Fan Fiction ❯ Shifting Fates ❯ Shifting Fates Book Two: ch. 1 ( Chapter 5 )

And now for the long awaited, by a few people, book 2 of Shifting Fates! Unfortunately, updates are likely to be few and far between, but do please review as reviews make Shi-chan happy and a happy Shi-chan writes faster! Once again, please put an error as well as a good point! Thankyou!!!!

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Dear journal,

It's been six months since my life was turned upside down. Again. And it's been the same amount of time since I last wrote in you. Life got better after… what happened. I've hooked up with a group of shinoarii that are relocating families to the forest belt on the continent of Shukktoorth. We're having a planning session tonight at my apartment tonight. I need to get ready and make dinner. Talk to you later.

"Yuki! This meal is great!"

"We're here to finish planning, not eat."

"Lighten up! We're pretty much done planning. We just need to let the family know!"

Light-hearted banter continued to fill up the empty space of her new apartment and the empty space inside her heart. These were her friends. She had friends. She smiled, the edges of her lips curving into an expression she hadn't worn, and meant, in months.

"Hey you. Watcha smiling about?" Shina sat on the edge of the table and rested her elbows on her knees. Her short, dark brown hair fell forward and, with it partly covering her eyes, gave her a mischievous look. "Hey guys! Yuki was smiling!"

"So?" came the resounding chorus.

"But this time it reached her eyes!"

"Really? Lemmee see!" Shistar crowded over to Yuki's side and peered at her friend's face. Yuki couldn't help but giggle at the mock intense expression the older woman wore.

"Hey Shiso! Come look at this!"

"Pha. So what if the kid smiled. If we're done planning I'm going home." With that said, she rose and stalked out of the apartment.

"Party pooper." Shina responded, then turned to the others. "But she does have a point. I think this session is over."

The group murmured their agreement and slowly filed out, thanking Yuki for the use of her apartment and the wonderful meal. Soon only Yuki and Shina were left standing next to the still messy table.

Yuki's fingers absently played with one of the many photographs strewn across the table, creating a mosaic of people and camera angles. She picked it up, flipping it over and around, just fiddling while she recovered from the day's excitement. She paused, looking at the family in the picture, at the relieved faces of the two parents and the ignorant innocence of the baby in the woman's arms, and remembered when she had been like that bubbly infant, happy with the world in general. There had been many times in the recent months where she had wished that something could make her forget, forget everything that had happened, that had filled her sleep with nightmares and her waking hours with painful reminders.

"Yo! Shinoa to Yuki! It's time for you to leave orbit!"

"Hunh? Oh. Sorry." She grinned apologetically and swept the myriad photos into a pile, catching a few before they plunged over the edge. "I take it you're planning on staying the night?"

"Of course I am! We took over your brand new home, made you feed us and then bored you to death with teasing and trivialities, so now I must naturally inconvenience you further by using up your sleeping accommodations."

"You're using the couch." Yuki said flatly, but with a hint of playfulness in her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm taking your pillow though." And Shina darted into the bedroom to steal said item. She returned shortly with her prize held at ready and soundly hit Yuki about the shoulders with the fluffy pillow, causing her to screech indignantly.

A few minutes, several feathers, pieces of furniture, and one hairdo later, Shina sat down with a groan.

"All right. You win! I'm too old for this…" She complained happily.

"What are you talking about!?! You're only 23!

"Yeah! And that's ancient." She sighed sadly, bemoaning her fate.

"Shina. We easily live to be over 200. How is 23 old?"

"It just is. You'll understand when you're my age." Shina turned and smiled at her young friend.

"Un-hunh… Shina."

"Yes'm?"

"Go to sleep."

"Sure thing. Mom." She didn't have time to duck away from the pillow that promptly tried to smother her, but she did have time to laugh.

Sunlight angled through the blinds on her windows and pierced straight through her eyelids. Yuki groaned, rolled over, and fell the approximate two feet from her couch to the floor. How did I…? Why, Shina naturally.

"Shina. As soon as I stop hurting, I'm going to kill you."

Raucous laughter answered her threat and was quickly followed by its maker peeking her head into the living room.

"Yuki-chan, your bed's huge. Is there anything, or anyone, going on that I don't know about?" Her best friend raised one eyebrow as she spoke, doing her best to look superior and failing miserably.

"Aside from my best friend stealing it, no," she said sourly, her nose still pressing against the carpet. She'd never noticed the attractive mix of colors that made up her floor covering before. She was so absorbed in studying it that she missed her friend's next comment.

