A/N: Moving to our next chapter, we move onto Makoto's recovery in the home of the Shimazu Clan, she is treated to the hospitality of the Ikarugan family who hope to see her recovery to a complete level. The time will be jumping around, as this is now a day to day recounting of Makoto's road to recovery, but different periods as she grows closer to the family who is taking good care of her. While she hopes to repay the debt, we see how she learns more about those she is living with and whatever speckled past that follows in the shadows of each family member.

Onward to the chapter!

(End A/N)

Chapter II: Road to recovery

Makoto's first week of recovery was one that full of long days of rest in bed, even though she was constantly kept company so that she wouldn't be bored; she was given space for alone time and to establish what independence that she could manage with the extent of her severe wounds. A routine was established where Makoto would get help from one of the two women of the Shimazu, both of which she'd come to know as both Meilen and Sumina. Both were matriarchs in their own right, but Meilen lead the family affairs and Sumina the gym. Certainly there were things that she could not put to words, while it was awkward for her to have anyone helping her dress; it felt less bad with those who were looking after her. They had even bought her clothing, that she had been taken out to get in the local markets, it was certainly one thing to her favor to have lucked out this way.

She was having more of a quick recovery than she'd estimated for herself at first, due to the exceptional treatment of her wounds. They were inspected regularly, twice a day for the first few days: with regular changing of bandages and applications of various ointments used by either Sumina or Meilen. Kinjou was also there for company, often bringing her meals and just discussing things that he'd heard from outside. He had told her about the events that unfolded at the Headquarters for the Librarium, even though none of it was very clear towards an outcome. When alone, she'd established a connection with Professor Kokonoe and updated her on the events around her and the status of her condition.

Presently she was laying low and trying to recover from wounds sustained by Captain Hazama. Things were in a rough place, as Kokonoe explained to her the situation: presently Ragna the Bloodedge was without an arm, Noel Vermillion had been smelted but was restored by Ragna's action, the Imperator had taken action and proclaimed the world's end. Sure things were pretty bad, but overall there was the ray of hope in the odd form of Ragna the Bloodedge. The situation was surprisingly good given everything had gone awry, for the lack of a better term.

Today was a day to put some ease on her mind, Noel was herself presently with Professor Kokonoe, being treated and checked out. After all that happened to her had been hellish, Makoto felt bad for being unable to protect her friend and towards being the source of some of Noel's strife did bother her quite a bit. But there was nothing that she could do about that, it was an unfortunate thing, but something that she could make up later with time. It made her only more determined to recover from her wounds and quickly as possible. She figured that relaxing was to be the best method of doing this, and with the knowledge that she wasn't going to have to worry about Noel's safety, she could get on fine and focus on herself.

She considered what might be relevant to her curiosity, since Makoto was absolutely rambunctious when it came to solving boredom. The thought came aloud and wasn't that big a surprise, "Well I don't know much about the Shimazu Clan. They are nice enough to do all this, no strings attached, I already figured that out. But there's a lot of history here." it wasn't just figuratively or literally, more like a good mix of both.

She could see that weights were carried by both ladies of the Shimazu Clan, and that little bit of something that she sensed made her want to know more. She intended to ask the family and get some answers on whatever they would share. The brunette squirrel was glad to hear the door opening, it shook her from her thoughts and it would start her off on operation: learn about the Shimazu Clan. To her delight, it was Kinjou of all the people, this was a nice treat since he was around her age and seemed to be more loose in subjects to talk on. It wasn't saying that she hadn't liked the chance to speak with Sumina or Meilen, on the contrary, chatting with them both was soothing and nice.

"Good Morning, Makoto. I've brought you some tea and something of a pair of scones, I hope you slept well. Are you decent?" Kinjou would say this as he knocked on the door. Making sure that he wouldn't enter when she might not be fully covered.

"You're fine, come on in." Makoto said nonchalantly, given she was still wearing the Kimono given to her by Sumina and was covered from the stomach up by the blanket she'd been using.

