The Mystery of the Demon Mask: Chapter 2

First Published: January, 2000 by Dark Horse Comics

• Miyamoto Usagi

Usagi has just left the inn where he had been drinking with the policemen. As he walks the town streets under the light of a full moon, he begins to suspect he is being followed. Though Demon Mask is roaming about, it is actually the bounty hunter Kuroda who is trailing Usagi.

The scene cuts to three other bounty hunters who are also walking the streets, hoping to come across Demon Mask to slay him and collect the reward. Demon Mask confronts them and slays them instead and rather easily.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, Kuroda explains to Usagi he was using him as bait to flush out Demon Mask. Kuroda maintains he is simply a bounty hunter our for Demon Mask's reward. Usagi wants to know why he has been in town since before the murders, but before Kuroda can answer, a scream interrupts. They both take off to investigate, and it is evident Kuroda is ill in some way as he lags behind, coughing and gagging, though Usagi does not witness this.

Usagi and eventually Kuroda make it the scene of the three slain bounty hunters. The woman who discovered the bodies was the source of the scream. Usagi questions the woman, while Kuroda says he will scout the area nearby, though once out of sight he begins to cough and gag further. After Usagi finishes questioning the witness, Usagi commands a lurker in the shadows to reveal himself. It is inspector Nitta.

Nitta continues to be gruff with Usagi and openly displays his disregard for ronin in general. He also belittles inspector Kojo, claiming he has become "a feeble bureaucrat" since the death of his son, does not take an active part in investigations, and is simply "content to play his games behind his walls." Finally, Usagi states he finds it unusual Nitta harbors such disgust for ronin as his own father was a ronin. Nitta is visibly upset by Usagi's knowledge of his affairs. The three policemen arrive at this point, and Nitta figures out it was them who told Usagi about his past. He promises them even worse practice sessions and leaves abruptly when Kuroda returns to the scene.

After they leave the murder scene, Usagi presses Kuroda further about why he is in town, not believing Kuroda is simply hanging about for the Demon Mask reward. Kuroda, however, maintains his story. Usagi then takes his leave of Kuroda and makes his way once again to inspector Kojo's residence.

On reaching Kojo's home, Usagi sees Kojo's lights are still burning and hears him speaking with a guest in the game room, likely playing Go. Usagi is shocked to hear the inspector call the guest Tokuo and now wonders if Tokuo is actually alive. The inspector's game is interrupted by an underling, who informs Kojo about the Demon Mask murder of the three bounty hunters. Inspector Kojo departs to supervise the scene of the crime, calling back into his home to Tokuo that he will be gone awhile. Usagi takes this opportunity to investigate.

After snooping about Kojo's home a bit, Usagi figures out that there was indeed no one else inside with Kojo. In fact, he surmises Kojo was simply "playing GO with a memory..." As Usagi finally decides to leave, he hears a noise and realizes some else is in the home after all. It is Demon Mask!

Last change: 19. May 2003

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Usagi Yojimbo, including all prominent characters featured in the stories and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of Stan Sakai and Usagi Studios. Usagi Yojimbo is a registered trademark of Stan Sakai. Names, characters, places, and incidents featured in this publication either are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), events, institutions, or locales, without satiric content, is coincidental.