A/N: Was listening to "Flow Like Water" by James Newton Howard while writing the last bit of this chapter.

Chapter Ten: Wishes of the Heart

The next morning, Ayame slowly stirs and opens her eyes as a beam of sunlight shines onto her face through the canopy of the trees. She glances to her side as she hears the sound of soft breathing next to her and sees Sam leaned against her asleep. She then remembers that she had fallen asleep next to him. She admires his sleeping face for a moment before he stirs and open his eyes, meeting her gaze.

Embarrassed that she was caught, she glances away as a blush rose to her cheeks and says softly, "G-Good morning."

A faint blush paints Sam's cheeks as well and he replies nervously, "Uh..good morning to you too." He then asks, "Sleep well?"

Ayame looks back him with a shy smile as she replies, "Y-yes, I did. Thanks for asking." She chuckles as she adds nervously, "Um..Your fur makes a good pillow."

Sam chuckles as well then returns her smile as he says shyly, "Glad I could be of service."

Ayame admires his smile for a moment then hears her stomach growl loudly. She blushes in embarrassment and says, "U-Um..I'm gonna go catch some fish for our breakfast. Be right back."

Sam nods and watches as she gets up then heads over to the river bank nearby their campsite. Wanting to contribute, he goes off to find edible roots and berries to their meal. After abit of searching, he finds some and gathers as much as his arms could carry. He then heads back to the campsite.

Moments later, Ayame returns to the campsite and sits by the fire. She then proceeds to gut the fish, tossing the entrails into the flame to keep from attracting vermin, then spears each one onto a stick and lays them over the fire.

She hears a rustle of leaves and turns to see Sam walking towards her with vegetation in his arms. He kneels down before her and lays his bounty on the ground next to her as he says gently, "I figured you would like some greens and berries to go with our meat."

Ayame's eyes light up with joy as she looks the plants over and gives him a warm smile as she says, "These look wonderful Sam, they'll go well with the fish. Thank you so much."

A blush paints Sam cheeks as he looks down and replies shyly, "I-It was nothing."

After prepping the berries and roots, she turns the fish every so often on the fire. As they get cooked to her liking, the others begin to stir from their slumber.

Ayame greets them warmly as they come over to the fire, "Good morning, everyone. Breakfast is ready so dig in."

Roca smiles at her as she replies, "Morning." Then she, Clive, Kanako, and Niss sit down around the fire with Sam and Ayame and the group then digs into the food happily.

After Roca swallows abit of her fish, she turns to Ayame and asks, "So, Ayame..may I ask you something?"

Ayame swallows her food and replies with a curious look, "Sure, what is it?"

She watches as Roca fidgets slightly before she asks, "What's is the red light destrict? That old man you talked to said women who cannot pay debts are taken there."

Ayame's face goes crimson in response then glances at the others. They were looking at her intently, waiting for the answer. She then composes herself as she turns to Niss and says tentatively, "Um..Niss, could you go give some fish to Arez please?"

The little girl nods as she grabs some fish and takes it over to the dragon. When she was out of earshot, Ayame turns to the others and fidgets as she says nervously, "Um..well you see...the red light destrict..is a place..where..women...entertain.." She looks down as her face goes red once more,"...and engage..in..indecent..activities upon request from customers.."

Roca tilts her head in confusion as she asks innocently, "Indecent acts?"

Clive sighs as he replies gently, "To put it in simple terms lass, they're taken there to sell their bodies for sex in order to obtain money."

Roca blushes as her eyes widen in shock and says, "O-Oh." Realizing now why Ayame was nervous about the question, she gives Ayame an apologetic look as she continues, "I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't of asked. I was just curious."

Ayame gives her a reassuring look as she replies, "I-It's okay, you didn't know."

Sam clenches his fist slightly as he says in an irritated tone, "So, if I understand this right. Those.."people"...will try to send you to that place?"

Ayame gives a silent nod as she replies, "If I can't pay, that will become my fate, yes."