As he brought the tea in, along with a raspberry scone and blueberry scone. They were complimentary from from his father at the Pale Lotus, something to help keep Makoto in high spirits. As he brought the tray to her and set it lightly across her lap, he saw her face light up. The kind of breakfast in bed could always be great for raising a mood. Already perky since having a good rest, as good as the news got from the Professor, and this just made it all but perfect for her.

"You guys are just the best, you know that? I mean, such a sweet family, all of you are just so kind. This breakfast in bed, looking after my wounds, you guys don't really owe it to me." saying this with a soft smile, Makoto was pleased with it at this point.

"Such as it is, just comes with the turf you might say." he'd smiled in turn.

While she ate one of the scones, she'd looked upon Kinjou's features to see if anything really changed. He was placid and seemed to be pleased with the fact that she was in such a good mood. Yeah that just kind of confirmed it for her, even though the atmosphere in the home was relaxed, something seemed off to her. She couldn't put her finger on it about what was, but she knew the look of someone who had come to terms with something. With this in mind, Makoto broached the topic with Kinjou.

"So Kinjou, how is it living in Ronan Gai? I can't imagine everything's peach blossoms and roses, even if things are pretty decent. I can tell you from personal experience, it isn't fun being singled out for our obvious differences with most people." she did say it carefully, not wanting to come off as bitter as she could be at times when thinking about it.

"It's alright, for the most part. It'd be a lie if I said nothing troubled me from time to time. Prejudice cannot hide, but in Kagutsuchi there is space to gain respect. Dealing with the ignorance by bearing it, that's how we Shimazu deal with it." Kinjou told the truth, and his tone did reveal a layer of distaste, even though one that he controlled.

Makoto knew from that statement hit home on a subject that she herself stood to respect: someone being able to tough out such a difficult time. But she didn't linger on her own thought, as she chose to comment in turn.

"Dealing with it is hard, Kinjou. I don't mean to prod really, but I can tell that it seems to bother you quite a bit more than you let on. If you don't mind...can I ask, just how it disturbs you?" Makoto was quite curious and certainly, it was potentially rude to ask a deep question. But as she felt that she knew the family somewhat now, it was where her comfort zone had grown a little bit since in their presence.

For a moment he was quiet, reminded of just how often this burden of his remained. It was ever a constant reminder of the loss he suffered when just a child. He was very close to his uncle and it was during the Ikaruga Civil War that his uncle and grandfather had both gone to defend the Imperator and Ikagura's bid for independence; only to never returned. While he'd only ever known that his grandfather was a strong man and the head of the Shimazu at the time of the war, he hadn't known him well. He had known his father's younger brother who had a promising career as a warrior, and had been very kind to a young Kinjou.

It had been on the day that his grandmother told him that they were leaving their old home, that he asked where had his Uncle Hagane had been, it was the same day he'd learned of death. At first it had been difficult to accept, how had his uncle lost a fight? He'd seen his uncle and father spar consistently and were near even all the time. It was hard for a child to grasp that there were simply stronger people, and even further that a war was where lots of people fought and died. The transition had been horrible for him, since he grew to desperately hate the humans around him after moving to Kagutsuchi at first.

"Hey...Kinjou, you alright?" Makoto watched as he went from coherent to distant in the eyes. If she had to guess, he had been remembering something and intensely.

"I'm fine...ahem, just fine." Kinjou took a moment to rub his head and then sighed gently, knowing that he intended to answer Makoto's question. The fact that he hadn't known her well, didn't matter, as it was more that sharing the burden would make it easier for him. He'd learned this from sharing it with his parents and grandmother first.

He had come to trust in Makoto, despite the relatively short time while assisting in her recovery. Perhaps it was only natural for him to bond with the person he looked after, she had been nothing but an open and positive influence on him. If she could so easily put him in a better mood by just talking to him, she had been great company, and this only helped him trust her more. After centering himself, he focused on telling her what was on his mind and how he reflected on humans.

