Yup. It's chapter ten. Nice! Now...why read this when you can read the actual story?

"Let's start with a few simple questions," Tariel began. "First off, when did Touya start manifesting his aura?"

"I have a few questions that I'd like answered first," Tal cut in. "Who exactly are you, how did you hear all this, why did you come and talk to us, and why do you think that you could help Touya when none of the elders could?"

"All good questions and all will be answered. As I said, I am Tariel. I happen to be the only remaining ice master in any of the worlds. I am also one of the shinobi. Therefore, I am quite proficient at spying on people. Seeing Touya here, I could sense his energy and recognize him for what he is: an ice youkai with incredible potential. I heard of your problem, and I can help. This aura trouble is the mark of a true ice warrior, and I too suffered through it. As such, I can help him through it and also train him; that is, if you are willing, Touya," the onyx-haired apparition replied.

Tal frowned at the word 'shinobi'. I had heard mention of them, vague things that told me little to nothing other than that they were combat experts and were equally adept at stealth. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with them.

"Around a month ago, for the aura question," the bat said, a bit edgy.

"That soon? Amazing. Now, you don't have to be nervous. I bear no ill intention. Let's see… Touya, describe exactly how your energy feels to you."

I practically glowed with happiness. I hadn't been excluded from the conversation at all; this wasn't another 'grown-up' talk where I was expected to sit or stand there and be about as useful as a decorative statue.

"It crackles, kind of like the air right before a storm, although it doesn't feel thick. It's a bit jumpy, too, and rather out-of-control, like fire. Although it is supposed to be ice energy, it feels warm, far too warm, and it stings slightly. At the very least, it has this itching sensation about it, one that prickles and is unnerving. I don't like it one bit," I confessed.

"You've read quite a lot, haven't you?"

"Yes, I have. It's my only real hobby. What made you ask that?"

"Your words: articulate, fluid, powerful, even. Anyway, your ki shouldn't feel like that to you. Why do you think that it is like that?" he asked.

"I…honestly don't know. I'm inclined to believe that it's my fault. I suppose I need to come to terms with myself."

"And you aren't as it is?"

"No, not really. I'm too weak, too slow, too different, too this, too that," I replied, shaking my head so hard that my wild mane of hair went flying. "I'm not who I want to be; I know that that would be impossible, and I'm not stupid enough to believe that I need to be exactly who I want to to be happy. But I'd at least like to be someone different. I don't want to be who I am."

"Uh-huh. And why would that be?" he asked.

"I'm a freak," I murmured, turning away from him.

"Touya…" Tal started, while at the same time Tariel wondered, "Why is that?"

"Don't press him for details!" the bat ordered. "He's obviously upset, and therefore he needs to be comforted."

"But you cannot help him unless you know why it is that he feels that way," the ebony-haired shinobi argued.

"I'm not what I should be," I spoke up, my voice barely above a whisper. "Now that I've seen other ice youkai, I'm even more convinced. They look so different from me, and I'm supposed to be one of them. I'm too small for my age, my eyes are so abnormal, and my bangs are kind of psycho. I've been an outcast since a young age, and only a half vampire/half bird demon would accept me, and I'd hardly call him normal. I'm a freak."

I could hear the sudden shuff noise that showed the bat opening his wings; he was probably worried and startled. The other made no such sound. Vaguely curious, I waited for him to do something.

To my surprise, I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I flinched.

"That isn't true. It may have been a good guess, but it is neither true of you nor of your aura difficulties. They look different because they are. They don't have the intellect and the strength that you possess even now. Your size only enables you to run faster and dodge more nimbly than a larger demon could. Those eyes of yours are truly marvelous. I have never seen their like. And as for your bangs, that's just a quirk of yours. My hair is stick-straight, yet it pokes up in the front, making me look like a hedgehog. They exclude you because they don't understand you," Tariel explained.

"And you do?" I demanded, turning around.

"I would be lying to say that I truly did. However, I know that you aren't fully content at home. You feel different, cast out even while living there. That isn't where you want to be, merely where you are. You dream of, long for, other places, places you've only just began to see. You want a home fitting for you, for an ice apparition. All this snow and ice, it makes you feel comfortable. Am I right?"

I stared.

"How…How do you know all this about me?" I asked.

"We're one and the same, Touya. Ice youkai and misunderstood both."

I could tell that there was more he wanted to say, but he hesitated, and remained silent. I wasn't sure why. Was it because Tal was here? Or, even worse, was it because I was here? I was itching to ask him what he intended to say, but I too held my tongue. If he didn't want to say it, then it wasn't my place to ask it of him.

"So, can you cure this?" my guardian asked after a while.

"You cannot 'cure' this because it isn't a disease. It's not some kind of illness that can be whisked away with a quick zap of healing energy. I can, however, help him overcome the symptoms."