"Yuki! As I said, you really should find yourself a mate. Your bed is more than big enough."

"You're just like Shistar. All hormones and no head."

"You're only saying that `cause you're a virgin." Shina stepped forward until her bare toes were inches away from Yuki's face. The prone young woman seriously contemplated biting the ankle in front of her for a few moments, then abandoned the idea as ill conceived. She'd actually have to move several inches in order to accomplish her goal.

"I happen to like the single life. Is there anything wrong with that?"

"No. At least, not yet." She smiled and, leaning over, tousled Yuki's hair, all unwitting of the danger she had placed herself in. A well placed headbutt to the knees and Shina was flat on her back. "I guess I deserved that. And…" she said, craning her neck to view the clock on the wall, "I need to get going. I get to tell the lucky family the good news."

She slowly pulled herself off the floor, wincing as she straightened up.

"Have a good day, Shina."

"You too, Yuki." And with that, she left, leaving Yuki to deal with the ruins of her once clean apartment all by herself.

It was beautiful out that day, a fitting setting to the relocation of the shinoarii family. The sun was war as it shone through the trees, picking out all the colors that made the forests of the world seem so much alive. Yuki inhaled deeply, trying to calm her racing pulse. This was the first time she'd play a real part in the move, rather than sitting on the sidelines and watching how things were done. The group trusted her now and her heart swelled with that knowledge. Her friends sat quietly in the trees, creating a perimeter of watchful eyes and alert senses so acute that not even the passing of an insect went unnoticed. Yuki glanced down quickly, ears tracking a bird, and sighed in anticipation. Only an hour and this family will be safe.

Kensaki, one of the two males in their local group, stopped briefly on her perch, tapping her shoulder as he passed. She stretched out cramping limbs and arched her sore back before beginning her rounds. She chose East as the direction to head first, carefully circling the grounds, well out of sight of the house and the other shinoarii. Halfway through her circuit she found something, a scent so faint that she almost ignored it. It stirred something in her memories, something both soothing and extremely unpleasant. She crept closer to the house, hissing to herself as she neared her friend's lookout spot.

"Shina… I found something. Come with me." Yuki pleaded, hoping against hope that her friend would take her seriously. Shina shot a quick glance at the foliage around and nodded sharply, her hair bouncing around her cheekbones. Yuki almost fell out of the tree, her relief was so great, but quickly struck back out into the forest. They flit from tree to tree, Yuki carefully scenting out their prey as they moved from one concealed branch to another.

"Are you sure you smelled something?" Shina whispered.

"Can't you smell it? I know who this is. Why can't I remember who?" she muttered to herself, clenching her fingers in an excess of annoyance. "A few more yards and even you ought to catch the scent."

"Hey! What does that mean!?" Yuki tossed a grin over her shoulder and leapt, cutting across a clearing, arms outstretched to catch the next limb, Shina only seconds behind.

"Can you--?"

"Yes," Shina hissed impatiently, gesturing that they should continue towards the elusive scent.

"All right, all right…" Yuki snaked her way along the long branch, carefully placing her feet as she walked along the slick moss that coated equally slippery bark. An inadvertent misstep had her hanging onto another bough for dear life as she stared at the ground far below her, and at the figure almost directly beneath her feet. Shina's strong hands wrapped around her arms and lifted her to relative safety.

"Baka. Look where you're going!" Shina chided quietly.

"I was! But I found someone interesting. Stay here and let me deal with him, okay?"

She opened her mouth to object, but, upon seeing the look of utter determination her friend wore, she closed it and nodded. Yuki took a deep breath, then dropped to the ground, directly behind the young man she'd spotted from her tree top look out. He whirled, instantly on the offensive and barely halted his automatic swing in time. The razor-sharp edge of the blade quivered millimeters from her throat for several seconds before who she was registered in the man's brain. The sword dropped from suddenly numb fingers and fell silently to the brown earth.

"Wha… What are you doing here?"

Yuki didn't answer for a long moment, instead bending over and slowly retrieving the fallen blade. She straightened and pointed the tip at Taro's chest.

"That," she said in a dangerously low tone, "is my line. So you've gone back to your masters, hunh?"

Taro could barely believe his eyes; could barely believe that this hardened young woman was the devastated girl he'd left behind six months ago. Her face was cold, and anger smoldered behind her eyes. The point of his own blade pressed against his skin, the tip positioned between two ribs so that a quick thrust could end his life.