"I was reminiscing on the first reason I have for my distaste of humans at times. I lost both my grandfather and uncle to the Ikaruga Civil War. While I was grieving, there was simply...no sympathy from those in Kagutsuchi for any refugees fleeing the war. We were seen as smelly animals by most inhabitants who bothered talking to us. Of course, not everyone was so crude, and the people of Ikaruga had always been accepting of us. We banded together during those times and simply lived with what we faced. My disgust of the human actions grew almost tenfold throughout my adolescence."

Makoto couldn't help but grimace as she knew what it was like to be held in scorn, insulted for just being what you were, not accepted for the very same reasons. They had a lot more in common than she thought they might. Even though she maintained a lid on her negative emotions, the strength that they held went beyond words at times. Since she felt her heart darken at times, whenever she found herself stressing over it, she couldn't help but toil in that hatred. It had only become manageable when she was accepted by her closest friends: Noel, Tsubaki, and to a lesser point Jin as well.

Those people in her life who had earned her loyalty and with whom she would fight for no matter what came before her. As she listened to Kinjou's explanation of how he grew and coped with being hated virtually alone, she couldn't help but feel a pity for him in one aspect. Though she had grown to admire his strength of spirit and sense of self, since he responded to the hatred by performs acts of charity and helping the unfortunate. It was not something that she thought she could easily do, helping people while being mocked and hated for what he was over time. He persevered through the hate, even though it lingered and was carried as a constant reminder of what people thought of him.

Listening to the story of his fallen family, the injustices of so many people picking on him at various times throughout life only served as a statement towards his capacity for tolerance.

"You really are a strong willed guy, Kinjou. But even more, I think you should be pleased with your ability...you really do handle your anger better than most people I know." she hoped that he took these as compliments, as they were facts that stood out well.

Hearing that much from her at least made him happy in part, he wasn't going to complain about her kind statement towards his stoic nature. It was kind of nice to hear that someone thought it wasn't avoiding the problem itself. He almost felt like it had been, since he was always coming back to the thought itself.

"I think I needed to hear that from someone else that wasn't my family for it to ring true to me. Thanks Makoto." it was drew, since he felt there was a bias with his family it wasn't quite so bad at least with the way that he could consider it, especially during the times like now.

Makoto gave a light nod and offered a little grin, "Ha I could've used something like that as a skill when I was a kid. I don't like to bring it up, but I really had a crappy childhood. I had friends, but there were just more...hateful people and for little to no reason. It was a real downer for someone trying to stay upbeat if you know what I mean. Eh, perhaps it's better if I share."

As she decided to share a little of her misfortune growing up as she did, though she had support from family. The Nanaya family was very tight knit, it made coping easier on Makoto, though being poor never helped. She tried to remain a positive beacon of hope in her family, cheering on her younger siblings as they too faced the adversity that she had. It was only when she made it to the academy that she had a decidedly easier time dealing with all that she had. It was her athletic ability that she excelled at, her martial skills grew through the academy classes and personal training that she underwent.

Makoto couldn't help but sound so endearing about her friends, those people who helped her believe in the positive side of humanity. She shared funny tales of her adventures in the Academy, her friends: Carl, Noel, Tsubaki, Jin, Mai, Cajun, and so many others that she'd made during that time. She felt a bit of nostalgia and did wonder how many of them were doing during this time. Kinjou watched her beam with such happiness and he couldn't help but feel happy for her, she had a wonderful array of friends to help keep her strong through it all. He personally had few friends in his life, he knew the comfort of having a few people to help him with various burdens.

"It stands to say that you've had a great experience as you got older, really that's a difficult road to walk, Makoto. It's amazing that you got through it all, for the sake of yourself and your friends. Id almost consider that to be miracle, if not for your own strong spirit, instead I realize its because you could do not less, as failure is not an option for you." Kinjou spoke as if he knew this to be a fact, though it was rather a sign of her strong spirit and how it resonated with him.

