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kaitoujokerscans · 11 months

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Get Back Hachi’s Memories! CH4

<4> The Secret Curry Seasoning

Hachi, full name Fuuma Hachi, was a ninja born in Japan.

Nobody knows for sure when the first ninjas came about. The word ninja literally means "one who hides", which makes them difficult to trace through history. One theory is that ninja were first employed during Prince Shotoku's reign in the sixth century. Back then they were called shinobi, "heralds of good news", and the name for them changed over time.

Ninja started to gain notoriety in the Sengoku period. They were valuable assets for generals in need of fleet-footed men. In the Edo period, the primary role of ninja switched to espionage. The bakufu engaged them as mercenaries and sent them all across the country. They spied on the secrets of daimyo and gathered local intelligence. Some even say that the famous poet Matsuo Basho, who composed haiku during his travels through the interior of the country, was himself a ninja.

There are multiple schools of ninjutsu, the most famous of them being the Iga, the Koga, and the Fuuma. Hachi belonged to this last group. In the present day, the different schools intermingle. When Hachi was a child, he went to Ninjutsu School to learn the basics of ninja arts. During his time there, he met Koga Hyakkimaru of the Koga clan. Hyakkimaru was in a higher grade than Hachi. Hachi was a poor student and a crybaby, but Hyakkimaru always came to his aid.

A few hours later, the Sky Joker reached the airspace over Koga Village. A great tree which served as an icon of the ninja village grew at the center of a vast forest, and beside it stood a gigantic castle. However, there were no classic shachihoko ornaments decorating the roof. Joker had stolen the golden shachihoko in a previous caper.

Joker, presently Kaitou Joe, parked the Sky Joker next to the castle. He could've just descended from above with Balloon Gum, but then Hachi might've figured out his identity.

The two of them headed for Hyakkimaru's hideout in the forest.

There were ropes and cords strung all across and between the forest trees, like some kind of obstacle course. This area was probably used as a ninja training ground. After a while, they spotted a large oak tree. There was a small, inconspicuous shack halfway up its trunk. This was Hyakkimaru's hideout.

When the pair arrived, Hyakkimaru had just finished his regimen and was catching his breath.

"It's been so long, Hyakkimaru-san!"

"Well, if it isn't Hachi! Good of you to visit," greeted Hyakkimaru with a natural smile which showed off his fangs. A Koga mask rested upon his blazing red hair, and he wore a light yellow haori above his grassy green ninja gear. Two ninja blades, his weapons of choice, sat crossed over his back.

"Here's a little something for you!" Hachi promptly handed over a wrapped-up bento box. Hyakkimaru lifted the lid and found chikuwa fish cakes like the kind used in oden packed inside.

"Oh, you remembered my favorite! Let me try one now." Hyakkimaru picked up a chikuwa and put it in his mouth. He chewed it, savoring the flavor, and a look of happiness broke out on his face. "Indeed, it's flavorful to the core. You've gotten even better at this, Hachi."

"Thank you!" Hachi also broke out into a smile. The whole room was filled with a warm and genial atmosphere like they were back in their school days. Meanwhile, next to Hachi, Joker as Kaitou Joe was just sitting idly cross-legged.

"I didn't expect you to visit all of a sudden. So what brings you here, Joker?"

"Ah...!" Joker tried to cover up what he was saying, but it was too late.

"Joker, you say!?" Hachi instantly stood up, gripped the hilt of his sword and scanned the room with eagle eyes. "Where are you, Joker!?"

"Huh? What are you talking about, Hachi? Joker's right in front-" Hyakkimaru started to say, confused. In a heartbeat, Joker pointed to outside the window.

"AH, there he is! Up on that tree, there's someone that looks like Joker!"

"Really!?" Hachi ran up to the window and put a hand to his brow, scrutinizing the outside. "Looks like he's not there anymore..."

"Agh, he must've gotten away..." Joker acted disappointed.

Hachi lamented. "Good grief, that fiend makes a fast getaway. The next time I spot him, I'll chase after!"

"Y-Yeah, you do that..."

Seeing Joker and Hachi's unnatural behavior, Hyakkimaru's ninja instinct picked up that something was wrong. He turned to Joker and probed for details. "It seems there's more going on here than meets the eye. Could you tell me about it?"

