As Niya had stood by the tree and awaited for either of the two females to begin leading the way back toward where the healer and the tiger demon were. He kept silent and his senses for their surroundings up as though he were ready for anything random to pop up and try t attack them. Even though the large snake-like creature had slithered off into the forest not too long ago, it was quite shocking to Niya that the sounds of the slithering creature had already gone too far from his own sense of hearing, for such a large creature it had the speed that was hard to imagine. Instantly when the footsteps of one of the females had began to walk off into the forest, Niya turned his attention toward her it was the one with the demonic-scent on her body. Within an instant, he had immediately began to follow the female from behind knowing all too well that the other two were going to come along right after.

On their path toward the direction of where the healer was, Niya had remained silent as he followed her the entire time. He hadn't bothered to speak due to his mind wandering on the thoughts of his eyesight finally returning after so long. He had known all too well that even when his sight was going to return, there was no doubt it was going to be difficult to get used to it once again just as he had to learn to adapt to being blind. What Niya was completely unaware about was that the curse that was placed upon Niya by the boar demon had used his own shard of the Maboroshi no Ginzuishou to enhance his curse the day he placed it upon him, only the actual jewel itself was going to be able to remove it. Moving a single hand over his bandaged eyes for a moment, a soft sigh had escaped his lips as he shook his head to keep his thoughts on positive things. 'Soon..I shall finally be able to see again..' he spoke to himself mentally before clenching his fists softly.

Moments later, when a large gust of wind had came from the direction of where the female had guided them from had rushed toward them. Niya could only move a single hand over his eyes to protect it from anymore pain then it already would go through from such an intensely bright light. Whatever it was, the female seemed to had been curious about it and was thinking the other three including himself should check it out with her. Quickly enough when the female had began to move this time much quicker, it hadn't taken Niya too long before he had followed along behind her till they had all reached the sight. Focusing his senses a bit more onto touch and smell, he had began to feel the presences of all the people around the sight. An old woman who seemed to be human as well, a young girl who was holding onto some type of strange weapon that had an even more stranger blur upon it, and finally a demon who seemed to had just recently been injured; this must've been the tiger demon the two females had been speaking about earlier.

Listening as to how the girl who had lead the way here spoke about the weapon being a masterpiece and the young human girl replying that she had created it by melting trinkets together to form it, Niya hadn't been too surprised. This wasn't the first time he had seen such power at display, it may had been more powerful then normal but it still wasn't the first time melting trinkets into one with such magic was the first time it happened. When the young human girl had asked everyones' name, Niya remained silent only to hear everyones' names. However, rather then wasting time to simply stand there he had immediately made his way over toward the older woman before kneeling down and lowering his head down toward the floor in respects. This was how the monks had raised Niya to show respects to the elderly people, especially if he was going to ask of them for something. Knowing all too well that the old woman could easily deny his request, he wanted to try at the least. "Ma'am...I have a request, please I have heard that you are a healer and you were able to heal a demon's wound. If you can, I would ask of you..to heal my eyes..to return my sight." He pleaded with his voice showing barely much pain that his heart actually felt, deep down he prayed that the old woman would be able to heal his eyes still unaware that she wouldn't have the power to heal them.

Haru remained silent, staying back a bit from the other beings in the odd group. He kept to himself, but watched their every movement. Part of him was keeping an eye on the snake, it had come across a source of food, that he was sure would be enough for the group in front of him. It seemed that a meal was one thing that was on a few of their minds. His head tilts a bit, as his eyes turn to the male addressing the healer. He found it hard to believe that anyone would hold such powerful techniques, without being demonic or having some kind of price. He himself healed rather quickly from wounds, and felt little pain. The drawback was, most of the time, he felt little at all. His eyes move to his hand, it wasn't just his own choice at an emotional lockdown, it was something within him, that he was still trying to figure out. He felt the slight stir within him, something was not right. His eyes glance off into the forest near them, something was out there, something that made chills run over his exposed skin. He kept his eyes on the trees, before sitting down against a large tree. He paid little attention to the others now, unrolling his scroll of paper once more. He carefully dipped his brush into the ink, before moving his hand across the page. He drew a series of birds, with long tails and beautiful wings. They were like the ones who used to live back at his home temple, it was a habit of his, creating things that were familiar. Soon, he had several of the birds done, placing the ink and the brush away.