She couldn't help but laugh and gently shook her head at that, blushing a little bit at the compliment. But she didn't deny that it was nice to have someone say that about her, that wasn't a friend. In this case, a new friend who had saved her from falling to her potential death at great risk to himself. It was a nice and selfless act, plus being looked after for free wasn't a bad thing either. Makoto had wanted to do something to repay the kindness of the Shimazu, but after being reassured that she needn't do such a thing, it made her relax a bit. She could've done a lot worse to have a knightly type come to her aid, or would it be a samurai given his background?

Not paying any mind to her musing thought, Makoto seemed sure that she wanted to see what he was capable of in combat. A friendly spar was in order after she healed, she'd be in need of getting back into fighting condition anyway, recovery could be very difficult if executed poorly. She decided to announce it aloud, since it was more her style, "I'm looking forward to sparring with you when I'm better you know. If I can't help you guys out, I can show my thanks with a hearty punch or three. I won't disappoint, I'm pretty good, y'know!"

Her energy was one of those things that Kinjou could appreciate, the fact that she was in such a positive only made him feel better about accepting that proposal. He pumped his fist forward a few times and gave her a grin, "You got it, Makoto. We'll make our match one of the finest the Iron Roots Gym has ever seen! I won't go easy on you, since you would only be insulted by that."

"Damn straight, Kinjou. That's a good attitude to have, I'm looking forward to seeing what you've got. You seem competent, but I'll have to see that when we are actually sparring." the prospect of it was something for her to look up to. She intended to try and keep limber, though slowly when it came to range of motion.

Makoto knew from simple experience that she would not overdo her attempts to get better, stretching was good when one had the capacity for it. She would not push it too hard since she knew that she'd regret it otherwise, her body would only become stressed and the pain would be worse, slowing her recovery. Still it made her all the more eager to be finished with recovery, though until she figured learning more about her future sparring buddy wouldn't be a bad idea. Kinjou was nice enough sure, but that told her little about who the man was behind the kind front she saw. He'd shared some of his backstory with her and she'd done the same, it had been a pleasant exchange thus far, but now what to ask was the question? Then a good thought hit her mind, she asked about it straight away.

"So Kinjou, tell me a little bit about your family's style. I've seen some of the classes in action, some people appear to be learning a very intensive form of self defense. It's an impressive sight, really." Makoto was curious about the fighting style, as it wasn't like there were so many schools active in the modern day. Most people would've have a need for that kind of thing most times.

"You really think so? We do our best really, its a fairly well rounded form with an emphasis on footwork, firm stances, and fast changing legwork. We depend on the footwork and posture to setup moments for proper execution of attacks. At the moment I'm an instructor, but I'm nowhere near my mother, father, or grandmother's level of skill." Kinjou explained a bit of how the style's basics works.

Visualizing was one of Makoto's specialties, even though it wasn't one she used often. Usually her opponents were in front of her and were in motion, with her responding right on point. There was a passion to instinct, a high that was unlike any other and that was something that she thoroughly embraced: there was that other skill that her father always talked about. As she picked up the athletic skills naturally and learned her battle training from her father, he'd taught her all about the combat zen and sacred skill of meditation. Yeah well perhaps it wasn't that sacred, but the insight she could feel at times from the extra time spent considering smaller things both before and after a battle had proven themselves to her ages ago.

"You shouldn't underestimate yourself, for one, I can tell by your posture that you can handle yourself. It's one of the reasons why I'm so excited to recover faster, and if anything, our talks keep it from being too boring around here." that was of course just a factor of being in bed most of the time. She could only recently get up and walk around with some major effort.

"Well I'm glad you think so highly of me and that I've been keeping you from boredom, honestly laying around must be one of the worst things to someone so active." Kinjou only imagined that Makoto must have found it desperately dull to be laid up for as long as she had so far.

