He wakes up in his own bedroom. A worried Atsuko cries and slaps him hard, then cries some more. Confused, Yusuke wonders what happened, and whom the voices in the park belonged to. He instantly gets his answers when Atsuko points at Botan, saying she was the one who brought him home last night. The ferrygirl is wearing "normal" clothes, and Yusuke gasps when he realizes Atsuko can see her. Botan whispers to him that Koenma thought she wouldn't be able to work properly as an assistant Spirit Detective if she remained invisible.
While Atsuko washes dishes in the kitchen, Botan reveals how she managed to locate him: with a magical compass that indicates the direction and distance to demonic energy sources.
Yusuke confesses he wasn't prepared for Gouki's full strength, and Botan warns him that the demon's two allies are equally strong, and that Yusuke has only one week to catch the thieves and retrieve the treasures.
Koenma is watching this conversation through a videoscreen installed in his office. He's terrified at the thought of what his father will do to the living world and to him if he finds out about the missing treasures.
Atsuko watches the news on TV: four little children went into coma without any medical explanation. Yusuke knows Gouki is behind this. Botan says the kids can survive without their spirits for about one day. Yusuke trembles, saying that being trapped and devoured must be a fate far worse than death.
But he's more confident now, knowing that his Spirit Gun will work. Botan gives him the power amplifier ring, a ring that multiplies the Spirit Gun's efficiency, but she also warns him that his body will be very weak after he uses it. He nods, and checks the compass. When Atsuko brings the tea, both Yusuke and Botan are gone.
In a park, the orb rolls towards a little girl. She gets the orb and returns it to his owner, Gouki: "Thank you very much. To reward you, I'm gonna eat your soul." The orb sucks the girl's spirit and she falls, unconscious.
Yusuke arrives, promising to get even for the last meeting. Gouki summons his demonic self again; like this, his body is as hard as steel, nothing can cut through it. Yusuke learns this lesson the hard way when he tries to punch the demon. Whacking Gouki with a tree trunk proves to be equally useless, so Yusuke's only chance is the Spirit Gun. But he remembers Botan telling him that she doubted the Spirit Gun, even with the power up from the ring, would be lethal against Gouki.
Yusuke is worried: "Even if I shoot in the eyes, I can only hit one of them... Wait! If I can shoot from a short distance..." His thoughts are interrupted when Gouki kicks him on the stomach. Botan interferes, attacking from behind. Gouki is unharmed, but promises to eat both Yusuke and Botan.
Gouki grabs Yusuke's head and prepares to punch: "DIE!!!" But as he opens his mouth to yell this, Yusuke shoves a piece of wood inside, keeping the mouth from shutting. With the ring, Yusuke shoots the Spirit Gun inside Gouki's mouth. The demon falls and five spirits leave his stomach. Botan says all thekids will be okay now.
In another part of the park, the little girl wakes up and cries for her mommy. Yusuke holds the orb and Gouki was defeated. But he remembers that there are still two treasures to be retrieved.
It's night. Supporting himself on an long wooden pole, Yusuke walks on the streets, refusing Botan's help. Suddenly, the compass begins to beep; Yusuke is worried because he's much too weak to fight now.
Kurama appears: "You don't need to watch out for me. I won't fight and I won't flee. I'll just ask you one thing. Wait three days and I'll return the Forlorn Hope."
Back at the Urameshi's, Botan bandages Yusuke's wounds, claiming Kurama must be setting a trap: " In three days we'll have a full moon. That's when the Forlorn Hope releases its greatest power. The mirror reflects and grants the wish of the one who has it. However, for the wish to come true, you need to give something in return." The price for the wish is unknown to her.
Yusuke says he doesn't believe Kurama is a bad character. Botan reminds him that it was Kurama's friend who left Yusuke all bruised liked that, but the boy tells her about the argument he witnessed between the thieves: "I don't know why, but Kurama is going to part from the group."
Atsuko calls them for lunch, and Yusuke complains about the interruption. "What's the secret?" asks Atsuko, grabbing her son by the collar. "What're you hiding from me?" Yusuke doesn't tell her anything. Outside, Kurama is standing on the roof of a neighbor building, watching.
The next day, Botan tells Yusuke to go meet Kurama while she asks Koenma for more info about the mirror. Yusuke arrives at the meeting place, and he's surprised to find out it's a hospital. Kurama is waiting for him at the gate and leads him to one of the rooms where a woman is lying on the bed. Kurama says that she is his human mother and starts comforting her and asking her if she wanted an apple Yusuke is shocked.
The hospital roof, at sunset. Kurama tells Yusuke his story: "My name is Shuiichi, it's the name I use here in the living world. That woman is my mother, who raised me. It's been a long time since my father died. I've been living here for fifteen years. My true body is the one of a fox. A very ancient fox achieved supernatural powers and became a demon. Picking on locks and decrypting secrets, it stole antique treasures. But fifteen years ago it was hit by a hunter. Taking a human form, I fled to this world. I was raised by a couple. I thought ten years would be enough to restore my powers, so I could leave."
Yusuke asks why he didn't leave yet. Kurama: "That lady... My mother has an incurable disease. Hiei and Gouki came to me during this anguished moment and invited me to steal the Spirit World treasures with them. I remembered that the mirror grants any wish. I want to save her using that mirror. If it works, I'll surrender to King Enma's judgment." He adds that he wants to pay back for his mother's care during the past fifteen years.
Yusuke wonders why Kurama is telling him all that. Kurama: "I needed someone to listen to me, and you were the one who trusted me more." A nurse barges in, nervously calling Shuiichi. His mother's condition got worse abruptly, and the doctors are not optimistic.Kurama goes back to the roof, determinate to use the Mirror. Yusuke asks him if he knows what the price to pay for the use of the mirror is.
At Spirit World, Koenma tells Botan that the price for having a wish granted by the Forlorn Hope is the life of the one who makes the wish. Botan flies back to the living world to warn Yusuke.
On the hospital's roof, under the full moon, Kurama summons the mirror's power. The mirror asks if he wishes for his mother's health. Kurama agrees. Yusuke reminds him that to save his mother's life he'll have to give his own up. The mirror makes a similar warning, but Kurama doesn't hesitate: "If she's gonna be saved, nothing else matters to me."
The mirror starts to absorb Kurama's life. However, Yusuke offers part of his life to the mirror, so Kurama won't die:"I don't want to see a mother suffering for the loss of her child again..." He remembers Atsuko crying at his funeral.
The mirror casts out a huge explosion of light, knocking both boys out. Kurama wakes up, surprised to be alive, and runs to see his mother. Botan arrives and awakes Yusuke, and he shivers at the thought that he could have died again. "At times like this we don't even think about what we're doing." The Mirror has a last statement: "In consideration to your actions, the wish was granted and no life was taken."
The doctors tell Kurama that his mother is going to make a full recovery. Botan and Yusuke are happy, now that two of the treasures were retrieved. But Koenma, watching from his office, is not so cheerful. "Yusuke doesn't realize how hard to retrieve the third object is going to be. Hiei, the owner of the Kouma sword, is very dangerous. It's gonna be tough."
Profiles
