Hey there, everyone. Sorry it's taking me so long to reply to reviews; my internet has been dead since Sunday and we only just fixed it. But, you know, I think an update will make everyone feel better.

My energy was completely sapped. The drain on my aura was far too much for my body, and it was only through sheer force of will that I kept myself from passing out. No longer did I reply to Jin's constant pestering, for I feared that even the slightest lapse in concentration would knock me out as surely as a blow to the head. My eyelids felt heavy, far too heavy, as though they were made of lead.

"Hey, Touya, why're yeh actin' so funny? What's wron'?" he asked.

"Tired," I murmured, not elaborating any further. Even that simple statement was almost enough, and the period of time between blinks rapidly dwindled to the point where even opening my eyes for a second or two seemed as great an undertaking as challenging the Saint Beasts themselves. Granted, those four rulers were petty lords, mere pawns in comparison to the godlike might of Mukuro, Yomi, and Raizen, but they were still far more powerful than the common people.

"Why're yeh so tired? Was it that whole freezy-thin' yeh did earlier?"

I inclined my head slightly, hoping that he'd recognize the gesture.

"Oh…I'm never so wiped out when I use the wind. Why're yeh so tired from that? Huh?"

I didn't answer, not even finding it in me to keep my eyes open. This was pure bone-weary exhaustion, the sort that not even the most exciting of moments or the loudest of alarms could dispel.

"Are yeh too tired ta even reply? Is that it?" he pressed.

By the time my brain processed his question, I had already slipped into sleep.

"Well, I didn't think I'd see you again!" a soft voice proclaimed.

I wheeled around, only to see a familiar indigo-haired youkai.

"Shishi?"

"Who else?" he replied. "I mean, really. No one else could possibly be this drop-dead good-looking, and couple those awesome looks with this great voice and amazing skill with the sword… No one else has this!"

"I missed you, too," I responded.

"So, how'd it go, Blue? Did you learn some cool tricks? No pun intended," he assured with that fanged grin that I already missed.

"No," I replied, crestfallen. "It turns out, I'm not an ice adept at all… They were wrong, and they couldn't help me much beyond fixing this."

"Not an ice adept? So you have no hope of becoming powerful?"

I shook my head, anxious.

"Goodbye, then. I don't need a weak friend, Blue."

"What? But…what about all that time back at home?"

"Well, you served your purpose: a distraction, nothing more. Now that I have fame, strong allies, and all the girls I could ever want, what use do I have for a fangless weakling?" he asked.

I couldn't stop the swordsman from turning and walking away any more than I could stop the tears rolling down my cheeks.

I bolted upright, breath coming in short gasps.

To my relief, I was lying in that too-soft bed with its not-as-warm blankets; I wasn't back in my village, and the ice master hadn't rejected me. I breathed a sigh, and wiped the beads of sweat off of my brow. It was just a nightmare.

Still, I was uneasy. What with my loss of control earlier, I was sure that Tariel would be, at the very least, angry with me. I shook my head vigorously, unruly bangs getting in the way. I knew that I'd have to face the raven-haired youkai eventually, and I'd rather get it over with now instead of having to fight my own guilt and fear for as long as it took to muster the courage to meet him, as I'd still have to confront Tariel, but it would only force me to endure the pain of a guilty conscience until then. No, I'd much rather talk with him now.

I climbed out of bed, feeling out my aura. It seemed fine enough, which hinted that I'd been asleep for quite a bit, but the faint lavender edge to it was all that I needed to see to be assured that Tariel had bolstered my ki to speed up my recovery. With careful, hesitant steps, I paced down the hallway, dreading the moment that I would see that trained warrior before me.

It came all too soon for my liking, the tall demon seeming to melt out of the shadows, invisible to my senses. I started, surprised, before the full weight of it hit me. He was right there, and he seemed so much more intimidating than I remembered…

"I-I'm sorry," I quickly apologized, waiting for whatever harsh punishment he would inflict upon me.

"Don't be. We both know that you couldn't have stopped that if you had tried," he replied, voice smooth. I was still apprehensive, nervous.

"But I messed up in front of all the others!" I meekly protested.

"So? Trust me, the others did no better when they were first judged before the council of the shinobi. Risho was so frightened that the very earth shook beneath our feet. Jin jabbered nervously to Risho the whole time, unable to stay still. Gama didn't say a single word. Bakken could not bring himself to answer our questions. I lost control of my aura, freezing over everything in a globe around me, including my master, Korrion. She did not take that too kindly, either… She had quite a temper for an ice demon!"

I felt much better after hearing that I was not the only one to have made such a mistake. Nodding, I stood still, waiting for him to say something else.

"Okay, Touya? Now, for starters, we need to learn how to manipulate that aura. The first step in mastery is control. You are the only one who can harness that energy within you, and don't let anyone else say otherwise."

"But, back in the ice lands. The elder had placed his hand on my chest, and all of the sudden I had frozen a lot of things… If I'm the only one who can use my aura, then why could he make me use it?" I asked.

"Because you did use it. It was you freezing the room; therefore it was you harnessing your own energy. He didn't; you did," he explained.