"You have nooo idea how thankful I am to have someone my age to talk with. Your family is wonderful, don't get me wrong, but they make me feel like I'm not a good guest, being so kind and attentive. I'm just not so used to it...its the most welcome I've felt in Kagutsuchi, so all I can say is thank you. For everything you've done and likely will continue to do as I recover." Makoto was all kinds of jubilant right now.

Her mood was at a new high, just given that she was in such good hands with the Shimazu Clan, Noellers was okay, the Professor had given her the time to recover from her wounds and simply asked for updates. It was this and now having a reason to start stretching and practicing what she could safely for a future sparring match: that just made this all the better. As she saw Kinjou rise, she imagined that it was time for him to go.

"Gotta go?"

"Unless there is anything else I can get you, it would be good that I attended to cleaning the gym. I'll be back to check on you in another half hour otherwise."

"Well, if that's the case, then I hope the clean up goes well."

"I'm sure it will, it was a pleasure talking to you, Makoto."

"Likewise, see ya in a bit, Kinjou."

It didn't take very much for the scenario to change, as time came and went, the rest of the day passed pretty quickly. It didn't lead to much of the evening having passed away with ease. On and off, it was a cycle through Kinjou and his mother for the night. It was a few days that would pass in some ease, seemingly passed on without incident. Just another several days for the Squirrel beastkin to recover that much quicker. Her bandages once more by the day, as opposed to by the hours was a much better sign than Meilen initially thought.

It was no longer than the following week that Makoto was up on her own, though she still had use of only one arm, the second one was movable and at the very least the joint was hurting less. Her shoulder and elbow of her right arm were the things still most damaged from her incident. She had a slight limp in her left leg, and though there was pain in her ankle and knee, she was starting to tough it out. To Makoto's pleasure, she was allowed to sit in on class lessons and follow along if she wished, free to come and go from the house/gym as she saw fit. She was beginning to see the charm of living in Ronan-Gai, it was a nice location and all of the people were very friendly.

As she found out for herself, getting some free tea, nice smelling incense, and even some Takoyaki which she was presently eating at the moment. Walking down the main thoroughfare with a big smile on her face, wearing a full length kimono and Hakama pants that were perfect for her. It did help living with fellow beastkin who had rather large tails of their own. She'd almost doubted that they were so long at first, until Kinjou showed her his tail's length. Beyond that, had she not known that they used their tails for specific martial drills, she might've questioned why they were always wrapped around their waist so many times.

While her tail was bushy and strong, it was no where near the incredible length of the Shimazu tails, which all varied. She tried not to think too much about it, the only thing that she considered was the length and strength of the tail being an issue for her during the spar. She was thinking a bit about that and found herself looking up to it more. She didn't fight other kin very often, let alone one who used such a school of martial arts like this. Makoto herself favored punches, with the occasional sweep from her leg, or swipe with her tail. A bit of rapid mix up generally ended her battles quickly, on occasion would she put her spirit into a punch.

As she walked back towards the gym, she spotted some thug looking guys and frowned, they were harassing someone a lady at a stand. She wasn't in shape for a confrontation, but it wasn't going to stop her from doing what was right.

'Do we really need to do this on a nice day like this? Guh! Stupid thugs can't even let things go, always trying to cheat someone.'

While it didn't involve her, she was about to make it her business. As she started to approach the group, the first of the four men turned to her and laughed.

"Hey boys look, a squirrel gal who wants to keep us company!" the would-be leader of this group approached Makoto and started reaching for Makoto's visible bust, through her kimono.

"Come to flaunt it sweet-arggh!" the young man's hand was grabbed and wrenched to his right.

"Only going to ask once guys, I really don't want to hurt you, just leave the lady alone and stop harassing her alright? It's a beautiful day, let's not ruin-" her words were cut short as the second man slipped behind her and tried to restrain her.

