindou how to play (Mayumi's English is rotten, and consists primarily of Japanese spoken with a katakana accent.) Pie's response is "Akan Beee" (ie. - No way in hell.) But, Shindou was so moved by Pie's music, that he won't give up. Pie can't sleep that night, so he messes with the video deck (he can't read Japanese, so he doesn't know what the buttons say.) Finally, he gets the deck going, and watches Shindou's band's tape. Mayumi sees this and is horrified (she hates the skimpy outfit that she'd worn them.) However, Pie continues to watch the tape. He says that the band stunk, and that no one could play worth a damn. However, there is something about Shindou's rhythm that he finds fascinating. Mayumi tries to plead with him again, but Pie still refuses to teach Shindou, adding that it would be inviting trouble from his "opponent." Shindou has been working out all night to strengthen his fingers to where he can now render 500 yen coins useless as currency. He challenges Steve to a guitar showdown -- if he can outdo Steve, he gets to become Pie's student; if he loses, he obviously needs more lessons, and must therefore become Steve's student. Shindou starts out well, imitating some of Steve's sounds, but then destroys all of the strings when he bends them for a high C. Steve relents enough to say that Koutarou's fingers are strong, but the real technique comes from having a good wrist. Later, Otomi is turning down Cement Match's offer to join them, so the guys hold Otomi down, and drop a boulder on his hand. But, at the last minute, Shindou steps in and trashes them to save the "beautiful girl." Otomi immediately recognizes Shindou and tries to kill him with the rock. Shindou kicks the boy in the balls, takes the boy to his dojo, and eventually remembers who Otomi is. In the resulting fight, Pie walks in the room, and Otomi recognizes his ultimate hero (who had played in the Zappa Band and Oil Cutlass (not sure about that name) before going solo, and then disappearing from the rock scene) -- and asks to be Steve's student. Steve turns him down also, so Otomi camps out in front of the dojo. Shindou steals his clothes, and gives the boy a dress with a padded front to wear instead. Otomi also has his full gear with him, and when Otomi goes to Mayumi for help, Shindou sets up the speaker stack and starts playing away. He tries to imitate Yngvi Malmsteen's "around the body guitar spin", but the strap comes loose and the guitar flies backwards to impale one of the speakers. This changes matters, and Shindou is forced to be nice to Otomi out of embarrassment (and the fact that he has no money to pay for the amp). The guitar is ok, but the amp needs a very expensive repair job. When Otomi is wandering around, thinking about the hit his wallet just took, Cement Match finds him again. This time, Otomi accepts their offer to join the band and play at a booking at a "live house" called the "Big Man." Otomi has two tickets (he offers to sell one to Shindou for 6800 yen) for the gig, which he gives to Mayumi and Steve. Mayumi doesn't think that a live house is a place for high school students to be going, and Otomi counters with "where else can people go to listen to good music?" The four of them go to Big Man, where Cement Match gives Otomi a black eye for daring to play on stage with them without practicing with them first, during their one real booking. Shindou asks why Otomi doesn't start his own band and get his own booking, but the problem is that you have to be able to sell 100 tickets for that -- Otomi had planned on buying the tickets himself, but that's not possible now that his amp is being repaired. However, he's still going to kill two birds with one stone. When Cement Match is about to play, Otomi is on stage with orders to just pretend to be playing. No fancy stuff. As Otomi starts belting it out, to the band's annoyance, Pie is staring and starting to sweat. Volume 37: The session goes well, but Otomi and Shindou are both bored. The Cement Match's lead guitarist's vocals are horrible, but he doesn't think so. But, he soon learns that the audience is staring at Kyou instead of him. Finally, at the end of 5 encores, the band gives up. They all know now that Kyou is much better than them, and they state that Kyou isn't a "vocals assassin", he's a "music assassin." Kyou goes out on stage to play a solo encore (sad that he's playing by himself, as always) and the crowd goes wild. Pie is watching Shindou's hand tapping, and he makes a decision. Soon, Pie is going on stage (to the live house staff's dismay, and Kyou's joy) to play bass. Kyou is flabbergasted to see Shindou on drums, though. The crowd is getting pissed at seeing the hero receive drum lessons in front of their eyes. But, within a couple of minutes, the boy is whipping out a really fast beat, and the three of them rip up the joint. At the end of the night, Kyou is exhausted. This is the first time he'd played this well, and Pie tells him that the rhythm from the drummer is the key to a good sound. Kyou realizes that Shindou is the perfect drummer for him. Kyou decides that with Pie's bass, the three of them are a great band, and Pie concedes that the evening was indeed fun. The next day, Kyou tries to learn how Shindou's drumming can be so good, and spies on the boy (leading into a few same-sex couples gags.) Turns out that Shindou's karate training is done to a variety of music tapes (his father's idea.) Later, in the bath, when Otomi decides to join him, Shindou is told "I need you!" Shindou very quickly slips out of the bath and runs away. Mayumi returns to the house, only to have two nude teenagers running around her. Otomi explains that he needs Shindou for his band. But, Shindou isn't interested. The next day, while on his skateboard, the boy is suddenly chased by Otomi on another board. Otomi wants to know what the problem is, and Shindou answers that he wants to play guitar; the drummer isn't conspicuous enough and no one ever gets to see him. The conversation turns into a boarding contest, with Shindou leaping across an alley to get away from the pest. But, Kyou won't give up, and he tries to leap across also. His board hits the street and shatters. The only reason that Kyou is still alive is that Shindou grabbed him and saved him. Kyou won't let go of Shindou's neck until Shindou agrees to join his band (explaining that Kyou has always played his music alone because no one else was as good as him, but he's tired of being alone.) Shindou caves in, and then notices that a crowd of people are staring at them, and they all recognize the two hugging boys. Kyou buys a set of drumsticks (receiving a lecture on the sounds each type of sticks make) and treats them like a gift for a lover. Shindou shows up at the shop, and fends off Kyou with the use of a guitar. Yasushi gives them some lessons on the drums, and Shindou then tries his hand on the drum set. Yasushi thinks that the boy is ok, but not great; has a good rhythm though. He notices that Shindou never uses the cymbals, and Kyou tells the boy to hit the high hat. Shindou makes a correct guess, and completely destroys them (Yasushi had never seen someone break two sheets of cymbal metal before, and the boy answers that he could break 20 sheets.) Pie had actually told Shindou to not touch the cymbals at the live house, so Yasushi gives the boy lessons. Then Kyou and Shindou jam for several hours. Afterwards, Kyou is a limp rag, and Shindou is weak from hunger. Yasushi says that Koutarou is unique, the type of person that only comes around once every 10 years. Shindou