When the group returned Asuka opened her eyes and glanced over to them also wondering if they had found any food. Then the blind man was approaching her very respectfully. He wore a ring on his finger and bandages over his eyes. By his ability to walk and maneuver around the others so easily she assumed he had worn these bandages for quite some time. Then he was making his request and Asuka was sad for him. "I'm sorry child that is something I cannot do though I wish I could." She thought to herself before speaking again. "There are some things that I could try." Though they wouldn't work. "But there is hope for you if you want to seek it out. There are those who can heal you." But those types of people could be dangerous though Asuka would tell him where to look if he wanted. He could also use the pieces of the Ginzu if he found one small enough to shove behind one of his own eyes. It would be incredibly painful but the pain would not last. Of course if he had any evil in his heart the jewel would allow it to manifest if he was not strong enough to fight for good. Any other abilities he had would strengthen as well. Asuka would keep this information to herself for now until she could decide if the man was worthy of such knowledge.

She looked around the man at the others. There was one who was drawing who sent red flags off in Asuka's head. It was probably nothing. She was old and it was late and she was hungry. Still she watched him for a second as if expecting him to jump up and mutate into some kind of monster. She shook her head at herself and mumbled something about losing her mind. Remembering the young girls request Asuka spoke loud so that all would hear. "I am Asuka Tamagachi the healer." Perhaps they had heard something of her healing abilities. She traveled from village to village teaching the healers there before moving on to the next village. It was possible she might decide to accompany Suzume on her quest should she decide to repair the Ginzu. Then again Asuka was old and so far she was still unsure if Suzume wanted to purify the pieces though she would be dissapointed if the girl decided against ridding the world of it's evil.

As the other three in her group approached,Hikari went to sit down near the fire.The human girl explained how the katana had come to be,and then asked their names.Hikari waited while others gave their names.Once she had stoked the fire to her satisfaction,she looked up at the girl."My name is Hikari.I am a kitsune and a samurai,more commenly known as the Angel of the Blade." She said,all too aware of the fact that she had no surname.She was keeping a careful ear on the others.The blind man was asking the healer about his eyes.No threat there.The human girl wasn't doing anything much,and the tiger demon from before was keeping a close eye on her.The man with the ink was drawing,not paying much attention to any of them.And-her ears perked,her skin crawling- there was another presence out there.She couldn't place it,but something out in the forest was quite disturbing.She didn't say anything about it yet,as she didn't want to disturb anyone else.It might just be her imagination."We haven't found much food,but I'll go hunting in a moment." She commented,more for the benefit of the tiger demon than anyone else.He seemed hungry.

Keeping his head directed toward the floor as he pleaded the old woman who was named by Asuka Tamagachi to cure his eyes and return his sight. Niya had continued to await a reply from the old woman to see if she would accept his request on healing his eyesight, however soon enough as the old woman spoke up that she couldn't heal his eyesight and that she simply wished she could. A deep sigh had escaped his lips as he lifted his head up to try to get a glance at the woman, of course in the end all he was able to see at the woman was nothing but pitch darkness all around him as usual. 'So my journey continues..' he spoke to himself mentally before finally standing back up to his feet. Right before he was about to walk off to take a seat away from the group, the old woman had stated that she had methods that she could try as well as there being others that had the ability to heal his eyesight.

Taking a deep bow of respects as Niya had heard that Asuka was going to be able to try something to at least see if it would help. He remained standing over the old woman in curiosity. "Please, if you know of anything..that might help. I would greatly appreciate it...as well if you know of who can help me with healing my eyesight. I would be very thankful for the information." He stated before finally returning to kneel back down in front of Asuka. Rather then lowering his head down this time in pleading, he had simply sat on his knees as he awaited a response from the old woman to see if she would try whatever her techniques were to see if they could possibility help at all. While he had sat in front of Asuka, he had listened as to how the female demon that had lead them back here had introduced herself as Hikari and that she was a kitsune samurai. Her nickname seemed to had been considered Angel of the Blade from what she had informed. While she had introduced herself, the other male seemed to had made his way over toward a tree and began to draw something once more. Whether or not whatever he was drawing was going to come to life just as the other snake-like creature had done so or not was something he wasn't too aware of at the moment but nor was he too concerned about it. Niya had kept his focus on Asuka to see if she could do something about his eyesight.

"There is a thing or two i could try" replied the healer to Niya. "But I don't have the supplies on hand. I could travel to the village nearby but I will not tonight because I am too old and I need rest. Besides it is dangerous for a woman my age to travel the forest at this hour." Even if she had the things with her she knew the chances of anything working would be a miracle. "Perhaps you could visit the monk who lives in the mountains just a few days travel from here I cannot recall his name. He is said to have...magic...techniques. I do not question them but I also do not trust them." Her eyes shifted to Suzume. "The man I spoke of who protects the item merged from the pieces of the Ginzu lives in a village just a short hour from the monk. Perhaps we could travel there together. You could use my wisdom and knowledge and I could use the company and assisstance." She spoke primarily to Suzume and Niya but would not for one moment have objected to anyone else coming along.