"One of my close friends who's still at the Institute has been tipping me off to the murder teams whenever he can."

Yuki stared at him icily for a moment, then the harsh lines of her face softened a little. "My team and I are here to relocate the family. You think that one of the Institute's killers is going to be here?"

"Absolutely," he muttered stiffly and backed away from her a pace his hands held away in a placatory gesture. Yuki whirled, her hand reaching for the belt knife she habitually wore as she turned. She ended her spin in a low crouch, both blades held at ready. Shina calmly stared back at her as she leaned against the tree, her crossbow casually at her side. Yuki looked back and forth between her and Taro and sighed, glaring balefully at her best friend. Shina merely arched an eyebrow and shrugged delicately before strolling forward a few steps.

"So…" she drawled lazily, "Who is this?"

She gestured with the bow and Taro backed up another step, trying to look as non-threatening as possible. Which wasn't very because every bit of his body bespoke the fact that he was a hunter, from the long lean muscles of his arms and legs to the lithe grace that accompanied every gesture.

Yuki looked at him critically for a moment, clearly trying to make up her mind.

"This is Kashiwa Taro," she said at last. Shina's eyebrows shot towards her hairline and she quickly leveled the bow at Taro's face.

"Why is he here?"

Taro looked decidedly nervous for a second, then let his classic cool exterior fall into place. His smile was predatory as he answered, the slight tilt to his head and his voice suggestive.

"I take it you've heard of me."

Shina ignored him, instead casting a worried glance to the annoyed countenance of her friend.

"Is he going to be a threat?"

She looked at him a moment, taking in the front he was presenting, and snorted.

"Nah. He's simply a pain in the arse."

Taro merely shrugged as if to say that could be true. Shina was reluctant to lower her weapon but she had to re-holster it for the trip back. Taro stayed as close to Yuki as possible in the profusion of branches and branchlets that the forest sported.

"So…" he said softly as they traveled, "as I was about to say, I've been stopping the exterminators whenever Tou tips me off."

Something about the way he said `stopping' caused her to pause.

"You said stopping. What you meant was killing, didn't you."

He eyed her levelly, face serious and without a touch of remorse. "Yes. Are you upset by this?"

"No." And now she looked ashamed. "I'm a throwback to our ancestors. I don't like killing but I will when it's necessary. And I don't feel bad when those butchers are butchered themselves."

She continued forward, scanning the forest ahead so that she could pretend to not notice the uneasy silence that had fallen between them. Shina, in classic Shinoar form, tried to make light of the admittance of such a taboo.

"Well," she rationalized "That does explain the sudden decrease of murders in this area."

Yuki paused for a moment, rounding on Taro. "Only this area? Were you stalking me again?"

"No! I didn't have a clue you were around here! How on earth was I supposed to know? And secondly, why would I even care?" He stalked off a short way, mentally kicking himself. He had known her general area but this particular family was miles from the territory they usually covered. You meet up with her again and immediately make an ass of yourself. Congratulations Taro.

Yuki answered her friend's quizzical glance with a shrug, then turned to stare at the young man, absently noting the stiffness in his shoulders.

"I told you he was a pain in the arse, but I forgot to tell you he was a prick as well."

Shina laughed. "I could have guessed that on my own."

Taro gave a half shrug then quietly followed in the wake of the two women.

"So what do you want us to do? YOU'RE the one who brought him here," Shiso complained as she looked down her nose at the young shinoarii.

"I don't want YOU to do anything," Yuki snipped back. "I found him so he's my responsibility. We all know that one of us has to stay behind to guard him. I volunteer for the duty myself. It's only right." Gods above but I hate being the youngest… and the shortest. She stared defiantly at her team mates.

Tantou glanced at his companion then nodded his head, placing a restraining hand on Shina's shoulder at the same time. "Sounds good to me."

"Good."

"Yuki!" Shina hissed a little while later. "Just what do you think you're doing? This is Taro you're talking about. Who knows what he'll do!"

"Shina, he's not going to do anything. I know him fairly well I should think." Yuki grimaced a little as she said that. "Like I said, he's an ass, not a threat. Besides, I can take care of myself. I had you as a teacher, didn't I?" She mock punched at her best friend, then ducked under her answer.

"Yeah I guess… But I'll lag a little behind just to make me feel better, okay?"

"Fine," she laughed.

"This doesn't seem like a good place to keep watch."

Silence.

"Where are the others?"

"…"

"Hello?"

