Hello everyone. Well, it's been quite a while since I finished up with Another and gave promise of a sequel. That was back in the beginning of March. My original intentions were to begin work on the sequel to it, Reunion, and post it soon afterwards. Instead, I decided to finish up another story of mine, Minutes to Midnight, and try to finish it off first. It ran over on time I thought it would take, thus pushing the publish date of this story farther and farther back, plus work on it has not been tremendously great either. Still, I did find time to work on it some, so here we are.

I will be honest about this story. It won't be nearly as long as Another was. No, I'd say it'll only last 10-15 chapters, maybe less, but I'm not 100% sure on that one. As for how often I'll be posting, well, that's kind of up in the air at the moment due that I'm rather busy at work and home. For the time being, I will update every 2 weeks. I know, that's not much, but it's the best I can do for now and most likely be consistent.

At any rate, I'll stop jabbering on. I look forward to hearing from those who have read Another, plus I look forward to those first time readers also. I hope to read everyone's thoughts and comments on this story in the reviews. Till then, enjoy!

Chapter 1

Staring down at a small village that was a mile away, a young woman wearing a dark blue kimono top and battle skirt that reached her knees in length, with pink sakura flowers embroidered into it, a pink obi with a sword in a pink sheath and a pink braided lace hilt, and slits cut out in the skirt that went up to her hips, sniffed the air and slid her emerald colored eyes shut. On her head, two black cat ears swiveled, with a black fur covered tail behind her body swishing in the air. The young woman's hair fell to her butt in length and had a bit of a red coloring in her bangs and the top of her head, but the remainder of her hair was jet black. Her hands hung freely in the air, revealing sharp clawed fingers.

Reopening her eyes, she slightly smiled, revealing fanged teeth. In a soft whisper, she said "It still smells the same, even after all this time."

"Most scents you memorized over the years do." a voice behind her spoke up.

Glancing over her shoulder, the young woman spotted a young man wearing a black kimono top and pants, with intricate red hexagon patters etched into the silky material of his clothing, a simple green obi with a sword that had a black sheath and green braided hilt, and black boots on his feet. He had long black hair that reached his butt in length, but was pulled back into a ponytail, held tight by a purple ribbon. Upon the head of the young man was a pair of black dog ears, and his hands were clawed like the young woman.

Folding his arms over his chest, the young man mumbled "I don't think this is a good idea, Lilly."

"We've been over this, Iya." Lilly sharply remarked.

Growling lightly at his mate, the dog hanyou firmly replied "Lilly, if we go through with this, I can't promise I will be able to protect you."

"I'm not worried. The people of this village won't harm us, I know it."

Turning to face her mate, the neko hanyou added in a sly tone "Besides, I can protect myself. At any rate, I'm better equipped to protect the two of us anyways when we lose our powers."

"Regardless, I think this is a bad idea. Can't you sense those two auras in the village?"

"What auras?"

Releasing a small sigh, the male hanyou replied "The two holy auras. One belongs to a priest, and a powerful one at that, and the other to a low level priest. I'm not sure if we can handle the stronger one should a confrontation break out. I have no intentions of provoking either, but still, I don't think we should go in. We wouldn't want to draw their attention."

Turning around to look back over the cliff, the neko murmured "I'm not worried."

"Lilly…" Iya ground out. "This is serious! You could be placing both of us in danger, and I can't guarantee that I can save the two of us."

Not receiving a response, the dog hanyou growled lowly and stalked away from the neko hanyou, leaving her to her thoughts. Looking over the village, she sadly smiled.

"It's completely the same, with the exception of that defensive wall being built around the outside of the village."

Eyeing the scenery, the neko hanyou noted that in the village, a pier jutted out into the small stream that ran by the village, with two canoes tied to the pier. Freshly built huts appeared to have families already living within them, and the fields were seemingly ready to be plowed up for the spring planting season.

"Yeah, same old boring village." the neko murmured in her mind. "During the years that Naraku lived, he and his incarnations never came to my home. That helped us also protect against bandits and armies. Only an occasional demon came in, and even then, it was such a low level demon that the men of the village could take care of it. It seems as though time itself hasn't touched this place. It wasn't until he came to the village that things changed…"

Sliding her eyelids shut, the neko could feel her mind replaying the day that things had changed for the small village, and had changed her own life.