answers that this is just a store owner trying to sell him a drum set. The boy still doesn't want to play drums, because it's easier to show off while playing guitar, and besides, drums are boring. Mayumi says that Shindou always seems to have fun when he is playing, but is told that she's seeing things. Mayumi and Shindou go to Pie for advice, and the guitarist breaks up laughing. Steve answers that Koutarou isn't the one great drummer in 10 years, his type only happens once every 100 years. Shindou thinks about this (remember, he has picked up all of the basic skills as a drummer in only 2 or 3 lessons) in the bath, and is interrupted by Otomi again. This time, Otomi gets a "flying meat slap in the face." Otomi washes his mouth off, and Shindou regrets using such a sensitive piece of anatomy in such a painful way. After the bath, Kyou pops in a video tape that had been recorded by the staff at the Big Man live house. Shindou doesn't want to watch it. Kyou is hoping that the camera will show how much fun the boy had while playing drums, but the cameraman focussed the lens primarily on Mayumi. However, Shindou still realizes that his drumming sounds great. He refuses to join the band because he's not visible enough, though, and goes to bed. By 1:00 AM, Otomi has watched the tape 20 times, and finally crashes. Shindou sneaks into the room, and bops Otomi into deeper unconsciousness. He watches the tape, and when he can see his smiling face, he thinks that he at least doesn't LOOK bored when he's playing. The next morning, Kyou thinks he's getting a cold -- his nose is running, his head really hurts (where he'd been bopped) and he can't move (because he's covered with 10 matresses.) Shindou is no where to be found, and Kyou thinks that he'd scared the boy off. Instead, Kyou finds him in the studio at Bishi Bashi, practicing. Kyou is overjoyed and hugs Shindou again. Later, Shindou is thinking hard about how to become more visible. He gives up on using a walking drum kit (street performer type) and settles on being conspicuous through his drumming. Kyou is thinking hard about getting a bassist, to fill out the band and making them a trio. Kyou and Shindou ask Pie to join them, and Steve thinks hard before saying "ok." The next day, Mayumi has to think hard about going with the three of them to do the cooking, and thus miss school. And, Mayumi's father has to think hard about having to eat Inamori's "pig balls curry for breakfast." Pie, Shindou, Mayumi and Kyou drive up to a cabin that is being supplied by Bishi Bashi. Volume 38: The log cabin is a nice place, and everyone is duly impressed. There's a studio in the basement, a big kitchen, an indoor hot bath and an outdoor natural hot spring. Shindou goes skiing, Mayumi starts cooking, Steve takes a bath, and Otomi is upset that no one wants to seriously practice music. But, later, the three men start jamming, with Shindou on drums, and they all have lots of fun. But, eventually, people start wondering why such a great guitarist like Steve would come to Japan to mess with an amature band like this. Otomi is wondering how he could ever measure up to someone so good, when Shindou's alarm system indicates that Mayumi has gone outside to bathe in the spring. Shindou and Otomi use ninja techniques to watch the show, disguised as a snow drift. Eventually, they start arguing about Mayumi, and get caught. And, Shindou comes down with a cold. While, in L.A., Kaiser is watching a tape of Steve and Otomi jamming at the Big Man. Kaiser is miffed that Steve may be teaching without his approval, and orders that Steve and the boy be located within the week (When Savant said that it would take two weeks, Kaiser casually broke Savant's nose with a backfist strike. Savant just as politely agreed to making it one week.) Shindou has never had a cold before, and is marvelling over how bad it's making him feel. Mayumi and Steve go out to find a doctor (they locate Super Doctor K, who makes house calls), and Shindou accidently kisses Otomi in his sleep. Shindou wakes up feeling fine, but Otomi, Mayumi, and Steve all get sick. Shindou cooks for them, and the food is delicious; but the patients get suspicious when the boy says that the ingredients include every type of spice in the kitchen (curry powder, salt, sugar, etc.) The next day, Steve and Otomi have recovered, but Shindou refuses to let Mayumi get up while she's still a bit wobbly. Shindou and Steve go out food shopping, and Otomi asks Mayumi why Shindou was acting so deadly-serious about her. Shindou's hint implied that his parents had died from some disease, but Mayumi replies that Shindou's parents are both alive and well in L.A. However, it's Mayumi's mother who had died, and which had affected Shindou so heavily. No more details than that, though. Black flies into Japan and meets up with Savant and a few goons. They stop at the high school for what Savant thinks will be a simple task of asking around for Otomi (they got the boy's name from the clerk at the Big Man.) However, the school is indeed huge, and while the rest go asking around, Black happens upon one of the Ouendan groups practicing karate outside. Black sees the large drum used for pounding out the pace, and wants to play the "Japanese Bass Drum." He trashes the 30 Ouendan members that try to rough him up, then has fun on the drums. The change in beat causes Shikato and Momo to investigate, but Shikato stares into one of the girls' locker rooms first, and they arrive after Black and Savant have left. Savant has located the resort area where the heroes are staying, but while he's asking for clues at a hotel, Black goes snowboarding. As Shindou and Steve are returning to the truck with their food, Black finds Steve, and tries to get the guitarist to return with him to meet Kaiser. Steve says that he hasn't done anything wrong, and Black mentions the video tape. Steve is getting desperate, when Shindou steps in and says that someone that bothers Steve must not be a good guy. Shindou also doesn't understand English, so when Black orders him out of the way, the boy says "Oh, I understand -- you're saying 'You're so handsome, I really must shake your hand.' Ok, here." Black and Shindou try to crush each other's hand in a handshake, and Black gives up to do a cartwheel kick to Shindou's face. At first, the match is kind of even, but then Black gets serious and starts kicking Shindou consistently in the face. At the same time, Shikato is getting a report from his students. Shikato recognizes the art style -- and he tells us the roots of Kapoera (basically, it's an ancient form of kicking that derived from all the dancing that black people in Brazil are known to do, and is related to break dancing ;).) Black turns up his walkman, which helps him establish his rhythm. So, Shindou starts twitching, whistling his own rhythm, and Black recognizes the boy as the one in the shadows playing drums on the video tape. Black really wanted to meet that mysterious drummer that so impressed him. But, Steve has run off to get the van, and he drives in to rescue Shindou. Black tries to prevent this, but almost gets his own snowboard jammed in his face. The van drives off, Shindou happily keeps the snowboard, and Black's walkman batteries die. Pie tells Shindou that Black is a great drummer, and that the two of them had played together in a band. Savant is in the cabin, listening to Otomi play guitar. Otomi doesn't trust the guy, but is tempted by the guy's praise of his skill. Savant keeps asking if Pie has been teaching him, and Otomi asks why Pie