Author's note: Well, I'm taking a shift staying overnight at the hospital with my grandmother. There's not a lot to do most of the time, so...you get an extra update! And possibly another one-shot later, if I can get it edited to my satisfation.

(Here's hoping for minimal sleep-deprivation-induced mistakes. Tell me if you catch any!)

Chapter 10: Ignorance

Hina spent the next few days trying to adjust to life in camp.

It was a lonely few days. As much as the others had welcomed her that first night, the next day had everyone drifting back to familiar patterns—patterns that didn't include her. Kirin was a good host, and made sure she was settling in, but as the leader, he had many other things to see to. Koyu gave her more time, always asking questions about ice demons, but he was also often busy.

In fact, it was Shizuku, the energetic fox, who spent the most time with her over those first few awkward days. She volunteered to help Hina get settled in, and before she knew it, Hina was pulled off in a veritable whirlwind of activity.

The kitsune showed her all over camp, telling her who or what each tent was for, and gathering up her few possessions and moving her to a spot in a new tent—the one she had been in before was acting as the infirmary—and all the while, telling her more about the way the group worked.

"Right now, we're at Mashou City for the annual market. We usually do well here—we can get things people want and can't get themselves. There's a big call for things you can only get across the border in Raizen's territory, for instance…not a lot of people are willing to risk crossing a border illegally."

"So…you're smugglers?"

Shizuku shrugged. "Sometimes. Other times it's things that are over dangerous wild ground, or sometimes just further away than people want to go. Speaking of wanting to go, that's the last of the camp…now we have to see the city!"

"So," said Hina as she was dragged off toward the gates, "you're traders?"

The fox shrugged again, which was quite a feat considering how she was nearly dragging Hina.

"Sometimes. That's how we get most of our resources, when we aren't stealing them."

Hina furrowed her brow, but before she could ask, Shizuku was off again.

"But Kirin had such strict standards about who we can steal from," she sighed, "which basically boils down to people who've directly attacked us, or allies of Yomi."

"Of who?" asked Hina, managing to slip the question in before the onslaught of words could continue.

That was enough to draw Shizuku up short.

"Wait, what?"

"Who is Yomi?"

Shizuku stared at her.

"Who is…you don't…you don't know who Yomi is?"

Hina shook her head, and Shizuku stared at her like she'd just grown a third eye.

Finally, the fox found her voice.

"He's one of the most powerful demons in the world. He controls approximately a third of the populated world."

Hina grimaced at her display of ignorance. "Ah. My political history is a little…out of date."

"A little?"

"Quite a bit of it is close to a thousand years old."

Shizuku looked like she couldn't decide whether to nod in comprehension or just drop her jaw further in shock. Her ears were pointing out to the sides and twitching at the contradiction.

Finally, she shook her head.

"That…would explain it. His rise to power started about that time." The she laughed. "Now I'm wondering where in the world you came from," she said conversationally, starting to walk back towards the city.

There was obviously an invitation there, but Hina chose to ignore it.

"What is Kirin's grudge against Yomi?"

"Didn't he tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

Shizuku slowed down a little as they reached the gates. "Well, Yomi's the one who took over his kingdom. He's been angling for revenge ever since, so I guess he figures that the friend of our enemy is fair game to steal from."

Hina, for her part, was still wondering why none of the (admittedly few) travelers in the last thousand years had mentioned this Yomi…or if they had and she'd simply missed it.

"Come on, we're wasting daylight!" And once again Hina was being dragged off by the vixen, who apparently didn't believe in taking time for contemplation.

Shizuku showed her all around the market, and then what was left of the city, at what felt like breakneck speed. They stopped at one point to get Hina her own bedroll, and which Hina insisted on buying with her own money, and at another place where Shizuku insisted on buying her an outfit with pants.

"I don't know how you manage to get around in kimonos all the time—trust me, you'll be glad to have a more practical outfit for training!"

Still, when they finally got back to camp, Shizuku regretfully informed her that she had other tasks to complete, and Hina spent the rest of that day more or less alone.

Alone in the sense of not having any companions—not alone in the sense of being unwatched. Everyone in the camp was keeping at least half an eye on her. Oddly enough, rather than finding this cloying, Hina found it rather reassuring. These people weren't idiots, to let a complete stranger wander among them. They were watching her—watching, and testing. She was sure of it.

The next few days mostly followed the pattern of that first afternoon, broken occasionally by more visits and guided tours.

However, early on the morning of the fourth day, her boredom was abruptly alleviated when Kirin came to get her.

"I hope you've been keeping busy," he said. "I apologize for leaving you on your own for so long. Normally I wouldn't, but the annual market is one of our busiest times. However, now that it's wrapping up, I'd like to take the time to see what you can do."

With that, he led her a ways out past the camp.

"Have you ever had any training in combat?"

"No."

Kirin nodded to himself.

"Very well. We can start with the basics. But first, I'd like to know about the limits of your abilities. What can you do? Can I see a demonstration?"

"I can make basic shapes easily—a block, or a wedge, even a bridge." She paused at the memory, but shook it off and continued. "With more concentration, I can make more detailed sculptures on a smaller scale. I can get a lot of force going to cause damage. I also made sharp shards to attack and a kind of shield to defend against the three who attacked me, but that was the first time I had actually done either."