Tal snorted.

"So you say no, it isn't a sickness with one breath and yes with the next? Can I get a clear answer here?"

"If you like, I will explain exactly what is going on with Touya. Throughout an ice demon's childhood, their body stores every last ounce of aura it creates. Due to the very nature of our being, we don't build up aura as quickly as others can make it, so there isn't some kind of internal overload. Upon reaching early adolescence, an ice youkai's energy is sufficient enough to manifest in the traditional sense. Truly powerful apparitions, ones born with this kind of strength, have far more aura at this time. Touya had no ability to cope with it; his body couldn't build up enough defenses to keep that kind of power in check. Therefore, it is leaking out of him. But since his body can't properly channel it yet, instead of harmlessly melting into thin air as would be expected, it is trapped within him with nowhere to go. His energy needs to get out of his body or else run the risk of ripping it to shreds from the inside out," Tariel explained.

"So, how do we fix that?" Tal wondered.

"For starters, I can create a temporary patch in his aura, holding it like it should be. However, as I know from personal experience, feeling another's aura within you can be uncomfortable. And either way, it wouldn't last for long. Touya will have to learn how to create these defenses for himself with his own aura. I can train him in the ways of ice manipulation, if you like."

My heart skipped a slow beat at that. I could actually learn how to use this? This wild energy, uncontrollable by me…I could tame it?

"I-I really could?" I stammered.

He nodded, eyes distant.

"And you'll learn how to use your aura, and how to wield a sword, and how to move with not a sound, and how best to camouflage yourself in open ground. So much more, too," Tariel promised.

"Shishi and I are going to love this!" I declared, tugging on Tal's sleeve and grinning ear to ear. "He's always wanted to try more swordsmanship techniques, and he'll love the rest of it! Think of it, Tal! The two of us together, training to be great warriors."

The ebony-haired man frowned.

"This 'Shishi', you said that he was half bird and half vampire?"

I nodded, suddenly less eager.

"Can he control wind or earth or ice or something, too?"

"No… But he can shapeshift into a little owl-like creature."

"I'm afraid he can't come," Tariel said.

I was trapped within a web that I myself had spun, and only now did I realize that the strings were as hard as steel and as binding as chains. The chance to become what I had always dreamed of, to be strong and control my aura was on one claw; staying with my best friend in a tiny backwater town where I'd never amount to anything was on the other. It was all but impossible to make. If I stayed where I was, I'd have to live the rest of my life knowing that I'd passed up the opportunity to become more than a powerless ice youkai. That is, if my ki didn't tear me apart first. If I went, however, I'd be alone in the world again, and I could very well never see Shishi again.

"What am I supposed to do?" I whispered.

"When it all is cleared up, it's your friend or your life," the shinobi bluntly stated. "True, you may survive the pain and trials of your aura, although the chances of that are slim to none. If you do, then there will have been no reason to leave. If you don't, then you die. Why take the risk? Besides, we could always visit Shishi and Cotalyn every now and then. It wouldn't be like you were abandoning them."

I toyed with my hair, fiddling with it. Despite his assurances, I wasn't fully willing to leave. After all, that was my home. It was the only place, as far as I could remember, that I had lived in. Finally, I slowly nodded. "I suppose."

"Great! Now, Cotalyn, what do you think? Is there anything wrong with this?"

"Well…what will it be like? Touya needs a lot of attention. He has…special needs, so to speak," the bat demon said. I blushed at this, cheeks turning bright red. How could he say that?

"Hm? What's wrong with him?"

"There's nothing wrong with him!" Tal hurriedly cut in. Thank you! I thought. "He's just a bit different. Touya's very sensitive; he can't take insults at all." Well…it is the truth… "Depending on the situation, he could snap at you," Hey! I would not! "or, more likely, hang his head and go sit alone in his room. Whatever you do, don't laugh at him, even if he's being unintentionally funny. It's not pretty to see at all, watching little Touya's shoulders slump in defeat and everything. He's also incredibly insecure. Touya just doesn't believe in himself." Too bad it's all true…

"Oh…well, that's fine. He'll gain confidence in himself easily, and as for insulting him, I wouldn't do it," the other assured. "Does he have any major fears or such?"

"I'm claustrophobic," I admitted. "I can't stand being in small places."

"Why? There's nothing wrong with them."

I didn't want to say anymore. Pleadingly, I glanced at Tal, hoping that he'd tell him so that I wouldn't have to.

"He almost died from the cold when he was trapped in a gully in the middle of winter. Being an ice youkai, I don't think that he could be afraid of the cold or something," Tal filled in.

"Ah…Well, I'm sure that I could work with him so that he would overcome that."

I stiffened.

"You can't make me go in there!" I exclaimed. "I will not go in a small place!"

I was aware that I sounded like a petulant little kid, but I couldn't help it. I hated confining spaces. There was no way that I was going to put up with them.