refuses to take on students. Savant replies with veiled threats until Mayumi comes in with hot coffee for them. Otomi hustles her upstairs, but Mayumi is balking at Otmoi's concern for her, and Savant's saying "sick ladies should listen when their lover's tell them what to do." Otomi gets Mayumi into her room, and Savant follows up with two of his goons. Savant has decided that it's time to have some extra fun on this job, and he has one goon start ripping Mayumi's clothes off. Outside, Shindou is going to sneak to the cabin to capture the bad guys and try to claim the bounty money he thinks that he can get from them. Steve knows how rough Savant plays, and tries to bop Shindou on the head with his guitar. Doesn't work though, and Steve is now flat-out in the snow, unconscious. Shindou takes out the two drivers (Savant's men travelled in two Rolls Royces) then looks into Mayumi's window just as the goon is going for Mayumi's sweater. The poor hapless goon sees Shindou's evil grin just a fraction of a second before having all of his teeth kicked in. The goon's hat lands on Shindou's head, and the boy prepares to wipe out the other goon and Savant. Volume 39: Steve is back in L.A., and it is 10-15 years ago. A small, pretty boy, in a black suit and short pants is asking him if he teaches guitar. Steve answers that he teaches classical, but not rock. The boy replies that Steve's playing is great, and that the boy is going to own him. When Steve returns to his studio, he finds that his partner, another guitarist, has had his hand slashed by Savant. Then, the partner's face changes to Otomi's, and Steve wakes up in the wagon. He finds Shindou missing, and runs outside. In the cabin, the other goon is speaking English, which sounds like "pera pera pera." Shindou and Mayumi argue over Shindou's understanding of it, and whether Pie actually said anything about a bounty. Shindou can understand Savant well enough, but that's because the Butler is speaking Japanese. The second goon goes down, and a third one, a boxer, steps in. Then bows out. But, the second goon is still mobile, and when he attacks Shindou with some broken glass, Otomi pushes Shindou aside, and gets a bad cut on the back of his hand. Shindou follows Savant downstairs, where two last goons pull guns on him. Savant wants the boy alive, just in case. So, before one goon can shoot the hero in the leg, Steve throws a rock through the window. Shindou trashes the last two goons, and when Steve sees blood dripping from Otomi's hand, he goes crazy and smashes Savant in the face (busting his nose and knocking out teeth.) At the hospital, Otomi gets stitches, and is told that he can't play guitar for 3 weeks (he's never missed a day since he was 10.) They return to Tokyo, where Mayumi's Police Superintendent father has his men call all the hospitals and clinics. No results though, because Savant and his men are back in their hotel room, where Black has performed all the repair work on them. Mayumi's father has one request of Mayumi -- to make him supper. In the time they were gone, Inamori had been doing the cooking, and he's desperate to eat REAL food again. In the meantime, Pie decides that he can't risk letting Kyou get hurt anymore, packs his bags, and quietly leaves. In the hotel, Black lets slip that Savant's men seem to have run into the "long-haired boy", but before he has to explain how he knows this, Kaiser calls. Since Savant lost Steve, the butler is directed to hold the phone up, throw it into the air, and let it hit him on the back of the head (where he's already taken a lot of damage.) As soon as Kaiser hangs up, Steve calls in. 2 weeks pass. Shindou is practicing drums in Bishi Bashi's studios; Otomi had been combing the streets for Steve and is depressed at not finding the guy. Steve had left a letter, saying that he has to leave, that they shouldn't try finding him, and that when he was jamming with them, he thought Otomi's guitar and Shindou's drums were the greatest. Shindou is also given a secret "P.S." (that we don't know about.) Life slowly goes on (Otomi refuses to eat Inamori's "worm spaghetti", and Inamori is cooking because Mayumi still has a bit of a cold.) Finally, on an imported American "Top Hits" TV show, there is a spot on a new band, featuring the twin guitars of Kaiser Lastelli and Steven Pie. Otomi is crushed to see his hero playing in another band like this, and the phones are going crazy at the TV station as fans try to find out when the new album is coming out, and when Kaiser is coming to Japan. To pay for tickets to the show, Otomi takes a part-time job at Bishi Bashi (he waxes enthusiastically over the horrible playing of one customer -- Tatsuya himself). Otomi is still not making much cash, so Shindou suggests an part-time evening job. Thus, in the newly-opened transvestite bar (I think it's called "Chii Mama") run by Hiromi and China Rose, the two "new faces" Kyou-chan and Kou-chan introduce themselves. All the boys there look gorgeous, but manager of Tatsuya's manga studio falls for Otomi and tries to seduce him (normally, the guy drinks himself into a stupor before being poured into a cab, so he's supposed to be harmless. We also get a hint that the China Rose gang just likes dressing up as women and flirting with men, but aren't flaming homosexuals.) Kou-chan is eating up lots of food, so Hiromi drags the boy over to the table of a customer that just walked in -- Sonny Black. Shindou tries to smash a glass in Black's face, but misses. Black recognizes his opponent. First, Black is upset at having been fighting a woman (regardless of whether the girl was a feminist,) then he's appalled at finding out that EVERYONE in here is male. But, Black doesn't want to fight tonight, so the others keep having to suppress Shindou (with beer bottles to the back of the head.) Otomi demands to know what happened to Steve, and who the hell Kaiser is (Otomi is upset that Kaiser's ice-cold music is not suited to Pie's hot rock style). Black answers that Kaiser Lastelli is the only child of the biggest Mafia family on the West Coast, and that Kaiser "owns" Steve. Black decides that it's time to find a bar with real women, but gives Shindou a cassette tape of some "real music." (Black thinks that Shindou's drumming is "crazy"). And, at home, Mayumi discovers that Kaiser's band is coming to Japan soon. Two days later, Otomi returns to work, still nursing the hangover from the drinking at Chii Mama. Kaiser drives up to Bishi Bashi, and starts playing the $15,000 '57 Fender, just to show Otomi that the boy is outclassed and that he should give up on Steve Pie. As an encore, Kaiser destroys the guitar (one goon pays for it. Kaiser says that it played well.) Otomi replies that Kaiser's band sounds good only because of Steve -- if Steve were gone, it would sound like shit. Kaiser pops a goon in the face (he promised Steve to not touch the boy, so he takes his anger out on his own men.) Otomi starts warming up, insulting Kaiser, and watching the goons hit the floor. Kaiser leaves (fans gathered at the door ask for Kaiser's autograph, a handshake, and chocolate.) In two days, Shindou's drumming has changed. Otomi is impressed, but Kaiser had heard it through a studio window and thinks that Black has gone rogue. But, Black and Steve are holed up in a Tokyo hotel room, so Kaiser is trying to figure out what's happening. As are Shindou and Otomi -- the tape was obviously one of Kaiser's, with Black on drums. But, the posters on campus show an all-white band. The next day, Momo drags Shindou in to visit Shikato. The