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Chapter Two

"Ayano, wake up. It's time to leave." Ren shook his older cousin. He knew it was almost impossible to wake Ayano from sleep. She was sprawled across the bed with her arms and legs all askew. With another shake, Ayano stirred yawning loudly.

"Oh, Ren. What are you doing here?" Ayano asked rubbing her bleary eyes. She sat up in bed and gazed around in confusion. "Where are we?"

This small room was hardly her bedroom in the palace. It took her a while to remember the events of yesterday. She got up with a jolt and began taking out her travel-worn kimono from the day before. If the journey today was anything like yesterday's Ayano wanted to be as comfortable as she could possibly be. Ren turned around as Ayano began changing, his face a bright red.

"Alright," Ayano announced as she finished dressing, pulling her long red hair into a ponytail. "Time for breakfast."

Ren sighed, following the redhead down the stairs and into the small room where Nanase and Yukari sat at a round table. Ayano slid in next to Nanase and Ren sat right by Yukari. There was already a heap of food on the table and Ayano wasted no time in digging into the food. Her three travel companions eyed her wearily. With Ayano's turbo eating skills, she was done within five minutes. "Do you think they have any sweets?"

"Now, now, Ayano, we have to hurry before it gets late. We still have another couple hours until we get there," Yukari stated. At that, Nanase and Ren stood up, heading towards the exit. Ayano gave an exaggerated sigh and followed suit with Yukari right behind her.

They boarded the carriage and within a few seconds, the vehicle lurched forward.

O~O~O

It was late into the afternoon when the carriage rolled to a stop in front of an average sized traditional Japanese house. Nanase's uncle had invited her and her friends to stay for the autumn festival. He lived in Chusei Okoku for most of his life; it was where the Kudo family had lived for the better part of half a century until Nanase's father had met her mother and decided to move to the fire kingdom to start a family.

A dark-haired elderly man stepped out of the house to greet the arrivals. Ayano had never met Nanase's uncle before, but she'd heard quite a bit about him. Apparently he ran a confectionery business. And that was enough to make Ayano like him immediately.

The group bowed respectfully to the head of the Kudo family. Nanase's uncle smiled widely and beckoned them inside. Ayano gazed around the house in interest; it wasn't much different than the houses in the fire kingdom, she noted. This was the first time she'd stepped foot outside the fire kingdom without her father and she found it quite exhilarating.

Mr. Kudo's wife came to greet them and then showed them to their rooms.

"Don't you have any cousins?" Ren asked as they all gathered in the guest room Nanase, Yukari, and Ayano were to share.

"I actually have three; all of them are girls. It's strange that they aren't here to greet us," Nanase stated. "They're probably just helping Uncle at the confectionery shop."

Ayano's eyes gleamed with interest. "Can we go see them?"

Yukari laughed, "If it has anything to do with food, you just jump at it, don't you, Ayano?"

Ignoring the rhetorical question, Ayano finished her packing and turned to Ren. "Have you settled in already?"

"Yeah," there was a hint of sadness in his voice.

Ayano could tell what was bothering Ren. "Don't worry. We have a week to find him."

That didn't do anything to improve Ren's mood as he nodded slowly. "But what if he's not here?"

Ayano didn't pretend she hadn't thought of that. But she didn't want to depress Ren anymore than he already was. "Don't worry; I have a feeling he's just around the corner."

By the time Yukari had unpacked her many silk kimonos, the group was called down to have lunch with Nanase's uncle and aunt. The couple was very polite and treated them with kindness. But they were also very formal. Ayano wondered if they knew who she really was. She pushed that thought to the side; she'd ask Nanase about that later. After they'd finished eating, Nanase informed her uncle that the four of them would be taking a stroll through town. Her uncle seemed a bit wary of letting them wander the huge town alone, but Nanase convinced him that she knew the place well enough to stick to the more crowded and safe places.

"Alright," he finally relented. "But make sure to come home with your cousins. They'll close shop at seven."

Nanase furrowed her brows. "Seven?"

Her uncle sighed, "There's been strange talk about a possession around town. A young shop assistant was apparently possessed and found dead by the riverbank. But I doubt the whole possession business is nothing more than someone's overactive imagination. But just to be safe, the shops have to be closed before eight. There hasn't been an attack since over fifty years."

Ayano frowned; it sounded like the work of a youma. But what was it doing in the Neutral Zone? Like Nanase's uncle had said, there hadn't been any youma sightings in the Neutral Zone since over fifty years; the last one vanquished by a distant ancestor of the Kannagis. But that was in times when people knew the existence of elemental users. Now elemental users were legend; they were stories told to young children. If only the people knew. There were only very few families that knew of elemental users; but most refused to acknowledge the existence of such beings.

Nanase, Yukari, and Ren shared a worried glance.

As they walked down the crowded streets of town, Ayano gazed around happily; the thought of the youma pushed to the back of her mind. She'd deal with that later. There were shops on either side of the street crowded with pedestrians and various carriages and rickshaws. Although it wasn't dark out, there were lit lanterns hanging from one shop to the other. The town was bustling, preparing for the autumn celebration Ayano figured.

As Yukari pulled Nanase towards an elaborate jewelry stall, Ayano hung back with Ren. He smiled happily at her. She hated to bring up the next topic, but she needed to know Ren had her back if they were going to investigate the youma.

