"And swing your sword like…That! Yes, exactly! You got it covered, Amane!" Aya grinned at me, swinging his sword over his shoulder.

I looked back at him and smiled. I was actually enjoying this training. We had been doing this for some time now. For the past few days, ever since they found me, they wanted to train with me, to get me stronger. I loved this time with them. I was getting used to their company. This was almost like the training sessions with my brother…

"Amane! Hey, Amane-san! That was amazing! You almost seriously had my brother, there!" Tomo praised me, sitting on a nearby rock. She had this huge grin on her face, and for a moment, I felt like they were a part of my family…

Getting flustered over being praised so much, I nodded at each of them and then walked over to Aya. I bowed, showing my respect and thanks to him.

"Nah, you don't have to bow," Aya smiled and patted my head. "You were really great back there. You're really getting the hang of this. I can't wait to practice with you with your real strength."

Smiling hesitantly, I nodded and we started walking back to the camp.

"Sister, you have to swing your sword like this," Brother demonstrated the move to me, and I tried to copy it. I had finally been able to call out my sword's name, and now I was using my real strength. "You have to use all your arm strength, and don't be afraid of the fire! It can't hurt you!"

My sword was set ablaze, and I was slightly shocked at the power in contained. When I had first used this new power, I had instantly dropped my sword in fear of being set in flames myself. But thanks to my brother, I had finally gained confidence to try and master this.

Swinging my sword and using every ounce of strength I could, I swung it toward my brother, who was ready to block it. We were only training, so it didn't matter that he would actually block it.

Suddenly, I heard a loud cry of pain, and a shark crack that might have come from a sword. Instantly bringing back my sword and trying to stop the flames coming from it, I glanced back at my brother to see what had happened.

He was lying crouched on the ground, holding his right shoulder with his left hand, his sword on the ground. From here, it looked like a large crack had seriously messed it up.

Abandoning my sword, I rushed to my brother to see if he was critically injured. His shoulder was bleeding badly, and his clothes around his shoulder area looked burnt to a crisp. I could even smell burning flesh.

"Brother! Onii-sama!" I cried out, tears rushing down my face. How could I have hurt him? Was my power too much? "Please tell me your okay! Brother!"

Suddenly, I felt a hand grasp my arm. It was my brother. He was looking up at me and he was…smiling.

"Wow, Amane-san. That…that was amazing. That truly was your real strength…"

I shook my head, laughing. My brother was going to be fine. He was already standing up, and he reached his uninjured arm toward me.

Taking it, I stood up and hugged him. "I'm so sorry, Brother…" Tears were running down my face again, but I was just glad my brother was okay…

00000

The camp was actually turning out to look pretty good. We had fixed it up to make it more livable, and I helped Tomo with the cooking and cleaning. It was the least I could do after all they've done for me.

I looked over at Aya, who was busy making a meal out of whatever he could find in his knapsack. Suddenly, I wondered why we were even living in the forest. I hadn't really bothered to ask. It just seemed like a personal question at the time. But now, I figured, we were getting along really well. Even Tomo was calling me by my first name. (I had only given them my first name, so I guess it's just as well.)

Walking over to him and sitting down next to him, I opened my mouth and spoke.

"Hey, Aya? Is it okay if I ask you why were always in the forest? Don't you guys have a house or something?"

Aya looked surprised for a second, then chuckled. "I was wondering when you'd ask me that…Tomo, she wants to know why were in the forest. Care to explain?"

Tomo glanced up at him, her face a mixture of shock and fear. Turning away, she shook her head. For a second, it looked like she was about to burst into tears…What was going on?

Aya sighed. "I guess I have to explain…Very well, then." He looked at me full in the face and started to explain.

"I guess it all started when we became official Soul Reapers. Every time we would go out on missions, we would always be greeted by a family, and then sent off with warm smiles by them. We really took a liking to them. They were always so kind to us. 'Come back safely!' they'd say. Or 'Hurry up and defeat those Hallows!'. It didn't matter what they said. They were always kind, loving, and caring. We didn't really have a family at the time, and it was always nice seeing people outside of Soul Reapers who really appreciated everything we did, and also supported us. I guess it was just a silent agreement when Tomo and I started to care for them in return, in case anything bad every happened to them. And then one day, they were convicted for something they hadn't done, and were sentenced to death…"

(A/N: As if from nowhere, a chapter update. I hope you enjoy this one. I was worried that it might be too short, but this will have to do. Does anyone remember the family mentioned for a brief second in chapter one? Hehehe…)