A few minutes later, Hyakkimaru and Joker were left by themselves in the shack. Hyakkimaru had asked Hachi to go relay a message to the other Koga ninjas. Hachi was more than willing to oblige, saying that he was excited to see them all after so long.

Joker took a sip of the tea that Hyakkimaru had brewed and exhaled.

"So what's going on? Why does Hachi think you're not Joker?" Hyakkimaru asked.

Joker told him everything, how yesterday he left for a job in the middle of an argument and came back to find Hachi concussed and unconscious. How he seemed to forget all about Joker, except for how mad he was at him.

"I see, so that's what happened..."

"This whole thing's turned into a massive pain to deal with. Hachi said that he hit his head and lost his memory before, and you were the one who fixed him up that time."

"Right, that makes sense. I remember that happening..." Hyakkimaru folded his arms and traced his memory. "That was back when we were in Ninjutsu School, during a test where we had to deliver a coded message. Hachi fell from a high place and hit his head. He forgot the message he was tasked with. He'd fail the test if he didn't remember, so I jogged his memory."

"That's it! I want you to tell me how you did it."

"Hm..." Hyakkimaru closed his eyes and thought deep.

"How can I get Hachi's memory back to normal!?"

"It's probably not a matter of Hachi losing his memory, but rather that it's repressed. For some reason or another, he's lost track of it. Think of it like a cabinet drawer that's gotten jammed and can't be opened. In order to use the ninja art that will unearth his repressed memory, he'll need to be reminded of what he was doing immediately before the triggering event."

"Immediately before?"

"Yes, but from what you've told me, that may be difficult."

"How so?" Joker asked Hyakkimaru intently.

"Hachi was by himself when he lost his memory. Which means that Hachi himself would be the only one who knows what he was doing at that time..."

"Oof, I get what you mean..." Then Joker had a sudden thought. "Ah! But Hachi was in the middle of making and taste-testing the curry for dinner!"

"Hm, is that so... Something unexpected must have happened while he was cooking, which made him hit his head. It may be that the only necessary step to jog his memory is to have him taste curry."

"Yeah! Curry!"

"But it'll have to be a curry that tastes exactly the same as before..."

"Ha ha, that's easy. I just have to ask Hachi to make the curry again!" Joker stood up, full of optimism.

When Hachi returned to the Sky Joker, he was in an exceptionally good mood. "Well, I'm really glad I got to visit everyone again!" His round face was full of cheer, and per Joker's request, he started making curry for dinner.

But when Hachi tasted the finished curry, he tilted his neck. "Hmm..."

"What is it?"

"Something's off... I feel like there was a secret ingredient..."

Joker took a taste for himself. True enough, it wasn't Hachi's usual curry. It felt like it was missing something. "Yeah..."

"That's strange."

"You don't remember what you put in?"

"Hmm, I don't know..."

Apparently hitting his head had made him forget the secret ingredient, too. He wouldn't be able to recreate the same curry like this.

That evening, exhausted after chatting with his old friends, Hachi turned in early. Later at night, Joker stood alone in the kitchen.

"All righty..."

Joker lifted up the lid of the curry pot. There was still plenty of curry left. If he asked Hachi too many questions, he'd get suspicious as to what he was up to. Thus Joker decided to figure out the secret ingredient on his own.

That said, he always left the cooking to Hachi, so he had no clue what the ingredient could possibly be, nor did he really know what things were kept where in the kitchen.

"Well, whatever. I can just try putting everything in, yeah?"

—A few hours later, Joker was stretched out on the couch, exhausted. After that, Joker had divided Hachi's curry into little saucers and added everything in the kitchen into different ones to test which one was the secret ingredient. Condiments, vegetables, meat, fish, even candy — he'd tried them all, but each time he tasted the result, his tongue met with a disagreeable flavor. Very few of them had actually been edible. He hadn't gotten any closer to Hachi's usual curry flavor. In fact, he was getting further away from curry that tasted any good at all. For the first time ever, Joker was intensely rueful that he'd never lifted a finger to help with cooking.

In time, he was down to one saucer of Hachi's curry that hadn't been altered. He couldn't risk any more failures.

"Agh, what should I dooo"

Joker was completely fed up at this point. He rolled onto the couch and started crunching down on potato chips that had been left over after he tried adding some to the recipe. On the outside, this just looked like typical bored Joker behavior, but inside, he was distressed.

