He grabbed Toshi by the shoulder with a worried expression. Toshi appeared more ill than before and it caused a great concern for Yuu, "You didn't have to go that far.." He looked around, seeing nothing but wilderness and was sure that staying out there would be dangerous for both of them, especially when they didn't know whose territory they were in.

Chucked lightly as she felt his hand upon her shoulder "no need to be worried, I'll be healed in three days here" her voice was weak, but she placed her hand on a near by tree and stood up "Ira... are you there?" her voice carried upon the wind through out the surrounding area.

Soon a skantidly clad girl appeared behind Yuu and kissed his cheek "Hello" her voice playful as she danced around him to be beside Toshi "You haven't liiked this bad in over two hundred and thirteen years sweety..." her voice showed concern, though she looks to the tree's "No one is to get in this forest until further notice" her voice showed gentleness but also commanded to be obeyed, with that the energys changes to be more aggresive

Ira took Toshi from Yuu seeing the blades he had at his waist "Please follow me, I'll show you where you can rest" her voice once more all fluttery as she walked off. Soon there would be a house that looked almost identical to Toshi's natural home, looking down she seen toshi had fallen asleep "You likely know of her heritages... This is her sanctuary... she comes here as a last resort" her voice solum as she spoke

"Something bad is going to happen, isn't it?" Yuu was worried by the girl's sudden change in the emotions. He went back to his bad habit and started gnawing on his fingers again. He wasn't sure if whatever trade-off for the protection was really worth it.

Ira brought down Yuu's hand "you shouldn't do that, she wouldn't like it... besides you are a warrior not a slave are you not" her hand pointing to the swords at his side, though quirked an eyebrow as he spoke "Not at all... When I said no one was to get in, it was for both your protection" her voice was warm as she placed toshi down next to a tree.

She watched as a few fairy flew down and landed on toshi's hair to rest "Ai not your own abuser can get in here without my say so... and I will let no one in without hers... She saved my tree and this forest when she was three and because of this I swore I would give her sanctuary when she needed it" she looked at the faries and giggled "Keep Toshi safe and warm... Lord Yuu and I will be talking for a while I expect" her voice was motherish towards the mischevious fae that now fell asleep on her young wards head

Yuu blushed, feeling a little jealous of the fairies. Then he crossed his arms so that he wouldn't be tempted to chew on his fingers again, at least for the time being. Though he was now curious about how fast Toshi had grown, since she was part tengu and part human. He figured that she was on or around adulthood at age three.

Ira looks ed at him as he crossed his arms "You are getting attached to her aren't you" her voice was lofty as she sat down on a patch of grass where the sun could kiss her skin "She was only 3 human years when she was last here... her family built the house behind me, they showed us understanding and never took without giving something in return so we where happy for them to stay" her voice was soft

"Some humans tried to burn it down... they wheren't so kind i lost so many trees and faries that day it still hurts now. She changed, a toddler all in white, with matching mask and wings, and at that point looked like a dagger at her side" she brought out a crystal so Yuu could see

"I don't know how she done it, but a moment after it she glowed blue and it started raining so hard, that the human ran and the flames where doused..." she paused for a moment and closed her eyes "when she changed back she had such a faint pulse, we swore she was going to die... it was a month before she was able to move properly again... I owe everything to her young Lord Yuu" her voice was distant as she spoke remembering her own pain of loss and the pain Toshi's family went through at almost losing her

"She sure helps around a lot," Yuu admired that trait. When he was living at home, he never helped anyone out of his own free will since the type of help was performed due to orders. And now he wished he could have been born with a better family. He sighed and then sat down, "Well we expect her to recover in a few days.. That is much better than waiting for a whole month."

Ira shook her head "it's in her family's nature to help all those in need" she sighed and lent back "after she was stronfg enoght to travel they went back home and she never left her home again" her voice sounded almost gloomy

"It was for her own protection Ira, the powers that be only knows what would have happened to her if what she is was found out by Human or Tengu. Then if her abilities were found out..." it was Ken'ichi's voice "I know Lord Ken'ichi but still... she would have been safe here when you visited" once again a sigh arose but she giggled as a fairy landed on Yuu's head

"Heeelllloooo" the fairy said in a bouncy voice, he has a mischevious glint in his eyes as he began to braid Yuu's hair and lace it with flowers

Yuu could only think that the fairy was doing some bizarre ritual in gift giving since he viewed flowers as an edible good, and it was now in his hair. Flowers were amongst his favorite foods since they were slightly sweet to him. He then plucked one of the flowers out of his hair and ate it, "Thankyou for the present."