"I suggest we eat and rest for the night and set out at sunrise since it will take a few days to get there and we will need our rest. We can stop at the villages along the way for food and other needed things." The healer yawned because she was actually becoming very tired and needed a lot more sleep in her old age. Her eyes drifted shut and she was actually in a deep sleep this time and it would take someone touching her to wake her from her seated slumber. Unfortunately the healer talked in her sleep and would probably talk about Suzume's gift and the history of the Maboroshi no Ginzuishou as it is what is on her mind the most. It wouldn't happen right away though probably after everyone had fallen asleep.


[I made it to where anyone can overhear her talking about the "gift". That way you can choose to bring your own characters up to speed so they aren't left in the dark about what's going on if you would like to as far as the Ginzu and stuff. Feel free to say the healer is talking about what ever you want her to.^^]

Ryn's mind wandered off somewhere else while the human male asked the healer about his eyesight, only to be let down by her answer. From what it seemed like, there would be no way to get his eyesight back, except for a minor, one-in-a-trillion type of chance. To Ryn, the healer Asuka was an interesting person--wise yet quirky, caring, and she seemed for all the world just your friendly neighborhood elder instead of a healer. After becoming a Shinigami, Ryn had not needed to see a healer because most of her wounds closed up immediately, or after a few minutes. Bigger wounds usually healed up in a few days, but like the minor wounds, left no scars. Nobody would know that Ryn was a fighter and a master with weapons because it seemed like she had no battle scars.

Ryn tuned back in to the healer's conversation with the rest of the group. They looked fatigued, especially the tiger demon who was hurt before. "I could keep watch over everyone while you guys get a good night's sleep--I don't need it myself." The least she could do was protect these people from any unwanted thieves or attackers. Thinking about what the healer had said about a monk who lived on the mountains pretty close by, Ryn remembered that she had gone to that monk before, just a few years ago. She'd wanted to know how to end her existence as a Shinigami, and that she was bored with walking around, ending people's lives, and watching all her new-found friends die. The monk had taught her about the precious gem and all the things it could do. He was an odd fellow--wise, but a bit mental.

When the healer mentioned sleep,Hikari twitched her tail and blinked slowly."I wouldn't mind talking to these wise men.I would travel with you,if you wouldn't mind.Until then,I will go hunting for a little while before bed." She said,standing up and stretching.She walked to the edge of the camp and waited for any objections before she transformed into her fox form.

((Sorry for the hold up everyone, I've been super busy here lately.))

Only one person answered with their name. Okay then. Suzume yawned and her stomach grumbled. She should have just gone fishing earlier, but the demon and healer had needed her. She watched as the girl got up and wondered how long it would take her to find food. Suzume was usually a kind and well mannered girl. But when she got hungry she became grumpy and sometimes hostile.

She stood with her pack, slipped her shoes on, and headed towards the stream with the katana in hand. She didn't really know what to do with the thing. Maybe she would practice with it and surprise herself at how well she could use it. It was unlikely though. Even when her father had taught her the little karate he knew, she wasn't very good. She rarely had the proper balance or focus.

After a few short minutes Suzume spotted the stream. Thank goodness. The only problem now was that she wasn't sure what she had left in her pack for fishing since she'd given away the few things that might have worked. She could make a spear easily now that she had the katana. But she'd never be able to see a fish in the stream at night. She could make a net, but then she'd need to take either her shirt or pants off and shred them, and all she had left to wear was her mother's kimono.

Suzume sighed and pulled her pack off. She opened it up to dig around and viola! The gods were smiling down on her! Her fingers wrapped around a tiny tin box that held a few hairpins. She took a pin out and bent it into the shape of a hook with another small bend on the top where she could tie a line. She reached up and pulled the tie from her hair. Raven black hair fell around her shoulders as she worked to tie the long thin ribbon around the top of the hook and then the other side to the longest stick she could find.

In another few minutes after digging into some soft dirt by the stream, Suzume had a worm, which she promptly hooked onto the hairpin. She kicked off her shoes and waded out into the water until she came to a large rock that separated the shallow water from the deeper water and she climbed up. Suzume allowed the worm to sink into the water a few inches above the surface and jammed the stick into a crack in the rock to hold it still.