"Will you shut up!" Yuki snarled as she climbed. She looked down at Taro, annoyance coloring her face and her voice. "I need to put you someplace safe for everyone." She bit her lip and continued upward.

The foliage thinned around her and the roof of the house was suddenly in view. She stuck her head out, quickly noting her team mates' positions. The low beat of a helicopter intruded on the early morning silence and forced Yuki to immediately duck her head back into the scant cover. She chirped out a staccato phrase that carried easily across the clearing.

"Can you say that again?" Taro asked.

"Uhm… yeah… Cachkt hrrk'k skrrs. Verr hrruu ssarrs niierch!"

"What's that-"

"No time!"

The answering rumbles rolled back and Yuki sprang into action, quickly descending from her perch. Taro strained his eyes, carefully noting the black motes of the hunting team dropping from their transport. He paused a moment, his eyes flicking from the house to the retreating Institute vehicle, calculating, before he, too, leapt for the ground.

Tantou ushered everyone together into a quick huddle.

"We only have a few minutes. Does everyone still know what to do?"

The entire team rattled off their direction and their leader smiled at Yuki's quick addendum.

"All right then, let's go!" The group quickly went into the house, each going about their assigned tasks. Taro crouched near a tree, curiosity overcoming caution. Yuki was the last out of the house. Her arms were laden with bags and she carried the couple's only child, a toddler with a shock of bright blonde hair. She cooed at the youngster and it giggled back at her. Her face lit up a radiant smile so intense and pure that Taro found himself standing up just so he could smile at the girl he had once been ordered to capture but had vowed to protect. She saw him and turned, the smile dimming a fraction but remaining in place, her enrapture so complete.

She turned again, handing the youngling to its mother, and then walked across the small courtyard, arms still full, and remained by his side as the others scattered, melting into the shadows that darkened the glade. Taro watched the maneuver, a frown creasing his brow.

"I wasn't going to follow them."

"We don't know that for sure."

"So they left you here. By yourself. With a man they don't trust. Some friends."

Yuki grimaced slightly before answering. "I did volunteer for this duty."

"And they brooked no arguments. Not even that woman you were with earlier."

"She wanted to stay too, but I convinced her to go."

Taro grunted, then sighed as he crouched near the ground, again waiting for the Institute team to arrive.

"You aren't as naïve as you used to be," he noted out of the blue.

"Yeah. Killing one's uncle can do that," she responded stiffly.

Open mouth, insert foot, he thought bitterly. He could still vaguely hear the drone of the helicopter as it circled the area, far beyond them.

The unnatural rustle of a leaf, the soft snapping of a twig had him instantly alert, his body tensing for combat. The team stepped out from the woods across their from their hiding spot and quickly loped toward the house. They snuck in though an open window and disappeared from view.

"Come on. We need to move."

Yuki looked at him, confusion plainly evident underneath her mask of fear.

"When they don't find anyone in the house, they're going to search this area for tracks! I hope your friends hid their trail well. We need to do the same."

"We… we take to the trees when we leave here."

"Good. Then we'll do the same."

They were safely positioned in the crown of tree close to a quarter mile away by the time the team finished its search of the house. Taro held his breath as the two conferred for a moment before beginning a search of the nearby woods.

All they find is a jumble of tracks right around the area. And they think the Shinoar are so stupid that they'll merely change form and fly away. They won't think to search the trees. At least, I hope they wont.

When their new search, too, turned out to be fruitless, they met in the courtyard again. Taro inched closer, moving from cover to cover, and barely noticed Yuki carefully following him. He kept moving until he was right on the edge of the clearing, leaving Yuki almost a hundred meters behind him. He was finally close enough to see their faces. His breathing became heavier as the identity of one of the hunters became all too apparent.

Masurao, he growled in his mind.

As if summoned by the thought, his former partner stopped his random scanning and stared straight at him, a sadistic smile slowly stretching across his narrow face.

"Taro!" he yelled. "Come on out. I want you to meet a friend of mine!"

He caressed the hilt of his short-sword possessively. Taro said nothing, the expression of distaste and utter loathing needed no words. Masurao snarled, his odd countenance made all the more disturbing with a single look.

"Come on, boy. Our targets are gone but a new one has been gracious enough to present itself," he hissed angrily to his young partner.

The Institute team charged Taro's lookout, the unknown boy at the fore. They streaked across the glen, swords flashing bits of glare into the renegade's eyes. He dropped to meet them, lithe as any cat, and pulled out his own blade, his entire being focused on the fight ahead of him.