Sam growls as he says angrily, "That's sick. How dare they even think such a thing." It made his stomach turn to think of seeing Ayame in such a place. "They'll have to go through me first." he thought bitterly.

Ayame places a hand over his and says gently, "It's okay, I don't plan on staying around here long. So they won't get the chance." She smiles inwardly as she thinks to herself, "To see him worked up like this over me is kinda sweet."

Sam let's out a sigh as he composes himself then gently nods while saying softly, "That's...reassuring."

She gives him a small smile as she takes her hand away as she says, "As it were, I was hoping to glimpse the landscape one last time before we leave here. It's been months since I've seen it and if memory serves right there are a few good hot springs around that just call for a relaxing soak."

Roca smiles as she says cheerfully, "I second this, that does sound nice."

Clive nods as he says, "Aye, we have been traveling abit and those warm waters would soothe our tired muscles."

Sam hums in agreement as Ayame grins and says, "Then it's settled. We venture for relaxation after we eat."

The others nod and the group returns to the task of eating their food. When they were done they set out into the forest and Ayame gazed around in wonder as sakura petals painted the wind in every direction. She smiled inwardly as she remembered the many times her father and mother would bring her out here to gaze at the trees during her childhood days before the peace of their town was disturbed by war.

After a few hours of gathering edible fruit and roots in her basket, she notices a rabbit under a tree ahead of them and upon closer inspection sees that it was trapped and injured as an arrow jutted out from it's side.

She let's out a gasp and runs over to it. She sets her basket down to the side then kneels down next to the rabbit and inspects it further. Blood oozes from it's wound and she thinks, "It will die if the bleeding isn't stopped." Pitying the creature, she uses a soothing voice as she gently removes the trap and arrow from the rabbit and places her hand over it's wound as it whimpered. A blue light glows around her hand and the rabbit's wound closes up.

Ayame then says warmly to the rabbit, "Ya all better now. Take care of yourself."

She watches as the rabbit hops away with a small smile. She picks up her basket as she stands up and as she begins to walk over to the others, who were watching her curiously, she hears a female voice say in disbelief, "It is strange. It should be right here."

Surprised, Ayame turns around and takes in the woman's appearance. She wore a white kimono with red trim on the neck hem and a purple obi around her waist. Strapped to her back was a quiver filled with arrows and in her hand a bow. She had light red colored eyes and light brown hair that had bangs split in the middle and come down on the sides of her face with the rest tied with a purple ribbon in a low ponytail.

Curious as to what the woman was looking for, Ayame asks, "What are you looking for? Maybe I can help."

The woman continues to look around as she replies, "I shot a rabbit when hunting and left it here for a moment, but it seems it has disappeared. Strange."

Ayame pales slightly as she realizes the rabbit she just freed was the woman's and replies nervously, "R-rabbit? I just released one just a second ago. It was hurt and I felt sorry for it." Ayame bows to her in apology as she adds, "I had no idea that rabbit was yours. I'm sorry!"

A look of shock comes upon the woman's face and she says, "What?! That was to be supper for the hungry children. Didn't you think?"

Ayame stands up and says in a apologetic tone, "I really am sorry." She ponders for a moment then looks down at the basket of food she had gathered from the forest. She then looks at the woman and says, "To atone for my mistake will this basket of food suffice?" She thinks to herself, "It may not change the problems the town has but it will suffice the needs of those who need it for today."

She hands the basket over to the woman, who takes it from her as she smiles and replies gratefully, "Your humbleness is greatly appreciated. I will thank you for the hungry children."

Sam smiles as he watches the exchange. Ayame's kindness and generosity were one of the many things he had come to love about her.

Ayame nods as she bows again and says, "You're welcome. Again, sorry for causing you trouble." She stands upright and asks, "What's your name?"

The woman gives her a smile as she replies, "Tis Kanako." She then asks, "And you are?"

Ayame returns her smile as she replies, "My name is Ayame."

Kanako nods and says warmly, "Thank you again, Ayame. Now I must leave before it gets dark. Take care now!" She bows then runs off in a hurry into the sakura forest and out of sight.