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It was a beautiful sunny afternoon in the village. All of the villagers were hard at work with whatever responsibilities or chores that they had to keep the village moving forward. While everyone was working, a black robed figure with long red hair sauntered through the village, but none paid him any real heed, for many people often drifted through.

Placing a kimono onto a pole to dry, a young woman with mid-back length black hair with light blue eyes, wearing a purple kimono with yellow butterflies embroidered into it, slightly smiled while humming a quiet tune. Looking up, she saw the black robed stranger, but paid no heed to him, knowing how strangers would just go through the village from time to time.

Nearly ten minutes passed before the young woman heard a loud scream, along with a set of explosions. Seeing smoke raising into the air from within the village, the young woman ran towards where she had heard the blasts.

As she ran past one hut, someone grabbed her from behind with one arm around her waist, pinning her arms down and the other over her mouth. She struggled against the arms until a voice hissed "It's me, quite fighting."

Relaxing, she realized who the person was behind her. Carefully, the person pulled her into the hut she had just passed by and released her. Turning around, she looked to find a young man with short black hair with his bangs covering part of his face and dark coal eyes. He wore a gray long sleeved kimono top with a pair of gray pants. Staring at her cousin, the young woman whispered "Sai…"

"Lilly, you idiot what were you doing run up like that!? There is a demon attacking the village!" Sai hissed at her with his dark eyes darting about under his messed up black hair.

Irritated and angered by her cousin's tone, Lilly hissed back "What are you doing hiding?"

"What your father told me to do! The demon said that he all he wanted was a girl of marrying age from the village and he would leave. Uncle Tarja told me to find you and hide. I think he is going to tell it that there is no one here like that." the young man replied before sneaking a peak out the doorway.

In the distance, the pair heard a male voice say "I have been watching this village for some time, that I have. I know you are lying, that you are."

Using a louder tone, the male voice coolly said "Young lady, for every minute you hide, I will kill another one of these people and burn another hut. Do you really want this village destroyed because of your unwillingness to come out of hiding?"

Glancing at his cousin, the young man saw tears starting to spill down her face. In a warning tone, he grit out "Lilly…"

"I have to, Sai." Lilly quietly said.

Swallowing the lump forming in her throat, she softly added "Tell Momma and Poppa I love them."

Wiping the tears away from her eyes with the sleeve of her kimono, the young woman weakly smiled at her cousin, who stood still with clenched hands. Seeing him twitch slightly, the young woman reasoned he was about to grab hold of her once more, but saw he made no movement.

"Lilly, thank you." Sai whispered.

Nodding, Lilly held her head high as she walked out of the building and towards what was most certainly her death. Her breath caught in her throat as she walked onto the path down the center of the village. The smell of blood, wood and flesh burning was thick in the air. Several bodies were scattered about, some being smoldering skeletons and others people she had known with slash marks on their bodies, but that wasn't the main source of her woes.

The red haired man she had seen earlier was now holding her father off the ground by his throat and was slowly raising his sword up to plunge it into her father. Without thinking, Lilly screamed out "Put him down!"

"Oh, so you showed yourself. Good girl." the red haired man said with a smile while he dropped her father to the ground unceremoniously.

"Poppa!" she screamed while running over to the heavily panting form of her father that was laying on the ground. Reaching him, she hit her knees and gently, she raised his head into her lap and surveyed the damage. There was what looked like a hand print burnt into her father's neck, but his was breathing, causing her to sigh in relief.

In a soft, purring voice, the red haired man coolly said "Well stand up. I want a good look at you, that I do."

Lowering her father's head back down onto the ground, Lilly slowly got to her feet. In a nervous voice and without looking at the demon, she said "I'll go with you, now leave everyone alone."

Stepping over her father, the red headed man took a hold of the young woman's hand and walked her to the village square, out of sight of her father. "Sit with me." the demon softly commanded while sitting down on the ground. With no choice, the young woman was pulled down to the ground with the demon.

"I am Kenshin Himora, of The Thirteen, that I am. What is your name?" Kenshin purred, with almost what seemed like kindness in his voice.

Quietly, the young woman replied "Lilly Takashi, daughter of Headman Tarja and Miralla. What are you going to do to me?"

