The next morning, Hizashi was the first to wake up. He sat up and stretched his arms up, then dropped his hands into his lap as he looked around at the others. On his left, Michiru was facing the other way, a whole futon to herself as she slept in pure silence. At least, he was pretty sure she was silent. He had fallen asleep with his earbuds in and blasting loud music in his ears and they were still doing just that.

He glanced over at Shota asleep in the far corner, cocooned in his sleeping bag, then looked down at his phone's charge percentage. It was on the brink of death, so he turned the music off and exited the app as he pulled the earbuds from his ears. Then, he heard something shift and looked over to his right in time to see Jaz turn over in his sleep.

He was facing him now, curled up in his sleep and his left arm stretched out a little. Hizashi watched him for a minute, debating something as he studied Jaz's pretty face. He blinked, then reached over to grab Jaz's sleeve, stopping only inches away before deciding not to and standing up suddenly to leave the room.

.

"I think I'll go for another walk," Michiru said. It had only been about an hour since the rest of them had woken up.

"Okay," Jaz said. "I'll stay here."

"Me too!" Hizashi announced.

She smiled. "I'll be back for lunch."

Shota stood up from his seat and met her by the door. "…Do you mind if I join you?"

She blinked, looking a tad surprised. "Of course not."

Hizashi watched them leave then turned to Jaz. "Hey, they're gone… Let's talk about them!"

"What?"

He laughed. "Just kidding!"

"Uh, okay?"

.

Shota kept his hands in his pockets and head lowered for a while as they walked. Meanwhile, Michiru walked as though she knew exactly where she was going, confident and with a purpose, but mindful and alert. At first, he felt a bit awkward, but he relaxed a little after a while and began to walk alongside her rather than following from behind. It wasn't long after that they came to the secluded lake and waterfall that Mari had mentioned something about. Michiru went over to the edge of the water and stared out across at the water falling from the natural tower of large rocks.

Shota took a moment to survey the area before joining her and finally speaking. "That statue that Tsume showed us… That spirit… What do you know about it?"

"Seishin Ro?" She flicked her ear and tilted her head towards him. "What specifically do you want to know?"

"You didn't seem very happy with him telling us about it."

"It's not that I was upset or anything," she told him. "I was only worried. But Tsume is right. There really doesn't seem to be any harm in either of you knowing about Ro." She turned fully to look at him and cocked her head. "I didn't think you would take it so seriously, though. What's got you asking about it?"

He pulled something from his pocket and opened his hand to show her the odd marble, taking notice of her surprised look. "…You know what this is, right?"

"Do you?"

"No."

"How did you get that?"

He looked down at the object and its swirling colors. "…I've been having weird dreams lately. Well, only twice that I remember. That creature, Seishin Ro… It appeared in both. It feels like…like it's trying to tell me something, but I don't understand it. Then, it spit this thing out and when I woke up, it was in my hand."

"It's a Spirit Orb," she told him.

He looked up at her.

"Seishin Ro's Spirit Orb, it would seem."

"What's that?"

She crossed her arms and tilted her head, thinking. "How to explain…? It's like…his soul or a piece of his essence. The ancient spirits are connected to this world, but they are not fully a part of it. They have no physical form here without a host. Other than that, the only way they can enter this world is with a Spirit Orb. …Sort of. Tsume would be a better person to ask about it."

"Why would it give this to me, then? Shouldn't one of you take it?"

"We won't take it from you if Ro gave it to you himself. There's bound to be a reason why he did. What that reason is…well, that's beyond me. Why don't you ask Tsume next week when he returns? He and Ro have a very close bond, so I think he would know more than me about whatever's going on here."

Shota looked away. "I'm sure he's already suspicious of me…"

"Why? Did you do something suspicious?" She smirked. "It's not like he's going to hurt you or anything. You can't really be afraid of getting scolded? Heh, not that Tsume's the type to scold someone."

He placed the orb back in his pocket. "I didn't want to explain about my dreams to him, but I asked about two dragons I had seen in the first one. When I did, for a moment, he looked a lot more…serious than he usually seems."

"Ah," she nodded. "Then he probably already knows."

"Hm?"

"I was right. He knows something about it, so you'll have to talk to him about it later. In the meantime, make sure you take good care of that Spirit Orb. Okay?"

"I don't know if I want that kind of responsibility…"

She laughed a little. "Looking after a marble is a lot less responsibility than what I have to do."

"What do you mean?" He watched her transform into a tiger and enter the water. "Isn't that water cold? You'll get sick."