old man rags the boy for having been seen at Chii Mama's, and Momo wants another contest with the boy. (When talking about Kapoera, Shikato had asked Momo if the guy had done any training while listening to music. Momo answered that he likes the old folk music of Miyuki Nakajima.) Momo loses, and Shindou (listening to the walkman) says that Momo's rhythm is all wrong. Momo won't give up, and gets a pair of drumsticks shoved up his nose. Otomi, who's heard that the dangerous Ouendan have grabbed Shindou, runs in with a baseball bat to help out his friend. He accidently bumps into Shindou, and the drumsticks do serious hurt to Momo's nasal cavities. Shikato steals Shindou's walkman, and announces that Shindou's secret is that the boy is listening to Kaiser's music. At Nippon Dome (AKA -- Tokyo Dome) the roadies are setting up for Kaiser's gig. Shikato's TV station (TVT) is promoting the concert, so Shikato, Otomi, Mayumi, and Shindou are in the bleachers, watching on. Kaiser is on the floor, insulting the Dome, and saying that soon it'll be filled with "6000 yellow monkeys". Shikato is wondering if his people can handle all of the Mafia goons that will be swarming over the place during the show, implying that he is thinking about a head-on confrontation. Otomi doesn't want that though, and his resolve is obvious as he announces that he wants to challenge Kaiser toe-to-toe. Volume 40: It's the night before the big concert, and people are getting ready. Otomi takes off his bandage, flexes his hand, and restrings his guitar (using Yamaha super light strings.) Koutarou and Shikato air-drop into Tokyo Dome at night and do a little re-wiring (Shindou asks if this is ok, since it'll affect Shikato's big promotion. The old man isn't worried -- he can turn this into a "live happening", which people always eat up. Shikato asks why Shindou has gotten involved, and the boy can't answer. The old man says that it's probaby because Otomi and Shindou are lovers.) The next day, during warm-up, Steve can tell that the sound from the main speaker wall has changed since yesterday, but the techs say that the controls are still set the same. Kyou takes his place in the audience, the lights go out, the flash pots go up, and it's show time. Kaiser has been quoted saying that the group doesn't need a vocalist, since the vocals come from his guitar; it's just him, Pie, and a white drummer. Backstage, Black is pounding away on the real drums -- the white guy is just window dressing. They rock on, and the audience eats it up. Time passes, Kaiser starts his solo, and the stage empties. When Kaiser pauses to let the "tone-deaf yellow monkeys" applaud him, Otomi repeats Kaiser's riff note for note. This repeats a couple of times, and the audience wonders why some of the music isn't coming from their hero. In the mixing booth, the sound techs are going crazy over a wireless receiver that they think is connected into Kaiser's main amp. The techs can't kill the wireless without shutting down Kaiser as well. Pie recognizes Kyou's style, while Black just says "nice sound." Miffed, Kaiser starts speeding up, to make it harder on the "Jap." Kaiser relents to no-one, and he's now going to show all the yellow monkeys who's boss. Except, Kyou can match Kaiser's speed also. In the audience, some goons spot the boy, but before they can attack, some TVT technicians step in and and KO the goons. Since Shikato owns TVT, Momo and the Ouendan have been hired on as "floor staff." Momo still thinks that Nakajima is better, but he's willing to help Otomi, for Shikato's sake, to keep anyone from interferring in this duel. A whole bunch of other goons are swarming over the equipment backstage, looking for the wireless. Finally, they do locate it up in the stacks of amps -- and the two guys guarding it. Shindou is using some Bishi Bashi Original Stainless Steel drumsticks on the heads of the goons, and Shikato just frightens people with his ugly face. Shindou uses the sticks on the hat and glasses of the lead goon -- the false nose and moustache going flying away to reveal Mr. Savant's partially healed face. Savant runs to a "Staff Only" room, where Black is watching the duel on the monitor screens. The last goon minion goes down, and Shindou is upset because he hasn't been able to "get serious" yet. Pie is concerned, because Kaiser also hasn't gotten serious. And, Kaiser finally spots Kyou up in the bleachers. Black confronts Shindou, with orders to not play around and just defeat the boy quickly. Savant is going to attack Shikato, but the old man destroys a flashlight with one hand, so Savant orders Black to attack Shikato as well. Black takes his glasses off, to reveal two really ugly eyes -- both Black and Kaiser are getting serious now. Black turns up his walkman, and starts a series of spinning kicks that bend the hell out of the steel drumsticks. Shindou and Black bash each other, and when Savant is getting worried, another goon comes backstage to tell him that Otomi has been found. Kaiser has the spotlights turned on the boy, and tells him that NO ONE is better than him. Shikato hears this, and relays the information to Shindou. Black stops Shindou's next kick, and happily says that since Kaiser and Otomi are going to duel openly, there's no rush to disable the wireless anymore. With glee, Black can now take his time to "play" with Shindou. The duel goes on. Kaiser keeps gearing up. He'd started out at a fraction of his normal skill, and is now up to 70%. Otomi is getting concerned, but (via a flashback) he remembers Shindou's words about fighting full out, and he keeps repeating Kaiser's riffs perfectly. Shikato tells Black about Kapoera's roots (when the last practitioners, slaves of the Portugese, were rebelling, rather than surrender, they committed suicide by leaping off a cliff. Supposedly taking the secret of their fighting style with them.) Black says "that was then, this is now. That has no connection to me." Shikato asks if Black is really free, having to play drums off-stage for a white dupe. Before Black can answer, Shindou tries to blindside him. The boy is now copying the Kapoera techniques, and manages to draw blood from Black's nose. Kaiser's drummer goes crazy, but is still getting kicked in the face. Shikato is wondering why Shindou isn't using punches, and Black suddenly gets in a backslap and an elbow strike to the boy's cheeks. Shindou smiles -- since Black is now using hand techniques, he can do so too. The boy breaks into a series of rapid punches, pounding out Black's own musical rhythm on the man's chest. Black smashes into the amps, and goes down. His last words -- "nice rhythm." Shikato tries to make an offer to the fallen drummer, but Black points to the speakers and replies "it's useless now." Shindou finds Savant, and bashes the Butler's head into the stage supports. On stage, Kaiser is at 100% of his skill. The music is so cold that the audience is starting to shiver, and Momo says that it's not the air conditioning, it's Kaiser's sound. Kyou drops his arms in defeat. However, Shindou is getting on Black's drumset, saying that the problem is that Kyou is trying to play Kaiser's music. If the boy were playing against Pie, he'd easily win. Shikato answers back "You're forgetting, he's NOT playing against Pie." Everyone is thinking that Otomi has lost. Then, when Kaiser stops playing again, Shindou comes in with a slow ballad rhythm, matching exactly the music that Otomi had played for him when he was sick in the cabin. Kaiser looks miffed, Otomi happily starts playing his own kind of music, and