The rain outside set an eerie mood. The inn keepers kept looking out the window, and then back at each other. My attempts at conversation were ignored.

"Fine night for the horseman to be riding." I looked over at the man who had spoken.

"The Horse man?" He smiled, but it was a cruel one.

"You don't know of him? You'll get yourself killed like that." The inn keepers and other guests nodded and murmured their agreement.

"Please, tell me about the Horse man." The man sighed and said "Alright, but well make this quick, got it?" I nodded, too afraid to speak. The man got up and bought himself a glass of ale and sat down by the crackling fire.

"You see, the Horse man is a bit of a legend around here, riding around on stormy nights, snatching people out of their beds and running off. He comes every night around midnight and if the weather allows him to, he grabs whatever he can."

"You mean, he steals people away?!" I must have looked horrified, because everyone else suddenly went pale.

"Don't worry kid; the Horse man isn't even real, just an old wives tale."

"That's not exactly true, old man." I whirled around and came face to face, well, more like face to shoulder, with Kanda.

"What do you mean? He's real?" I wondered what else Kanda knew and wasn't telling me.

"He's very real, and out to get us." Everyone in the room gasped.

"That can't be true!" We all looked at the man in the corner of the room.

"Oh? And why is that?" Kanda seemed angry that this man was implying that he was lying. The man sighed.

"My wife and children have disappeared, and everyone says it's the Horse man's doing, and if that's true…" The man choked up, and I suddenly felt sorry for him.

"If that's true… They're already dead." The man began to cry, and I was about to run over to him and comfort him when Kanda put a hand on my shoulder.

"Let's go. Get your brother and meet me outside, we can't afford to waste anymore time than we already have." I nodded and ran to the back of the room where my brother sat eating.

"Hey Allen, let's go. Kanda's waiting." He stood up, thanked the inn keepers for the meal and grabbed his suitcase and turned to me.

"All set, we need to find the innocence before the akuma do." I nodded and we left after paying for the food and rooms. I wondered when we'd be back to this village.