Ayame waves goodbye to her then prepares to leave when she notices a comb on the ground. She picks it up and looks at it. Engraved on the side of it was a name. It read Kanako. Sam notices that Ayame had picked up something and was staring at it in her hands.

He comes over to her and asks, "What ya got there Ayame?"

Ayame looks up at him as she replies, "It's a comb, I think it's Kanako's as it has her name on it. She must of dropped it as she ran off." She looks off into the direction Kanako had run off and says, "We should return it to her. She might be lookin for it."

She then frowns as she thinks, "But this place is huge, how are we going to find her?" An idea then comes to her and she nervously turns to Sam. She then says shyly, "Um..Sam?"

He tilts his head in question as he asks, "Yes?"

Ayame looks down as she fidgets and says, "As...a wolf you have a good sense of smell, correct? This area is huge. Maybe...you could help me find Kanako?"

Sam is surprised by the question at first then smiles as he says, "Sure. Hand the comb to me."

Ayame returns his smile then hands the comb to him. He takes it then holds it up to his nose and sniffs. Once he memorized the scent he hands it back to her and transforms into his wolf form.

Clive, who had never seen Sam transform into a wolf, stares in shock as he stutters, "H-He became a wolf."

Roca chuckles as she says, "I know how ya feel. I was surprise myself when Sam change from a wolf into a man."

Ayame nods in agreement as she chimes in, "Same here. After awhile though you get used to it."

Clive stares on in disbelief as he mutters, "When ya think ya seen everythin the world just keeps throwin surprises at ya."

Ignoring their chatter, Sam sniffs the air, searching for Kanako's scent. He locks onto it then turns to Ayame and says, "This way. Follow me."

He runs off in the direction that Kanako went and the others follow after him. After abit of tracking, Sam comes to a stop near a small ravine. He turns to the others and says, "Her scent stops here and disappears." He transforms back into his human form then says, "But wherever she is it's close as the scent is fresh."

Ayame nods and says with a warm smile, "Good job Sam."

A small blush paints Sam's cheeks at her praise. He looks away as he mumurs softly, "Tis nothing."

Suddenly Roca points and says in alarm, "Ayame, look over there!"

Ayame and the others look in the direction where Roca was pointing and see a group of swordsmen surrounding a small boy not too far away from them.

They hear one of the swordsmen say to the small boy, "Run again? You father ran away owing us a great deal of money. Now, you should pay for it by being our servant for the rest of your life." He then asks, "Understand?"

The small boy shakes his head as he yells, "No! I don't want to! Help! Someone!"

Ayame gasps then turns to the others and says, "That little boy is in danger. We must hurry and save him."

The others nod and they all run over to the group of men and small boy. She stops before them and says angrily, "Stop!" When the men turn around to look at her she asks, "How can you do something so wrong publicly? Isn't there any pity in your eyes?"

One of the men scoff at her and says, "We are the law. Since you want to be in our bad books. We'll punish you!" He turns to the other men, "Come on guys! Let's beat em!" They nod and they all draw their swords and attack them.

Sam and Roca draw their swords and overwhelm the swordsmen with ease, knocking two of them out. The last one standing retreats into the forest as he yells, "This isn't over! You will pay for this!"

Sam turns to Ayame and asks, "Should we give chase after him?"

Ayame shakes her head as she replies, "No, let him be." She then walks over to the small boy and says with a reassuring smile, "It's ok, they won't hurt you now. Run along home."

The boy points behind her with a fearful expression as he says, "Ah! More bad guys have come!"

They all turn around and sure enough more swordsmen had arrived. Leading in front of them was what seemed to be a debt collector.

Sam's brows furrow as he says, "He brought back reinforcements."

The debt collector looks at Ayame and the others and says, "So you are the ones who attacked my men over one mere little boy? Thought you could away with it? Well let me tell you that your actions will be punished as we will put you out of your misery." He turns to the swordsmen and says, "Get them and tie them up. We'll throw em into the bay." He turns to back to Ayame and says with a grin, "Hope ya can swim. Ahaha!"