Steve thinks that this is way better than when they'd jammed at the Big Man. Volume 41: Souji Mitarai: This tall, long black-haired high school student is the head of the school's "Keep the School Clean" committee. Souji is handsome and deadly serious when it comes to cleaning up trash. He and his men all use mops and brooms as martial arts weapons. Daimon Taichou: (Taichou is also Tenkouji's title, as a leader of one of the Decency League squads.) Daimon is one of Souji's goons -- a VERY tall, squared-jawed man who uses insecticide as a weapon, and carries a steel-reinforced 15 pound flyswatter. Shindou's and Kyou's music is so warm, that people recover from Kaiser's ice. The stage crew are upset that Kyou is not feeding in through the mixer -- they can't tape this music. Kaiser admits that he has lost, but Savant recovers, and he pulls a pistol to shoot and kill Otomi. Steve tries to race to save the boy, but Savant takes a backfist to the nose and drops like a stone; Kaiser was standing next to him. Kaiser asks Steve how anyone (especially a yellow monkey) could be better than him. Steve replies that the Japanese aren't monkeys, they are humans. Which means that they understand music just like everyone else. The point is that Kyou "feels" his music; Kaiser considers himself just a "techique machine." Kaiser gives up for now, and leaves. Steve and Black join in on stage, and everyone has fun. The papers report Kaiser's disappearance from the music scene. Steve returns to L.A., and offers Otomi and Shindou the chance to meet him there. Shindou likes the idea of seeing California girls in bathing suits, but turns down Otomi's offer to L.A. to play as professionals. Shindou doesn't want to leave Japan. Otomi is next seen in a studio session, taking a break alongside Steve Pie and Sonny Black (Black is looking a lot more relaxed and comfortable now. But, he's worried that if Shindou shows up in L.A., he'll be out of a job.) Otomi writes a letter to Shindou saying that they have a record deal, and are also performing at live concerts. Otomi describes the topless women that scream at the edge of the stage and throw their panties at him. Shindou rants that he's missing out on all the fun. ---End of "Searching for the Lost Chord" -- A new one-shot starts in this volume. Shindou is avoiding Mayumi's attempt to cut his hair, when Souji intervenes to pick up the garbage that Shindou is leaving behind. The story itself is a little more serious than normal, revolving around Souji's claim to respect (he has a high school lapel pin which legend has it dates back a long time ago, when various people fought to win the lapel pin, and the authority it brought.) Souji brings in a bunch of goons, who eventually turn Mayumi into a cleaning lady, and then into a hostage in an attempt to capture Shindou. Mayumi's pride is running high, so she won't escape, or help Shindou, until Daimon threatens to trash Mayumi unless Shindou cleans out the urinals with his tongue. Mayumi can't let Shindou be humiliated like this, and kicks her captors in the balls to free herself. This lets Shindou defend himself against Daimon, and then trash everyone. However, the boy had taken a lot of damage, with his hands tied behind his back, and he collapses to the ground. (Tatsuya Yoshiokata, the leader of the Decency League, resurfaces in this volume to introduce Souji as his replacement as head of the Decency League.) Volume 42: Souji finds his minions stretched out in the toilets, and is told that Shindou and the girl made an unprovoked attack on them. So, the goons chase after the boy, and finally locate him up on the roof, where Souji had been washing a whole bunch of girls' panties and had left them up to dry. Tenkouji has surfaced again, and the priest was waiting on the roof to challenge the boy to one-on-one combat. Tenkouji is upset that of all the fighters they've met, he is the only one that hasn't been able to fight Shindou in a tournament. But Daimon interrupts, and Shindou decides to trash the goon once and for all. Problem is, the boy now has some cracked ribs, and his hands are still duct-taped behind his back. The fight starts, and Shindou evades the flyswatter to eventually kick Daimon's jaw through the roof of his mouth. The heroes escape, and take time to splint up Shindou's ribs. They go to the Ouendan HQ, only to find that Souji had been there first and had wiped out the Ouendan in an attempt to find Shindou. Mayumi bandages up the wounded (it's the first time that a woman had ever done this before, and they're all in heaven over it.) But, Mayumi is still a member of the Decency League, and that puts her on Souji's side. This tears Mayumi up, and Shindou tries to find a way to solve the problem. Tenkouji tells the boy to get the "Get out of Jail Free" Badge, so Shindou issues a challenge to the villian. Very quickly, Shindou and Souji face either other. They both attack (Shindou punches, Souji uses a deck broom), and Shindou wins, only to destroy the badge (Tenkouji expected the boy to use it to wreak havok on campus for the rest of his life.) A little time passes. Souji is still a member of the Decency League, but has calmed down a bit. What he still can't figure out is how Shindou can be so strong (breaking the badge between two fingers.) Shindou is still watching girls from inside one of their lockers, but his ribs are taking a long time to heal. When Souji returns to his office, a high school girl wearing one of the Snake Bones Gang masks demands a report. Turns out that Souji had gone to the Ouendan HQ earlier not to find Shindou, but actually to clean out Shikato's safe when the Old Man and Momo were off-campus. The masked girl asks where "It" is, and is told that the only things in the safe were dirty magazines and video tapes. The girl pulls out some photos to prove that Souji is lying -- the guy had found the Snake Bones Gang ruby (which Shikato hadn't actually sold off after all.) But, Souji had swallowed it, so the girl rips the gem out of the guy's belly. Later, Shikato finds Souji dying on the ground. It is the beginning of summer vacation, and Tenkouji wants to help make Shindou's ribs heal. The priest suggests that they go to an all-nude onsen (hot water spa), which has long been known for it's healing abilities. "All nude" is all Shindou needs to hear, but Mayumi packs her swimsuit anyway, and the two main DL minions go along to tag after their leader, Tenkouji. Tenkouji's arranged-marriage fiance, the 12-year old Sayoko resurfaces to demand to go along on what would be their first date. The priest hates the idea, but eventually caves in. So, the 6 of them take the 4 hour train trip, 2 hour bus trip, and 2 hour mountain hike up to the onsen -- Tenkouji had lied about it. There are no other people there, and it's not all-nude. Shindou is pissed. Meanwhile, a group of high school girls, wearing Snake Bone masks, meet in a dark room. Shikato has disappeared. He is not behaving the way they'd expect him to, and they suspect that the ruby they stole is a dummy. The only way to find out is to go to Shikato's mountain mansion -- which is located very close to the onsen that Tenkouji's group is at. The girls set out on their trek. The next major story arc is about to begin Volume 43: Mayumi is making supper, and with one taste of her cooking, Sayoko wants to do EVERYTHING together with her. Shindou is thinking that Tenkouji can pair up with Sayoko, the two minion can sleep together, which puts him in the room with Mayumi (Tenkouji tries to kill him as a show of disagreement.) Instead, Sayoko