Masurao slowed as he approached, but his partner continued on, full tilt. Taro leapt to meet him and, ducking under the wild swing, backhanded the boy into a tree. The young man stared wide-eyed for a second before slumping, unconscious, amidst the great roots.

Masurao stalked closer, a smile that would have terrified a god spread across his skeletal face.

"Come on, Boy!" he goaded. "Are you afraid to fight me?" Taro said nothing, his eyes gold as a glacial field.

Masurao finally attacked in a blur of movement, sword angling down in a deadly arc even as he lashed out with a kick aimed at Taro's ribs. Their swords met in a shower of sparks, the ringing of the blades bouncing back echoes from the distant trees. Taro leapt back, nimbly avoiding the blow, blade scraping down his opponent's. Masurao jerked away from the surprise attack and snarled. He lunged again, using every trick he knew to gain the upper hand, but couldn't get past the strength and speed that Taro had on his side.

Yuki couldn't help the growling that came from her traitorous throat, the sound rising and dying with each attack and defensive block. She moved forward yet another pace, her movements faltering as she tried to keep herself out of the fight. She lurched forward again and was in the clearing, the fight now fully visible to her. The clashing of the blades, the screeches of straining metal hurt her ears but they did not overpower the one taunt that Taro leveled at his enemy.

They stood, swords locked, sweat dripping down their faces. Taro leaned in, his smile as frozen as the void.

"And you are still considered the best they have? You are slow, Old Man."

Masurao roared his fury into the quiet that had descended at the start of their battle. "HOW DARE YOU!"

He jerked back, pulling Taro off balance for a second, and lunged forward, his intent clear. The blade swept up, under the renegade's defenses and forced him back another unsteady pace. The next strikes came quick as lightening, over and over, desperation fueling their strength.

Taro continued to retreat before the flurry of attacks, his smile of determination further goading his adversary. Slight movement behind him caught Taro's attention for one crucial second and left a gaping hole in his defenses.

Masurao's blade homed in, sinking into flesh and grating past bone. The evil warrior pressed his advantage, pushing the dazed young back until the blade thudded into the dense bark of a tree. He leaned in until his face was mere inches from Taro's, his eyes gloating as he pressed closer to his victim.

Yuki looked up from her new position of sitting on the again conscious youth just in time see Taro get pinned against the tree, and the world froze. She felt her heart beat once, twice, as what she was fully sank in. The word rose unbidden to her tongue from the depths of her soul.

"TARO!" She flung herself forward, human hands instinctively curling into claws.

Masurao bent forward just a little more, unheeding of the new threat and captured Taro's open mouth. Taro stiffened, eyes going wide with shock. Masurao's hand left his weapon and trailed down Taro's benumbed arm. He started inward mere moments before, when Yuki crashed into him, breaking the kiss and knocking him into Taro's waiting blade. He grunted softly as the steel pierced the softness of his belly.

"Well done," he whispered hoarsely as his blood poured onto the ground. "Well done, Boy."

He collapsed then, his deadweight landing against the blade embedded in Taro's arm and forcing it further in, widening the deep gash. Taro kicked the man away and sagged against the tree, his face a shade of pale green.

Yuki reached out, hands trembling, and grabbed the hilt of the tantou. Taro closed his eyes and nodded at the question clearly evident in her wide eyes, his teeth clenched against the pain he knew was yet to come. Yuki's deft pull left no further damage but he was all to grateful to be able to sink down among the roots, head lolling as he fought against his nausea.

When he finally opened his eyes Yuki was crouched in front of him, clearly concerned despite herself. She had a small handful of cloths and was inching near his arm.

"Don't," he told her more sharply than he intended, his mobile hand coming up to hover protectively over the gaping wound. He cringed inwardly at the hurt in her expression; hurt that was quickly followed by anger.

"It'll heal in a few days. You know this," he said wearily.

"That doesn't mean it can't become infected or you can't bleed to death! Remember last time?" She snapped.

"Don't worry. This wont stop me."

Yuki narrowed her eyes at him until all he could see was a narrow band of light green.

"How…" she began slowly. "How often do you get this seriously injured?"

Taro shrugged, eliciting a strained sigh from the young woman beside him. Yuki stared at him intently for a moment head cocked to catch the slightest sound and then was gone. Not even the rustling of a leaf marked her departure.

