Chapter 288: Laughter

Characters (in order of appearance)

 * Madarao
 * Yoshimori Sumimura
 * Wounded Man
 * Hakubi
 * Tokine Yukimura
 * Sumiko Sumimura
 * Tokio Yukimura
 * Multi-Eyed Ayakashi
 * Armored Man
 * Lord of Karasumori

Summary
The man lying in a pool of blood suddenly grabs Yoshimori, warning him to watch out for "him". Sumiko Sumimura asks if Tokine thinks she killed Tokio Yukimura. Tokine immediately denies this, but Sumiko casually says she wouldn't have, anyway: she had no interest in the feud between their families, despite the fact that their ancestors had been killing each other for some time. Tokine wants to confirm that the "them" her father warned her, with his dying breath, never to drop her guard around was Ayakashi. Sumiko agrees, saying that Tokio was mortally wounded by a Multi-Eyed Ayakashi with the power to invade a person's mind and show them horrible nightmares. Sumiko suspects Tokio's nightmare had something to do with something awful happening to Tokine, as he kept calling her name. She also warns Tokine to be careful around Ayakashi, though she then admits that Tokio sometimes called her a monster. Sumiko reassures Tokine that all of their troubles will end once Karasumori's lord is properly sealed away, and walks away. Hakubi encourages Tokine not to let Sumiko's mysterious nature bother her, and Tokine decides to search for the lord.

Yoshimori tries to get more details from the wounded man, who says there has been an increase in raids on the castle. Suddenly, they are attacked by an armored man. Yoshimori knocks his head off with a Kekkai, but both men abruptly dispel, revealing them to have been Shikigami. Yoshimori then suspects that all the castle's inhabitants are Shikigami, but wonders what Kekkaishi made them.

Sumiko comes upon the corpse of a Kekkaishi. After offering a prayer, she removes a glowing orb from his clothing and packs it away in a large black box, then sets off to find the lord.

Yoshimori and Tokine encounter various odd creatures as they make their way through the castle, unaware that a glowing, child-like figure is observing them. Madarao is unable to track the lord because the whole castle has his scent. Yoshimori suddenly hears the sound of a child's laughter, and loudly invites the lord to play with him.