Hyusei walked us deeper and deeper into the cave system, and after what seemed like hours we came upon wooden door lined with Christmas lights. Hyusei opened the door and both Nyanko-sensei and I froze.

Cats. Cats everywhere. Cat posters on the walls, cat-shaped rugs on the floor, even the sofa had cat ears. Now I really felt bad for Nyanko-sensei. My pity for him a couple hours ago was nothing compared to now. I better cut him some slack for putting up with this for my sake.

"Human, go lie on the couch and wait for me." Hyusei pointed to the cat-eared sofa. "Oh, and here." He handed me a cat-shaped throw pillow. It was black with embroidered green eyes, whiskers, and a pink tongue was sticking out of the cat's lips. Someone had really put a lot of time into this. Hyusei spotted me eyeing the pillow.

"Oh! Do you like it? I made it myself! ~" Hyusei said happily. I gave him my nicest smile and said, "Yeah, this is really well made. You're very skilled."

I laid my head down onto the pillow, which I found was soft and squishy. Hyusei soon returned with a light yellow sewing kit that was covered in cat stickers. He took out a needle and pierced his finger, making it bleed.

"Say 'Ah'~.", said Hyusei in an extremely obnoxious baby voice.

Hesitating, I opened my mouth, letting a drop fall in. Huh, why does his blood taste like strawberries?

"Now, please imagine the person of whose memories you wish to enter."

I closed my eyes and began to picture Reiko. Her long dirty blond hair, her golden eyes... her forced smile. I began to imagine the rest of her... I pictured her school uniform…the sailor suit that she wears frequently.

I could feel my breathing slow as my surroundings began to fall away. I felt like I was floating through space. Then suddenly I felt a breeze on my face. The weight of a schoolbag in my hand. The sensation of hair brushing against my arm as I moved. I opened my eyes to see my new surroundings. It was the late afternoon, the sun was shining through the clouds and yet there was a chill in the air. Is it Autumn? I tried to turn my head to get a better look at my surroundings but I found that I couldn't move. Figures, since I was only in a memory.

Reiko was walking away from a school building, a schoolbag weighing in her hand. She passed many other students along the way but none attempted to make conversation. A couple students sent her looks of disgust or spite, but the majority simply ignored her. Reiko didn't seem to care, and just kept walking to her destination.

Soon we came to a small dirt path that lead through the woods, she sighed a sigh of relief and eagerly entered the path. 'Almost there', thought Reiko. Ah, so I can hear her thoughts? Nyanko-sensei was right, this youkai is useful.

Soon the dirt path opened to a small clearing. There were lots of wildflowers and the clearing was surrounded by the forest. Reiko plopped down in the grass. Then she grabbed her bag and pulled out a sheet of paper. 'Right, I have homework….actually, does it even matter if I do it or not? Doesn't matter how I answer the questions, they'll find an excuse to fail me. Well, at least it gives me a reason to not do my homework.'

I felt a smile appear on her lips. 'Hmm…there are so many flowers here. I wonder if any of them can be made into tea.. Hinoe might know, oh wait she specializes in poisons and curses, doesn't she? She would probably only teach me how to kill someone using these flowers.' She began giggling, "Well that might prove useful in the future. I have a habit of picking fights after all."

Suddenly, there was a rustling from the bushes nearby. A youkai emerged from the underbrush. It began moving slowly towards Reiko, and I could feel her muscles tense, preparing to defend herself.