Damn but she's gotten better at that, Taro thought sourly. He rose then, one hand clutched tightly against the long, deep slice that continued to pour his blood onto the ground. A pitiful sacrifice, he mumbled to himself bitterly as he watched the crimson stream soak into the rich brown loam. He turned and started walking into the forest, never once looking back as he disappeared into the semi-dusk that existed perpetually underneath the protective boughs.

Soul spiraling in the black abyss
I spread my wings to the glory of the night
I ride the currents ever alone
Caught in the eddies without a fight
I can do nothing but submit
and Hope I again reach the light

"Gah but that's melodramatic..." Yuki muttered to herself as she closed her journal. She sighed and rested her chin on the table, shoulder slumping dejectedly. He had come back and a part of her couldn't help but be overjoyed, but there was another part, a large section of her soul that was still hurt and huddling in a corner, trying to regain its blood-stained innocence. A single tear traced its course down her cheek and dropped softly to be absorbed by the wood. She shuddered for a moment, then lurched out of her chair, shifting mid motion, and paced to her room to grab the one relic of her childhood. The stuffed animal was worn in spots, clearly showing the after effects of much love. She clutched the toy to her chest, her long wings wrapping around her in a pathetic simulation of the hugs she had once taken for granted.
She sat in silence for several minutes before placing the stuffed toy back on her bed. 'As Shina would say "If you're gonna mope, at least do it outside where I don't have to see it"... The park beckons I believe.'

She was flying. That wasn't unusual considering what she was. She was flying low, over a government building of some sort. There were people there but they didn't see her. She flew on, noting where gun turrets were, how many guards were at each post; everything about the general layout of the place. Then she flew away. She flew until she reached a city, or rather, a town. A small town, actually. Here the people looked up at her passing and did nothing. There was no screaming, no waving about of swords. She landed, cupping her wings forward to hold a fancy pose for a second before coming to rest. The human and shinoarii children flocked to her, cooing and chirping in the hybrid language they had formed. She spoke too, the formal words of pure shinoar-ni rolling forth in a flurry of hissed sibilants. She patted the younglings before taking her leave, strolling along with her best friend, a human elder.

Yuki woke from her dream and lay still, trying to commit all that had happened into memory. Humans and shinoarii living together? She shook her head and turned on the tree limb to continue her interrupted nap. The warm sun beat on her back, lulling her to slumber once again.

Taro rubbed his arm unconsciously; the new scar itched every time he moved. She should be somewhere around here…He walked on, letting his feet guide him while his mind wandered.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he almost walked past her, but some instinct prompted his gaze to be drawn upward. All he could see of her was only leg dangling loosely aside her perch.

Taro couldn't help but snort at the sight. I'm surprised she hasn't grown leaves by now. He glanced around and, upon sensing no other souls, leapt most of the distance to her makeshift bed. He squatted on a nearby limb and reached out cautiously to poke her, unsure of the greeting he would get. Yuki opened one eye and stared at him dully.

"What do you want?"
"Ah....."
"Ah.. what?"

"I don't know. I just wanted to see if you got back okay, I guess," Taro fidgeted sheepishly.

"Oh. As I'm sure you've noticed by now, I got back okay. Will you leave me alone? You bring back bad memories."

Taro lowered his eyes, turning his head away. He lowered himself from her perch and disappeared down the path. A little corner of her mind chastised her. 'That was your only friend you just drove away you know. The only one who could help rid you of these demons.'

"Yeah, or bring on even more," she sneered at herself but she was aching inside. It wasn't like her to be like this. She flipped neatly from her resting spot to the ground and started walking.

His blade flashed in the air, cutting down invisible enemies with a desperate fury.
'Baka. Of course she's going to react like that. Why did you think she hated you any less just because of what happened a couple days ago? You know her well enough to realize that that concern is a part of her soul, whether the person before her is friend or foe. Or both.'

His strikes became more and more mechanical as he worked off his self-anger. He whirled and struck, parried, struck again, no longer seeing the world around him.

Yuki walked forward slowly, mind numb as she came closer and closer.

Taro spun again and froze, shock spurting through his mind. He was yet again a mere hair's breadth from killing her, the blade scoring a delicate cut in the skin of her neck. His arm dropped, horror suffusing his features as he backed away.

Yuki put a hand up to her neck when she felt warmth begin to trickle down to her collarbones. Her palm was covered in orange-red blood and she raised her eyebrows in surprise. She looked up, expression flat and stalked after Taro. He froze again as her hand graced his cheek, the blood sticky against his skin.

"Don't lose control like that," she whispered with a half smile. "Next time you might not stop in time."