For a few minutes Suzume just watched water, remembering the last time her and her father had gone fishing together. He really was an expert fisherman. That's where she'd learned her tricks. He had to be though. The fish caught a pretty penny in the market if you knew where to find the bigger and rarer ones, like her father did. Before long Suzume laid down on her back, resting her head in her hands and stared up at the beautiful night sky. To her right she could see the very faint glow of the camp's fire, and everywhere else that the moon didn't touch was pitch blackness.

Suzume yawned again. If she didn't catch a fish soon, the running water of this stream was going to lull her to sleep. Grey eyes watched the stars as a breeze picked up causing her raven black hair to flit across her face and around the rock. She'd never really told the healer what she planned to do, but Suzume knew she needed to do the right thing. She would find the pieces of the Maboroshi no Ginzuishou and bring the crystal together to rid the world of it's evil.

But then what? Would it need to be destroyed again? Would it be used up and just vanish? Would she have to protect it for the rest of her life? And where would she begin looking? She would go to the man in the mountains first, of course. That seemed to be where the others were heading anyway, and she didn't want to travel alone, not that she wasn't capable, she just preferred company. She lay there on the rock in deep thought as she waited for a fish to take her bait.

Kitaru moved when Suzume moved. At first he just straightened a bit and watched her curiously as she slipped her shoes back on. He didn't know what she intended, but he wouldn't let her out of his sight. Human she may be, but he needed her to get the entire Maboroshi. Those eyes narrowed, his lips pulled back slightly and he gave all the others a threatening, warning growl as he moved to follow Suzume to the stream. There he crouched by the water's edge and watched the human as she prepared her makeshift fishing pole.

He remained at the water's edge even when Suzume began to make her way across to the large rock. Tail swishing slowly side to side behind him, and his ears twitching almost constantly. He would have to protect this human from the others, demons and humans alike if he wanted to get his way. Kitaru was not fond of that idea. True she had stayed with him during the worst of his injury, but that was probably only due to pity. Humans had never shown kindness why would they start now?

The demon kept his eyes on Suzume as she laid on the rock and fished, his other senses alert for any signs of danger that might approach them. He wouldn't be able to fight well like this, that left arm still very much useful, but he would do whatever it took to get what he wanted. He needed the Maboroshi, to get rid of all humans. He grimaced lightly at a twinge of pain, his body was healing, but slowly. Food would probably help, he licked his lips, and tried to not think about how hungry he was.

When no one objected,Hikari nodded to herself and transformed into her full fox form.Once comfortable in that form,she ran off into the forest,quickly disappearing into the darkness beyond the fire.It was liberating to run free in the forest,and she was tempted to simply run and never stop,but there were others counting on her for food.So she smothered the impulse and followed her nose to where several rabbits were hiding.Perfect,those would feed all of them.It didn't take long at all to catch three of them straight off,and once she had them,she headed back to the camp.

((Forgot to mention that Lovin' is on vacay. That's why he had Asuka go to sleep and said that we could make up whatever she said in her sleep. I should have told you guys days ago, sorry! My mind has been elsewhere.))

Only a few minutes passed before Suzume had a bite. The stick next to her moved and she sat up to pull the ribbon up out of the water. The fish was maybe five inches long. Not bad. Suzume was pleased. This time of night rarely proved good for fishing. And, had the fish been any larger, it would have just stolen her makeshift pole and that would have been that.

She pulled the stick from the crack in the rock and hopped down to wade through the water once again. She was glad to have found a rock that kept the water at her knees, she wasn't up for swimming at this time of night. When she reached the bank she removed the fish from the hook and chunked it onto the ground near the demon but far enough from the water that the fish would die before finding it's way back to the water. The least he could do was make sure that it didn't escape or get eaten by another animal. Why was he even here anyway? Was he following her?

Suzume found another worm, hooked it and headed back out to her rock. What were the chances that she'd catch another fish? Slim to none? Still she would try. She climbed onto the rock and jammed the stick in the crack once again before laying back down, head on her hands and watching the stars.

It seemed only moments had passed before she found herself looking in the direction of her fish. It was still there, and so was the demon. She watched him for a moment, studying him with grey eyes. She rolled onto her belly and faced the demon. "How did you get all those scars?" she asked, not doing a whole lot of thinking before she spoke. It probably was a rude thing to ask about, showing how obvious the scars were and how attention grabbing they were. But Suzume was a curious soul, sometimes overly so.

