He wasn't sure what to do. It was the first time for a long time now that he was able to go off alone without knowing where exactly he was going or how to get there at all. He knew if he had… if he had… something… something he knew he once had, but now was lost like he himself was. He'd forgotten what it was he was trying to remember then, and simply kept moving forward. It was of great importance to him at one time… large… but the color… a bright color… red? Maybe a tint of pink… he couldn't recall much. He knew it had been powerful and would've been able to take him home easier… but what was it?

Trying to retrieve the lost memory from his mind was making him feel a bit dizzy, and so he found an open area to lie down for a time until the feeling passed. What he could never know, was that the feeling was the result of him trying to remember what the woman of the patch had erased from his memory. He knew nothing of the encounter now for she had deleted that as well. He really was like a new person.

Something caught his attention. Not outside, but what he found in his memory instead: he was dead. He had not a clue on how or why this happened. He didn't want to be dead. He wanted to be real to other people rather than just shamans or mediums. He didn't know how to contact anyone now. He felt a familiar sense of not being to reach out to anyone else, though he could not recall where or why he'd experienced it before. This, along with the sadness that swept over him, ruffled him a deal. It was not an emotion he was used to, but now that his memories and many more things in his… 'Present state of being', had been altered, he would have to learn how to accept it how to deal with the sadness he felt.

Tears that seemed like a sort of hot water to him welled in his eyes. They ran slowly down the side of his cheeks to his ears, for he was laying down. Confused, but so full of sorrow at the time, he touched his face where the tears had left their smooth, warm tracks, sitting upright gently. He almost liked this feeling. It was fresh, new and not as annoying as it first seemed to him then… other than the strange sobs that tore at his chest. He took a deep breath, attempting to stop this heaving against his ribs.

"Why are you so sad, dear boy?"

He looked around, though this was slightly difficult – the 'water' in his eyes blurred his vision. He knew the voice: a soft, kind loving tone. With a little smile, he realized it was the ball of light he met earlier.

"Sad?"

"Yes. You are crying, dear Hao." At this, the orb of light popped up in front of him with a snap.

"I don't know…" he found it arduous in his attempt to speak. His throat was tight. "I remember I am dead."

"Yes… would you like to talk of the matter? Why is it a burden to you?"

He thought this over. The tears had stopped, but when he realized how strange things would be or how hard it would be for him to return home… let alone not knowing where it was from where he sat… he felt his eyes sting again with the 'water'.

"I am lost…" it seemed like he would never talk normally again to him. His throat felt as if it were closed shut, and gave his voice a strange choked sound.

"Dear Hao… you are only lost if you think it. Now… are you lost?"

"…All I know is that I'm headed to Izumo. But I don't know how to get there… I am lost…"

The light gave a small giggle, which nearly made him feel worse. It was mocking him? At a time like this…?

"Relax, dear child. I can help!" it sounded happy and upbeat with its tone high-pitched like this. "Would you like to see me?"

"I can already see you." He didn't understand.

"No, no! I am also a spirit. I came to help you. "

"You must be an angel, if you're as a ball of light now."

It gave another short, loving giggle.

"Not quite. I'm a bit lonely, and being so, I was earthbound!"

The light flashed brighter for a moment and began forming into what looked like a human with wings, a tail and long ears at the top of the head. This was just a silhouette for now, till the white gave into color to reveal something wonderful.

Standing before him, was what seemed like a human with cat-like features on her oval face which included a tiny black nose and upturned eyelashes over sharp, yellow-pink irises. She had slim, single-lined feathered wings and ears to match. Her tail was a skinny, long furry thing that resembled a feather also. Her clothes looked as if she belonged in a palace in India with her baggy pants that, with what looked like a miniskirt lapped over them, nearly covered the small paws that were in place of feet. She had a small set of simple jewelry that included clothe bands around her wrists and paws and a choker necklace that suggested a collar with a sapphire gem hanging from the center of it. What she wore around her chests was slight, but matched well with the cut sleeves that were placed above her elbows.

He tried hard not to stare in amazement and attraction. There was only one problem about becoming anything closer than friends though: she was far too cheerful for his liking. He, though never wanting to be alone, enjoyed all peaceful times. He knew she would not bring him this. As so, in disappointment he sighed to himself.

"What do you think? Am I hot or what?" she asked seriously, with an accented tone to her voice.

"…um…"

"Oh it was just a joke! C'mon, I think I know where you're headed… and I'm pretty sure I know how to get there!"

"How would you know where to go from here? We're still in America, right? That's a long ways away."

"That doesn't mean anything! Hao, c'mon! I'm the best source of direction there is!" she rolled her eyes playfully with her hand on her tilted hip.

"Yeah? Hey, what's your name anyway?"

She gave him a cute smile, her lips parting like a cat's.

"Obake,"

"'Spirit'… Nice name for a soul like yourself." This was sarcasm but she didn't catch this.

"Thanks!" she lifted a leg back with delight and held her hands under the side of her face smiling widely. "Hey, so are you ready? You look like you're feeling lots better, so lets go!"

He felt stressed, above all else, with her continuous talk. He wasn't sure how long he'd be able to stand it already. He felt no aggression to her whatsoever, but merely just the desire to find a roll of duct tape for her mouth. He smiled to himself about this.

"Hao… you're smiling…" she said coolly in a soft voice. It was meant to make a point that he can be happy around her. That was all she really wanted from him: too see him smile and be happy for a time. She, in truth was his guardian ghost… only now seemed more toward his guardian angel than anything else. But how can an angel be an angel's guardian? She thought quietly to herself.

Beside her, he was silent, rubbing his face where the tears had once raced down.

"It's okay to cry. I can tell you've never before. You looked almost more confused than anything when you were." She said gently, seeing this.

"…I guess. It doesn't matter, really. You're supposed to cry when you're sad, right…?" he knew what it meant to cry, he'd seen others do so, but what he didn't understand was why he had never done it before if she said it was okay. He didn't understand a lot of things now. And that was what Obake was there for as well. She was there to help him get back up on his own to feet.

She started this by helping him stand. It was the first step of the long walk he had ahead of him. And he feared nothing. He had nothing to fear now, but getting more lost than he already was. If he really was at all…