Taro moaned disconsolately. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I never have."

"Daijobu. There's a small part of me that knows that perfectly well... It just has to convince the rest." She smiled lopsidedly at him.

The pain behind her half-hearted grin cut him to his core. He swirled off his trench coat and placed it around her shoulders. The collar was just high enough to cover the telltale signs of blood.

His actions spoke volumes in the silence that descended. Yuki clutched the coat tight around her and wordlessly followed her attacker turned savior.

"Gah… It's worse than your last apartment!" The words spartan and bare did not even begin to describe the place Taro called home. The only furnishing visible were a table and chair, and a futon rolled up in one corner. Yuki sat in the chair without any prompting, hands folded neatly in her lap as she waited. Taro disappeared into his bedroom for a moment, returning shortly with the oversized first aid kit and a t-shirt.

"You're going to have to change," he said somberly, refusing to catch hold of her gaze, as he tossed the shirt onto the table. He pulled out several rolls of gauze and a bandage pad while Yuki divested herself of his cloak, draping the slightly stained article across her lap.

He approached her slowly, almost warily, and waited for any sign of fear to register in Yuki's expressive eyes. They stayed calm, serene, as if they belonged to a woman much older who had seen the tricks the world plays and had learned to live with them. His fingers shook as he lifted her hair gently away from her neck; the golden strands, stained red, stuck to the clotting wound with surprising tenacity. He groped behind him for the kit and pulled out a disinfectant cloth, gently wiping at the wound.

"Well… some good news is that it's shallow. The bad news is that it's the equivalent of the paper-cut from hell."

"That's one hell of a page you have there then," Yuki joked lamely.

Taro's hands paused in the act of carefully binding the shallow slice, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "You have the most mercurial personality I have ever met," he stated.

"It's a curse," she retorted flatly.

Taro shrugged, privately disagreeing with her, and resumed his ministrations. "You should be fully healed by tomorrow but you can keep my jacket in the meantime," he murmured.

"Oh ho! Planning on seeing me again are we?"

"What?! No! I, ah, that is… You're mean. You know that, right?"

"Yup. Shina taught me well," she choked out between giggles. "Oi! Stop looking like a wounded puppy. It doesn't go well with your `tough-guy' clothing."

"Hai, hai…" he drawled. "You'd better get going. I'm sure you have things to do. And be careful. The Institute knows you and your on the top of their capture list."

Yuki paused briefly to place her fingertips on his hand. "Thanks Taro-san. You're not such a prick after all." She left with that parting shot, leaving Taro sitting in the middle of his living room staring dully at the closing door.

"And I do want to see you again," he whispered to the air.

* * * * *

Shina was draped across Yuki's couch when she arrived home, a smug look plastered across her face.

"So… You finally found someone, hm?"

"What are you babbling about?" she asked, exasperation coloring her tone.

"Well… Let's see. There was a strange male's scent all around your front door and now you come waltzing home in a man's coat!" She stepped forward to investigate, then pulled back in shock moments later.

"This is his coat! What in the seven moon goddesses are you doing wearing Taro's trenchcoat?! Oh my gods above. You went to see him, didn't you! ARE YOU NUTS??? He could have killed you or worse! I think you've permanently earned the über-twit award, my friend. What possessed you to meet with him? Gah. I can't believe you saw him again…"

"Are you done yet?" Yuki glowerd at her companion; her ire showing in every line of her body.

"Uhm… well… yeah."

"Okay." She shrugged her shoulders to rid herself of the cloak, letting the heavy fabric puddle on the floor and revealing the fresh bandage. "No! Not a word from you. You will let me explain first."

"Fine," Shina growled. "But it had better be good."

Yuki snorted.

"I was sleeping in the park when Taro came and tried to start up a conversation with me. I reminded him that I didn't like him anymore and he took it badly. NO! He didn't attack me. Now stop bristling and put your crossbow away," she commanded.

"I made him feel really shitty and he left. Then what I'd done made me feel guilty so I followed him. He was practicing his kendo, to work away his anger, I guess, and I, like the idiot I am, ended up walking into one of his swings."

"How deep…?"

"It is, and I quote, `The paper-cut from hell'."

"You are such a dork. You're lucky, you know, that he was good enough to stop. The next logical question from me is-"

"Why did he stop if he still belongs to the Institute. He doesn't. They want him dead more than they want us to be so."

"Really," Shina said suspiciously.

"So my contact told me," Yuki responded smugly.