"I don't know, Ayano," he said, frowning thoughtfully. "You heard what Mr. Kudo said, it was probably nothing."

Maybe he was right, but still Ayano couldn't get rid of the niggling doubt in the back of her mind. "Still, I think we should check it out."

"I suppose." Eventually Ren relented. Ayano knew he thought that the search for the youma would delay them in finding Kazuma. She felt bad, but she couldn't rest if there was a youma going around terrorizing unsuspecting victims.

"Don't worry, Ren. We'll find Kazuma. I promise." Ayano hoped it was a promise she could keep, looking down at the smile Ren gave her. They only had a weeks' time. What if it wasn't enough? Or what if Kazuma wasn't here? He has to be here, Ayano thought fiercely. Ren had been sure that his father had mentioned that Kazuma was in the Neutral Zone. As long as he was far away from the fire kingdom, there was nothing the Kannagi family had to worry about. Once again, Ayano thought of her father's wrath if he were to somehow find out the purpose of their visit to Chusei Okoku. But she pushed that thought away. There was no way he would find out.

"Ayano, Ren over here," called Yukari, snapping the redhead out of her reverie. She pasted on a smile. While she was away from her father's control, Ayano intended to have as much fun as she could.

It was getting dark by the time the group made their way to the Kudo confectionery shop. It was a cute little shop nestled in between a ramen stand and a quaint inn. When the four stepped into the shop, a wind chime sounded. Ayano was immediately in paradise. The shop was bright and cheery with a welcoming vibe. There were sweets of all kind decorating the counter tops and inside transparent glass displays. Western sweets were by far the most popular, noticed Ayano, as she glued herself against a glass display containing a limited amount of strawberry shortcake.

"Would you like one?" a young girl asked. She had light blue hair and looked about Ren's age. "It's a pleasure to meet friends of Nanase's; consider it on the house."

"Really? Then I'll take one. Thank you," Ayano beamed. She cheerfully dug into the pastry.

"This is my youngest cousin Atsuko. Atsuko, these are my friends Yukari, Ayano, and Ren," introduced Nanase. "Are your sisters here?"

Atsuko nodded, "They should be in the back. It's almost time to close shop."

"We heard there's been a rumor about a ghost around town," mentioned Ayano. Perhaps Atsuko would know something that would help them.

"They're just rumors. But the owner of the fish market swears he's seen a ghost by the river, near the woods." Ayano glanced towards the door behind the counter where a silver-haired girl stood with several boxes in hand. Atsuko stepped back to help her sister.

The silver-haired girl glanced at the group. "My name's Gina. We weren't expecting you until tonight."

"That was the plan, but we were kind of in a hurry. These are my friends Yukari and Ayano. Ren here is Ayano's younger cousin."

Gina nodded to each of them as they were introduced. "Junko will be here shortly; she's going to finish unpacking the deliveries."

"We'll wait," stated Nanase. "With the latest attack it's dangerous to walk home alone."

"I'll let her know," Gina said, disappearing into the back. She reemerged moments later, followed by her violet-haired older sister.

"Thank you for waiting," Junko said. She smiled brightly at the group. "I'll just be a few moments."

As they waited for Junko to close the shop, the group trailed outside. Unlike Gina, Atsuko was very talkative. She asked about the fire kingdom, wondering how it looked and how the culture was. Ayano delighted in answering her questions; she took an immediate liking to the girl. Finally Junko arrived and all seven of them began walking back to the Kudo house. Junko was a lot like her youngest sister and made easy conversation with Yukari. Nanase noticed that Gina seemed quieter than usual and hung back to try to find out what was wrong. But after exchanging a few words, Ayano noticed Gina remained silent. Nanase looked worried.

Back at the house, Gina retired immediately to bed, declining dinner. Her mother let out a deep sigh. Nanase's uncle had retired early as well.

"Is something wrong?" Nanase asked her aunt as they all sat on cushions around a low table.

"The boy that died was a close friend of Gina's," admitted Junko in a low voice. "She's been torn up over it ever since."

Ayano raised a brow. "Was she there when it happened?"

"No, but she was the last person to see him before he died."

"The poor boy was saddened over the loss of his grandfather," informed Nanase's aunt. "Daisuke was very close to his grandfather. He committed suicide the same night his mother told him."

Nanase glanced towards the doorway her cousin had disappeared through earlier. However, Ayano was lost in her inner musings. A suicide? Maybe it was the work of a youma. But I wonder what it wanted with the boy.

Later on that night, as Ayano tossed and turned on her futon she was plagued by dreams of a boy descending into the water. When she woke up in a cold sweat, the redhead glanced around. On either side of her, Nanase and Yukari were asleep. She shook her head. It was only a nightmare. The wind howled outside, making Ayano shiver. "There must be a storm," murmured Ayano. Tomorrow she would investigate Daisuke's death. Hopefully Ren would come along willingly. If not she would just have to drag him with her. The thought of investigating an incident that could possibly involve a youma unnerved her. Ayano had once seen Ren's dad go up against a youma as a child. It was up to the fire users to protect the people of the fire kingdom. If Daisuke had indeed been possessed by a youma, then Ayano needed Ren's help. She'd only gone up against a youma once and that wasn't an incident she wanted to relive.


In the next chapter Ayano enlists a reluctant Ren to help her find out whether a youma was responsible for Daisuke's death. And what's that about a mysterious wind user? Read on to find out.