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you, that I won't." Kenshin said in a calm voice.

Looking at the red haired demon, the young woman saw that he had violet colored eyes, while most of his features were hidden by his robes. Without warning, she heard him start speaking in a language that she had never heard before. Listening to it, she tried to comprehend what he was saying, but suddenly felt her mind beginning to go lax. Without warning, she fell over onto the ground.

Before the darkness of sleep took over, she heard someone yell "HOLD IT RIGHT THERE KENSHIN."

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Opening her emerald eyes slowly, Lilly stared down at the small village once more. The wind gently picked up and blew her hair into the air, causing it to float around her body while her clothing rustled. Swiveling her ears, she heard the sound of someone approaching, and quickly deduced it was her mate from the sound of his footsteps and his scent of cinnamon and woods.

Stopping five feet behind her, Iya softly spoke up, saying "You should really get away from that cliff. Someone may see you."

Nodding slightly, the neko hanyou sighed and slowly stepped away from where she had been standing and moved back to before at her mate. Seeing curiosity in his eyes, the neko smiled slightly and reached up and gently pecked him on the cheek.

Pulling back, she walked a short distance to a nearby tree and stopped underneath of it. Leaning up against it, the female hanyou sighed once more before looking at her mate.

"Lilly, I don't like this."

Releasing a heavy sigh, the neko slowly looked into her mate's muddy brown eyes. Finding worry and concern filling them, Lilly pushed off from the tree and walked up to her mate. Reaching out, she cupped his cheek and softly caressed it.

"We've been through this already, Iya. I trust my family. No harm will come to us."

Reaching up and grabbing her wrist, Iya firmly replied "It's not them I'm worried about."

Releasing her hand and turning away, the dog hanyou took a few steps before coming to a stop. "It's the two priests I sense within the village that worries me. If either of us release the suppression of our swords demonic auras, they'll know immediately that we're in the village. Even with your family being the head family, the stronger of the two priests may attack us. And should he, I'm not entirely sure I can stop him from harming not only you and me, but others who may get caught in the crossfire."

Eyes widening a fraction as realization dawned on the neko hanyou, she looked downwards for a moment before finally lifting her head, saying "I still want to go. My family has a right to know what became of me."

"Lilly…" Iya ground out while clenching his hands tightly into fists. Looking over his shoulder at his mate, the dog hanyou said in a clipped tone "Your family will not understand. The last time you saw them, they thought you were a demon posing as their daughter. If you go back, they may do the same thing, or worse."

Turning around and moving before his mate and pulling her into a tight embrace, which shocked the neko hanyou, the dog hanyou added in a faint whisper "I don't want to see you suffer through something like that. Watching your parents say they didn't know you one time was bad enough, but to have to watch you do it again would be heartbreaking, and I don't want to see that kind of sadness in your eyes again."

"Iya…" the neko whispered while relaxing into the hanyou's embrace. Feeling her eyes mist, she pulled back and kissed the cheek of her mate, softly saying "I understand how you feel, but I feel I need to do this. They deserve to know what really happened to their daughter."

Releasing a heavy sigh, the dog hanyou stepped back and quietly said "I understand."

Weakly smiling, Lilly pecked her mate on the cheek and softly replied "Thank you for this. You know I love you with all of my heart, right?"

"I could never question that." the male hanyou remarked. "Nor should you ever fear that my love would waver for you. I will always love you."

Moving forward and kissing his mate, the dog hanyou felt her loop her arms around his neck while he deepened the kiss. It was slow at first, but he slowly poured out more and more passion into it. The pair soon came up for air, with both resting their foreheads against the others.

"We should get moving soon." Iya mumbled. "Sunset is approaching."

Nodding gently, the neko pulled back to look into her mate's eyes. Muddy brown met emerald, with the pair seemingly getting lost in each other's eyes. Finally, the pair separated, with the dog hanyou reaching out and lacing his hand with his mates. Together, the pair began walking towards the road that led to the village.

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Just under a quarter of a mile away, the neko and dog hanyous sat in the shadows of the large trees that were next to the road. Both had their senses at high alert and were concentrating on keeping both their demonic auras, along with their swords, suppressed.

"He makes it seem so easy." Lilly grumbled within her mind while continuing to concentrate heavily on hiding her demonic aura, along with the aura of her sword that sat on her hip.