Ira blinked seeing Yuu eatting the flower "You eat flowers young Lord Yuu?" she was suprised, it was easy to see within her face "Flowers are for decoration... we have other things for food" with that she rose and went to the beehive that was hanging on the tree behind them, delicatly placing her hand in she removed a bit of honeycomb and offered it to Yuu

"Naiyu... don't you have a singing lesson with the others?" her voice was gentle but was enough to sound like a playful scorning mother. Naiyu looked both ways before flying off without a word "Toshi will be healed in three days, but I can not permit her to leave" her voice was stern on this matter as she sat down

Yuu stared at it. Even he was aware that the bees' young were inside the honeycomb, and he preferred to eat the flower instead of eating any insects. He shook his head, "I..think I will pass..but thanks for the offer anyways."

nodded to his decline and placed it on a large leaf "the honeycomb of that hive have no children in it" she pointed to a hive further up the tree "they are in that one" she smiled gently and licked her fingers watching as fairys came and took a small peice each "nature is always going in a cycle... things die so other things can live, the trick is to make sure you only take what you need" her voice showed she was trying to help him understand how Toshi's family saw things

"The flower you ate had it's own life, spirit and feelings but you didn't mind as you ate it... Why would a peice of honeycomb be any diffrent?" her voice showed she was confused but it also showed her point

"Doesn't everyone have something that they prefer not to touch?" Yuu was dumbfounded by Ira's question. Surely she had something she didn't want to go near.

((Ira can have Yuu's poots. Cycle of life. mhmm x'D))

Ira lay back on the soft warm grass "I guess we are two diffrent types of people..." her voice was showing she was calm and relaxed as she closed her eyes "we are all part of nature and there is no sin in partaking of it fruits" she opened an eye as a bee landed on her nose "Hello Jacob, thank you for the honey... by the sounds of it the are all enjoying their treat" her voice was content as she closed her eye once more

"I am a Dryad, the tree behind you is a heart tree... that was the tree I was born with, it is my home and shelter" she wanted him to realise there wasn't really anything that bothered her or that she wouldn't touch

"Dryad.." Yuu tried to put that to memory since he has never encountered a dryad before, or at least he thought he didn't. Now he tried to get closer to Toshi and sat down next to her, then shooed off the fairies, and now he was happier, "So after we Toshi is all recovered, we'll be heading off again."

The faeries didn't move if anything they just cuddled into Toshi's hair more knowing they where safe as long as mummy was around. Ira sighed as she heard one of the fairy's crying and began to hum lightly soon, the fairy would fall asleep once more in Toshi's hair

"Please don't do that faeries get cranky if they get woken up from a nap" she was agitated but showed understanding, as she guessed this was the first time that he had encountered Fae creatures. on hearing his words she shook her head "I told you earlier she will heal in three days but I will not permit her to leave" her voice once again stearn on this subject

"What are you saying? That even if Toshi does recover, you'll continue to keep her here?" Yuu wasn't all too sure if that's what Ira was saying. He hoped it wasn't the case.

Ira nodded remaining layed back and calm about the matter "That is exactly what I am saying" her voice was calm about the matter, in her mind Toshi was safe here, she couldn't be harmed or be used as a lab rat if what she was, was indeed found out

Yuu quickly stood up, surprised from how the seemingly innocent girl was going to keep Toshi without asking what Toshi wanted. Though it gave him a sharp jab when he remembered how he had attempted to kill Ai despite how Toshi felt, and now he felt terrible for it. He shook his head, but he felt slightly fearful of the situation, "No, let Toshi decide what she wants. If you try to force her..."