wants to sleep with Mayumi, so Shindou grabs the girl and runs outside to ask her WHY!? Sayoko replies that she wants to learn how to win her Ten-chan's heart. The others are listening in on this, and the minions flip over the idea that Ten-chan has a fiance. Shindou keeps thinking about how to get in bed with Mayumi. He does so outloud, and Mayumi and Tenkouji prepare to attack him. When suddenly, a vagabond rushes in and eats all of their rice with his hands. (He hadn't eaten for three days.) The next day, Shindou is hauling water (his ribs still hurt), when the vagabond's kiai startles him into dropping the water. The guy is standing under a waterfall, doing vertical kicks. Later, in an onsen, the guy apologizes for his behavior, and introduces himself as Yousui Hinoue, a man who's father claimed that his is a "assassin's karate" because it's so bad. However, when he says this, Tenkouji and Shindou feel the air go frigid. Tenkouji and Shindou argue over the reason for this, and Yousui over hears the boy's name. He pulls out a photo of the Nationals, showing Shindou's beaten up face. Except, that the caption identifies the bruised one to be Shindou Kiritarou (the kanji for Kou was very slightly screwed up.) Yousui is looking for Kiritarou to punish him for what he did to his father. At the same time, Mayumi and Sayoko are out looking for herbs to use for cooking, and they tresspass onto Shikato's land. A preprogrammed robot bear attacks them, and tries to strip Mayumi's panties off. Shindou and Tenkouji heard the screams, and they behead the bear at the last moment (Sayoko is very glad that it wasn't a real bear that got killed.) (Yousui destroyed one of the no trespassing signs with a barefooted kick, impressing Shindou, who had been spying on him. Shindou and Tenkouji suddenly discover that the onsen is next to the Old Man's mountain retreat.) Shikato comes out to look at the damage, and invites them to the mansion. (All of the bunnygirl maids are gone, to Shindou's horror.) Yousui, and the masked high school girls, all look down on the mansion, and prepare to approach it. Tenkouji thinks that he's seen Yousui's face before, and wants to talk to the Old Man about it (really, to avoid Sayoko, who is staying with Mayumi.) Yousui is watching on, with Shindou, Mayumi, and Sayoko out on the front lawn, and he realizes that Shindou is "Kiritarou." He states that his father's name is Gensui Akaiwa, and he himself really is an assassin. He attacks, trying pluck out the boy's eyes, and then crush his skull. It takes a while for Shindou to realize that the guy is trying to kill him. In the mansion, Tenkouji asks about Yousui, and Shikato recognizes the name, and connects it to Gensui. The Old Man describes all of the killing moves that Yousui uses. And, Yousui sees that the boy is protecting his ribs, and attacks them. But, before Yousui can crush the boy's head with a drop kick, a Beni Bara knife flies through the air and he catches it with his toes. Behind Mayumi is a girl with a Snake Bones mask. Sayoko is running through the mansion, looking for Ten-chan. But, all she finds are bathrooms. Shikato's hearing aid alarm goes off and he goes to his elevator (it happens to be one of the bathrooms -- the one Sayoko decides to use to relieve herself.) Sayoko yells out "pervert" and Ten-chan cuts the door open. The girl yells out that Shindou is fighting the weird guy from the onsen. Ten-chan runs outside. Yousui throws the knife back, and it meets the masked one's knife tip-to-tip in front of Mayumi's nose. Yousui prepares to attack the girl, but Shindou trips him -- the boy wants to keep fighting the killer. Distracted, Yousui gets the masked girl's finger in his left eye. At first, he doesn't think the damage is so bad, until he notices the orb dangling from the wrong side of the socket. He puts it back in place, and Mayumi passes out. Yousui rushes forward and destroys the mask, revealing -- Megumi Yoshiokata (Tatsuya's little sister.) Shindou recognizes her, but her eyes, face, and behavior are all wrong. Woodenly, Megumi runs back into the forest. Yousui relaxes, and decides to stop fighting everyone. Shindou and Tenkouji recognize the knife on the ground as being Beni Bara's trademark, last seen a LONG time ago in D Block. In the mansion, Yousui's eye is bandaged up, and he's drinking good sake. Shindou and Sayoko are playing Super Mario. Tenkouji wants to know what's going on, and Shikato tries to prevaricate. Yousui goes out to the hall. In the forest, Megumi is trying to understand why she saved Koutarou, and when the other girls ask what's wrong, she says "nothing." As Mayumi is recovering, Shikato is pulling the little eyeball doll from his left eye socket -- she passes out again. He's been keeping the real Snake Bones ruby inside the doll (Shindou recognizes the ruby and goes ballistic; he'd been inspecting his turds for that ruby ever since he remembered that he'd swallowed it.) Shikato explains that a long time ago, the School Superintendent (from the Kurara arc) had a soft soul, and allowed in all of the student who'd been rejected from all the other schools in Tokyo. This led to the invasion of school punks and bad boys. To counter the invasion, Shikato created the original Snake Bones Gang (prior to creating the Ouendan.) But at that time, they didn't wear masks. He eventually dissolved the group, which was a mistake. Later, Beni Bara revived it. He talked to her at that time, and she stated that she loved the campus, so she wanted to control it with "the Mask of Fear." Shikato wanted to rub his face against her beautiful body, and received a warning (Shikato wanted to be called Ten-chan -- "Respectable-chan", and Beni replied that he could call her Beni Bara (Red Rose).) This rose has a LOT of thorns -- her throwing knives, which she inserts all over Shikato's school uniform. On other miscreants, the knives would pierce cheeks and noses. Talking with Beni later, Shikato sadly realized that his approach and Beni's were completely at odds with each other. Behind him, Tatsuya Yoshiokata was staring on. Back in real time, the masked high school girls are sneaking up on the mansion, preparing to screw up the peace inside. Volume 44: In his flashback, time passes, and Shikato is in his Ouendan office, getting depressed over Snake Bones' increased use of violence. He goes to a field outside of campus to meet Beni, and is told that her influence is being extended all across Japan. This is too much for him, and Shikato throws away the gift that he was going to give to her (one thing that had depressed him at the time was that Beni and Yurie were about the same age) and walked away. However, he later realized that if anyone else found it, there'd be problems. So, he returned to the field, where Beni had located the present already. She wants to keep the ruby (which later becomes the symbol of power for the Snake Bones), and makes fun of the "I Love You" letter that was inside. Turns out, though, that since Shikato makes it a habit to spy on all pretty women on campus, he already knows that Beni is a very beautiful transvestite, and he still loves "her" inspite of that. This is a bit of a shock to Beni, as well as to Koutarou in real-time. However, it turns out that there is an enemy -- someone that would want that ruby and the power it could bring. Someone known as the White Rose. The evil Tatsuya Yoshiokata. Which comes as a shock to Tenkouji (since Tatsuya is the leader of the school's Decency League.) Outside a door, Yousui is listening on. Inside the room, Sayoko is