Glancing up at the sky, the dog hanyou saw the sun finally setting and felt his body pulsate at once. Casting a glance over at his mate, he saw her wince when another pulsation hit her. Reaching out, he took hold of her hand, causing her to grip it tightly.

Slowly, the pair of hanyou's forms began changing. Both hanyous' ears slowly sucked back into their head while human ears sprouted out to the side. At the same time, their claws and fangs shrunk back and became blunt fingernails and normal human teeth. The pair of stripes on the male hanyou's cheeks faded away, while his muddy brown eyes changed to a dark brown color. Simultaneously, the female hanyou's emerald eyes slowly became a light blue color.

Slightly panting, the former female hanyou, who was now a young human woman, released her mate's hand and grunted out "I'll never get used to that."

"It gets easier over time." the young man commented with a small smile.

Folding her arms over her chest, Lilly turned her head to the side and stuck her nose up in the air, causing Iya to only chuckle at his mate's actions. Reaching out, he caressed her cheek gently and said "At least you managed to keep the aura of Kimi hidden while transforming."

Releasing a light sigh, the young woman relaxed into her mate's touch and mumbled "I guess I did. You had no trouble at all, if I had to guess."

"It's not easy for me either." the young man curtly replied. "Suppressing my own aura while it's fading isn't so bad, but suppressing Ketsaiga at the same time is not so simple. It takes skill to do so, and you apparently have the skill to do so also seeing how I can't sense Kimi."

"I guess…" the young woman mumbled.

Slightly smiling at his mate, the young man reached forward and wrapped her in a warm embrace. Moving his head so that he was only an inch away from his mate's ear, he quietly whispered into her ear "I'm proud of you."

Eyes widening a fraction, the young woman couldn't help but allow a small smile to grace her face. Seeing her mate pull back, she stared into his dark brown eyes for a moment before reaching forward and placing a kiss onto his lips. Immediately, the young man deepened the kiss and felt his mate still smiling while she looped her arms around his neck, pulling the two closer together.

Coming up for air at last, the pair stared into one another's eyes while panting lightly. Looking his mate's face over, Iya couldn't help but feel the happiness, but also apprehension, radiating from his mate's body.

"She's a bit scared about this like I am. I can't blame her too much. To go see the very people that rejected her due to what she had become would be hard. I only pray, Kami, that you get them to accept her for what she is."

Separating from one another, the young man walked over to where a felled log sat and took a seat upon it. Immediately, the young woman joined him. The two looked up at the sky, finding the full moon was already climbing higher into the sky while stars sparkled about.

Leaning her head onto the shoulder of her mate, the young woman closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, trying her best to pull the scent of her mate in. Noting what she was doing, the young man couldn't help but mentally chuckle.

"Even when human, she loves my scent. I can't blame her though, for I do the same thing."

Laying his head upon his mate, the young man picked up the light scent of raspberries emanating from his mate. Inhaling her scent, he felt the worry in his mind slowly slipping away, but quickly pushed the calming effect to the back of his mind.

Taking his head off of his mate's, he glanced up at the sky and mentally chided himself for relaxing. "I can't let my guard down, not tonight. Who knows what may happen tonight. I can only remain vigilant and hope that nothing goes wrong and that when morning comes, we can escape before the priests notice."

"How long do we have to wait?"

Broken out of his thoughts, the young man looked down at his mate and saw she was still laying on his shoulder. Softly smiling, he quietly replied "We should wait an hour. That will give us time to move in without too much commotion."

"Alright…"

Kissing the top of his mate's head, the young man softly smiled before returning his attention to the nighttime sky.

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Walking in silence, the pair of black haired humans reached the entrance to the village, only to find two guards at the front of it. Seeing them both, the young man eyed both before casting a small glance at his mate.

In a low whisper, Iya asked "Do you recognize either of them?"

Eyeing both men, the young woman looked over their features. They were dressed in simple clothing that a farmer would wear and each was wielding a spear. The first was a young man who looked to be in his twenties and had short black hair and appeared to be in great shape, while the other was a middle aged man that had gray hair bound in a short ponytail and a bit of a pudgy belly.

"No, they look new to the village." Lilly quietly responded.