Her right elbow slammed into the man's ribs and her right foot swept him off of his feet quickly. While she turned back to the man, who's wrist she was still twisting, groaning more, she was glad to be ahead despite her condition. Her eyes flickered to her left, where the last two men were charging her. While thinking in an instant, she tugged the leader up in front of her and let him get tackled by the two men, while she let his wrist go. Makoto looked to the woman, who while looking jostled, was otherwise alright.

She really hadn't wanted a fight, but there was no way she'd let the opportunity pass to end it quick. Though as she took another step towards the last man, who'd drawn a knife; a shinobi announced himself from above.

"Hold it right there, criminal scum! Attacking this poor woman at a stand is one thing, but attacking the injured is something that I simply cannot forgive!" As Bang finished this sentence, he'd landed rather heroically in front of the stand, behind the remaining man who stood and his comrades who were down.

"Oh crap...that damned ninja, again. Let's split-" as the man said it, he was jabbed in his ribs by Bang, who was deceptively fast and had intercepted him before he could get far.

"Oh no, you are all going into the local office of the Librarium, it is high time you paid for your crimes!" Bang had no intentions of letting them off with a warning like last time.

The men were gathered in a pile and were bound up together and were waiting to be marched off by Bang. Though he first wished to thank the Squirrel-kin for her kindness, as that took guts in her shape.

"Before I take these criminals in, I wanted to thank you, young lady. That was a fine thing you did, coming to the aid of a fellow citizen that way. As not just I appreciate it, but all of Ikaruga appreciates your due diligence. I cannot thank you enough." Bang praised her actions, since it was truly a kind act and he thought it worth at the very least, a thank you.

"It's the least I could do, I mean even though I'm a little hurt, I couldn't allow them to keep that up. So it was my pleasure, I'm just glad it ended well." Makoto knew of the consequences, but hadn't feared it enough not to act.

"It was a wonderful show of valor, I won't forget your kind deed! Until the next time, Bang Shishigami will now bare witness to these fiends serving penance for their misdeeds!" Bang said this as he turned to march the men off.

Even though Makoto found him to be an odd one, he had a good heart and that was mostly mattered. Still after all that praise, she hadn't noticed the eyes on her from those nearby. The other people who helped Bang tie up the thugs, those who had missed the initial distress that Makoto responded to. There was a small amount of applause from the simple gesture (as far as she was concerned) of kindness. She rubbed her head with her good hand and seemed gracious to those around her, she couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed even in a small way.

"It was nothing, really. I couldn't just let it happen."

Makoto's words were met with a small gift from the lady who's stand she saved from being destroyed. An offer of some goods: some candied foods and other sweets, which she graciously accepted from the woman with a deep nod to her.

"I gratefully accept your gift, thank you!"

"Thank you, young miss."

Makoto smiled at the woman and then went about her way again, heading off towards the Iron Roots Gym once again. She had a little skip in her step due to all of the nice, free things that she was given by the people for various reasons. It was mostly just the kindness that gave her a good feeling, it was something that she found hard to believe. That anyone could be so community oriented in Kagutsuchi, though she was in this wonderful, pleasant surprise. As she returned with her goods in a bag being carried by her good left, she headed inside and giggle unceremoniously to herself.

She was not expecting it to be such an exciting day, even though it had been a pain in the butt with those guys. She was just glad that she hadn't agitated any of her wounds too badly, the arm was a little itchy now though due to the movements in response to the attacks from the men. Though she couldn't help but feel a little intimidated as she came across Kinjou's grandmother. As sweet as she'd been, there was a sternness that made you not want to disobey even a request from her. It was like having her own grandmother beyond her family, as Meilen gestured for her to have a seat on the side bench.

Makoto nodded gently and had a seat and looked up curiously at her for the reason she was sitting here. Just as she was about to ask what it was about, Meilen spoke up.