Once again, he saw a random flash of being somewhere else. He had a stronger sensation of actually being there, standing in a room and watching as one tengu slaughtered another, and he was even fed information about how they were forced to do it. He could clearly see their faces this time, and was brought back to where he was from the shock of what he saw and the information he received. His eyebrows furrowed and he glared coldly at the girl, "...If you try to force her, bad things will happen."

ira kept her eyes closed as the Yuu spoke "bad things will happen to her if she leaves..." her voce was as cold as yuu's stare but low as not to wake her sleeping children. Quickly she sat up and looked to him "How can you protect her when you are afraid of others like you?" she stood and walked off beconing him to follow

she sat in a cooler part of her home where they couldn't be heard "How can I trust some one with her safty, when they harm themself when they get scared?" she leaned back against the tree "How do I know you will do everything in your power including dying to make sure she doesn't recieve true death, be sealed or used as some lab experiment?" her voice showed she herself was very attatched to toshi and would do anythin to keep her safe even go against toshi's wants

He was inflicted with doubt about himself again, and he cursed at himself for having a weak heart. However, without a second thought he had taken on his tengu form and pulled his sword out, holding it in front of her face. He growled, "You are no better than the others." Then he swept his sword down diagonally at her, attempting to slice her into two.

Brought her hand out and caught the blade's tip before it could do any harm "I am not like the others... I could argue, you are like the humans that tried to burn my forest down" she sighed and let the blade go shaking her head she fased into the tree behind her

"You are naïve... that blade is never to be drawen in anger, perhaps she misjudged you" her voice seemed sad as she spoke "with actions like that you are more likely to get her killed than protect her" with that vies came fourth to bind him, the where loose enough to be comfortabe but tight enough that he couldn't move

coming out of the tree she took the sword from him and with tenderness placed it back in it's scabard "You have never used ancestral blade have you Lord Yuu" she looked at the sword "Twenty five fully grown warriors and not one of you have came forth to show him disipline or understanding" she sounded like a scolding mother, the blade gave off a dull glow as an apology

her eyes went to Yuu "You can have this back when you learn what you need to protect her... then I can feel safe enough to let her go knowing she has a strong guardian and friend" with that the vines released and Ken'ochi would be standing beside him woith a smile "only a fool attacks without knowing who their opponent is" he chuckled slightly

Unfortunately Yuu's mind was entangled between his instincts and parts of his regained memory, causing most of the lecture to go unheard. Then, a black mist-like appendage came forth from Yuu's chest, quickly taking the shape of a shadowy arm. It slid out, and the rest of it followed and finally came out, hunched over and breathing heavily as though it had just ran. The thing looked like a more grotesque and twisted version of Yuu; its clothes tattered and torn, the mask had various cracks and distortions in it, and randomly all over its body were wing-like appendages and tendrils squirming about. The whole body wavered every now and then like mist naturally would before regaining the physical form, making it seem unstable.

The original Yuu fell to the ground shortly after, though his mind would now be in the monster that came out of him. More and more memories flooded back, of how he had wiped his village clean of all the living tengu he could find, and a few other memories that seemed to be out of place. He was intoxicated with the thought of taking out the ones before him as he stood up straight.

At his side were two sheaths, his hand moved to slide one sword out. The sword whipped around like a cat's tail before straightening out and then grew various sets of gnashing mouths, sharing the same desire to draw out blood from many victims. Then this sword was swung at the man standing not too far from him.

((Ken'ochi vs. Yuu, round 1! DING DING! x'D))

Ken'ichi seen the changes that where happening and stepped back once to allow room for the change "Ira I believe it best you cut this part of the forest off" His voice was calm as he watched Yuu's transformation his eyes didn't look at him in disgust but in pity "What did they force you to become Yuu?" he was saddened by the image in front of him, he knew no one's spirit could twist this badly unless it had been tortured

seeing Yuu swipe down Ken'ichi moved to the right evading the blades with the greatest of ease, he shook his head as a sigh came from his lips "Who where you then?" all he wanted to do was evade, he didn't want to harm him not that he trully could he was weaponless "Who are you now?" he continued to ask questions hoping to get a reply so this could end without him recieving final death or Yuu dying for his first death "Who do you want to be?" although these three questions would normally be easy to answer, but in his unstable state he was unsure if it would do more harm than good

A hiss came from behind the mask, and then a groan and crackling noise when he tried to use his voice. Yuu took a step forward unsteadily as though he had lost his sense of balance, and then appeared as though he was never unsteady. His head tilted to the side, staring at Ken'ichi in an awkward position, "..My previous, Nobuo.. My present, Yuu.. My want.." He trailed off, thinking about how to answer the last question. He was now back on the level where he could comprehend more things, but his heart and desire were still a distorted mess, much like his outward appearance, "..Neither and both." Yuu didn't completely understand what he was saying at that time, but his desire still remained to spill blood, and Ken'ichi was his current target. He raised his sword and dashed forward, bringing the sword up diagonally at his prey.

