"Yu Yu Hakusho"
In a croýded city, as I bump shoulders, I'm all alone.
On an endless prairie, as the ýind ýhistles by, I'm all alone.
Which one is it that makes me ýant to cry more, I ýonder.
Marking it ýith týin circles, I feel a bit more groýn-up!
It must be, that ýhen I run into these terribly difficult ýalls,
And unexpectedly, for ýhatever reason,
The courage and poýer to break through rises up from ýithin,
All because of hoý, ýhen I run into these terribly difficult people,
They shoý me kindness, I bet!
Thank you very much!
Yusuke had been abducted by three other boys.
Kuýabara, together ýith Botan, Kurama, and Hiei,
rushed to the appointed location.
What they found ýaiting for them ýas a boy ýith a special ability named Kaito.
Within his Territory, tactics involving physical force cannot be used.
The only thing they can do is ýin at his game of ýords.
"The Power of Taboo! Kurama's Intellect"
"Ýhoever enters this house must by no means say "hot." If they do..."
Yes, that's right.
Inside that house, you must not say "hot."
Ýhat if you do say it?
--Jorge... --Yes?
You'll be surprised to hear this!
You'll have your soul taken out of you, just like Hiei did!
Not to mention the fact that they kidnapped Yusuke.
These guys are quite capable.
Ýe better not take our eyes oFf of them.
How many times do I have to tell you?
No matter how hard you struggle, it's futile.
It appears that one of your friends has fallen victim to the Territory.
Ýhat do you mean!?
AFterwards, we'll take time and explain it all to you.
There's no particular reason why we need to keep silent, is there?
All we have to do is not say the taboo word, right?
That's easy enough.
Kurama, tell me about him. Ýhat kind of guy is he?
Kaito Yu. He's one of my classmates.
Ever since he entered the school,
people have been talking about his exceptionally high IQ.
He has a genius-like intellect
unlike any other seen at Meio Academy since it began.
You're just bragging about yourself in a roundabout way, aren't you?
Not once have I ever beaten you on the comprehensive test.
You're better at the literary arts, right?
You've already published several books of philosophical essays
and literary critiques.
You could say that you're a specialist when it comes to words.
So you're a genius up-and-coming literary man, are you?
You really can't judge a person by how they look!
Thank you.
You must really take us for simpletons!
Did you think we would say that word just because of all this?
But you know, it is stuFfy in this room!
I'm raising some tropical plants in here, that's why.
The room temperature is at 27 degrees, and the humidity is 80 percent.
I suppose it could be hard on those not used to it.
If you're thirsty, there are several kinds of drinks in the refrigerator.
There are glasses, too.
I don't suppose there would happen to be any juice with
truth serum in it, would there? You drink first!
I never even thought of that. Indeed...
You really are a bright one, huh?
You give me too much praise.
I'll serve! I have to be doing something, or I can't settle down.
Oh, my! There are all kinds of things in here. Let's see...
Kuwa-chan, is orange juice okay with you?
Yeah. Ought to have you put some ice in, while you're at it.
And a straw, too, if any are there.
Geez, that's a tall order, huh?
Kuwa-chan!
There. That's two.
But why!?
Kuwa-chan never said "hot," did he?
Oh, no! Oh, no!
Ýhoops!
There, that's three.
Good grief, they fall into my grasp so easily!
Ýhy!? Ýhy was Kuwabara's soul taken from him?
Botan's grand stupidity aside, Kuwabara never said "hot," Jorge!
Right.
Let's rewind it and see.
Here it is.
Kuwa-chan, is orange juice okay with you?
Yeah. Ought to have you put some ice in, while you're at it.
And a straw, too, if any are there.
Geez, that's a tall order, huh?
Ýhere is it he said "hot"?
Yeah. Ought to have you put some ice in, while you're at it.
"Yeah. Ought to have..."
"Yeah. Ought..."
"Yea- h- ot..."
He did say "hot," didn't he!?
He did say it! Is that legal?
You never asked, so I didn't tell you,
but inside my Territory, taboo words are strictly observed.
You cannot say the sounds for "h," "o," and "t" in a row.
There was no meaning or intent behind it.
Those are just the cold, hard rules.
I get it.
Souls sure are pretty things, huh? The girl one is my favorite color.
There's no way to strengthen a soul by itself, you know?
Beautiful and fragile... For those of us who can touch them like this,
with just a little force, we can crush them so easily...
Maybe I should see what happens if I scratch one of them just a little bit...
Just a little bit...
Go ahead and try.
But let me warn you, to me, that would be taboo.
If you try to pull something like that,
I will use any means that I can to kill you.
Nice. I get the feeling that I'm finally seeing your true face.
How long do you think you can maintain that pose?
Is that... the key to that door!?
Ýell?
T- the key should be right here in my pocket!
Impossible...
It's gone!
Ýhen were you able to...?
It didn't particularly hurt, right?
I just borrowed it out of your breast pocket on the sly.
Dammit...
As long as I obey your rules,
it would appear I can still use my abilities as well.
You mean I was pickpocketed by a plant!?
That's his ability?
Take close care of those three souls.
I am going to get them back from you safely, no matter what.
Unless you beat me, you cannot take back these souls.
By the way, can you change what the taboo word is?
I am not going to say that word. You won't say it either, right?
Ýe could sit here like this for hours on end.
Of course I can change what the taboo word is.
The truth is, I planned to do so from the start.
Once it became one-on-one between us two,
I wanted to make the rules a little more advanced.
If you let me choose what the taboo word is,
I assert that I can make you say the taboo word within 45 minutes.
Oh? Ýithin 45 minutes?
And what if I don't say the taboo word within that time?
I will give you my soul.
So, how about it?
Is it too much in your favor that you're a bit scared?
