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Chapter 2: Hogosha

"Saki – that is enough!" Yoshi yelled as he tried to get his brother under control and keep him from chasing after the Yōkai, only to receive a hard punch to the face which caused him to stumble back several feet as Saki stared him down angrily.

"How could you allow those creatures in here?" He demanded loudly as Yoshi calmly wiped the blood from his mouth and stood up straight again.

"They helped her Saki." He proclaimed sternly causing his brother to bare down on him to yell directly in his face.

"How can you KNOW that?" He screamed angrily.

"YA-ME!" The voice of their father announced and they both quickly turned to find the man in the doorway with Miwa hiding behind his leg. "What is the meaning of this?" The man demanded clearly livid.

"Yoshi brought four monsters into the home, brought them HERE." Saki screamed causing Miwa's eyes to fill with tears as she snuggled into her grandfather's robes in fear.

"They are not monsters." Yoshi countered calmly. "They helped her." His brother was clearly about to argue the point further when their father once again stopped the confrontation.

"Saki!" He proclaimed loudly causing his son to flinch. "I understand your concern, but Yoshi would never have endangered us. The creatures you saw were Yōkai, powerful spirits able to help the sick. They chose to lend their strength to us in this hour of need and you attacked them for it."

"Father –" Saki stated to counter but the older man would hear none of it.

"Did you even consider what you were doing?" He demanded angrily. "Did you even bother to see if they were enemy or ally?"

"They were monsters, they had no business being near Tang Shen." The angry son proclaimed causing his father to narrow his eyes at him.

"Saki?" Shen put in then in shock of his words as the older man took a step toward his son.

"Tang Shen means much to all of us Saki but she would never put herself over the clan, yet still you would ask her to. It is clear you do not care for her at all." Yūta growled angrily forcing his son to shut his mouth. "Get out of my sight!" The man demanded but Saki was clearly about to speak up again.

"OUT!" Yūta commanded making everyone jump and Saki quickly curled his hands into firsts and stormed from the room.

"Father, I –" Yoshi started but Yūta promptly held a hand up to stop the apology.

"You have done nothing wrong Yoshi." He told him sternly before taking a deep breath and looked out the window where the Yōkai had escaped from. "Were they hurt?" He asked his remaining son who looked at the floor.

"I don't believe so." He answered quietly. "The one was weakened from the healing, but I think he was unharmed."

"Good." Yūta stated before turning to Tang Shen as she hugged Miwa in an attempt to calm the little girl's crying. "How are you Shen?" He asked kindly.

"Much better." She answered with a sad little smile.

"I am glad." The older man proclaimed before turning to the doorway to find a group of servants and ninja peeking around the corner to see what had woken them at such an ungodly hour. "All is well, return to your rooms." He announced kindly and they all quickly bowed to him before leaving.

"Father?" Yoshi asked after a few minutes causing the man to look back at him with a heavy weight about himself. "Do you think they will return?"

"I do not know." Yūta admitted sadly. "Though I would not blame them if they didn't."

…

After his training session with the younger ninja, Yoshi calmly gave them leave to go about the rest of the day before getting up to go to the Waters of Spirit, where he was not surprised to find Tang Shen and Miwa waiting at the water's edge.

"Anything?" He requested kindly causing Shen to shake her head and he sighed in understanding. It had been weeks since the incident with the Yōkai and no one had yet to see them, not even Miwa.

"Why won't they come out chichi?" The little girl begged from her mother's arms causing her father to kneel so he could pet her hair lovingly.

"I'm sure they will return." He said; choosing not to answer her question for that would mean telling her what had happened to her friends that night.

"I miss them." She wined as he snuggled into Shen's robes and began to cry again. She'd been doing that a lot lately.

"I know little one." Shen soothed her gently, looking out over the still waters again, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Yōkai.

But none ever came

…

Chichi ~ Father/dad

…

Yoshi found himself waiting on the shore of the pond well into the night once again, having done so nearly every night since the first, but still they did not return. He hoped to at the very least make sure they were okay and perhaps persuade them to show themselves to Miwa again so she would not be so sad.

After a few minutes he found himself looking toward the movement of a small blue butterfly which had landed on a plate of food that one of the servants had left as an offering, but like all the other days it had sat untouched until it was exchanged for another.

If even food would not bring them than it was more than likely they had left for good, and it was this thought that caused him to become suddenly angry again and got up to walk to his brother's room with the intention of confronting him. But Saki too had yet to be seen since that night.

Admittedly Yoshi was almost ashamed to wish that he would never return, yet a piece of his heart still wanted his brother back.

"Yoshi." A voice asked and he turned to see his father walking toward him from down the hall.

"Father." He greeted with a bow which the old man returned before walking again, indicating that his son should follow him.

"You are concerned?" The man added after they had traversed out into the large courtyard between the third and second major walls of the complex.

"Yes." Yoshi answered with a sigh as they made their way around one of the many, many ponds in the area. He'd honestly never realized how much water decorated the land around their home until now, it made him wonder if perhaps it had something to do with the legend of the Yōkai which told of how they could travel from any water source to another, even if they were not connected.

"They were so young." Yoshi added sadly looking at the ground as he remembered watching in horror while his brother attacked them.

"You're love for Miwa makes you see them in a different light than others." His father declared calmly as they walked. "You do not see them as creatures – you see them as children."

This made his son look at him again before asking. "Do Yōkai even have parents?"

"Some do, though most are left to find their way from birth – without such love." Yūta explained sadly before stopping.

"It is – sad." Yoshi admitted causing the man to nod in agreement.

"Perhaps you should show them." Yūta suddenly put in leaving his son to look at him in shock. "It is not mere coincidence that they showed themselves to you and Miwa." He went on sagely. "Miwa is of their age, it made sense that they would be drawn to her. But you were much larger, in their eyes you should have been a threat – and yet – you weren't."

"But – why?"

"They are curious." Yūta explained simply. "They do not understand the love you display for your daughter, but they want to." He stated as he looked toward a pond and stared at the water. "That is why they cared for Miwa, comforted her; they were following your lead."

"I don't understand." Yoshi admitted causing his father to smile as he turned back to him.

"Legends say that the Yōkai come in times of great sorrow." He continued wisely. "Called not by haltered or anger, but by their Hogosha."

"A guardian?" Yoshi asked in confusion and the man nodded.

"Miwa has called them, but you must prepare them."

"Prepare them?" He repeated in confusion.

"For the sorrow." His father explained simply.

"But father – I don't even know where they are."

"They will come." Yūta stated sternly. "If you give them a reason." He added before walking off again, leaving his son to think over his words.

…

Eventually Yoshi found himself back at the pond as he tried to decide what his father had meant. 'A reason? What reason did they need? They had come before without reason – or had they?'

'Miwa has called them.' His father's voice rang in his head as he looked out over the water. Shen was dying, Miwa had known that, so she had called on them in her hour of need and they had come.

It was a reason – but now that it had been resolved he would have to find another.

…

"Yoshi?" A voice asked as he performed his morning exercises near the pond, making sure to move through them carefully and slowly incase anyone was watching. "What are doing?" Tang Shen finished her question as he turned to look at her.

"Teaching." He stated simply before continuing with his moves, causing her to raise an eyebrow at him.

"But – there is no one here my love." She countered causing him to smile as he realized how ridicules he must look.

"They will come." He said as he turned to perform another kata only to find a pair of bright blue eyes starring at him from under the surface of the water.

Chapter 3: Darkness {Coming next Monday}