Dodged once more by jumping up in the tree "You are distorted... because you do not know your want" his voice was rash as he jamp down behind him "You are a danger to yourself being unstable like this... so how could you protect my daughter?!" his voice showed he was concerned about this matter

his hand pointed to his sleeping child "She is the most precious thing in this world to me... you need to be able to control your rage, your anger or you will likely be the one to give her, her final death" he once again showed no intentions to attack "She cares for you... you should feel that"

Yuu's head tilted to the other side, then turned to look where Ken'ichi was pointing at, though he didn't know why Ken'ichi was going on about Toshi's protection. He had no recollection of ever meeting Toshi anywhere since there was no room for positive memories aside from the ones where he took joy in destroying things, and thus was his curse to become a savage creature who was unhindered by memories or emotions, "Care? Protect? I know neither.." his head turned to face Ken'ichi once more.

However, the Yuu that was lying on the ground started to move and pushed himself up, and an overwhelming feeling of something dangerous happening around him had smashed into him. It was the same feeling he got when the village was attacked, and all he could think of doing was fleeing. Yuu scrambled up to his feet and ran over to Toshi's side and shook her, "Toshi! We have to.." He stopped, thinking about Toshi's condition and the fact that she wouldn't be able to run. He picked Toshi up, cradling her in his arms and started running.

Neither Yuu would see the other, but the dark Yuu wouldn't care that one of his targets was now floating away since he could always follow and kill her later. A smile spread under his mask, delighted at the thought that he would enjoy Ken'ichi's anger and despair before killing him ((dis pear!! x'D)), "She can run, but I will find her."

A female appeared infront of the darker-side of yuu her eyes narrowed her amethyest eyes slightly, she had deep blue almost black hair it was easy to tell she was Tengu, by the duel swords she weilded at her left side. Her garments where a golden crimson kimono. She was was in her Tengu form but wore no mask "You are an idiot!" her left hand raised and moved to slap him across his cheek

"Yes you have felt pain... yes those so called superiors done things to you... they did things to me!" she shook slightly saying it "I didn't almost die to protect your mother so you could be turned into a monster" her hands clenched so tight blood ran from the palms of her hands. Ken'ichi wanted to comfort his wife but he knew better than to get involved in such affairs and so faded into the sword once more

"Your mother wasn't a marked as you where so thought to believe... she was a priestess, the next in line to control the tribe you were ment to be born into... the tribe I was almost married into" she closed her eyes "I don't know why but the head priestess of every tribe was experimented on while we where pregnant... I lost the child I was carrying because of it, I tried to protect your mother... but failed" a tear ran down her face as she looked to the ground "Anyone who was experimented on or was born from someone who was experimented on have unusual colored eyes as well as abilitys and issues they didn't expect" she looked to him "You are our vengence, our anger and dispair channled into you" her eyes went to where her own daughter had been

"You and she are the only ones left, she is not strong enough or prepared enough to deal with this world.." she moved closer to Nobuo and moved the mask up "You are the only one that can protect her from those who would want to do the same terrible things they done to us and to you..." she leaned in "They will never understand you and thus will either try and kill you or experiment further to find out how to control you both" her words where so quiet

Toshi opened her eye slightly as she was shook but didn't say a word, her eye closed once more she was exhausted and drained, although when she was picked up she currled into yuu and began to chant in her sleep

Yuu stopped, confused by what the new figure was talking about. He looked around and saw no other marked in the area and she seemed to interact with thin air, though he listened to her. As it carried on, he felt depressed that she was saying that this other person was the only that could protect her, whom he assumed was Toshi. He knew he wasn't the best person to protect anything, but to have someone say that a different person was the only one who was capable of protecting the one person he wanted to protect was something that made his heart sink. He trembled, and then put Toshi back down on the ground.

Nobuo wasn't aware of his true purpose, but would seem to agree on the words since he did highly enjoy slaughtering the normal tengu and ended up letting the marked run unscathed. There was no reasoning behind it other than the feeling of what he wanted to do. So in the end, he ended up protecting someone unknowingly. His hand went up to his mask, "To protect the victims and destroy the rest.. I understand." He spread his wings, ready to take flight so he could go on slaughtering the people who may do wrongs towards them.