If he couldn't recreate Hachi's curry, then he couldn't jog Hachi's memory with the method Hyakkimaru had described. In turn, that meant Hachi would keep hating Joker.

No, it was okay if Hachi still held a grudge. What disturbed Joker more than anything else was that Hachi had forgotten him entirely.

Hachi probably resented Joker because of the fight they'd had right before he left, and that emotion still remained. Joker could accept his anger over that. They could argue all they wanted, and they could get emotionally charged at each other.

But now, they couldn't even do that.

If all the time they'd spent together, all the fun and frustration and sadness, all the many fights they'd had — if Hachi didn't remember any of that, then they'd remain only in Joker's memories. As if they were something that had only happened in a dream, fading from existence. It would forever feel like something was missing from his life.

The thought alone pricked at his heart, filling him with pain.

As a consequence of his profession, Joker was hated by a lot of people. He thought he was used to the feeling. But he hadn't realized how much it hurt to be forgotten...

Under normal circumstances he wouldn't think this at all, but he didn't care if Hachi hated him, as long as he just remembered. Internally bargaining, Joker rolled over. The bag of potato chips was empty before he even realized.

Hm...?

I wasn't eating that fast, right? he thought, picking up his head. From the far side of the table, he heard the sound of someone crunching on chips.

"Mmm, these potato chips are tasty. I just can't restrain myself."

"Queen, you shouldn't have too many midnight snacks."

"!?" Joker jumped to his feed. Sitting at the table in front of him was Queen, munching on chips.

"Q-Queen! And Roko too!"

"Good evening."

"Pardon the intrusion, Joker," replied the white dog named Roko who was next to Queen. Roko was a super dog who had been genetically engineered to be able to speak, and was Queen's partner phantom thief dog. He was always calm and collected and kept Queen in check. He also lived at Silver Heart's house.

"W-What are you guys here for!?"

"Come on, you heard me announce myself. I told you I was coming in."

"Huh? You did?"

"We came in through the normal entrance and landed our plane in the hangar like always."

"Seriously? I didn't notice at all..."

"No duh, Joker. You're not in your usual outfit and you've just been zoned out on the couch looking at the ceiling. The kitchen reeks of something weird, so I was worried you'd performed an arcane ritual and something'd gone wrong."

"Hard to believe you were worried when you're snacking on my potato chips!"

"But I was hungry! You didn't respond at all anyway, so I figured you wouldn't mind sharing. So what's with the getup?"

"This...? Nothing special."

"Whatever floats your boat, I guess."

Joker was being close-lipped, but Queen didn't even seem to mind. She cleaned the chip grease off her fingers with a wet wipe.

"Again, what are you here for?" Joker scowled at Queen, irritated.

"The thing I was calling you about. You said you were busy and just hung up. I didn't want you pulling that again, so I just came in person."

"Right... that happened." He'd been so focused on Hachi that he'd forgotten all about the calls from Queen and Spade. Queen had been telling him about...

"Didn't you say something about a weird phantom thief?"

As soon as Joker brought it up, Queen leaned way forward and pouted in annoyance. "Yeah! I swear, it was SOOO frustrating!" She picked up and skillfully swung the humongous sword beside her, slamming it on top of the table. This greatsword made of diamond was Queen's weapon of choice. "I was at an art museum in the Caribbean not too long ago to steal a treasure. The 'Striped Brooch', you know the one!"

"Yeah, you told me about it before."

Queen had lately been coveting a treasure called the "Striped Brooch". It was a unique gemstone brooch with striations. It had been found in ancient Incan ruins, but its monetary value wasn't as much as its ostentatious appearance suggested, so Joker had passed it up.

"And then! I came across him in the storage room!"

"Him being?"

"The Time Thief!"

"The time thief?" Joker echoed with wide eyes. He'd never heard the name.

"That's not his actual name, though. He's been showing up all over the place lately, and he's called that because of his strange abilities." Just thinking back on the incident made Queen clench her fists.

"He's got strange abilities?"

"Yeah, that's what I said. I had so much trouble getting to that brooch and stealing it, but all of a sudden it wasn't in my possession anymore!"

"Huh? That doesn't make sense."

"I'm telling you, he stole the brooch from me before I even knew it!"

"You must've let your guard down, Queen. He could've just nicked it off you while you were distracted."

"That's not what happened," interjected Roko, who had kept quiet so far. "I was looking. Queen definitely had the brooch. But all of a sudden, it was gone."