"If someone can just force me into expending my aura, then what's the point?"

"A reasonable question," he admitted. "The technique is not without its flaw." Noticing the question on my tongue, he moved to reply. "But once again, the answer is not any vaguer than the last one. I trust that you already know it."

I stood there for a second, puzzled, before thinking back on the incident.

His energy flowed into my body, and I flinched, trying to pull away. The one behind me held me still, though, and I couldn't get away. All of the sudden, my ki flared into being; the man had forced me to use my energy. Ice flowed over the ground, spreading up the wall. The eyebrows practically shot off of his head. I, too, was stunned. It felt awful to have someone use my energy without my permission. I tried to make it stop, but I had about as much success with that as I had had with tapping into my energy in the first place.

He withdrew his energy, halting mine as well. I was easily tired from using any aura at all, and this tiny usage made me sleepy.

One moment rang out in my mind. His energy flowed into my body. That was it, I was sure. His energy flowed into my body. I thought for a second; that was the important part in the lesson, I was sure, but why? Why?

Then it struck me, and, as he had promised, the answer seemed glaringly obvious.

"First off, allow me to assume that you have to be able to touch me in order to perform this," I started. Tariel nodded, content to let me puzzle it out on my own. "Then, the major drawback would be that you have to be in hand-to-hand, which, assuming you were in combat, would be large enough a flaw as is. If the opponent is punching at you or swinging a sword, not only would the concentration be difficult, but sustained contact without injury would be next to impossible, and certainly not worth the risk. But as you already proved in restraining my aura back in the clearing, contact is not necessary, is it?"

He smiled at that, and I felt myself glow with pride, glad that I had figured out at least that much.

"So, contact can't be the biggest problem because I highly doubt that you're the only one who could do such a thing. So, next, let me assume that it would be a great toll on the user's energy. Then, draining your opponent of theirs would not be so grand a talent, especially since you, too, would be affected. Hardly what you'd want in the middle of a fight, right, Master Tariel? Another foe could come along and finish you off. But again, you proved that wrong, as well. In the clearing, you actually gained in energy, using my own to power yours. If it were easy enough for you to just snatch up mine, though, everyone would use it. So there has to be something else to the technique."

The ice master's grin widened.

"I can see only two more feasible options: one, it takes a mental battle of wills, or two, it requires an elemental affiliation. Assume it were the former, then. When the elder first used the move on me, I had volunteered to it, so I wasn't struggling back. He would have been met with no mental resistance. And the second time, with you, I had been trying to stop the ice, as well as being a bit too weak to resist. I can't prove that wrong, then. Now assume the latter. Both you and the elder were ice demons, so neither of you would have any problems with my own element. I can't prove that one wrong, either. So…either we both must share the element, or we have to fight to determine who gains control. Personally, the fight seems the more plausible of the two, but either works," I finished.

"You really are bright for your age," Tariel said. "And you're right. It takes a battle of wills, and the loser is at a sore disadvantage. Trust me. Sharing an element only makes it a bit easier on the attacker, although the defender does also gain a slight advantage, as well. Way to go."

A crooked smile found its way onto my face, and I was glad for the praise.

"Thank you," I murmured.

"You're the one who came up with the whole thing, not me. I just got you started," he reminded.

"So, um, what's our first lesson for ice manipulation?" I couldn't help but ask.

"You just had it," he said.

I blinked, before realizing the truth. A verbal lesson was just as important as a physical one. That was good; I had always hoped that someone other than me had believed that. Surely Shishi had not.

"What am I supposed to do today?" I asked, cocking my head to the side.

"Whatever you choose. As of yet, while we cannot work on your aura, work on disciplining your mind. Create an honor code, Touya. Without honor, we are not ninjas; we are stealthy assassins with an interesting fighting style."

"Ninjas?" I echoed.

"But of course," he replied.

My brow furrowed in confusion.

"I didn't know that."

"It's of no real consequence," he said, waving his hand as if dismissing the whole thing. "Merely a title," he assured, although the look of pride in his sea green eyes was far from indifferent.

I nodded, trying to keep myself from trembling, yet whether it was from eagerness to join these ranks or fear that I wouldn't be good enough, I wasn't sure. Clapping a hand on my shoulder, he left, leaving me to stand in the hall.

"I wonder…" I thought aloud. "Could I really?"

Shrugging, I walked into the kitchen, grabbing myself something to eat. I was hungry, and, despite Tariel's effort to bolster my energy, I was still drained from my ice use in the clearing. Stretching, I called out "I think I'll go for a walk!" I snagged a bit of roasted Kendril bird, eating it quickly, then left.

The trails were nice, and far more beautiful than anything I had seen back home, although I was loathe to admit it. The blood-red sky was gorgeous from here, above even the usual lightening line. Soft, puffy clouds lazily meandered across the crimson canvas, the bright rays of the sun only serving to heighten the wonderment. These trees grew thickly-packed, with brush and even a few thorn-vines every now and then, and if it weren't for a few animal trails (which I suspected had actually been made by the shinobi) it would have made for hard going. Still, the view was grand and, I had to confess, I could use the exercise. I was sorely out of shape, even if I wasn't overweight.

