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EPISODE SEVEN: SHUUICHI MINAMINO'S TRUE IDENTITY

Recovering the three Rei kai treasures is Yusuke's first mission. He is now facing Gouki, the first of the three thieves, who took the Spirit Ball. Gouki was annoyed at Yusuke for interrupting his meal, and had hit hi on his jaw. Yusuke was sent across the place, rolling away from his enemy because of his strong blow. Gouki taunted him, saying that he had forgotten that Yusuke is a human being---weak and frail. He should have made his punch a little weaker. On the other hand, humans became his favorite for they are weak. He lifted Yusuke in the air with his hand gripping his neck tightly. Yusuke felt so vulnerable. He wasn't able to move! Fortunately for him, Gouki didn't kill him because they had heard voices coming nearer to their place. Before making his escape, Gouki warned him that he shouldn't mess with him again and then dropped him.

Yusuke thought he recognized those voices, but before finding out who they were, he was unconscious.

He woke up after a while, and found himself in a room, lying down on a comfortable bed. He realized that he was finally home, and wondered who brought him there. Before he could answer his own questions, his mother came dashing in, and sobbed, glad that he was finally awake, then socked him in the jaw with one fluid motion. She didn't like the thought of having is son involved in street fights, and told him so. Yusuke couldn't do anything but absorb his mother's lectures. She didn't know why he was in a fight in the first place, and he wasn't going to be the one to explain it. They both broke off when Botan appeared from the door and greeted him. Atsuko told him that it was Botan who brought him there. Yusuke was astonished to find Botan visible to his mother's line of vision and silently asked her why. Botan replied in the same manner and said that it was all Koenma's idea. If she was going to assist Yusuke at all of his missions, her job will be easier is she was seen by everyone. Atsuko noticed their intense conversation, and thought they were an item. She didn't waste any time letting them know what hey thought, then left them in Yusuke's room with a teasing look. Annoyed as he is, Yusuke let it pass. He wondered how Botan was able to rescue him from Gouki, and Botan showed him a wrist watch.

It wasn't as ordinary as it looked. The watch acts as a compass that tells its wearer where the youki is coming from, and to whom it belongs. She also told Yusuke that he has only a week to finish the mission, and he worried about it. He worried about Gouki and how he will beat him, for he knew firsthand that Gouki wasn't an easy opponent. Koenma who can see them from his office in Rei kai said that he hoped this mission was not an impossible one, for he will surely be kicked off from his position, not to mention the disaster that will strike Ningenkai when Enma Daioh gets mad.

At the living room, Atsuko was comfortably watching the news. Several students in a particular school were suddenly in comatose for no rational reason. Yusuke and Botan couldn't help overhearing the headline, and instantly knew that the reason behind it was Gouki. Their souls were eaten by him, and Botan told Yusuke that they only have one day to rescue the souls. If they don't, then the children will be left without a soul, and their souls couldn't even assume the identity of a ghost. Yusuke sprang into action, using the compass to track down Gouki.

In downtown Japan, a child suddenly fainted after picking up a ball and handing it over a tall, well-built man. The man was Gouki, and he had sucked the spirit of the girl the moment she handed him the ball. Seeing this, Yusuke gave Gouki his most powerful punch, but it didn't work on the monster. He claimed to have a strong body, and sent Yusuke sailing across the forest, his head hitting the trunk of a tree. He decided to smash he tree on Gouki's abdomen, but the tree dissolved into pieces the moment it smashed against his opponent. Yusuke then desperately thought of a way to defeat him, and realized that he had to get close with Gouki in order to make his efforts worthwhile. He thought about hitting his eye, but then, he decided against for he only has one shot of his rei gan left, and firing it on Gouki will hurt only one eye. When Gouki opened his mouth really wide, Yusuke pushed a piece of lumber in it, preventing him from closing it. This was the moment he was waiting for, and he fired his one and only shot, which was optimized by a ring given to him by Botan earlier. Using it will left him acting like a vegetable, but he figured that it was all right. Gouki was defeated, and he took the ball, satisfied to see the 5 souls go back to their rightful owners.