She wondered how the others were doing at camp and if the other woman had had any luck hunting. She sure hoped so because she certainly wasn't going to manage enough to feed everyone there. Her thoughts moved away from them and back to the scars. "Were you in an accident? Were you attacked?" She had her head rested in the palms of her hands and looked at the demon with an almost childish innocence.

It wouldn't be long before another, larger fish took her pole completely and she would sulk down from the rock and back to the bank to fetch her one lowly fish, if it was even still there.

Kitaru just watched Suzume as she fished while staying alert for any signs of danger. So far all seemed rather peaceful and Kitaru was glad for that and soon the human had caught a fish, which she brought over near to him. He watched it flop around for a moment, watching it almost as if he wanted to pounce on it the way a cat would. He didn't pounce on it, he did reach over and grab the fish though, he held it tightly in his right hand for a moment. Waiting until it gasped it's last fishy breath, then he held it tightly in his left hand. He couldn't do much with his left arm, but holding a fish wasn't too difficult.

Kitaru set to work descaling the fish with the claws of his right hand. He worked slowly, carefully. Those ears twitching a bit when Suzume spoke to him and he looked up at her with a glare. How dare she ask such idiotic questions. She was human, surely she'd had her own demon slaves. It was what humans did, wasn't it? He stared at her for a while, then went back to what he was doing with the fish. Kitaru was silent until she came back to the shore, she had seemed innocently curious. She had been kind to him, by not abandoning him to die. He was done cleaning the fish by the time she got back to him from her rock.

"Humans did this to me. Because that's what humans do, they take demon children and enslave them, when we get older they kill us before we become too strong for them to control, but I escaped." He handed the fish to her. It was hers, she had caught it, most likely for herself. He didn't lift his eyes to meet her own. "Humans came into my village when I was very young, they attacked us viciously, slaughtered all of the adults and enslaved all of the children, because that is what humans do."

As soon as the drawings were different he stood. The snake had returned informing him of it's prey. He stepped out of sight for a moment, running his hand over the scroll. The birds peeled away, flying off into the forest to look into the other presence he felt. Moving off to where the snake had designated, he noticed a deer off on its own. He was not one for killing more then was needed, wondering if others would even eat such an animal. He was quick and made sure the animal did not suffer. Saying a slight blessing, to release the spirit, he took the quarry back to the camp. He noticed another had brought back some rabbit. That was good, with the herbs and such around them he would have no trouble making a stew or something for the others. He set to work on a fire, keeping quiet and more to himself, though he was listening. He did not want to disturb the others in whatever it was they were doing.

Hikari came back to the camp,carrying three large rabbits.She brought them to the fire she had set up,and changed back to her human form.She noticed that one man had somehow caught a deer-probably using that ink snake she had seen earlier.She frowned,her pride a little hurt that she'd been outdone,but decided it was no big deal.She took one rabbit and followed the scent of the tiger demon to the shore.She approached carefully,not wanting to startle him."I've caught some rabbit.This one's yours,if you want it." She said,her face and voice still completely devoid of emotion.

When the old woman had spoken about how she had a technique or two that she would be able to try to use on Niya and see if it would help. His hopes had became very high that she would be able to at least rid him of the illness that held onto his dear life. It had been quite some time now since he had left the entrance of the forest and arrived at this campsite but yet he still hasn't ended up going into one of his major coughing-fest. When the old woman had informed that she didn't have the supplies to do any of the techniques, a low sigh had ended up escaping from his lips as he once more stood up to his feet. Making his way over toward a separate tree, Niya had ended up dropping himself to the floor as he leaned his head against the bark of the tree. Even though he had walked away from the old woman, he continued to listen as to how there was a monk not too far from here that could possibility help him with his curse. Unaware if the monk would be able to help, he had stayed silent and began to think through what his next move would be.

"Fine. I shall travel with you then..only to reach the monk and no further. I simply wish to rid myself of this curse. If he cannot do it, then I shall separate myself from you." His voice giving off a slight cold tone to it, as he heard the footsteps of both the young girl who had carried the strange sword as well the injured demon from earlier began to follow her. Where they had went off to was none of Niya's concern as he exhaled a deep breath before listening to how Asuka had soon drifted off into a deep slumber. It had seemed as though the female with the scent of death upon her had spoken about how she would guard the area since she didn't need rest. Shrugging the thought off, Niya soon relaxed his entire body till he had finally drifted himself off into a deep slumber as well. He was indeed hungry, but it wasn't something that was going to end up killing him anytime soon if he hadn't eaten. The curse that was placed upon him made sure of that, it was almost as though the curse kept him alive just to be tortured till the day his body could no longer handle it and finally give in.

