She walked along the sea coast. Staring down at the only clear blue body of water left in the Demon World; a sea that bordered around most of the desert and forested lands.

The Merpeople lived there, under the surface and deep within the shadowy depths. That was once her. That was once her life. She was one of them, a long, long time ago. But after one small mess, she was banned forever from the sea she loved.

Her bare feet touched the sandy shore, grains pushing between her toes. She stared disgustedly at it yet did nothing to cleanse them. Even a touch of the water would give the merpeople reason to kill her.

"I can't risk that," she thought.

Turning her back on it, she began to walk the way she came. The portal would've closed by now, but everyone would still notice she was gone sooner or later.

She walked continuously without shoes, finding them difficult to find under the dark trees of the Demon Forest and the rain that pelted non-stop. She hated the land. And she didn't even remember why she chose to be banned from the sea.

The land was always dark and cold. The sky always angry with bitterness it couldn't repress. The demons were rude and obnoxious, not caring whether their kind lived or died. Savages, which was what they were. The trees were always gloomy and the flowers always withered as soon as they grew. The fruit were never edible, only causing mental anguish to come from its luscious taste.

The land always forced her to wear those wretched shoes, and wear clothing that restricted movement. She couldn't swim as well with the two legs she was forced with and she couldn't hold her breath as long as she once could.

Her water powers were still as strong, one of the few, along with her eyes, that remained a reminder of what she once was.

Everything on the land was a mess, but even the water had its flaws, though fewer than the land-dwellers'.

Living under the sea was dark and cold, yet it was a comforting feeling, rather than the land's which remained forever fearsome. The sky would become angry yet it held no bitterness towards our kind, nor did it ever harm any one of our dwellings.

The sea bed corals were colourful and clean, housing the thousands of fishes that roamed the sea. The food was the only thing edible in the Makai and it always tasted like paradise in your mouth.

They never needed the shoes nor the clothes. Using only a tail to propel her like a jet in the water and gills to allow her life, she would travel the open sea towards one end and back.

And everyone. Everyone was civil to everyone. Not like there. Not like on land. She stopped walking and looked up at the thunderous sky, squinting her eyes to let less water inside.

"Why did I choose to stay here?" she asked it, whispering over the loud booms and bellows.

The sky did not answer her but she never expected it would. Her head was brought down and she sat, shivering, on a large rock. As she sat there for an hour, in the distance came the voice.

"Trepe!" it called out to her, trying to here over the sounding thunder.

Trepe looked up and stared into the forest depths before her. As she stared into the eternal blackness, she remembered her grandmother once saying, 'The land dwellers are forbidden in our city. They are tainted and horrible creatures that deserve nothing of what we have. Your aunt was a fool for falling for one and I hope that the same fate will not befall you or your sisters!'

The sounds of running feet came closer and closer, until the black blur was right in front of where she sat. "There you are," he said, slowing down to a walk.

Trepe looked up at him, into his bright red eyes. His gravity-defying hair that seemed never to fall even when wet. His clothes clung onto his body as he got soaked by the pouring rain.

"What are you still doing here, stupid girl?" he asked her, "everyone had been looking for you for two hours already!" He sounded angry, but to Trepe there was a secret undertone which only she grew to understand.

"S-s-sorry, H-h-h-hiei," she said, smiling as he came close. "Stupid girl. Why are you still here?" he asked, pulling his cloak around her shivering shoulders.

He picked her up and held her in his arms, carrying her back to the portal from whence he came. "You haven't answered my question," he said, looking down at her.

She smiled up at him and said, "I was trying to remember why I chose to be banned from the sea."

He raised an eyebrow at her and a smirk tugged at his lips. They said nothing anymore as he ran to the portal.

She, in his arms, just stared ahead into the darkness. As the thought ran through her head again, she looked back up at his eyes. And as their eyes briefly met, she remembered why she stayed.