That night, it was Botan who walked Yusuke home, his arm uncomfortably lying across her shoulders. It was embarrassing for him to depend on her at that state, but knew he was left with no choice, since his energy was drained. If only he hadn't used the ring, but not using it meant the possibility of going to the world of the dead. On the way home, Yusuke suddenly felt awkward, and saw the red-head passing by. It was Shuuichi Minamino. He told Yusuke through telepathy to wait three days, and after that, the mirror is his.

Yusuke told Botan their short conversation when they were both settled in their apartment. Botan wasn't sure whether he should trust Shuuichi for he was a thief. The 3 days he was asking Yusuke was the night of the full moon, where the mirror would reach its peak of power. For all they know, it could be a trap! But Yusuke had other thoughts in his mind. He told her the conversation he had overheard when he first met Gouki, and said that the group were having problems of their own. They seemed to have problems getting along with each other, and that Shuuichi even wanted to quit the group. He also remembered the look he had seen in his eyes. One's eyes wouldn't lie, and what he had seen led him to believe that he wasn't a real opponent.

Atsuko chose that moment to interrupt the two's conversation. Yusuke was annoyed at this and wasted no time on letting his mother know that. He said that they have something important to talk about and Atsuko, whose mind was getting more creative as time goes by thought of something, and Yusuke made it clear that whatever she was thinking was pure fallacy and Atsuko finally left the room, saying that Botan should stay at their house for dinner. She agreed, and then let on Yusuke about her plans. She will check upon the mirror at Rei kai, and warned Yusuke that for the meantime, he should be very watchful on the steps he will take. Both weren't aware of it, but their opponent was watching them from a distance.

Botan took off to talk to Koenma about the mirror, and Yusuke decided to go ahead with his plans on meeting with Shuuichi. He met him at the hospital's main entrance, and took him up to his mother's room. There, Yusuke learned about Shiori, Shuuichi's mom, and her illness. Up on the hospital's rooftop, Shuuichi talked to him about it. He was wolf that acquired enough powers to transform himself into a youkai. His job was to steal treasures and deliver messages without being caught. During a hunting season, he was shot, and was wounded pretty badly. Seeking for refuge, his spirit fled to Ningenkai, staying in the body of a fetus, hoping to regain his lost ki. He estimated that it will take him 10 years to restore all his strength, and for the meantime, he stayed under Shiori's care. 15 years had passed, but he couldn't bring himself to leave her. Somehow, this youkai has learned to love and cherish his ningen mother. Now that she was sick, he felt that all he can do is steal the mirror and wish for his mother's health. Yusuke listened intently, unaware of what Botan had learned at Rei kai.

Koenma told her that the reason the mirror was highly important was its ability to grant any wish. The person who wanted something will simply look in the mirror, and it will grant his inner desires---on an exchange of something else. Koenma said that the best sacrifices are humans, and she remembered that Yusuke was alone with the holder of the mirror. She flew back to Ningenkai, hoping to catch Yusuke alive, and still breathing.

Understanding why he did it, Yusuke felt positive that he wasn't really an opponent. When a nurse suddenly barged into the rooftop, telling Shuuichi in a frantic voice that his mother has gotten worse, Shuuichi knew what he had to do. But first, he made a quick trip on his mother's room, and found out that that night will be very tough for her. Back on the rooftop, Shuuichi summoned the mirror, and was willing to sacrifice his life just to have her well. Yusuke knew his real intentions, and joined him in enduring the mirror as it sucks out the life on the two of them. After a while, Shuuichi regained consciousness and headed to his mother's room, where he learned that his mother has made full recovery. 

When Botan arrived, she found Yusuke slumped at the pavement, and worried that he might me dead once again. After a few moments, he stirred and he was up in a flash, thankful to be alive. They heard the mirror's voice, saying that since the wish was under good intentions, no sacrifices were needed. Botan was thrilled, not only for Yusuke was back alive, but also for recovering the second treasure. Koenma, who was watching them from his Rei kai office, said that it was too early to celebrate. The third and last thief is the strongest of them all.

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