Before the swordsmen could make a move an arrow flies through the air and strikes the debt collector in the shoulder. He winces and cries out in pain as he shouts, "Ouch! That hit me!"

The swordsmen look around in wonder and one of them asks angrily, "Who shot that arrow?!"

From above them they all hear a female voice say, "If you are bold enough to step further, then I swear the next strike will not be so trivial."

They all look up and see a woman aiming a bow at them from atop of the ravine ledge. Ayame quickly recognizes her. It was Kanako. The debt collector glares up at her and asks angrily, "Who are you?!"

Kanako glares down at him as she replies, "You bad guys are too unworthy to know my name!" She then jumps down from off the ledge and lands on her feet next to Ayame. She then points her bow once more at the debt collector and the swordsmen as she says to her, "Don't worry Ayame. Nobody will hurt you so long as I'm here."

The debt collector glances at the swordsmen, who were standing around in awe and says angrily, "What are you standing around for? Kill them!" The swordsmen draw their swords and attack Ayame and her group, though they were easily defeated and knocked out by the group's sheer power.

Seeing that he was in a spot of trouble, the debt collector retreats slightly and runs away in fear as he yells, "Help, Help!"

Sam prepares to go after him, but Ayame stops him as she says, "Karma has it own way of dealing with things like this. Best not to get blood on our hands."

He nods as her words made sense and sheathes his sword as he replies, "As you wish."

Ayame hears Kanako talking to the small boy as she says, "Yuta, it's really ok now. The group of bad guys have been dealt with. You can go back home to your family."

Yuta nods and says gratefully to Ayame and the others, "Thank you for saving me."

Ayame looks over at him and smiles as she replies, "You're quite welcome." She watches as Yuta then runs off into the sakura forest and out of sight.

She then turns to Kanako and says warmly, "Thanks for helping us, Kanako."

Kanako smiles as she says, "Without your help I wouldn't have been able to save Yuta. So, thank you."

Ayame nods then holds out Kanako's comb to her and says, "I believe you dropped this. It has your name so I figured you'd be looking for it and was trying to find you."

Kanako takes it from her as she says gratefully, "Ah! Thank you so much! I thought I had lost it. I went looking for it after I had delivered the food to the hungry children in Koyota. Then I noticed you were in trouble and came to help." She then adds, "It seems we have become enemies of the debt collector and his pawns. These guys won't leave us be so how bout we accompany each other? We can look after one another."

Ayame nods and says, "Sounds good to me." They then all leave the ravine and begin to make their way back to the campsite where they had left Arez to guard. Along the way they come across a large stone statue that looked to be of a male deity.

Kanako sees it and walks over to it as she says with a smile, "Ah, it's the Ti-tsang lord." She turns to Ayame and says, "Ayame, did you know that if you pray to the Ti-tsang lord here, your wishes may be realized."

Ayame blinks in surprise as she replies, "Really?" She then smiles, "If that's the case, then let's all pray together."

She motions the others to gather around the statue. She then turns and bows her head to the statue as she prayed silently for a moment "If you truly do grant wishes Ti-Tsang lord then I only have one thing to ask of you. Please, if you can, make it so that once the darkness has been quelled I can remain in this world and live my life out peacefully. That's all I want as I am happy just being with my friends. I'll accept whatever it will take to allow this. If it's my powers, so be it."

One by one, the others join her around the statue. Roca prayed for the successful avengence of her father, Clive wished to be able to redeem himself for the wrong he has done, and Sam prayed for Dober's vanquishment so he and his people could live in peace once more.

When they were done, Kanako turned to Ayame and asks, "Ayame, what wishes did you vowed?"

Ayame turns to her and says, "To fulfill my destiny and for everyone to live in peace." She then asks, "You?"

Kanako replies with a warm smile, "That is a nice wish. As for me I have nothing special to pray for. I only wish the children can grow up safely and healthily. Only this can make me happy."

Ayame tilts her head as she asks with a surprised look, "You have children?"