The woman caught his hand before he coult take flight "You need to live within yourself Nobuo... staying out for long periods of time will harm you both" her hand pointed to Yuu "Now go back inside and try and behave... you will eventually have to come to the realization that you are weaker like this and will eventually have to meld with one another, to become a compleate being" her words where gentle

by now Yuu would be able to see his otherself thanks to the chant Toshi had been saying in her sleep "Hello Yuu" the woman said "I am guessing you heard everything I said" of course this was more a retorical question "Nobuo here is part of you, the hate, anguish and fear of all marked and those who where experimented on" she looked down "I am sorry we done this to you... we where still children ourselves and had no idea" she bowed low to Yuu

"You trully are the only one that can protect her from both Humans and Tengu... she knew this and thus why you where given the sword of her family" she stood and walked to him taking Nobuo with him "Nobuo here is your strength, your will your power..." she turned to Nobuo "Yuu is your kindness, compassion, your heart" she moved them beside one another "one without the other is weak, you will get yourself killed and my daughter, which I will not tolorate!" her words where stearn and demanded obedience

"I couldn't care less if you want to be seperate and just train together so you understand each others strengths and weakness's..." she paused for a second "but if anything happens to my daughter, no ability in this universe will stop me from giving you both a slow, painful and truthful death" her eyes went a deep purple as she spoke showing her more dominant Tengu side, showing this wasn't a threat but a promise

"Though from what I have seen you have began to merge, it is slow but it has started" she looked to Yuu with a smile "Thank you for standing up against Ai to protect her" her hand touched his a moment later she removed her hand "A gift, the wounds you've done or others have done to your hands are now healed" with that she vanished leaving them be once more

Everything was all so sudden. Yuu was no longer depressed now that he had knowledge that she was referring to him, but now that was replaced with terror. He was petrified staring at this other part of himself, and couldn't move himself to utter anything or scream at the ghastly sight. And, unfortunately for Yuu, Nobuo took an interest in Yuu after gaining the ability to see him and moved closer to inspect Yuu, considering Yuu as merely a clone-like extension of himself since he assumed they shared the same memories but held different sides of the heart. Yuu collapsed to his knees, shaking as he sat on the ground, but as he touched the ground Nobuo seemed to melt into Yuu's shadow and vanished, "That was my inner demon? I don't want to deal with it!" Yuu curled down and his forehead touched the ground, his forearms hid his face as he sobbed, "I can't deal with it.."

((I havz an idea :D))

The woman appeared once more and curled her arms around the shaking and sobbing Yuu "Everyone has their inner demons, dear one" she rocked him gently as to comfort him "You must remember you are not alone you have myself, my husband, his ancestors and of course Toshi" her words tried to soothe him but she was unsure of how it was working

"I wanted to tell you something..." she closed her eyes and took a deep breath "As I said before you are not marked... Kaito on the other hand is" she opened her eyes "He is the son of the woman you believed to be your own mother..." she sighed a little "He raped that woman and two children where born... one boy one girl, the girl was dull in color as you would expect from a marked but the boy wasn't... he was vibrent in color and was adopted by your father as a 'pure'" she hugged him a little tighter as she spoke

"You wondered why you where treated diffrently even by the marked and now you know..." she didn't want him to be wondering anymore, it was about time he knew the truth "The young generation where all fed lies... the 'marked' are captured slaves of other races and clans... ther was no tricks played on the clan you come from..." she looked down at the earth "If there was any trick it was on the Priestess's of the six major Tengu clans" her voice was filled with pain as she spoke

"We where all to give birth to a child, three of us to boys and the other three to girls, they where then to be paired and trained to do something terrible, the girls where more spiritual, where the boys where more physical... they both held a lot psycic and magic..." she let go of him

"More than what they anticipated and couldn't control what where to be their weapons, one died before birth... my son... they strapped me down and made me watch as they disected and mutulated him before finally burning him... one other boy and the three girls where all murdered infront of their mothers, the same thing happened as it did to me" she hugged herself as she spoke, it was a horrid time for her to remember "You where more timid and so they didn't kill you but to hide the experimentations they did by hiding you in the marked and killing the priestess's... they almost killed me as I said as I tried to protect your mother, but I was found by my husband... your mother I know was killed I felt the pain of her death" tears fell from sorrow filled eyes

"Yuu, you are paired with my dear Toshi... whenever you feel like you are going to be consumed by Nobuo, just remember she is the light at the end of the tunnel and that will bring you back... You are special to her and she will never let you face anything by yourself" she leaned him and kissed his forehead lightly, hoping he understood everything that was said