The other ice apparition sighed, shaking his head.

"How old is Touya? Twenty two, twenty three?" he asked.

I bristled with indignation. There was no way that I was such a young child! That would put me at about seven years old to a human.

"I'm thirty two," I said.

There was a period of awkward silence, before Tariel cleared his throat.

"Yes…anyway… We'll work with that. Rest assured, I won't put you in some tiny place."

Right then, a rend appeared in reality, and Vaifar stepped through.

"I am here," he announced.

"Well… I suppose I'll be coming with you," Tariel declared.

"I suppose so…"

The yaminade nodded, and the four of us headed back into Gandara.

The flight home was uneventful. I had to fly pillion with Tal, sitting in front of him in a saddle built for one, but it wasn't too uncomfortable. We set down in the stables about a day later; I was a bit stiff but otherwise fine.

"You'd best say goodbye to Shishi," Tal whispered, nudging me along as he took Tariel back to our house. I nodded, stepping towards the half-bird apparition's house. Instead of heedlessly rushing down the path, I paid perfect attention. This could be the last time I ever walked this path, at least for a long time.

The trees always were so beautiful. They were mostly a dark green, although there were a few orangey ones. The leaves were enormous, fan-shaped ones. I had always liked the trees near his house… There was a hard-packed dirt path that led up to his training field. Long, knee-length grass that had always tickled me grew in the meadow. At this time of year, it was dead, brown grass, but in the spring it was a wonderful light green, and it waved in the wind. A few handmade training dummies lay in pieces in the field, while others still remained standing.

I paced over to the door, and knocked twice, before stepping back. The lavender-eyed demon opened the door, grinning.

"Well, Blue, how'd it go?"

"They couldn't help me. But…someone else could. He's a shinobi, and an ice master, too. He said he'd train me in using my aura! The problem is…I'd have to leave. I don't want to! I don't want to go away, because I know I'd miss you too much! But if I don't, my aura is going to rip me apart," I explained, sighing. "He said I could visit, but… I won't be the same."

"Blue? You're…leaving?" he asked, dumbfounded.

I nodded, sniffling.

"I'm going to miss you," he quietly said. "I guess I'll go back to swordsmanship training as well. I heard there was a really good kendo teacher nearby…" Shishi forced a grin. "Okay?"

"Shishi… You know that if I had my choice, I'd stay here with you."

"Aw, c'mon, you can't have me chain you down. Go live your dream, Blue. You want to be a strong warrior, so do it!" he prodded.

I frowned.

"Shishi, it's okay. I don't have to leave! I'll…learn how to use my aura on my own! Yeah! Then I can stay here, and I'll be just fine!"

"You know as well as I do that you can't do that, Blue. If you die because of me, I'd never be able to forgive myself. You know that. C'mon, it'll be fine. I was looking forward to leaving anyway."

"Really?" I asked.

"Of course! This place is in the middle of nowhere. I want to find fame, prove myself to be a great warrior, earn all the recognition and such that I deserve. Now that you're leaving, I've got no real reason to stay here. So… It works out for all of us."

I halfheartedly smiled, hugging him.

"Thanks."

"Hey, no prob, Blue. Anyway… Wait here for a sec, okay?"

I nodded as the swordsman darted back into his house. After a bit, he returned, one hand behind his back.

"Turn around, Blue, and shut your eyes."

I complied, waiting for him to show me. Something cool touched the front of my neck, and I felt Shishi's unusually warm hands fumbling with something on the back of my neck. I still wasn't used to my lower body temperature. Shishi stepped back.

"I was saving this for your birthday, but now seems much better. You can open your eyes now!"

I looked down. A single ivory-colored fang rested against my chest. It was held in by a thin metal wire, connecting it to a braided black leather necklace.

"Wow! This is wonderful, Shishi! Thanks!" I exclaimed, clutching the fang in my hand.

"Yeah, it was one of my own. What with how much you care about fangs and luck, I figured you'd like one for yourself. So, you know, I found one of mine that I had lost, and got the rest of it made by the leatherworker and the blacksmith," he said with a grin. "Plus, since I'm half vampire that is one huge tooth for you to have. Not many can beat that size."

"You never cease to amaze me, Shishi."

"Yeah, well, I'm an amazing guy. Now go, Blue! You've got ice to master."

"Goodbye."

"Yeah. Bye."

I smiled that lopsided smile of mine, and stepped down the path to my home. This was it. It was time for me to learn how to use ice!

Yeah...no Jin in this chapter, unfortunately. However, I promise Jin in chapter eleven. Promise. I think it was a happy little chapter... Some things were wrapped up, and Touya's finally stepping down the path to doing something useful. Plotline! If the whole aura thing was a little unclear, it will be elaborated on. I (hopefully) always do, right? Anyway, review please!