Kanako shakes her head as she chuckles and replies, "No, not me. I meant the children of the poor villagers. They are troubled by the numerous wars and taxes. Many often have to hunt rabbit to allay their hunger."

Ayame ponders for a moment then says, "Let's go see the children right now."

Kanako nods and says happily, "Of course. There is a family I visit often in Kyoto. I'm sure they'd be happy to meet the person who provided them their food for today. Let's go."

They all make their way towards the town of Kyoto and follow Kanako to a small house within the town's living district. Inside the house was a small boy and a small girl holding a baby. On the floor next to them was an elderly woman resting on a futon. Ayame recognizes the small boy as the one they had saved earlier that was named Yuta.

Yuta's eyes light up as Kanako walks through the door and says happily, "Ah, it's Kanako!" He turns to the small girl holding the baby and says, "Miyuki look, Kanako's here!" He then notices Ayame and the others and says, "You are the ones who saved me from those swordsmen. Are you friends of Kanako?"

Ayame nods as she smiles and says, "Yes we are. Yuta is it? I am glad you have made it home safely."

Kanako turns to Yuta and Miyuki and says, "She is the reason you had a meal for this evening. Now what do we say to people who do nice things for us?"

Yuta and Miyuki look at Ayame with smiles as they say in unison, "Thank you, Ayame."

Miyuki then says, "The food was really good."

Ayame blushes slightly as she says, "T-Tis nothing really. I am happy you liked it."

Yuta turns to Kanako and says, "Sister Kanako, we took care of our granny while you were out."

Kanako smiles as she takes the baby from Miyuki and says fondly, "Yuta, Miyuki, you have grown tall. And have become more considerate and understanding."

Ayame turns to Kanako and asks, "I take it they made you apart of their family?"

Kanakos nods with a smile in response and Ayame then asks, "What tis wrong with their grandmother? Is she ill?"

Kanako frowns as she replies, "Aye, she has the case of the flu and has become quite bedridden because of it. So I tend to the children while she recovers."

Ayame nods in understanding then smiles as she says, "Lucky for you, I happen to be a traveling herbalist. I can rid her of that flu within a day or two. Free of charge."

Kanako blinks in surprise then gives her a grateful smile as she says, "Would you really? That be most helpful."

Ayame nods then walks over to the old woman and kneels down next to her. She then opens up her bag and takes out some common sage and ginger. She then begins to prepare a batch of the medicinal herb tea to treat to old woman's flu.

Once she was done, she gently props up the old woman as she hands her the tea and says, "Here, drink this. It will make you feel better."

The old woman looks at her with a weak smile as she says gratefully, "You are very kind to offer treatment like this." She then drinks the tea and once she was finished Ayame helps her lay back down gently.

She places a cold rag ontop the old woman's forehead and says to the children, "Make sure to change her cloth every ten minutes or so. Once you've done that, have her drink this tea three times during the day. Once in the morning, then evening, and at night before she sleeps."

Yuta and Miyuki nod in understanding and Yuta says, "You can count on us."

Suddenly a young man barges into the house and says in a loud harsh voice, "Hey, old woman! When are you going to return my money?!"

Everyone jumps slightly at the loud noise, except the children's grandmother, who replies in a pleading tone, "Please Mr. Huan, give me a couple more days. I will pay you back your money when I am well and can get out of bed."

Huan furrows his brows as he says angrily, "No! I will tear your house down if you cannot return me my money!"

Ayame stands up and glares at the man as she says, "That is most uncalled for! Can you not see she is unwell?"

Kanako glares at the man as well as she says, "She is right. If you want the money so bad then let me pay for them."

Huan scoffs as he says, "You will return the money for them? I'm afraid you can't pay for it. The sum including the interest is ten thousand gold." He eyes Kanoko's body over, "And you do not look to be rich."