"Gone?"

"As soon as we noticed it wasn't there, the Time Thief right in front of us was holding Queen's treasure instead."

"W-Wait a second here. You guys were there with this Time Thief guy?" Joker asked.

Queen folded her arms indignantly. "Yeah. But what's really bizarre is that when we went into the storage room, nobody else was there. But it was like he was just waiting around for us to take the treasure. The moment I got the brooch in my hands, he showed up out of thin air."

"For real...?" Joker was beginning to take some interest in this strange phantom thief. "The treasure just vanished right in front of your eyes? Both of you?"

"Yes. I was definitely holding the treasure. But he did something and then the next instant, it went poof. Then he said, 'The item you just obtained has now come into my possession by rewinding time.'"

"The heck..."

"After that, he said 'I can manipulate time.' Word for word."

"Time...?"

"Exactly. He has some strange ability that lets him manipulate time. That's why he's being called the Time Thief," Roko said in the same solemn tone. The way he spoke, it sounded like he was only half-convinced and was trying to persuade himself.

"It really is weird. It wasn't any sleight of hand. I don't understand what he did..."

"A phantom thief who can rewind time, huh..."

Then something lit up in Joker's head. Like a single shaft of light filtering through a pitch dark forest, a ray of hope beamed into his mind. In an instant, a fantastic idea gave him a jolt of energy.

"That's it!" Joker jumped to his feet and exclaimed.

"Huh?" Queen and Roko looked at Joker in surprise.

"If he can rewind time, he can go to the past, right!? Which means I can figure out what happened!"

"Uh... you could, yeah."

"If his ability is the real thing, yes."

"It's real! I mean, it has to be real, or I'm screwed! If I can take advantage of his ability and go to the past, I can figure out the curry's secret ingredient!"

"The curry's?"

"Secret ingredient?"

Queen and Roko vocalized in sequence, more confused than ever.

Yes, Joker had come up with an idea. He would investigate the secret ingredient for Hachi's curry by using the Time Thief's ability to go to the past. If he could just go to the moment when Hachi was making the curry, he could know for sure what he'd added to the recipe!

Joker marveled at his own brilliance. He turned to Queen and asked, "So where's this Time Thief guy!? Phantom Thief Joker is gonna head straight to him and steal his ability!"

"Um..."

"I'm not certain he'll show up today, but..." Roko began to say, then used his ears to push buttons on the TV remote. The television turned on to the UNN channel. DJ Peacock was there on screen, screeching in his usual garish manner.

"Good evening, everyone! This is DJ Peacock! And today, we've caught wind of an advance notice from Phantom Thief Spade!"

"Tonight, I'll come to take the Golden Gallery Box from the Escargot Museum.

--Phantom Thief Spade"

The screen showed an image of the Escargot Museum. As the name suggested, it was a curious piece of architecture modeled after the shell of a snail lying on its side.

"Wow, looks like Phantom Thief Spade's on the job tonight. The so-called Time Thief has been up to no good lately, and if Phantom Thief Joker or somebody else shows up, it'll be all the more chaotic. We can expect some heart-pounding and stimulating developments from this!"

Joker switched off the television and stood boldly. "Ask for stimulation and you'll receive! Just you wait, Time Thief!"

The gloom clouding his eyes dissipated, making room once more for an optimistic gleam.

#kaitou joker #light novel

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weebrecs · 4 years

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I just finished watching Demon Slayer and now I’m at a loss for what to watch next. Suggestions?

Demon Slayer is one of my favorite anime of 2019, and after watching it all I wanted was more. So until the movie comes out this year and hopefully another season here are some recommendations. Hope this helps!

Banana Fish (10/10): Banana Fish tells the story of Eiji who has traveled to NYC from Japan to take photos. In NYC he meets Ash Lynx the head of the local gang. They form an unlikely friendship and Ash learns about companionship and friendship. Besides being packed with action, this anime also is centered around learning about the mysterious Banana Fish and understanding the truth. Drama, Mystery, Violence, Crime, Suspense, Psychological, Drugs, Gangs

Erased (9/10): This murder mystery story also has supernatural elements. After Satoru’s loved ones end up in danger at the hands of a serial killer he finds himself transported into the past. Back to when he was in elementary school. Now to save his loved ones in the future he must stop Kayo, his fellow classmate, from being murdered. Armed only with his adult reasoning skills Satoru must find the killer and bring them to justice. Psychological, Supernatural, Time Travel, Suspense, Drama