"I'm the latest of the Tora Clan's direct bloodline." She spoke as she swam laps in the water. "In the SuperBeast Clans, the latest descendant of the first of our clans is the one in charge of the whole clan, even if the previous ones are still alive. That is, unless we allow them to continue for us instead. The one in charge holds all of the responsibility of the clan on their shoulders. Of course, the Tora Clan only consists of a total of three now, but I still have to maintain my birthright."

"Which is?"

"My sworn duty to protect the spirits and assist any that come to us for help. There may be less than a handful of us left, but unlike the Ookami-Kage, the Tora have not forsaken their vows."

"I thought the Ookami-Kage were gone?"

"Oops," she said, but he noticed the little smirk on her face. "That's a real secret. I can't talk much about them. Especially not here."

"Here? Why not? What's here?" He glanced around.

There was a sudden blur of white and something knocked him on his back on the ground. The big tiger smiled down at him before shaking the water from her pelt.

"Hey," he covered his face as the cold droplets splashed him. "That water is cold – Oof!"

She had plopped herself down on top of him, her tail twitching with amusement.

He tried to wriggle himself free but to no avail, so he gave up and laid there malcontentedly. "Seriously?" He was surprised and felt an odd rush of heat pass through him when she sat up and transformed back into a human. She leaned over him for a moment, smiled, then got up and began to walk along the edge of the water.

He remained there for a minute, blinking away confusion, then sat up and turned his head to watch her. She stopped by a fallen tree and peered down at it for a bit before reaching her hand into a hole in it and pulling something out from it. He couldn't tell what it was until she returned and he could see the little bird sitting in her hands. It looked young and one of its wings was mangled badly and dried with blood.

"Seems the tree fell recently and crushed his wing," she said. She carefully stroked the bird's head as it laid weakly in her hand. "Let's get back."

"You're taking it with you?"

"Of course! He needs help."

"Er…" he got up to follow. "It's a wild animal though. If it was going to die then –"

"Then I wouldn't have noticed it," she finished for him.

"I… I suppose not."

.

"You brought back a bird?" Hizashi leaned forward to look at the little animal.

Michiru had bound its wing up in a makeshift sling of sorts and was closely watching it as it drank water from a small dish.

"What are you going to do with it?" Jaz asked. "Its wing won't heal before we have to leave tomorrow."

"Ooh, can I take it?" Hizashi asked.

Jaz looked quizzically at him. "What do you want with it?" He gasped. "You're not going to eat it, are you?!"

"What? No way! Maybe if it was a chicken…"

He looked mortified.

"I'm kidding, sheesh. Really though, I know how to take care of a little bird. I have birds back home!"

"Those are parakeets," Shota muttered.

"So what? This type of bird eats the same seeds and stuff. Once it's all better, I can bring it back here. No big deal."

"All right then," Michiru said as she stroked the bird's head. "But we'll need to get him something to eat today."

"I think I have a little bag of birdseed in my bag…"

Shota raised an eyebrow. "You just carry around birdseed?"

"No! I, uh, bought it the other day and forgot to take it out. I noticed it last night. Anyways, besides bringing back a baby bird, what did you two do alone out in the woods?"

His face burned a little and he looked away. "Nothing. Mind your own business."

"Well, when you say that it makes me wonder," he grinned. "I'm gonna go get that bag of birdseed."

"Hizashi said we'll leave after lunch tomorrow," Jaz told them as Hizashi walked away. He thought for a moment. "…What do you think Pan has been doing?"

"Napping," Michiru replied with a smirk. "And at night, prowling around the house like a tiny panther. Speaking of… Shota has a Spirit Orb."

Jaz's ears perked up. "Really? From who?"

"From Ro."

Now Jaz looked really surprised. "Ro?"

"Speaking of?" Shota looked at her. "What does Pan have to do with that?"

"What about Pan?" Hizashi returned with a little bag of birdseed.

"Never mind that," Michiru shook her head. "Bring that over here, please."

Shota made a face. "You can't just say something like that and then drop it."

"Can, and did," she sent him a mischievous smile that brought back the wave of heat in his face.

Michiru spent the rest of the day watching over the tiny bird, only letting it out of her sight once when Hizashi and Jaz volunteered to look after it so she could enjoy the hot spring one more time. That night, she used a dry towel to make a little bowl or makeshift nest for the bird to sleep in and placed it beside her sleeping place.