A yelled "Look out!" was all the warning I got before something that was moving rather quickly slammed into my chest, knocking the air out of me. With a loud "Oof!", I hit the ground, aerially tackled by a…a…a…hundred-twenty pound, fast-talking, hyperactive Irish wind manipulator. I stared incredulously at Jin, who was apparently unaffected by his high-speed collision with me. In contrast, I was gasping for breath, and my chest hurt.

"Sorry 'bout that," he cheerfully apologized. I grunted in reply, still trying to catch my breath. He was currently sitting on my chest, and he weighed far more than me.

"What's wron'?" he asked.

"Could you please…get off of me?" I choked out.

"Hm? Oh! Sorry again!"

To my amazement, he floated clear off of me, supported by a cushion of air. I stared in disbelief, while also taking the chance to breathe. He looked down worriedly at me, as though he were afraid that he had crushed my smaller body, perhaps snapped my ribs. I didn't like being looked down at solely because of my stature. I was aware that I was petite for a youkai, even though ice maidens were said to be even shorter. Shishi had once said that I was "slender enough to put an elf to shame" and that I "needed to eat some goddamn food".

"How badly did I hurt yeh?" he asked.

I pulled myself to my feet, my body sore from being thrown to the ground.

"Not much," I wheezed, diaphragm half-crushed. "I'll be fine."

"I didn' mean ta. I was just practicin' flyin' in the woods, 'cause the trees an' stuff bend the wind ta make it a bit harder ta control, an' the turnin's not too great, either, an' then I saw yeh, but I couldn' really turn out o' the way. So, yeah. I'm sorry 'bout that," he explained.

"I was taking a walk. Didn't expect to see you."

"Well, I didn' expect ta see yeh either! But I always say that yeh should take life as it comes an' ta whistle even when thin's aren' good. So, I'm glad ta meet yeh out here!"

"Listen, about yesterday…" I then paused, realizing that I could have been asleep for days. "It was yesterday, right? With the council?"

"Yesterday? Nah, it was the day a'fore. Yeh were out like a match in the middle o' a storm. Couldn' wake yeh no matter what. Mister Tariel had ta carry yeh back ta his house. Yeh don' weight very much, though, so it's okay!" he declared.

"Yes…about the day before yesterday… Look, I'm sorry for yelling at you. You hadn't done anything wrong," I told him.

"Hm? Oh, yeah, that. I don' mind. Everyone's always tellin' me not ta get so close ta them or ta just leave them alone. I'm used ta it."

For some reason, his words of reassurance made me feel even worse. It was probably the fact that he had been shoved away by so many others, as he had said. I had always had a soft spot in my heart for bully victims. Not too illogical, seeing as I had spent the better part of my life living as one.

"I'm really sorry. Like I said, I'm just a little homesick. I mean, it's beautiful out here, don't get me wrong, but it's not really right. My friend, my guardian, my house…everything I know is there. I just can't bring myself to abandon it all," I confessed. I had already vowed to myself no to just go on and become 'best friends' with this demon, nor any of the other three, at least not until I was assured that I couldn't go back. Shishi was my only friend, I stubbornly insisted, and no matter how nice this Jin character was, he still couldn't replace that arrogant half-vampire. I could almost hear his words now…

Come on, Blue! No need to apologize over everything!

I knew that that's what he'd say. Guaranteed. For some reason, the lavender-eyed apparition had always found my shy and hesitant attitude to be rather annoying. I didn't understand why. After all, I wasn't annoyed by his unerring determination and his blunt look on everything. I couldn't bring myself to be mad at him…

By now, I hoped that Tal had found my note. I had left it in my money drawer, instructing him to give it all to Shishi. It was the least I could do for him.

"Touya?" Jin asked. "Yeh just stopped talkin'."

"It's nothing…" I replied.

"Well, if yeh say so."

If I had any clue which direction my hometown was, I could've stood there, staring off into the distance, and tried to look dramatic or at least convince Jin that it would be better if he left me alone. I had no clue where it was, though. Despite the immense view, I couldn't see far enough. I bet that even in infravision I couldn't find it, although I might have been able to pick up the heat signature from somewhere like Gandara. That is, if we hadn't moved in the exact opposite direction of it from my hometown. I sighed, wondering why Fate seemed so determined to shake me.

"I have to get back to my trail," I told him.

"Could I come with yeh?" he asked.

"I set a slow pace, Jin. I'm not used to the road. It would be better if you stuck to your flying."

"Yeah, I guess so. See yeh later?"

"I guess."

He nodded eagerly, before zipping away, leaving rustling leaves and stirred-up pine needles in his wake. After a second or two, that too was gone, and he had truly left. Shrugging, I continued down my path, though this time I was caught more in my thoughts than I was by the scenery. As I walked down the trail, I couldn't help but think of my chance encounter with this Jin character.

Woot! Yeah... So, Touya's a smart cookie. Yup. Now...stop kerfuffling (even though that isn't a word!) around, SwisArmyRomance! C'mon...you know you want to review...