----------------------------------------------------

Ai looked around the JadeLeaf Teahouse as he felt a large burst of energy "Only my sister could of pulled a spell like that off" her voice hissed as he looked to his companion "On the bright side of things.." a smirk came to his face "My sister will be too weak to travel and if I know her she would be in Midosi forest" he sounded rather smug as he took a sip of his tea "So tell me Kaito san... Why do you torture Yuu kun so?" he was curious as to what pleasure he got from doing so

It did comfort Yuu a little, so long as Toshi was there. But he still was in horror about the appearance of his inner demon and what it must have done in the past. And it probably would have been much worse if they weren't there to get things in line. He sighed in relief, sitting back up and wiping his dampened face with a sleeve and made a light smile, "Thank you.. I feel better.."

------------

"He is a filthy mix between the slave of another tribe and my father. We cannot kill him, so we make sure that his life is miserable. It is in our nature to be more hostile towards the lower classes in our clan as they are considered either a nuisance or someone we can hurt to pass the time," he grinned as he ran his finger over the lip of his tea cup, taking pleasure in the memories of the times where he had hurt Yuu and the marked. But he knew that they had a lot of similarities and Kaito was happy that he was fortunate enough to gain this new companion, even if Ai wasn't of the tengu species, "You do the same with Toshi, do you not?"

Toshi opened her eyes for a moment hearing Yuu speak but they closed just as swiftly as they had opened. Ken'ichi jamp from a branch above "You'll have to face yourself some day..." leaning down he helped Yuu up "There is nothing to fear, but fear itself... fear is a mind killer" his voice was gentle and warm "Don't worry about the past, it can not be changed or altered... look to the future, it's bright there" speaking those final words he ruffled Yuu's hair a little, almost as if he was a kid brother

---------------------------------------------------------------

smiled evily as his friends words, he was both content that he had found a friend with the same out look on things, but as a race the Tengu somewhat amused him, Kaito obviously being an exception to that "Born as a none person, you should be treated as one till the day you die in my personal opinion..." he looked out the window as he spoke "Slaves shouldn't be killed as they can do the dirty tasks unfit for anyone else, so in that respect they do have some worth" this was what he believed and of course his voice mirrored it

On hearing the question about Toshi he turned and looked at Kaito "Man is the head of the house, followed by children and wife at the bottom of the food chain..." he looked down into his cup "As we are the only two remaining of the family... it would make me head of the family and she has to follow my orders... if she displeases me or disobey's I am within my right to do as I wish to punish her" his eyes looks at the slight waves within the liquid "She wanted to obey our parents wishes and marry someone she didn't even know than run away and be with me... for this she will be tormented and treated as a non-person till she or I recieve final death... More likely her as she will orevent anything happening to me" an evil smirk came to his face "After all I am the only family she has left" he chuckled a little

Yuu was aware they were doing everything within their abilities to help him. And he nodded, though he knew for sure that the future held uncertainties and it could go either in the good direction or bad direction. But at least now, he had more hope than he did back when he was in the village.

---------------

"And of course you have an idea of where they went," Kaito pushed his cup to the side before picking it up and sipping from it, thinking about various ways to punish Yuu. He grinned wickedly as he set the cup down. "And even more delightful for you when you have even more reason to punish her with," he said, referring to how Toshi went against Ai's wishes, "I suppose we should keep their hands intact so they can do the chores. And this time, we should at least put up a spell to make it difficult for them to leave again."

"Okay, so what would you like to do?" a smile remaining on his face as he asked but then his hand went to the back of his head as he chuckled lightly "We best get some training done, or Ira won't give you that sword back" she moved back to the spot he had met Nobuo knowing that area would be safe enough to trainin in without doing any harm to the surrounding area

----------------------------------------------------------------------

"I know that spell... it's her last resort when she is scared and trapped" he placed the cup down and smirked "She went to Midosi forest... Ira's domain, while they are in there they will be protected, and as they are in there Toshi will protect Ira... we need to be waiting for them to come out... and Ira will not let her leave unless she believe's Toshi will be safe, meaning Yuu will be training to be a guardian" he wanted his friend to know the exact situation as it stood, after all he knew how Ira was

Chuckled and shook his friends slightly to the suggestions of spells "We dont need to do that, my sister can counter act all spells if she wanted to, my parents and the forest around our home taught her well..." he closed his eyes once more "We just need to make them so scared of what will happen if they leave that they will not want to leave the safty of the household" he smirked "Although you are correct they do need their hands if they are to work... but we hand shatter them, heal them but leave the pain" his voice was cold and calulating as he spoke the sentance

"Yes!" Yuu shouted, but backed off, blushing that he appeared so eager to hop on it. He still had to do something with Ira, who intended to keep Toshi there forever, and that was something he didn't want. But if he could show Ira that he was capable, he just might be able to free Toshi. So he followed Ken'ichi and prepared for the training.