This stopped Shina cold. She stared, mouth agape, at her younger friend, eyes wide with shock. Yuki has a contact in the Institute? Could she be was Shiso thought? Is Yuki a…

"Before you start in, let me give you the facts, okay? My adoptive parents taught me a song and said that whoever sang it to me was to be trusted implicitly. My contact is Sh'k'kri." She nodded as she saw her friend start in recognition. "He's not the one my parents knew, but he was trained by the first .

"And what was this "password song" he told you?" Shina asked shakily.

"I who am called friend, by the people of the valley mountain, bid greeting by the word of our Mother, and in the name of all called brethren," she intoned softly.

Shina let out an unsteady breath and sank to the couch. "If only you knew how long we had been searching for that man. We have reason to hope again, Yuki. We have a chance."

What was he going to do about her? You can't keep stalking her. It'll just make you seem stranger than you already do. He sighed inwardly as he stretched out on his bed, arms crossed behind his head. He stared at the ceiling, mind mulling over the events of the past few days. I need to talk with Toushin. He was always better with this sort of stuff.

But getting in contact with his life-long friend was perilous at best. He knew he'd been lucky so far to have passed undetected by the Institute's spies. He reached out blindly with one hand and grabbed the special little message receiver that he and Toushin had made and input the code that would signal his friend.

Two hours and one strangely cryptic message later Taro flopped onto his single couch. His "talk" with his friend had been less than reassuring. The strange bit of text had left his guts in a knot. He glanced again at the device, whispering the warning to the otherwise empty room.

"Warn the snow that heat is coming to melt it away. The child is needed to help maintain itself. Don't let the child be afraid, for the cold cannot last forever."

Tonight, he though to himself. I'll tell her tonight.

The scent lingering in the hallway was less than comforting. The male had gone systematically through the entire building, pausing at each door. Yuki had never before been so glad that she had started wearing that jasmine perfume; it blocked out her scent entirely. She entered her apartment slowly, senses alert for any danger. She sighed when nothing appeared amiss.

"Tadaima," she said the empty room. "Me for a shower."

She snatched a towel and wash-rag from her linen closet and started the water. She was quick, but still luxuriated in the feel of the hot water cascading down her body. She stepped out of the shower, loosely piling her hair on top of her head as she tucked the towel around herself. Her arms crossed underneath her breasts as she walked into her bedroom, keeping the towel firmly in place. She was halfway to her bed before she sensed that something wasn't right, and had reached it when she finally noticed what shouldn't be there.

"You know," the figure drawled, concern mixing with cockiness as he turned to face her, "you need to be a lot more careful."

Yuki's eyes widened in shock and angry embarrassment as she saw who it was who had invaded her room.

"Anyone from … the… institute…" he trailed off as he finally noted Yuki's state of undress. He backed up and almost fell out her open window, his face a shade of red never before seen outside of the plant kingdom. He averted his eyes, Adam's apple jumping nervously.

"What," she started with frightening patience, "are you doing here, in my room, at night, shortly after I've gotten out of the shower?"

"How was I supposed to know you wandered around your apartment in naught but a towel!" He cried plaintively.

"You shouldn't know that or be here." Yuki's brain fully switched on at that moment. "What are you still doing here?!" she shrieked, her arms falling to her sides as her hands balled into fists.

Taro looked down, then quickly looked up again, a hand covering his eyes. "You… er… really don't want to do that, you know?"

She paused, confused, then looked down to her towel slip even further. She yelped and pulled it back up, glaring daggers at the young man.

"And now, as to my earlier question?"

"I just came here to warn you to be more careful. I wanted to show you were you needed to fix things."

"And so you decided that you would do that by breaking into my apartment. Good job. Taro no BAKA!"

"Hey! The locks on your window couldn't be easier to pick AND you aren't exactly the most observant person possible, Ms. All the way to her bed before realizing I was here!"

"Thanks. Now, Mr. Ecchi, it is time for you to leave." Her voice burned with all the power of a volcano. Taro gulped.

"Just be careful, ne?" And with that he jumped out her window. Yuki rushed to the ledge and peered over, dismayed to find him nowhere in sight. She ran a hand through her hair, expression twisted in annoyance.

"Arrogant fool. And he tells me to be careful?"

She sat down on the small ledge then, one hand still holding the towel in place, her other clutching the sill, and leaned against the window frame. Taro, watching smugly from his hiding place in the shadows, was the only witness to the bemused smile that played across the young woman's lips.