Kai was almost always an exceptionally patient woman. This morning was an exception however. For the ninth day in a row, Tuskle dismissed Kai and chosen Lika to receive training. All training. Not just spiritual training, but also in exploring and games and magic. Kai herself had been sent off to gather summer notifier flowers for Lika's summoning lessons.

As Kai wandered away from Tuskle's shrine, she heard Lika giggle. Probably from the tickling hum of spiritual energy. The noise made Kai feel resentful, that Lika was always chosen over her. Lika was always the favorite. Lika had already received ten proposals of marriage even though she was only fourteen. It seemed that nobody thought of Kai as a possible lifetime companion.

When Kai arrived at the foot of the hill, she decided that she would not find the summer notifier flowers for Lika. Instead, she would take the day off. For once, Kai would enjoy herself. Already the day seemed planned.

Quickly transforming into a wolf she ran through the town and out into the cold, desolate tundra of Kamui. Before Amaterasu had arrived, Kamui was so big that it swallowed up the whole world. Now it was just a pint-sized wasteland. Kai's only real comfort came from Yoshphet, the consuming forest was not really endless but Kai was the only one aware of it. She had mapped out the entire forest years ago and could never get lost in it. Blindfolded Kai could dodge trees, jump boulders, and destroy monsters.

So she stepped into the entry of the forest. Totally safe. No one could ever find her here, no one ever visited here. The trees sucked up all the wind, and there was no sound. It was so peaceful and then- "what are you doing here?"

Kai shrieked and turned around completely. The voice had come from Oki, also in his wolf form. She had expected him to look stoic and poised as always, but rather he looked disheveled. "Are you lost?" Kai asked Oki quietly.

"No. Now answer my question." He still seemed out of it.

"I decided to go for a walk." She tried to keep eye contact but Oki was looking around frantically. For once, Kai felt stronger than Oki. He was lost and she knew where the exit was. Kai shifted back to her human form and was about to wander away when she took pity on him. She liked Oki, she really did, but he was always angry with her... Kai wondered how his face would look if she suddenly bolted and left him stranded in the forest, which would consume her scent and leave Oki lost and alone. But she did not want him to die. She did not want him to suffer. So Kai asked him to stand up, and he did.

Back in his human shape Oki was much more put together, he was more muscular. But Kai grabbed his hand and began to lead him back to the entrance. "Why aren't you with Tuskle and your sister?" Oki asked.

"They have no need for me, so I took the day off." Now Kai was sure he had been lost, because he would not be acting so gentle with his questions if he didn't need her help. "What brings you to Inner Yoshphet?"

Oki looked uncomfortable, and his hand tensed quite a bit. He walked alongside her silently. The moment the pair reached Kamui Oki breathed very deeply. It was already nighttime, and the animals had crept away until the chilly, not freezing, morning light. Kai turned to go back to town, but stopped. She got scared. Kai had only gotten Tuskle mad once, and that was when she had forgotten a basket of gigantic leaf paper in the fields overnight and it was ruined from the snow and rain.

Tuskle's magic aura had become overwhelming and she had shaken Kai around the room with it. Then the aura became two demon birds, Kuro and Dorei, to watch Kai as she collected two baskets of leaves. Every time she sat down to rest the birds would move closer, until finally they pecked at her skin. Kuro' s pecks left gigantic bruises while Dorei left lashes.

The bottom line was that Tuskle's anger was painful. And Kai did not want to experience it again. But she was so panicked she could not think of where to go. Then she paused. Of course! Oki owed her so Kai could go home with him, spend the night and return to Tuskle and Lika in the morning, after collecting the flowers.

Leaping through the snow, Kai bounded next to Oki and turned to her wolf form, enjoying the warm fur. Oki realized what was happening and he did not like it. At all. "Go home."

But Kai kept following him home. She paced next to him as he moved faster and faster, trying to get away from her, "it doesn't matter, I know where you live," Kai said.

"Stalker." And then Oki had a burst of speed, streching his human legs as far as they could go and then shifting into wolf form and mving on the bounce. But Kai was the fastest Oina, and she easily caught up to him and kept his pace until he could find no more.

Oki gave up and returned to a walk, panting slightly. But he gave in. When they reached his house on the border of Kamui, he held the door open for her. Gentlewolf-like. Kai had expected his home to been emptier, but it was piled with things. In the middle of the room was a warm, but hazardous, spitfire. The walls were heaped with baskets, probably full of fish and herbs, though Okami knows that he would not be able to properly use them. A pile of furs were spread on a corner, and Kai assumed that they were his bed. It actually looked pretty comfy. Swords, axes, lances, and daggers were hung as trophies above windows and the door, and strewn across the room. But it was homey.

Oki filled a pot was fish and water and put it on the stove, no added herbs or anything. As Kai expected, it was disgusting and bland, and Kai wished that she could at least add some salt. After dinner, Oki walked to a heap of rags, his clothing, and prepared to take his off and put on a nightshirt. But he remembered that Kai was watching, "hey, could you turn around."

Kai blushed furiously under her mask and quickly turned away, "okay, look back now," and then a big shirt was thrown at her head. She stared at him, not knowing exactly what he wanted her to do with them. "You wear them. Like a night-clothing-thing." Taking a deep breath, "unless you want to sleep in you clothes."

"Oh!" Kai gulped, one thing she had never done was change clothes for in front of a man. She shed her large jacket, exposing her pale arms, and was just about to unbutton the third button of her dress when she realized that Oki was staring at her. And not just staring, gawking. The blush under her mask spread all over and she tried to cover herself with her coat. While she changed she kept one arm holding the coat as a shield, though she did drop it at one point, luckily still wearing her undersuit. The black undershorts and undershirt were not what you would march around town in, but certainly not scant. Though it did still make her embaressed.

By the time Kai was finished Oki was lying down on his bed, covered in blankets. Still watching her, but sleepily. Kai moved to a nice corner of the room, cleared out a little space, and tried to sleep. She covered herself with the coat, and turned in many positions, and finally fell asleep.