Above the Yuya Forest, the moon is half. In its dim light, three young women surround the warmth of the autumn-colored flames from the campfire. The brown-haired woman, Yori Nakamura, stars pensively and deeply into the fire while scratching her pet bat behind the ear. The bat hangs from her finger. The other two discuss the main event of the day. Sometime after noon the same day, a large white beam, that only Yori could see, revealed itself. Yori described the white beam as marble-colored pillar, but of some kind of magic. The pillar of marble light had a light blue tint to it.
"Do you think it's her?" Seiko Hayashi demands of her companion, Atsuko Tanaka. At Seiko's side is a golden brown eagle with a yellow beak that fades to black at the tip. At this time, the eagle is asleep on the perch Seiko made for him.
"Well, of course," Atsuko laughs. "It's not everyday Yori sees a white beam shooting off into the heavens. It's about time the silly thing showed itself. We've been waiting for four years now." A glossy yellow snake winds around her arm and shoulder, wide-awake. Atsuko strokes her calmly as she slithers around, watching the forest alertly.
Seiko tilts her head down to think, her shining silver hair falling into her ocher- brown eyes. "What does this mean, Atsuko?"
"It's simple, Seiko," Atsuko smiles, her pastel blonde hair brushing the side of her pale cheek and part of her snake's body. "We go find her."
"And then what? What happens?" Seiko asks.
"Well," Atsuko sighs, standing to ready herself for bed, "from what I've read and heard, it'll call the Spirits from the other worlds and we will have to fight against them." The snake remains balanced on Atsuko's shoulders.
Yori isn't content with her answer. "I do not want to fight anyone if I do not have to. Must we meet her? If we do not, the Spirits from the other worlds will not awaken and then we will not have to fight."
Atsuko shakes her head. "You don't understand, Yori. We have to fight. It's the only reason we exist. If we don't fight, the human race will disappear because the Spirits will suck the life from them. They are already awake, some of them. We were sent here to protect the humans."
Yori and Seiko are silent. Yori tries thinking of a way to beat the system, to not have to fight the demons and Spirits. She fails at every turn. Still, she does not accept they will have to kill and destroy the Spirits, no matter how nasty they could be. Seiko, on the other hand, is ready to fight at any second and rather excited about the whole idea.
"We aren't human anymore. We're angels, sent by the Gods. Our own Spirits have changed into a more powerful being, more powerful than any human could ever be." Atsuko holds her hand to her chest, her blonde hair tumbling over her shoulder like a gorgeous waterfall. "As a group of three, we are weak. The fourth piece will complete us and we will be able to take on anything." Atsuko continues, "Tomorrow, we rise early and search for the fourth piece. Now, let's get ready for bed. What a long day we have for us tomorrow." She places her snake in a small cushioned barrel and she coils up. Yori tosses her bat into the air to let her feed on the bugs flying around the fire. Seiko places her eagle into a homemade cage that is only meant for traveling. The eagle doesn't like the cage, but he sits in it anyway because he knows that Seiko wants him in it.
Finally, the fire is left, burning itself out, as the three rest their heads on cloth bags of grass and keep their bodies warm with cowhide blankets.