Unaware while he had been asleep, the female with the demon scent upon her as well had ended up leaving the area in search of food while the other male had also left during the time Niya was asleep. All the while he slept, within Niya's mind he couldn't help but seem to receive continuous nightmares of the day the boar-like demon had attacked the village and his home. Strangely though, two people that were cloaked in all black and with their faces completely hidden from sight always appeared in these dreams of his. All that was able to be told out of the two of them were that one was a male and the other being a female. No matter how much within his dreams he ran toward them in hopes to figure out who they were, Niya would never be able to reach close enough and figure out their true identity.

Suzume stepped onto the bank as the demon finished cleaning the fish. She wished she'd been able to catch more, but was happy not to have had to descale and clean the fish herself. She opened her mouth to thank him, but he was finally responding to her question.

Immediately Suzume's eyes filled with that sympathetic look and she felt bad for the demon. So she had been right in her assumption before that humans had done that to him. He handed her the fish and she took it absentmindedly, shaking her head at his words. Suzume was unaware that humans ever captured demons and used them as slaves. Nor was she aware that just the opposite also happened.

How could someone do something like that to another? She thought of the wars raging between humans as they stood there together. It didn't matter who you were, hatred, evil and war were something that happened everywhere. It did not discriminate. Humans against demons, demons against humans, humans against humans...

She understood the demon's view of humans better now. To see everyone in his village slaughtered, forced into slavery by humans. How could he not have lived to hate such an animal? But not all humans were the same. Couldn't he see that now? Suzume hadn't tried to kill or enslave him, she'd only helped him, even after he tried to attack her. The elder helped, too. He was so blinded by his past and his hatred for humans.

After a long moment Suzume knelt to his level. "That is not what humans do," she said sternly. "That is what monsters do." She was frowning slightly, mostly in thought; how would she get him to understand? But also because she was angry that that had ever happened to him at all. Suzume could never do or even allow something like that to happen to anyone, not even someone who more than likely deserved it.

That's exactly why she was going to find all the pieces of the Ginzuishou. To rid the world of the evil that would do something like that to an innocent child. Beside them was Suzume's pack with the katana on top. In her hand was the fish, at the bottom of the stream was her pole and her hair ribbon. Raven black strands of hair flitted across her face in the breeze and finally Suzume gave up. She couldn't think of any words that could take away the awful memories that the demon harbored.

Then the fox demon appeared, offering a rabbit to the tiger demon. Couldn't he see that perfect strangers, humans included, were capable of such kindness in a time of need? She stood and grabbed her pack, slinging it over her shoulder. In one hand she held the katana, and in the other, the fish. She headed back towards the camp only glancing over her shoulder once at the tiger demon. If she could convince him through her words that humans were not all bad, then she would show him. She yawned and her stomach growled and she continued on her short but dark walk towards the camp.

Soon the human girl was crouching down at eye level with him and he watched her cautiously. "Humans are monsters." He spoke the words quietly, still he kept wondering why Suzume was so nice to him. Why she hadn't left him to die, even though he had attacked her. It didn't make any sense to him. None at all. Those thoughts were interrupted by the scent, then the sound of the other. Kitaru was naturally more trusting of other demons than he was of humans, but he was still wary. He had to keep Suzume alive for the sake of getting the Maboroshi for himself and fulfilling his own wish.

Those ears twitched and he looked up at the fox demon. He stared at the offered rabbit, his stomach growling at the food that was apparently his. His body eager for the nourishment. Still he waited until Suzume had gone, out of sight and probably out of ear shot. He reached out, as if to take the rabbit but instead he grabbed the fox's wrist and tugged her down to sit next to him. Then he took the rabbit, almost carefully. He looked as if he wanted to say something, perhaps ask a question or two, but Kitaru was silent and he set to skinning the rabbit. He felt weak for not being able to hunt his own food, but with his injury it was rather understandable. Still, he glanced at the fox demon. Trying to remember if she had told him her name earlier. He hadn't told his name to anyone yet. His lips quivered, on the verge of speaking and yet he held his tongue.

A few minutes later Suzume walked up on the camp. The healer was asleep. The man with the bandages around his eyes was sleeping against a tree. The first female who'd originally come to help them seemed on high alert, watching over the campers as promised. The man who had been drawing was stewing over a fire and there were two rabbits laying near him.