"Sorry to trouble you Makoto, I had a question to ask you: it was about your inner strength. It's one thing that my and my daughter agree upon, that your strength of spirit is unlike anything we've ever seen. Beyond any of our students, perhaps greater than my own. The question is, would you perhaps like lessons to improve your control?" Meilen posed this idea, since she hoped that Makoto might be interested in that aspect.

Makoto took a moment and had been happy to see that a concept she was vaguely aware of (and made use of, when her spirit was really a tempest), it made her consider what that might be like. She hadn't seen the family use it, but Kinjou told her about what they focused on, and Meilen's word only confirmed that. Could they be so proficient in control over the inner energy? Ki or Chi...she'd heard both concepts and was vaguely aware of what they were, life force focused into active applications. While she might not stay here long enough to learn the art thoroughly, she figured that using the pointers and what she did learn would help her.

"If it is possible, I'd like to learn what I can. Though I don't have as much time beyond my recovery, merely because we're on a tight schedule. That won't be a problem will it?" Makoto didn't go into details, but she did explain that she didn't have a lot of time.

Meilen offered her a small nod and responded verbally afterwards, "We can instill the school mantra concerning the spirit within that time. I'd estimate you'll be at full recovery within two weeks, but you'll need another two weeks to train yourself to fighting shape: if that is your goal at least."

That sounded about right, Makoto wasn't going to be of use to anyone without being in fighting shape, and being bed ridden this long had drained her somewhat of ability.

"Alright 4 weeks give or take in estimation? I'll focus as much as I can within that time."

"That's all we ever ask of our students, Makoto. Your instruction will begin as soon as you're ready."

"I'm ready, now!" she said eagerly, though her stomach let off a grumble, alerting her to the hunger she'd forgotten about. "Eh heh..." she shyly rubbed the back of her head a moment later.

It was enough that the Shimazu matriarch laughed a little and gestured with her hand to the left for Makoto to follow her.

"Fortunately, it's time for a slightly late lunch, we were off off schedule a bit today, it's rather funny how. As much as it had become a rule of thumb to move onto the next apparent task, but so much was done already...so we simply moved onto the next. Eventually, being too focused on cleaning has gotten us ahead of our tasks for the day, but at the cost of a late lunch you see." Meilen felt as if she were rambling, as this was nothing but a small little tale of the silliness the clan got up to.

But instead of a bored look, Makoto let herself laugh at it. In truth it was a bit relieving to see that those who saved her were not all serious business as they seemed. Deep and philosophical types were cool in their way, but it was good to see that the Shimazu Clan could also relax. As she followed her host closely, she'd let off a soft sigh as she was brought to the dining area. As she sat down next to Kinjou, finding a comfortable means of sitting on the cushion, since her other leg wasn't doing so well. While she settled in for a meal, her mind couldn't help but be excited at the prospect of being taught how to control something that she had lots of.

'The saying goes about the power being within, I am going to master this strength. As I've always been able to tap into it when I need it most...maybe I can learn to do more with it.'

While she began to eat, Makoto tried some of that visualizing that she used earlier day in and out when bored, she'd need some imagination with the use of such a power like this. She knew it from experience that it took a lot to shape the energy into a useful skill: her spirit given greater use, that would let her help her friends even more. That was a dream that was going to become reality if she had anything to say about it.

(End Chapter)

And here we have the end of chapter II, it took longer than I intended at first, but as the expansion on content grew, it made more sense to me. I found that writing this all out allowed me to make some better decisions on my future plans. Makoto's adventure will continue, with the only thing really growing will be everyone's favorite squirrel-kin's ability to wield her spiritual power. It is something that I've always felt she deserved a bit of growth in. With such a strong soul/spirit, there's no way that she wouldn't grow on her basic ability and control. The intent here is to explore this with a bit of expertise from the Shimazu to help her learn faster. Let's take this journey together!

Until the next chapter, I bid you adieu.

-Quentix