Giving a slight nod, the young man continued to lead his mate towards the entrance of the village, only to have the two guards snap to attention and raise their weapons towards the pair.

"Halt, state your name and business here!" the younger of the guards barked.

Calmly, Iya held out his hands in a non-threatening way, saying "My name is Iya, and this is my wife, Lilly. We are traveling and wish to find a place to rest for the night."

"I don't trust him, Bunta." the young man growled out. "They're both armed, meaning they could be trouble!"

Placing a hand onto his young partner's shoulder, Bunta evenly replied "You're on overreacting, Jin. Remember the last time you did this and dragged those two guys to Headman Tarja's home, claiming they were spies and how Tarja was infuriated at you for wasting his time over interrogating a pair of tea sellers?"

Jin immediately shivered at the memory of the anger on the Headman's face over the incident and slowly lowered his weapon. "Alright, we'll do things your way, this time, Bunta."

"Good." Bunta remarked. Turning to the young couple, he smiled, saying "We unfortunately do not have an inn within the village. There are plans to build one, but we've yet to have it constructed. I suggest going to Headman Tarja's home. It's near the center of the village. It is off by itself a bit, so you shouldn't miss it. It's the larger of the huts in that area."

Nodding in reply, Iya smoothly calmly said "Thank you. We shall go see him then. Good night."

Bowing lightly, the young man saw his mate do the same and the pair walked away. Getting out of hearing range, the young woman looked at her mate and asked "Why did you lie?"

"I did not lie." the young man quickly replied. "I simply told the truth. We are traveling and need a place to stay. I knew they would direct us to the headman of the village since you told me before that there was no inn."

Digesting her mate's words, Lilly nodded slightly, but countered with "But you said we were married. We're not officially, in a human sense."

"To demons, we are married." Iya corrected. "More or less, we are married due that we are mated. It's just a difference in ceremonies and what humans consider proof of a marriage. They prefer paperwork and an extravagant ceremony, while demons simply mark the person they mate with."

"I suppose." the young woman commented.

Noting his mate seemed to grow silent, the young man decided to ignore it for the moment due that he was reaching out with his senses. He could feel the aura of the pair of priests in the distance, making him inwardly smile.

"Good, they're busy patrolling the village. That means we won't be disturbed, for now. Now we just have to avoid as many guards and people as possible till we reach her parents home."

Reaching out and taking hold of his mate's hand, the young black haired man began to move quickly towards the shadows. Using his diminished hearing, he found that there was a guard or two on patrol throughout the village in various sections. Carefully, the pair began weaving through the huts while keeping in the shadows and out of sight of the guards.

After nearly fifteen minutes of hiding and moving through the shadows, the pair at last was before the hut that belonged to the village headman. Staring at it, the young woman couldn't help but feel nostalgic. Memories of her childhood immediately began running through her mind.

Noting the dreamy look on his mate's face, the young man scowled slightly and gently touched her shoulder, saying "Lilly, we can't stay out in the open."

Waking from her memories, the young woman looked over at her mate and slightly nodded. "I guess you're right. I hope seeing me again isn't too much of a shock to them."

"We'll never know unless you go ahead."

Squeezing her mate's hand, Lilly moved out of the shadows and to before the door of the hut that she once called home. Hesitating for a moment, the young woman finally rapped upon the door gently. A few moments passed before a woman with mid-back length jet black hair and light blue eyes, wearing a dark purple kimono with a pink obi sash appeared at the door.

"Yes, may I …"

Stopping in mid-sentence, the woman's eyes widened and her jaw opened as tears began to well up in her eyes. In a faint whisper, she said "Lilly… Is this another dream? If I touch you, will you just vanish again?"

With tears spilling out of her own eyes, Lilly smiled and reached forward, embracing the woman gently, saying "It's really me, Momma. I'm home."

Immediately, the older woman broke down into sobs and embraced her daughter tightly, afraid if she let go the young woman would vanish once more. Finally quieting, the pair separated, with the elder woman staring into her daughter's light blue eyes.

"Come on, your father will want to see you."

Nodding, the young woman followed her mother, leaving her mate behind. Waiting for a moment before releasing a heavy sigh, Iya grumbled within his mind "Damn it, she lost her concentration. I can tell that the two priests have already picked up on Kimi's faint aura. They'll be here in no time, I'm sure."