playing Super Mario, and is getting close to finishing the next stage. When suddenly, the power to the house is cut, which comes as a shock to Sayoko. Tenkouji uses a D-cell battery to provide light (he is still able to cause his head to shine when he uses a battery, as a carryover of a joke from the first volume) and catches Shindou in the act of feeling Mayumi's legs. Mayumi is still in shock and foaming at the mouth. Shikato has slipped out to the hall, taking the ruby and locking the door behind him. The Old Man knows that Tatsuya is after the ruby, and he's trying to keep anyone else from getting involved. However, Shindou is more concerned that Shikato is going to hurt Megumi. The Old Man leaves to face the three high school girls. When Tenkouji tries to use his sword on the door, it breaks -- the wood lamination covers some plate steel. Shindou hurts his ribs some more while trying to kick the door, and Yousui comes out from hiding (he was in the room some a certain reason) to try to kick the door himself. Finally, Shindou uses One Blow to smash the door off its hinges; he is pissed, because his rule is that NO ONE hurts any women when he is around. The three masked girls demand the ruby, and then attack the Old Man when he doesn't turn it over. However, their pro-wrestling moves only bring the pervert into closer contact with them, and they try to throw him away again. He uses One Blow to quickly waste the first two girls. He destroys Megumi's mask, and her wide-open eyes tell him that she's been hypnotised (brainwashed.) As he is about to use One Blow to the sides of her temples, Shindou rushes in to kill him. Megumi gets free, kicks Shindou a bit, and runs away. The Old Man berates them for interferring, and reinforces the image of Tatsuya as an evil villian that would subvert his little sister for his own gains. The group runs outside, where they find Akai and Aota (the two nameless DL members) tied up and being used as hostages by a bunch of guys in Snake Bones masks. Megumi demands the ruby, and Shikato pulls out his little eyeball doll and throws it to her. However, Yousui wants the ruby for himself, and he bashes the doll out of the air with one of his geta. When Megumi tries to get the doll, he almost kills her with the other geta, but Shindou shouts out a warning, and she tumbles to the side just in time. Yousui takes the doll and runs, chased by Megumi and more of the masked men (Yousui trashed all of the ones in his way, but more were called in by radio.) Shindou kicks Tenkouji and Shikato down the short hill to beat up the reinforcements, while he himself runs after Megumi. Shikato tries to warn the boy about how dangerous Megumi is now, but Shindou refuses to let her get hurt. He goes into the woods, following the trail of broken bodies left behind by the 15 pound-geta wielding Yousui. Yousui reaches a rope bridge over a deep chasm, and threatens to drop the eyeball doll if anyone other than Megumi tries to approach him. Yousui and Megumi cross to the other side, and start fighting to kill each other. One of the assassin's flying kicks is aimed deliberately at one of the rope bridge's supporting posts -- the post breaks and the bridge half-collapses. The masked men are concerned, but are then quickly wiped out as Shindou rushes in. The boy runs along the other rope, and Yousui kicks the remaining post. Shindou falls, but uses the dangling wooden planks to swing across to the far ledge. Before Yousui can destroy the post, though, Megumi attacks him and Shindou makes it to safety. Shindou checks the scrape alongside her eye (where Yousui kicked her) and the girl thinks that the boy's hand is warm -- which triggers images of her older brother telling her that Shindou is her enemy. She drops to her knees, screaming. Yousui explains that Megumi is dangerous, therefore must be killed. However, Shindou is in the way, so the boy has to be trashed as well. What it really boils down to is, Yousui is a trained assassin, and he LIKES killing people if there's some reason to do so. The killer thinks that he's going to have some fun with the boy, but is instead beaten up a lot (Shindou keeps hitting him in the side of the head where his damaged eye is already bandaged up.) (Meanwhile, Akai and Aota are inside the mansion, trying to find everyone else and marvelling over all of the sculptures and paintings that are probably prohibited for people to own in Japan. In the control room, Sayoko is marvelling over the man that has just cleared stage 96 on Super Mario -- Tatsuya.) Yousui isn't out yet, and he states that his endurance comes from hard training; something that Shindou, with his life of peace, isn't any match for. The killer announces himself to be "Yousui the Kappa", which starts Shikato to thinking (Shikato and Tenkouji have reached the bridge, and are helplessly watching on from the other side of the VERY DEEP canyon.) [Note: A kappa is a Japanese water creature, kind of like a humanoid turtle, with a fringe of hair around it's head. One of the talents of a kappa is that by shortening one arm, it can make the other arm longer.] This is what happens, and Yousui punches Shindou in the head from 10 feet away. The boy collapes, and Shikato wonders if he is watching some kind of magic. But, Shindou gets up again (his head is bleeding and spinning) and Yousui punches again. This time, the punch hits the ground, and it's obvious that the killer is using a chain with a weight on one end. Shikato then tells Tenkouji the secret of Onken (supposedly, the group that Yousui trained under.) The Onken like to use little concealed weapons that do a lot of damage to the opponent (brass knuckles, rings with a piece of nail attached on the palm side of the hand, etc.) Shindou thinks that now he understands the attack, he can defend against it. He is wrong, and Yousui wraps the chain around his throat and smashes him head first into the ground. It looks like Shindou is out, and Megumi gets ready to attack the killer (she has stopped screaming, and Tatsuya's influence has taken over again.) However, the boy-with-the-head-that's- stronger-than-rock stands back up (his neck, however, is really sore.) This makes Yousui happy, and he attacks again, aiming for Shindou's cracked ribs. Shindou escapes, but still gets whittled apart by the flurry of metal flying at him. Until he closes his eyes. The chain doesn't even come close. Megumi is shocked. Volume 45: Yousui thinks that the boy is playing a joke on him. But, the killer just can't hit the boy with his chain anymore. Megumi recognizes this action from long, long ago, when she watched Sado fighting Shindou with two whips, back in Block D. The boy has become "the wind." Finally, Shindou opens his eyes again, and Yousui prepares his feint (with the chain hidden in both hands, you can't tell which hand will be the one attacking you, or what type of attack it will be.) Problem is, Shindou has hooked his ankle around the rope from the bridge, and is swinging the broken post up at Yousui's head. The post connects and Yousui falls unconscious. When Shindou tries to pick up the eyeball doll from beside the assassin's limp body, a knife hits the ground by his hand. Megumi thanks the boy for eliminating one of her opponents, and attacks him. Shindou, though, just keeps playing with her. Instead of fighting back, he lets himself get caught in a bear hug, then reaches up to pull her hair back into a ponytail (the same way she had worn her hair when they first met.) He adds that he still hasn't seen her smile. Tenkouji is afraid that Shindou's