She hesitated, and then added, "I can also use it to cultivate ice-plants and communicate long distance, but I doubt I will have any use for either out here."

Kirin raised his eyebrows. "Communication?"

Hina dismissed the possibility with her hand. "If I find someone else trained in the color-code."

Kirin nodded, filing her words away.

"All right." He took an unfamiliar pose. "Now, if I were going to attack you, what would you do?"

Immediately, Hina crossed her hands in front of her, releasing her abilities with a flash of blue. A wall of ice grew in front of her, and she crouched so that it would shield her faster.

Kirin nodded. "Not bad."

Without warning, he raised his hand and shot a jet of red-orange flame toward her ice wall. Hina raised her hands again, reinforcing the wall. She had to keep stepping back as she did so to make room, but she couldn't quite keep up with the rate at which it was melting. Abruptly, the flames cut off, and they both looked at the scene. The wall was much thinner than it had been, and quite a bit further back. The ground in front of the wall was a soggy mess of mud and puddles.

"Well." said Kirin. "I believe we may need to find someone else for you to train your abilities with. I shall give it some thought."

"What about Koyu?" asked Hina. After, didn't it make sense for her to train with the only other ice demon here?

Kirin shook his head. "You could certainly train together, but there would be little he could teach you. He is young yet." He stepped aside, working his way around the marshy area. "However, youki abilities aren't everything. Unpowered combat is the base on which to build everything else, and I still need to see where you stand on that."

He gestured her over to a drier section of ground. "So. Simple sparring practice?"

Hina raised her hands, palm up. "I know nothing of martial arts."

Kirin raised his eyebrows. "Unusual, for someone to survive so long without fighting ability."

Hina remained silent, still not wishing to discuss her origins. She was trying to escape that life, not relive it.

Thankfully, Kirin didn't push it. He merely crossed to her side and showed her a basic defensive pose to start from, left arm guarding her front, right free to attack, thumb curled outside her fist.

"Now," he said, crossing back to his side and taking up the same pose, "hit me."

Hina hesitated.

"Don't worry, I'm sure I've had worse. Even if I don't block you and you manage to hurt me, Koyu can fix me up."

Hina nodded, and struck. He blocked the first couple of hits with the side of his arm, so Hina used her left hand to try to get a punch in under his defenses. This one he caught in his right hand.

For a moment, all Hina could think was how hot he was. She imagined liquid fire running through his veins in place of blood.

Then Kirin chuckled. "Not bad…you're thinking about strategy. However, now I have you pinned…it's not a good idea to become tied to your opponent like this unless you're physically stronger."

He let go of her and resumed his original stance.

"Shall we try again?"

They spent several hours like this, working first on Hina's attack, then switching to defense, and finally throwing in some extra footwork. Hina could tell that Kirin was pulling his punches—even the ones that got through barely even stung.

By this time, Hina was exhausted. She was completely unused to this level of physical exertion—life among the Koorime moved at a much slower pace. She lifted her shaking arm to wipe the sweat from her brow, noting with some frustration that Kirin hadn't even broken a sweat.

Kirin stood down from his defensive position.

"I believe that will be enough for today." He paused, brow furrowing. "Do you think you will be up for practicing your abilities later today?"

Hina nodded, not bothering to speak. She still had plenty of youki left, even after the ice shield—it was physical exhaustion that was getting to her, not spiritual. As long as she didn't have to dodge around, she'd be able to manage after a break.

Kirin raised his eyebrows, but nodded and turned to walk back to camp.

True to his word, Kirin had someone to train with her later that afternoon.

"Hyoujin," he said, when she asked who it would be. "He's our resident earth manipulator."

Hina wracked her brain for an image of someone who might be said earth demon, but the only possibility she came up with was huge, brown Juhi—and while she didn't know his element, she did know his name.

"Why earth?" she asked instead.

"His fighting style has the most in common with what I've seen of your strengths."

Hina wondered at that—the earth demon she'd fought in the city hadn't really done much she'd be able to imitate—unless she coated the ground in ice and rippled it to trip her opponents, and she didn't have nearly enough raw strength for that.

She didn't have time to wonder further, however, because one of the other camp members was approaching them.

He wasn't that much taller than her, but he was lean and tanned. When he turned, she saw that his hair was kept in a narrow brown ponytail that came down past his knees. He walked with a bit of a spring in his step, and his light clothes ruffled in the wind.

"This is Hyoujin," said Kirin, "you may remember him from the other night."

Hina didn't think she did, until…a vision of the dancers leapt to the forefront of her memory, and she remembered he had been one of the most energetic of them all. This was an earth user? If she'd had to guess, she would have pegged him as wind, or perhaps the wilder sort of water wielder.

"Pardon me," said Hina, bowing her head slightly. "I had forgotten."

"Quite all right," said Hyoujin amiably, stretching out his hand. "There are rather a lot of us."

She shook his hand, though she still wasn't entirely comfortable with the process. She had preferred it when those she was introduced to bowed instead, since that was the ice maiden convention.

"I shall endeavor to remember this time."

Hyoujin chuckled. Instead of responding, he merely motioned away from the camp.

"You ready for this?"