Sorry for the unedited chapter. I'm actually supposed to be writing my paper and debugging my program. If it's confusing or has a lot of typos or just plain sucky, feel free to tell me. But if you like it, I'd appreciate it if you reviewed.

I

"I think this will be useful in your journey," the dark-haired woman called Yuuko was telling the man projected in front of her. It had to be some form of sorcery. Clearly, this Yuuko was some kind of witch. Souhi didn't need to be a genius to conclude that.

There was a smile on the man's face when he replied. "Big Puppy didn't like the sword I got him in this world. Maybe this new sword will make him happy?"

"I think it will be satisfactory," Yuuko reassured him. "Here."

The black rabbit-thing that had been sitting in front of Yuuko opened its mouth and Souhi felt the feeling she felt when she had been sucked into the vortex Kurogane had disappeared into sometime ago. But, that feeling didn't last very long. The next thing she knew, she was in the hands of the man that the witch had been talking to earlier. He was a comely blond with dazzling blue eyes. Souhi had never encountered a being such as him before. He was very beautiful, so much so that it was unfair that he was a man.

"You know what to do with it, don't you, Fai?" it was Yuuko's voice, still, but this time, it sounded distant. She was now the one being projected by a white rabbit-thing.

Fai was smiling, "Of course, Yuuko-san. And that's all the payment you're asking for that recipe from Tomoyo-hime?"

"Yes."

"Well, we should get ready, then Mokona," Fai was grinning as he turned to look at the darkened sky.

"Sure!" the white bunny thing—which was apparently called a Mokona—said with what looked like a smile. Souhi double-backed and blinked (1). So the strange rabbit thing could talk!

Yuuko smiled in the place she was in. "Very well, then. And don't forget you still owe me. I'll be waiting on White Day."

She wondered what strange world the witch Yuuko had sent her to. There were strange talking animals and pretty men. Surely, this wasn't the world she had originally come from. As she examined her surroundings, she noticed that it didn't even seem to be a place where people did battle.

Souhi found herself trying to get a feel of this person named Fai. It wasn't just the mention of the familiar name that made Souhi interested in this odd person. Somehow, Souhi felt that her destiny was intertwined with this man's. But, she knew by the way she was being held that this one had never held a sword before. This one couldn't be her new master.

Maybe he was a messenger.

She watched as Fai changed his clothes. She noted that the clothing in this world was similar to the clothes of assassins in her world in the sense that the clothes were all black. But Fai's clothes appeared constricting as they hugged his slim frame perfectly. This was opposed to the loose garments of ninja that allowed them to move more freely.

After Fai slipped on a ski cap to cover his blond hair, he picked up a small container from the dresser. "Now, for the finishing touches," he said to Mokona. He opened the container and dipped his thumb into it coating it in some black cosmetic. Fai drew black horizontal streaks on his cheeks, right under his eyes.

"Wow! You really look like a burglar, Fai!"

Burglar! This man Yuuko had given her to was a burglar? A noble sword like her shouldn't be used or even be touched by burglars! It was a disgrace to her blade!

Fai picked up Souhi. "Shall we go?"

"Come on!" Mokona jumped up to land on Fai's head.

Souhi did her best to stop Fai from taking her, but to no avail. Despite how much she weighed her own blade down, she was still a sword and Fai was still a human.

Fai glanced down at the sword Yuuko had just sent her.

"What's wrong, Fai?" Mokona inquired when he saw that the mage was temporarily distracted by something.

"The sword seems a lot heavier now," Fai replied. He then grinned manically as he strapped the sword onto his back. "No wonder Kuro-wanwan is so strong! He's always carrying heavy swords like this!"

It was mortifying for Souhi to realize that there were sword-wielders in this world with such dishonorable names. And what if Fai handed her over to this Kuro-wanwan after defiling her blade with a theft? How humiliating would it be for her to be the sword of someone with such a name? Souhi, the magnificent blade of Kuro-wanwan! I'll just shatter my blade the moment he uses me. That will be an honorable demise. Souhi decided as she reluctantly accompanied the thief and the strange rabbit that looked like a rice ball out into the streets.

-

"Well, Mokona," Fai addressed the white rabbit-thing when they arrived at the place which Souhi assumed they would stealing from. "Are you ready?"

"Of course!" Mokona bounced up onto the edge of the roof of what looked like a traditional Japanese house. He left Fai's line of sight and reappeared a few seconds later when he opened the door of the house from the inside.

Souhi felt sick to her spiritual stomach. She couldn't believe she was doing nothing as a robbery of an innocent house was taking place. Again, she did her best to weight down her blade.

"That was fast, Mokona," Fai praised as he shifted the weight of the sword which suddenly seemed even heavier. "Your one hundred and eight secret skills certainly are useful."

"Thank you!" the rice ball chirped as he resituated himself on top of Fai's head. The two thieves silently slipped through the door, which Fai quietly closed behind them.

The innocent house turned out to be a weapons shop. This was somewhat a relief to Souhi. Weapons dealers had to know something about weapons. The people here wouldn't be too helpless if confrontation occurred.

"Now," Fai whispered to Mokona. "Don't make any noise. We don't want to have to fight and hurt people while we're doing this."

"Okay," was whispered back.

Souhi was relieved to find that this thief at least had some compassion in him. A thief with compassion was a lot better than a high ranking ninja who was a merciless killer (2). As they passed the displays of magnificent weapons, the soul in the sword had to begin wondering why Fai and his accomplice weren't taking anything. Were they after one thing in particular?

Fai and Mokona reached a sword rack and stopped in front of it. Perhaps they were only after swords?

"I think this will do," Fai explained to the white rabbit-thing on his head. He unstrapped Souhi's sheath from his back.

This was very confusing to Souhi. Did this man plan on destroying the swords? What was going on?

Her blade was carefully pulled from her sheath as Fai inspected it. "You're very beautiful. I'm sure he will be happy with you." He re-sheathed the sword and gently set it down on the rack. "I'm sorry we have to go through all this. Please be patient, Souhi, your real master will come for you soon." A soft chuckle, "He's just so stubborn that he'd never accept you if I gave you to him right away."

And then Fai and Mokona left the shop, locking up behind them, leaving Souhi alone with her thoughts.

Author's Notes:

(1) I picture souls forged into swords to be "bound to the sword" and not necessarily always having to be "in the sword".

(2) I've cookies for the person who can guess what high ranking merciless ninja Souhi is thinking about.

(3) The reason why I made it so that Yuuko is the one providing Kurogane's sword is that I can't get my head around the thought that Kuro didn't lose Souhi after they got out of that virtual world and the feather disappeared. It was mentioned that once the feather's power was gone, its effects would go away, too, but the TRC gang have been traveling for quite some time now and Souhi (and Hien) is still with them. Well, granted, they have the feathers within Sakura with them, but I didn't think that counted since the mayhem feathers cause disappear after the feathers are reincorporated into Sakura's memory.

I'm thinking too much, aren't I?

Well, anyway, thanks for reading! I hope you all liked it.

-paris

PS. Special thanks to Attiquah Gensui, ammonia, and zephyrlight for reviewing. You're all always so encouraging. Thank you so much.