inability to attack a girl will get him killed, but Shikato has realized that Megumi isn't fighting to kill anymore. Caught helpless on the ground, with Megumi on top of him, Shindou can't evade when Yousui recovers and throws Megumi's knife at him. Megumi protects him, and the knife impales her arm just above the elbow. In pain, she rolls over the edge of the cliff. Shindou scrambles to grab her by the good hend. She calls him stupid, and asks why he wouldn't fight her and just keeps trying to save her -- after all, he is her enemy. Shindou is confused, since Megumi had saved him before, when Yousui first attacked him. The girl replies that Shindou is gentle and kind, but her brother is downright nasty. Yousui (bleeding all over the place) kicks the prone boy in the cracked ribs, pleased that he has the chance to torture the boy to death. Megumi begs that Shindou let her fall, to protect himself. But, he won't, and Yousui keeps kicking him in the side. Finally, Yousui prepares to deliver a killing punch, and all of Tatsuya's training breaks down -- Megumi kicks herself free from Shindou's grasp. As she falls, she pulls the knife loose from her arm, and throws it at Yousui's fist (looks like it severed a tendon in one finger.) Then, she pulls her hair back with one hand to make a ponytail, and smiles at Shindou, calling out "sayonara" as she plunges to the river below. Yousui pulls the knife from his hand, commenting that it makes a good souvenir from a bested opponent, as Shindou uses Yousui's face as a diving board. The boy drops to the river, and Tenkouji goes after him (he cuts his robes off with his broken sword, only to get slapped in the face by his loincloth.) Shikato crosses the rope to face Yousui. As Shikato is about to kill the assassin, starting up his 100 Person Attack, a pair of razor sharp fans fly across his path. Yousui tries to take the opportunity to attack back, but also has to evade the fans. From across the river, Tatsuya is standing, catching and throwing the fans to break up the fight. He wants the assassin to run away and heal, to be used at a later time. Yousui asks who his benefactor is, and is shocked to hear the name of the White Rose. He escapes. Tatsuya cuts the remaining bridge rope, and when Shikato holds up the eyeball doll, Tatsuya explains that he had taken the ruby away a long time ago. Tatsuya holds up the ruby, then leaves (Shikato called the White Rose "garbage", and Tatsuya gently added "you mean, unburnable refuse?") Down in the river, Shindou's ribs crack further, and he passes out. Before he goes over the waterfalls, Tenkouji saves him. But, it's pretty clear that Megumi had not survived the back-flat-against-the-water splash, had died and gone over the falls into the raging waters below. Shindou wakes up, goes crazy and screams. As a parting gesture, Tatsuya stated that he'd left some "omiyage" (a present) for them. Shikato thinks about this, then runs back to the mansion. In the mansion, Tenkouji has carried in the limp Shindou and is setting the boy on the floor. Akai and Aota, with blank-eyed grins and kitchen knives, attack their leader. The priest quickly bops them on the head with his sheath, but then gets his face scraped as Sayoko leaps in with another knife. The priest takes his fiance, and half-drowns her in the indoor pool. As each of the hypnotised people come to, they don't know how they had gotten to where they are, and the last thing they remember is talking to Tatsuya. Sayoko thinks that her beloved is trying to kiss her, and tries to kiss him back; Tenkouji bops her unconscious, saying that the girl is still acting weird. Then, the group realizes that Mayumi is missing from her chair. She in fact is busy trying to strangle Shindou with her scarf. This doesn't work, so she picks up the knives, and threatens to kill herself as she coaxes the now-conscious boy to approach and get stabbed. In spite of Tenkouji's yelling at him, Shindou walks towards Mayumi, says that he likes her, and then slaps her in the face. Later, at the bottom of the falls, Mayumi is asking if this is where Megumi had gone. Shindou asks if her huge black eye hurts (he apologizes for hitting so hard), and Mayumi winces as she says, "a little." Shindou looks at his hand, and curses that if he'd been just a little faster, Megumi would still be alive. Shindou had taken Sayoko's hair ribbon, and throws it out into the river, thinking of the smiling, happy, pony-tailed Megumi. Finally, Mayumi asks what Shindou had said to her (she vaguely remembers something) just before Shindou popped her, and the boy answers "oh, nothing." Around this time, as Shikato is musing over someone that could sneak undetected into his mansion so easily, the Old Man remembers something. He leaps forward and pulls Mayumi's pants down around her knees. On the seat of her panties, Tatsuya had written a receipt for the ruby. (Shindou, Shikato, and Mayumi get into a big brawl over this.) At the hospital, Tenjouki has arrived to visit Souji Mitarai, and is concerned when Souji is not in his bed -- the cleanliness freak is outside, washing his window. Souji is put back into bed (he'd been saved by Shikato, and put in the hospital) and he asks why the priest has come to visit. Tenkouji had brought a gift -- a basket of lemons, but when he squeezes a lemon in anger, Souji tries to mop up the floor -- which forces the priest into not only washing the floor, but also putting on two coats of wax. What makes him so mad is that Tatsuya had made a mockery of the DL, and now the bald one wants revenge. Tenkouji is trying to find out what happened to Tatsuya -- the villian had quit the DL and disappeared. Souji had been a member of the new Snake Bones Gang, but had never been told anything important. The only clue he has is a riddle: "Which is larger, 1/1000 or 100,000/100,000,000?" At the same time, Mayumi is trying to get over the fact that cheerful Megumi is dead, as she goes to Shindou's dojo to change the boy's bandages. However, the dojo is empty, and in a mess. Meanwhile, in the back of a limo, Tatsuya is posing the riddle to a man whose face and hands are completely bandaged up. The man says, neither, both are 1/1000. Tatsuya replies, "wrong, 100,000/100,000,000 is bigger." The trick is from a psychological viewpoint, 1 person staring to his left, in the middle of 1000 people, will not be noticed. But, if 100,000 people in Japan all stare to their left, the rest of the country will notice and follow suit. This is the basis for his plans. Outside the car, Tenkouji is on the street, returning from the hospital, as he sees Tatsuya in the limo. He is going to give chase, but Mayumi finds him at the same time, and asks where Shindou has disappeared to. The priest stops, and demands to know what has happened to his opponent. The limo disappears. === This marks the end of Part 4 of the Koutarou Guide === ISDN information [Kodansha Comics, ISBN4-06-311501-1 C0279, 390 yen] -- 36 [Kodansha Comics, ISBN4-06-311524-0 C0279, 390 yen] -- 37 [Kodansha Comics, ISBN4-06-311547-X C0279, 380 yen] -- 38 [Kodansha Comics, ISBN4-06-311580-1 C0279, 380 yen] -- 39 [Kodansha Comics, ISBN4-06-311596-8 C0279, 380 yen] -- 40 [Kodansha Comics, ISBN4-06-311620-4 C0279, 380 yen] -- 41 [Kodansha Comics, ISBN4-06-311636-0 C0279, 390 yen] -- 42 [Kodansha Comics, ISBN4-06-311654-9 C0279, 390 yen] -- 43 [Kodansha Comics, ISBN4-06-311686-7 C0279, 390 yen] -- 44 [Kodansha Comics, ISBN4-06-311717-0 C0279, 390 yen] -- 45 ==================================================================== -- Curtis H. Hoffmann April 5, 1994