------

Kaito's eyes furrowed from the mention of Yuu training, and slammed a fist into the table, "That is preposterous! He does not deserve something like that unless it's to serve us better!" He stopped and bowed his head down, moving his hand back but he still showed some frustration, "I apologize for the outburst. I do know that Yuu will be easy. He has always been scared of silly things. But what of Toshi?"

Ken'ichi smiled as he seen Yuu's eagerness to train "If only Ai kun had been this eager" he chuckled slightly showing it was infact a compliment not an insult "Training is going to be diffrent for you as you are in fact splintered in spirit..." he bit his lip for a second as he though "You are going have to learn to tap into Nobuo's strength but keep your sence of self" he knew this would be tricky as Yuu was scared of Nobuo, though he sat down "Sit please... I have a few things that might help this excersise go a little faster"

Waiting for Yuu to sit he smiled "Close your eyes and concentrate on the link you have with me through the ancestral sword, remember nothing will be real and you can ask to leave at any point" he say closing his own eyes waiting for Yuu to do the same

When Yuu linked like he had been asked he would see himself in an empty Tengu villiage "This will be our training ground for the moment... A place you have felt fear and pain... but until you can over come this Ira will never allow you to take Toshi" his voice for once was more agressive, showing he was now a teacher and not a friend

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Ai smiled and bowed his head back to Kaito out of sheer tradition "No apology needed... I compleatly understand, non people shouldn't be permited weapons, but think of it this way Kaito san, we will have a guard dog... Though I do not know who will be teaching him as Toshi is pasifist" his voice sounded a little off saying it as he knew Toshi had hidden their family blade and took daily punishments for not turning it over, it only stood to reason that when she ran she took the blade with her.

"Toshi chan fears of being alone, of having others suffer.." he paused for a short second "especially if she is the cause" he stood "So she is is easily controllable... and we have the collar in which to control her..." he smirked walking to the door, with that he walked through the door knowing Kaito was smart enough to put the peices together and get the answer

Because of his familiarity with the surroundings, he became alert and fearful of his surroundings out of habit. Even when he was told nothing would be real, it was like actually standing there in the village and he moved his fingers against each other to verify just how much of his senses where keyed into the area, "Just what exactly do I have to do here?"

---------------

"Certainly. Then we are well set to get them back easily," Kaito stood up after taking another sip of tea and followed closely after Ai. It was like a neatly laid out plan, organized to get from one definite point to another without any problems. Kaito was confident that there was absolutely nothing that could get in their way. Everything was perfect.

Ken'ichi watched him as he became for fearful of his surroundings "Everything will seem real but this is an illusion, it is only as real as you make it" his voice once again stern as he spoke, at the moment the illusion gives off the feeling that it is evening... An illusion of Toshi is being held somewhere in this village, your training for the moment is to find her, retrieve her and bring her back to me..." he smiled with a slightly impish grin "Oh one more thing, there will be normal Tengu wandering around this village you've to get her back to me you are not allowed to be seen with her, nor harming a single person" This should be a relatively easy lesson but sometimes the simple ones would be the most tricky to master

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ai paid the bill and went to the near by stables where his horse would be waiting for him, though he smirked a little as his friend came into the stables "The forest will be in lock down so I wouldn't be able to enter... yourself in your crow form would be mistaken for a normal crow... we could use this to our advantage" he swung himself onto his horse awaiting Kaito to change and move to his shoulder

"Toshi can understand animals and trees, so one so forth... If you where to tell her, your nest had been attacked and your mate was badly injured... Ira would let her go" he cackled slightly "Ira is a Dryad and a mother at that, so she A. wouldn't be able to leave her forest and B. would feel your pain" he began to move out the stables and out of town towards Midosi "Yuu will exit to as Ira will not let Toshi be on her own" he looked to Kaito wondering what he thought of the alteration in plan