He then takes a closer look at Ayame and says, "Wait, I recognize you. You're General Tsuruko's daughter, Ayame." A sneer crosses his face, "How nice it is of you to return home. Saves the debt collectors the trouble of looking for ya as your family debt of twenty thousand gold now falls onto you. Though I doubt you can pay for it either." He then licks his lips as he adds, "However..if you two girls were to be sold into the red light district, you may earn a lot of money."

Kanako gasps and Ayame says furiously, "I don't think so! You are too arrogant!"

To the man's surprise, Sam kicks Huan in the side. The force of the kick makes Huan stumble back against the wall and fall on his butt.

Sam quickly unsheathes his sword and points it at Huan's neck. His eyes take on a dark glint as he says menacingly with a growl, "You try to sell Ayame to that place and I will see to it that you won't see the light of the next day."

Frightened of the monster before him, Huan holds up a hand as he says pleadingly, "W-wait! I am just a man who was sent to get money back! Please don't kill me!"

Kanako replies sternly, "They really are unable to return the money right now. You'd better put that debt on me, let me pay it for them."

Ayame places a hand on Kanako's shoulder as she looks at her and says, "You don't have to pay. I will do it."

To Kanako's surprise, Ayame then digs into her bag and pulls out two satchels. One contained the ten thousand gold coins that Sam had won in the fight with the samurai and the other the twenty thousand gold coins she was rewarded from the Holy Village guard.

She tosses the money bags to Huan as she says, "You want your filthy money? Catch!" Her brows narrowed as her voice took on a malevolent tone as she adds sternly, "Our debts are paid now. Don't bother these people anymore and get out of my sight."

Huan catches the money bags and nods nervously as he says gently, "En, I shall take this and leave." He then scrambles out of the house, eager to get away.

Sam breathes out a sigh as he sheathes his sword and mutters, "He got lucky this time."

Kanako turns to Ayame and bows as she says in a grateful tone, "Thank you, Ayame."

Ayame blushes slightly as she replies with a smile, "D-Don't worry bout it. It was nothing."

The old woman then speaks up and says warmly, "It is I who should be thanking you both." A smile paints her lips, "Kanako, Ayame, you both have helped me a lot. I will never forget either of you."

Yuta and Miyuki nod in agreement as they say warmly to Kanako and Ayame, "Thank you sister Kanako, Ayame."

Ayame smiles then turns to the others and says, "Well, we need to get going. Arez is probably becoming restless." She looks back over at the children and their grandmother and bows as she says, "It was a pleasure meeting you all. Take care."

The others nod and the children wave goodbye as the group leaves. They leave out the entrance gate of Koyota and travel back to their campsite.

Meanwhile Huan had reached the hut of the debt collectors. When he places the money bags on the counter before them he says, "I got the money from the old woman like you asked." He frowns slightly, "However, she had company over. One of them being General Tsuruko's daughter, Ayame."

The men before him blink in surprise and one says, "Ayame? Last I heard she had left the island to become a traveling herbalist." He then asks, "Are you sure it is she you have seen?"

Huan nods as he replies, "Yes sir, she was dressed odd but I recognized those silver eyes of hers as only she is known to have them." He then adds, "She was accompanied by some strangely dressed people as well. One of them struck me down when I mentioned sending her to the red light district to pay the debt her parents left upon her." He shivered slightly, "He was not human...and those eyes, they were like the sun."

One of the debt collectors slams his hands on the counter as he stood up and said angrily, "So that girl was Tsuruko's daughter. She and her comrades prevented me from carrying out my duty earlier." He turns an old man sitting next to him, "Please, let me take care of this nuisance of a girl and teach her what it means to defy the law."

The old man nods as he replies, "Very well, even if her debt is paid it is bad business for her to interfere in our affairs."

The debt collector gets a gleeful look on his face as he says to the guards surrounding them, "Guards, come with me! We have work to do!" He then exits out of the hut with swordsmen following behind him.

Back at the campsite, Ayame grabs a basket then turns to Sam and says, "Since I've used up most of my herbs treating the grandmother's flu, I'm going to go restock before dark falls upon us."

Sam nods and says, "I'll go with you. You need someone to watch your back."

