Episode 15 (also by Christina-chan)-

Last time: Kage Houshi's secrets about the Hokage are hard to believe. 400 years ago, Recca's parents were Ohka, twenty-sixth leader of the Hokage, and Kagero better known as Kage Houshi. And that he and Kurei are brothers. Because of Recca's birth, Kurei could never become the next leader of the Hokage.

Kagero: And the Oni was coming closer to the Hokage village.

Curse of Time!
A Mother and Her Son!!

It seems that Oni was just a metaphor for Oda Nobunaga from Owari. Grandfather states that the Owari must be after Hokage's elemental weapons. Ohka has all of the elemental weapons gathered, but instead of distributing them for battle, he announces that they will keep them hidden, facing Oda's 10,000 troops with normal weaponry.

As Ohka apologizes for not always being there for Kagero and Recca when about to go to war, Kagero assures him that being his wife was all she ever wanted. With that, Ohka leaves for battle, Kagero crying to herself. Oda's troops arrive, and many of the Hokage are killed.

As a final plan of action, Ohka removes his arm restraint and burns Oda's front lines. He is then stabbed from behind, and after saying that even if the Hokage are defeated that they will never have the elemental weapons, archers shoot Ohka in the chest, and two men pierce him through the stomach with spears. His flame slowly dies away. Ohka was thirty-two years old when he died.

The Hokage village is being burned, and Kurei is caught within the burning prison. As beams fall towards his head, Kurei uses his flame to block them, consequently breaking a large hole in the wall of the prison from which he escapes. Picking up a sword from the limp fingers of a dead Hokage warrior, he smiles evilly.

Meanwhile, Kagero runs with Recca, trying to escape death by the hands of Oda who has ordered the death of every Hokage member. Kagero holds Recca to her, unwilling to let him die after barely having a chance to live. She then decides to use the knowledge she gained from Grandfather conduct time-manipulation that would send Recca to a hopefully safer place even though she will end up being immortal as a result.

As Kagero runs to find a safe place to send Recca, she is unaware of Kurei watching them.

Kagero opens the time portal and sends Recca into it, and just as he is fading, Kurei jumps in after him, intent on killing the child. As the portal closes and Kagero realizes with horror what has happened, she is stabbed from behind and falls, apparently dead. However, she gets up the next day as her immortality begins and starts her search for Recca, waiting 400 years for him. She took on the name Kage Houshi in the process.

Back in Kagero's home, the room is silent as everyone swallows the story, and Yanagi comments that things must have been hard for her. Recca is amazed, stating that the story was crap and that he couldn't believe she had expected him to suck up that bullsh*t. His mother died a long time ago and she tried to kill him using Fuuko and Mikagami. Fuuko counters that Kagero told him that he had to defeat Kurei and that there was proof...the elemental weapons, Kagero's body, and Kurei. Recca still refuses to accept this, saying that he's the son of Hanabishi Shigeo, and to "screw you and the Hokage."

Yanagi is shocked, and just as everyone becomes tense, Mikagami stands and tells Recca that there are three. When Recca asks what he's talking about, Mikagami responds that he needs to work on sensing his enemies. At that time, the door to Kagero's home bursts open revealing Kuchibashimaru, Hanemaru, and Tsumemaru. Hanemaru flies past the group at amazing speeds and goes upward but forgets about the ceiling and hits his head.

Domon and Fuuko both wonder if these guys are stupid, but Kuchibashimaru tells them to shut up and that they can't fight under these stuffed conditions, calling them outside which they reluctantly respond to. The three introduce themselves, adding the standard, "We're the Triads..." "The strongest..." "...three idiots..." Hanemaru and Kuchibashimaru collapse from embarrassment. Mikagami, Domon, and Fuuko facefault.

The three quickly recover and say that they've come for the one who broke into Kurei's mansion, and Hanemaru points an accusing finger at Tatesako-sensei ^^;; Tatesako protests that he was a prisoner in the mansion. At that moment, Saruji appears and tells the three that Hanabishi Recca is a high school student.

Hanemaru, with this new revelation, looks at Kagero, realizing who she is. He moves to Yanagi, determines that she's a girl, and skips over Recca ::sweatdrop:: Deciding that Domon is too old for high school, he lets his gaze fall on Fuuko and Mikagami. Hanemaru waits a moment before pointing at Fuuko who is pissed and asks if she looks like a guy. Mikagami isn't that happy either, knowing that Hanemaru had mistaken him for a girl ^_-

Finally, Recca has had enough and tells the three who he is before kicking Hanemaru into the air. Hanemaru zips by Recca a few times, showing off his skills, before Recca pounds him on the head midflight. After this, he lets out his anger and confusion from the truths he had just learned from Kagero on Hanemaru, beating him to a pulp and later sending him over the cliff.

Tsumemaru and Kuchibashimaru are intent on revenge but are shown up by Fuuko, Domon, and Mikagami. Kuchibashimaru sends his Kuchibashi Oh at Fuuko who blocks with her Fuujin, accidently sending it towards Yanagi, but Kagero pushes her out of the way and gets grabbed by it instead. Kuchibashimaru has his fun injuring Kagero, but Recca is so upset about what is happening that he sends his flame at Kuchibashimaru who, set ablaze, runs into Saruji. They both fall over.

Recca reaches out to Kage Houshi only to find that he can't touch her. This is because the caster and person put into the portal of the time portal can never touch each other until the caster is freed from his or her cursed body. As Recca turns away from her, Kagero tells him that she would not have interfered with his life if the danger hadn't been great, but Recca argues that she hasn't done anything wrong. He called her Kaa-chan (mother) for the first time, and the two stared at each other for an eternity that day...

Recca: I've decided, I'll get stronger and finish this business with Kurei. Only way I've thought of is trying to master these eight dragons' power. It's really dangerous, but if I don't, how am I supposed to defeat Kurei? This time I'll make all of them listen to me!

Next episode: Fighting Determination! Recca's Challenge!!

My soul's already a burning flame!