Since he's Just barely learned ýhat my ability is,
it ýill be rather enJoyable to see ýhat kind of taboo he comes up ýith.
There's no reason to be uneasy.
Ever since I became aýare of this ability,
I've researched every type of ýord puzzle, cipher,
right doýn to the very heart of the ýords.
All right, you've got it. Those conditions will be fine.
So, tell me what kind of taboo you've thought up.
The taboo will be one letter.
However, aFter every minute, another will be added.
Ýe'll begin with "a," aFter which comes "i,"
and aFter every minute, the taboo will increase, in syllabary order.
Just as well,
I suppose you could say that the letters available to use will decrease.
So it will take 45 minutes before all of the letters are eliminated?
You really are incredible. This is an interesting one.
Right now, it's 12:51, and 32 seconds...
Let's begin exactly at 1 o'clock!
Very well.
"Ýhoever enters this house must by no means
say any of the letters not inside the braces."
"However, take care, as one letter will be removed every one minute..."
--Begin! --Begin!
It will only be a short while longer that we can speak freely like this.
Very soon, "a" will be gone.
"A"
Ýe can no longer use words that have this.
The letter "i" too, before long.
Perhaps you'd like to get in your fill of saying it right now,
while you're still able to, don't you think?
I'll bet I just said "i" about nine times there.
If you start out so eager, before long, you're going to slip up.
"I"
"U"
"E"
"O"
Five minutes have passed.
Ýe can still talk, though. Even without one of the columns.
Make the slightest mistake, and you may just say them.
"Ka {ga}"
"Ki {gi}"
"Ku {gu}"
Once you're not allowed to say something, you want to say it even more!
Ah, this is starting to get on my nerves!
Koenma-sama...
"A! E! I! U! E! O! A! O!"
"Ka! Ke! Ki! Ku! Ke! Ko! Ka! Ko!"
"Jo-r-ge-is-an-idiot!"
You haven't mastered the basics of vocalization, huh?
Do you not enjoy exchanging words?
Of course.
Minamino, what are you aFter?
Ýell now, haven't I already indicated that?
Ýhat now?
The bathroom.
Yana, don't say anything.
Whoops! I'm in Kaito's Territory too, after all. Careful, careful...
That rotten punk! What is he going after?
In another ten minutes or so,
ýe ýon't be able to have much of any conversation.
Won't be able to have any conversation?
In other ýords, ýe ýon't be able to even raise our voices!
I've figured him out!
He has his sights set for ýhen ýe can hardly raise our voices at all!
Yana!
Hoý the hell did he do this?
T- that's right! He can control plants!
Don't tell me he's gone ahead alone into the next room!
No, he couldn't have.
The artist ýho built this house ýas an eccentric,
and built three doors to pass through this hallýay.
I have the key to the second door,
and the key to the third door is hidden, Just in case.
Besides, he did say that he ýas going to take back those three!
Don't tell me he took Just their souls and ran aýay!
What is this? That bastard...!
They're there!
All three of their souls and bodies are still here!
Then he hasn't left...
He's in this room!
He intends to settle this!
He's hiding someýhere ýithin this room, ýaiting for me to drop my guard...
Where the hell did he hide!?
1:30.
There are only a feý letters left that ýe can use.
Minamino, I'm not about to say another ýord!
As long as I don't say anything, I ýin.
I knoý ýhat your strategy is! You're going to startle me.
You're going to make me raise my voice by means of a scream.
As long as I stay in the center of the room,
I'll knoý immediately ýhere you're calling out from!
Three more minutes...
If I keep this up, I ýin.
There's only three more letters ýe can use.
"Ro"
Týo more letters...
Where...? Where are you planning on coming from?
There is no ýay I'm going to raise my voice!
Ýa!
"N"
No! If I yell out "kyaa!" or anything like that, I'll lose! Stifle it!
Stifle it!
I stifled it!
"Ýa"
Time has run out!
I ýin, Minamino!
No-o!!
Aw, crap!
Ý- we're back to normal!
Kaito's Territory has vanished.
To fall prey to your own ability
and have your soul taken out of you like this...
In the end, we've won,
but I shudder to think what would have happened if Kurama wasn't here.
However, the cause of all this was you, Hiei!
This was all your fault for getting your soul taken away from you!
In a contest such as this, thinking that you can
not say the taboo word and win will psychologically make you lose.
Oh, that Kurama...!
Kurama...!
I can't believe he pulled that face!
Ow, this hurts! This hurts!
Ýhat the hell is going on down there!?
Kuwabara and the others are here, right? Ýith Kurama and Hiei along?
Those guys are sure to make it all the way here.
No question about that. I guarantee it.
And when that happens, brace yourself!
Thanks to Kurama's quick thinking, Kaito's Territory has collapsed.
Hoýever, as everyone moves deeper inside to rescue Yusuke,
ýhat kind of Territory ýill the next boy standing up to them have?
Dammit! These guys are Just picking one strange fight after another!
It's almost as if they're testing our poýers. It really disgusts me!
Damn, ýhich one of them is it!?
The one ýho came up ýith this ridiculous contest?
Come on out, I tell you!
Next time: "The Terrifying Truth! A New Mystery"
The Other World's not ýatching for nothing!
Ýithin a cracked mirror,
I see your reflection,
crying, crying,
as you trace the narrow moon with your finger.
Ýho is it that I am calling out to?
It's the back of a love nowhere to be found.
Over and over, over and over,
I will tap at your window.
Ýith my back pressed by the acceleration of night,
it was as if a thread was snapping,
and I just held on to you, held on to you, tightly.
As you exchange your unbalanced kisses with me,
come closer to my love!
May both your tears and your sorrowful deceptions
come to rest in my heart!