Ayame gives him a small smile as she says, "And I'm glad it's you." She then begins to walk into the forest.

Sam blushes at her words as he stares after her then composes himself and moves in haste to catch up to her side. Roca and Clive exchange knowing glances at each other as they watch the two leave.

Clive grins as he says, "She be going off alone again and like a shadow he follows willingly."

Roca nods in agreement as she says, "I think it's cute." She then adds, "I wonder when he's gonna make his move on her."

Clive chuckles as he replies, "He will at somepoint. A man's just as serious about romance as women are. Though we hide it better."

Kanako glances over at them in surprise and asks, "Sam is interested in courting Ayame?"

Clive nods as he replies, "Aye, and I don't blame him. She's quite a radiant beauty and has a good head on her shoulders."

As they continue to gossip, Ayame and Sam have wandered deeper into the forest. After picking the herbs for what seemed like an hour, Ayame braces the filled weaved basket onto her shoulder then looks at the full moon above them and says, "All done. It's nice we had some natural light for this."

Sam hums in agreement as he watched Ayame. The moonlight gave her body a luminous glow and her silver eyes seemed to shine even brighter within it. He was tempted to tell her how beautiful she looked but before he could gather the courage to do it, she turned to him and asked, "Hey, can I ask you something?"

He nods, a curious expression on his face as he answers, "Sure, go ahead."

Ayame looked down at the ground as she fidgets and asks tentatively, "B-Back at the temple, before you know...you guarded us from Mooter with some sort of shield spell. I was wondering...how did you do it? It's nowhere in the spell book I have."

Sam blinked in surprise as he replies, "Oh that..well it's a simple trick. All you have to do is focus your magic energy in the area you wish to shield and project it. It's good for when dealing with magic casters."

Ayame listens then asks shyly, "C-Could you teach me?"

Sam shrug his shoulders as he replies, "I could but only if you want me to."

Ayame sets down her basket and nods as she says, "I do."

He uncrosses his arms and walks over to her from his spot by a tree. He then stands next to her and says, "Alright, but it won't be easy and it'll be very taxing on your body as it's advanced magic."

She gives him a determined look as she says, "I'll manage. What do I need to do?"

Sam gives her an unsure look but replies, "First you need to be able to shield yourself before attempting to cast it upon others. Close your eyes."

Ayame closes her eyes and he continues, "Focus your magic energy. I need you to visualize it, see how it moves, what color it is."

She nods as she takes a deep breath and begins to concentrate. She saw nothing at first, then streams of blue light filled her vision, they were moving in a current like fashion around her, bending and twisting as though they were water. She then hears Sam say, "Once you have it, picture it expanding. Will it to go beyond you."

Ayame exhales slightly and concentrates once more as she places her palms out in front of her. She thinks to herself, "Like water I must adapt and shape what's around me. Flow through the cracks, disperse and reform." She then begins to feel her magic energy flow out from her.

Sam watches her intently and for a moment, he coulda swore he saw a clear liquid sphere barrier of water form around Ayame. Just as fast as he saw it, the water rippled and faded. He then thinks to himself, "To have it even shape for a minute is impressive, It took me days for mine to take shape."

He then says with approval to Ayame, "You're doing good, just keep at it."

Ayame pants slightly as she could begin feel the strain the task was putting on her but she presses on. Sam's eyes widen in surprise as the sphere appears once again and stays for an even longer amount of time. It then ripples once more and fades.

He then sees Ayame buckle slightly and runs over to catch her as she begins to teeter over. He looks down at her as she breathed heavily and says softly, "Woah, easy there. I think that's enough practice for one night."

Ayame regains her breath and asks, "Did I do it?"

Sam nods at her as he replies, "Yeah, you did good for a first time try. We'll try again tomorrow after you rest abit."

Ayame grins then let's out a yawn. She then says sleepily, "A nap does sound good right bout now. Let's go back to camp."

She then slowly but steadily gets back onto her feet and picks up her basket. Her and Sam then make their way back to the campsite where the others were, who had already turned in for the night, and they both go to sleep.