Suzume walked over and placed the fish beside the rabbits. She was so relieved that the others were able to find food. They would eat well tonight, and in the morning, too. Suzume smiled at the man with the deer who was beginning a stew. "I guess we're pretty lucky to have run into you," she chuckled warmly, making friendly small talk. "I'm Suzume," she offered. "How can I help?" she asked, wondering if he needed any herbs from the forest. She glanced at the rabbits, hoping he wouldn't ask her to skin them.

Haru looked up as the female came over to him. He listened to her introduce herself, wondering if it would be a good idea for him to give away his identity. He did not see any harm in it, doubting they would know who he was anyways. "My name is Haru" he says, then looked over at the stew a bit. "If you would like, you can begin working on those fish" he smiled a bit, though it was the usual facade kind of smile. He was used to having to do this around people.

They were odd, always so expressional and wanting to understand one another. He had learned long ago that keeping himself and his feelings appart. In all honesty, he could not just seem to push the feelings to the surface, they seemed to remain dull and nonexistant for him. He moved the thoughts out of his head, as he began to work on the deer. He kept his mind on the birds that were scouting along the forest. He wondered what the presence he had felt before was.

It seemed as if this forest was more active then he had thought it was before. He glanced over at the female, deciding it would be benificial for him to gain information of his own. "Are you from around here?" he asks, watching her a bit. The snake moved its way up his arm, winding around his upper arm. It squeezed a bit, gaining his attention. Glancing down at it, he looked down at the inky reptile. It flicked out its tongue, hissing slightly. He knew it was weary of what was going on around him. The snake seemed to have taken on a slightly darker disposition, but it was looking out for him.

If Hikari was surprised that the tiger demon pulled her down,she didn't show it.She simply complied and sat down next to him,at a respectful distance.She felt that he wanted to speak,and waited,giving him time to do so.He began skinning the rabbit she gave him.Her tail twitched,and she glanced over at him.The silence was getting awkward,and she felt the need to break it."I hope you like rabbit.All I could find on short notice." She said politely.

The silence was becoming heavy, and though he wanted to say something he couldn't quite figure out how to say the things on his mind. Then she broke the silence with some remark about the rabbit. Kitaru shrugged. "It's good enough." He wasn't really a picky eater, as long as it was meat it was fine with him. The tiger glanced at her. "That human girl confuses me." For a few moments it didn't seem like he would elaborate, as he rather studiously skinned that rabbit and seemed to only be interested in that for a few moments. "Humans have never been kind to me before, but that girl, she should have left me to die, I can't figure out why she didn't." He was frowning deeply.

Thanks to the extra fire it wasn't a problem for Suzume to start the fish at all. In fact, it was almost silly easy. She sat down in front of the second fire beside Haru's, jammed a stick into the fish and held it over the fire. She smiled again at Haru as if to say, is that all? Then he was making small talk, too. She smiled again. Suzume was happy that someone finally felt like talking, and especially because it wasn't about anything at all really.

Suzume had had a long day and she'd had a lot of information and responsibility dumped on her in a very short amount of time. She was glad to not have to really think about it for the time being. Just cooking some food, making some small talk by the fire on a nice night... Suzume could almost pretend for a little while that she was just camping with friends like her old self again.

She nodded. "Yes, I was traveling to Gion. It's only a day's travel from my village. My father was called to war a few days before a demon destroyed our home. There isn't much left there for anyone now, you know?" She kept the rest of her story to herself for now, and despite the sadness that surrounded her reply, there was a clear positive note to Suzume's voice, as always.

And then she noticed the snake around Haru's arm for the first time. Her eyes widened and she instinctively leaned away, opening her mouth to warn him of the danger... but it wasn't... it was just... "Is that your pet!?" she asked in a shocked amazement. She'd never seen anyone with such a pet that seemed so tamed to him. She leaned forward now to get a better look, but kept a safe distance. She'd seen snakes before. Some minded their own business but all were dangerous none the less.

She looked from the snake to Haru and back again. There was always so much more to people than met the eye. For the first time she took in Haru's appearance. He did seem very different from anyone she'd ever met. She'd never seen anyone in clothes like his, and carrying a snake, too... Who was this man who was clearly so kind? Already Suzume was trying to pick him apart and understand him, giving him that typical Suzume look of sympathy as she wondered what he'd been through to get to this point in his life.

He may have thought he was doing well at hiding his emotions and pains or sorrows, or whatever else he was trying to hide... But it was clear to Suzume that while she couldn't tell he was hiding his feelings, she could tell he wasn't showing any that resembled joy, excitement, happiness or anything else of the like.