Releasing another heavy sigh, the young man went into the hut. Walking in, he saw a man with black hair that was bound in a ponytail and appeared to reach his neck in length, an imprint of a hand burned into his neck, a lean muscular build, and black coal eyes, embracing his mate.

"Lilly, my daughter, you've finally come back to us. Thank Kami!"

"I just knew you weren't dead. I just knew it. Our prayers have been answered, Tarja." the elder woman declared.

Responding with a nod to his wife, Tarja warmly replied "Yes, he most certainly has, Miralla."

Clearing his throat, Iya found himself quickly becoming the center of attention, with the man and woman looking at him while releasing their daughter.

"Who are you, and what business do you have here?" Tarja questioned.

Reaching up and touching her father's shoulder, Lilly calmly said "Poppa, this is Iya Taisho. He is the one that escorted me home and has been protecting me for quite a while."

Studying the young man for a few moments, Tarja finally remarked "I thank you for keeping my daughter safe and bringing her home to us."

"It was my pleasure." Iya smoothly replied.

Returning his attention to his daughter, the older man asked "Lilly, what happened to you that day the demon attacked? We saw another two demons come into the village, seemingly forcing the first one to leave, but one of them picked you up and took you with them. A day later, another demon, a female one, came here and tried to pass itself off as you. We knew it was a lie and tried to kill her, but the same demon from the day before that had whisked you away took her away also."

"And where have you been since then?" Miralla asked.

Remaining quiet for a moment, Lilly slowly replied "The day the village was attacked by Kenshin Himura, I was saved by those two men. They were Iya over there and his partner, Ichigo Kurosaki."

Glancing at the young man, who stood quietly leaned up against the far wall with his eyes slid shut, the elder man frowned, saying "Lilly, he isn't a demon. You're mistaken."

Shaking her head, the young woman fiercely countered with "You're wrong, Poppa. Iya is the one who took me with him and Ichigo. During the night, the effects of Kenshin's spell took root, transforming me into a neko hanyou. I didn't wake up till the next day."

Feeling tears beginning to well up in her eyes, Lilly pushed them back and pressed onwards, saying "When I woke up, I saw Iya and was afraid, so I ran back to the village. I tried to get Momma and you to realize it was me, your daughter, but you both said that I wasn't your daughter, that I was a demon that killed your daughter."

"Lilly, hunny, that isn't possible. Just look at you, you are a human, not some demon." Miralla warmly said while attempting to embrace her daughter, only to have her push away.

"Momma, I really am a hanyou!"

Looking her daughter over, the elder woman shook her head, saying "No, Lilly, you are human."

"Lilly, listen to your mother. You are a human girl, not some animal." Tarja added.

"I told you they wouldn't believe a word you said." Iya spoke up, causing the three to look to him. Pushing off from the wall, he opened his eyes and calmly said "I guess since we're about to have company, I have but no choice but to prove your story true."

Turning towards the main doorway, the young man drew his sword out of it's sheath deliberately slowly. Holding it before his body, he called forth the sword's power, causing it to flare to life and transform into a large silver halberd with a black ring of fur guard.

Seeing the sword, Tarja began to speak, only to be stopped by the door suddenly being blast off of it's hinges. Rushing in quickly behind the door and taking up stances for an attack just inside of the doorway were two young men clad in white. The first had black, almost blue, hair that hung to his lower neck in length, with long bangs in front, a pair of glasses on his nose, dark blue eyes, and a slender but muscular build. His clothing consisted of white pants, a white tunic that had two long trailing pieces, one in front and one in back with each having a split that ran halfway up, a belt with what looked like six handle like objects seated within it, a short white cape that reached below his shoulder blades in length, and a single white glove on his right hand that had blue lines running along each finger. Attached to his right wrist was a black bow with white covering a portion of it in four intricate lines, and the string to the inside. The bow was gripped tightly within his hand, while a glowing light blue energy arrow sat notched within it.

Next to the first young man was another young man that had short black hair with his bangs covering part of his face and dark coal eyes. He wore a gray long sleeved kimono top with a pair of gray pants. In his left hand was a glowing light blue energy bow that had an energy arrow notched within it.

"Move and I'll fire!" the young man with glasses declared.