Death Note (10/10): Light finds himself in possession of a shinigami, a God of Death’s, notebook. With this Death Note, Light can kill anyone as long as he knows what they look like and has their name. It starts as Light condemning criminals and starts to grow until he is known to the media as Kira. In order to defeat Kira, a detective known only as L steps into the picture. Light needs to learn L’s real name so he can kill him before L learns that Light is really Kira. This is a psychological battle of wits that tests the resolves of everyone involved and asks the question ‘who has the right to play god’. Thriller, Violence, Action, Mystery

Death Parade (9/10): Decim runs the bar that all people must go to after they die. This anime questions the morals of mankind and tests the strengths of people’s will. After completing a random game the bar participants are sentenced with either reincarnation or oblivion. I recommend this anime because I see similarities to how Nezuko is a demon, but fights for her human half. Mystery, Psychological

Dororo (2019) (10/10): Lord Daigo is a greedy samurai lord that wants his land to prosper and is willing to make a deal with the 12 demon lords. To gain the power, Daigo’s son is cursed to be born with no limbs, no nose, no eyes, no ears, and no skin. However, the child still lives. The child is cast away from Daigo and Daigo’s land starts to prosper. However, 16 years have passed and now the child, Hyakkimaru, has come to take back his body from the demons. He’s armed with state of the art prosthetics and great battle skills. Hyakkimaru is joined by a young Dororo who helps him regain his humanity. In both series the characters are victims of demon’s actions and must regain their humanity. Historical, Supernatural, Demons, Adventure, Action

Beyond the Boundary (9/10): Both of these anime show us that the ‘bad guy’ isn’t always the bad guy. For Demon Slayer, we are made to believe that demons are blood thirsty and evil. However, Nezuko shows us that they can retain their humanity and through strength of will can overcome demon tendencies. For Beyond the Boundary, the spirit world warriors believe that the youmu are the source of all evil. However, when Mirai a spirit warrior meets Akihito who is half human half youmu she can’t kill him because he’s immortal. This fact doesn’t stop Mirai from trying to kill Akihito every chance she can. Since they spend so much time together she slowly starts to realize that he isn’t as terrible as all the stories about youmu had made her believe. Action, Supernatural, Mystery

Sankarea (8/10): If the element of Demon Slayer that you really liked was the fact that Nezuko came back from the dead as a supernatural being you might like Sankarea. In Sankarea, Rea was just a normal high school girl until she returns from the dead as a zombie thanks to Chihiro who was trying to resurrect this dead cat. Now Rea needs to learn how to live again, and hopes to get revenge on the person that killed her. Romance, Supernatural, Zombie

Attack on Titan (9/10): Maybe you like the action and blood from Demon Slayer. If so then Attack on Titan might be the next best show for you. Attack on Titan centers around Eren who watches his mother get eaten by a titan after they break through the wall. Eren goes through training to get stronger and fights alongside his two friends Armin and Mikasa. Armin is smart by timid while Mikasa is silent and deadly. This anime is filled with heart racing action, the mystery behind the beings known as titans, and character casualties (if you’re into that lol) Action, Violence, Gore, Supernatural, Thriller

Dusk Maiden of Amnesia (9/10): For the past 60 years a ghost as been haunting the school where she mysteriously died. The ghost, Yuuko, doesn’t remember how she met her end and enlists the help of the Paranormal Investigations Club for help. Teiichi can actually see ghosts and he wants to help Yuuko learn the truth. As they work together to learn the truth they learn that perhaps the thing people should fear is not ghosts, but other humans Mystery, Romance, Thriller

Tokyo Ghoul (9/10): Ken Kaneki lives a normal life until one day he is lured into a trap by a ghoul named Rize. Her plan was to eat him, but her plans backfire and result in her death and Kaneki becoming a ghoul. Now he must learn how to control his hunger for human flesh and not lose his humanity. Meanwhile, the ghoul community is hunting him since he’s Rize’s successor Thriller, Action, Supernatural, Psychological, Mystery

#demon slayer #anime #anime recommendation #banana fish #Death Note #Death Parade #erased #dororo #sankarea #beyond the boundary #attack on titan #shingeki no kyojin #tokyo ghoul #Dusk Maiden of Amnesia #ask box #recommendations

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