Haru blinked slightly, looking at the female as she seemed to look him over. A slight curiosity pinged inside of him, but he pushed it away a bit. The snake turned its head in the direction of the female, hissing at the word pet. He lightly placed a hand on its head. "No, he is more of a...friend..an extension of me" he says. The thought of returning the snake to merely ink on paper had crossed his mind, but for as long as it was out, it had prooved useful. He did not have many companions, so it was good to at least have the ink creatures with him. He looked back at her, feeling her eyes still kind of sizing him up. When the look of sympathy formed on her face he felt himself tense a bit. That look...He hated that look. People trying to make you feel better when in reality it was merely pitty. He had gotten to many of those looks and looks of hatred growing up.

Many would be a lot happier if he was dead at the moment. The snake sensed his feelings, squeezing onto his arm. He realized he had been slightly squeezing the blade he had been using and cut himself. Dark black ink like blood dripped from his hand. He turned it away a bit so she would not see. He sat the blade down, looking at his hand. Slowly little black thread like things began to weave their way through the cut, and it closed up like it had never even been there. This happened whenever he was injured, which was why he had not a single wound or scar on his body. By looking at him, many found it hard to believe he had ever been in a fight or worked a day in his life. It did come as an advantage for him, but even now he could feel the effects.

He had not felt the blade at all, nor any pain from the cut or his body healing itself. His hand clenched a bit, that was not natural at all, it was a part of the thing inside of him. He was slightly worried that he was slowly becoming more and more of a mere shell, loosing his sense of feeling as well as his emotions more and more, he was becoming a puppet. He could even feel the demon inside of him, its' attention had raised a bit from his feelings at the look she had given him, as well as at the cut. He took a slow and steadying breath, wondering if this crystal that everyone was looking for would be able to get rid of or at least silence this beast, but he knew that it was a fools dream. Power like that was dangerous, and came with deadly prices and concequences.


Standing in the middle of the forest he sighed "we're lost arn't we..." The voice inside of his head spoke up, *we wouldn't be lost if you knew where you were going!* Chi flinched a bit, his hands moving to his head. "OW! I'm sorry, there is just so much blood in this forest, it's hard to keep focused" he said. The voice within him sighed, *man you've gone soft...latch onto one as usual, and follow it you dummy!* Chi sighed, and looked around him, it was getting darker fast. He closed his eyes, focusing on the smell of a girl, she was dealing with something else that had blood...fish? He opened his eyes, and lightly sniffed the air. He could smell it, they had food. His stomach growled a bit. He might have fed off of blood at times, but he was still one for normal food, and he hadn't eatten in a few days.

*Pathetic, think with your head, not your stomach!* the voice warned. "Ok ok, I'm going.." he sighed, and continued on his way. He herd the sound of wings, and looked up to see strange longtailed birds flying overhead. *They ain't normal* the voice said. Chi nodded, "someone knows we're here." It was bound to happen, especially sense some of the people there were demons. They would sense him before the humans would. He got closer to their camp, seeing the fires flickering in the distance. He wondered what they would be like, would they be like everyone else? Would he have to kill them to? He sighed a bit, his hand moving to the shard he kept around his neck, placing it inside of his shirt. Only one way to find out.

Suzume mulled over the fact that the snake was his "friend". Okay, she could accept that. An extension of him? Sure, like family right? She got it, so she thought. Then he was turning himself away from her. Had her reaction to his friend offended him? She hadn't meant to offend him of course. And now that she knew the snake wasn't trying to kill him, she wasn't too worried about it. It was actually kind of cool.

"That's neat," she finally replied sincerely. "I had a cat once. Well, she wasn't really mine, but she found her way to our house once and I fed her and she never really left after that. I fed her our fish scraps and other things every morning and night. Then one day she just never came back." Suzume shrugged it off, but she missed the sassy cat often.

Finally she arranged a couple of rocks to hold her stick with the fish on it so she could free up her hands to remove her pack and her shoes. She held the katana in her hands now, kind of playing with it and imagining herself as a sort of ninja. The thought was silly. Suzume a ninja. Still, the katana was strange. Even stranger that none could wield it but her, especially demons or those possessed by demons as it would give them a serious jolt upon touching it.

Such a strange thing. Such a strange day. Come to think of it, Suzume felt strange herself. Being able to see the Ginzuishou. Maybe the man at the temple in the mountains could give her more information about that, since his wife had done the same thing? Who knew. Suzume looked over at Haru again while still holding tight to the katana that seemed it would be her only protection against this new crazy life. "I don't know the first thing about using a katana," she mumbled. "Have you ever used a weapon like this?" she asked him, making more small talk and not realizing the awful memories she would probably be reminding him of with the question.