Shota leaned back against the wall in the corner of the room and stared absently into the darkness. He suddenly found Michiru's Ode to the Fallen stuck in his head and sat there repeating the words in his head for a while before he slipped into sleep.

The next day, Hizashi's cousin, Mari, came to pick them up in her little car and drove them to the station. The train ride back was just as long and boring as it was the first time and Shota wondered if Ro would appear again if he took a nap. He thought of asking Michiru about it, but he took one look at her serenely gazing out the window, felt warm and anxious, then quickly decided to silently focus his attention the other way.

Eventually he dosed off but there were no dreams that he could recall once he was awoken by the others moving around. They had reached their stop.

"So, I was thinking," Hizashi said as they left the station.

"That's dangerous," Shota muttered.

He ignored him and turned to the others. "What if little tweety and I just stayed with you guys the rest of the break?"

"You mentioned something like that the other day," Michiru mused. "I don't mind, and I don't think Tsume would be bothered either. What about you, Jaz?"

"O-Of course not!" He seemed a bit caught off guard. "Besides, it's your house anyway…"

"Great!" Hizashi grinned then carefully handed Michiru the towel bowl with the little bird in it. "I'll be back for you," he told the bird. "I've gotta go pack some more stuff, then I'll head over to your place."

She nodded. "We'll be there. Oh, and Shota –"

He looked up at her curiously.

"Um, do you mind if we exchange phone numbers? Er, that way I can let you know when Tsume returns."

He stared dumbly at her.

"Um, you…did want to speak with him, correct?"

He jumped a little. "Y-Yes. Right." He took out his phone and shot Hizashi a leer as the other boy laughed at him.

…

Shota was wrapped up in a blanket on the sofa and watching the Sunday morning news when the doorbell rang. He looked curiously over at the door and used the remote to power off the television then regrettably removed himself from his cocoon and answered the door. He was surprised to find Tsume standing on the other side in his human form.

"Tsume?"

"Ah," he smiled down at him, "Shota! Michi told me that you wanted to speak with me. She was going to message you but I told her not to bother." He tilted his head. "I figured I'd just come get you."

"Get me? For what?" It had been a whole week since they returned from the hot springs.

"Well, my sister explained a bit about what you likely wanted to ask me about," Tsume said in a rather casual manner. "To properly explain one part, I think it would be best for you to see it for yourself. If you're not busy today, would you mind coming with me to our property?"

"Um, sure."

"Great! Oh, and make sure to bring that little Spirit Orb, would you? You'll need it when we get there."

Tsume waited for him to retrieve the orb then led the way along the sidewalks, quietly humming a tune that Shota did not recognize. He wondered if it was another Tora Clan song. He listened to it for a minute before finally speaking up.

"Michi said that you and Ro are close. Why didn't he give this thing to you, then?"

Tsume grinned. "You've taken to calling her that? Haha!"

He blushed a little and turned away.

"Yes, Ro and I have a sort of bond you could say. Hmm, an ancient spirit would only give someone their orb if they believed that person could protect it and keep it from evil."

"Can't you do that?"

"Well, I like to think I could, but Ro seems to disagree." He smiled again. "Perhaps I'd put it too much at risk considering…"

"Considering…?"

"Ah, never mind that part. It's unrelated to you. At least, I hope."

Shota shot him a quick look. If Tsume wasn't fully sure, then shouldn't he explain to him?

"Anyways," Tsume continued. "Remember that shrine in the forest? If you place the orb there, Ro will come to you and you can ask him about it yourself."

"But I can't understand him."

"Not yet. That's why you'll have to use the shrine. We Tora are closely connected to the spirits, so we have an innate ability to communicate with them and understand them. You'll have to use other methods. In the meantime, do you have any questions that would better suit me? Or do you think Ro can answer everything for you?"

"…I'm not sure."

"That's fine, that's fine," he waved his hand. "I understand that it's all very strange to you and out of nowhere. If you do think of something, don't hesitate to ask me. Now, or later."

As they stepped away from the main road and began entering the trees, a brief thought crossed Shota's mind. "Tsume," he said. "Are you…bothered by any of this?"

"Hm?" He glanced back at him. "Are you asking if I'm jealous?" He chuckled.

"More like concerned."

"Not really. I think 'curious' would best describe my feelings about it. If I think you to be in danger, then I will certainly let you know. Oh!" His ears flicked and he turned around. A few seconds later, a large white buck leapt from the bushes and hopped away further into the trees. "The Forest Ghost is on the move. I wonder if that was Hizashi's doing? Well, come along then."

"Michi said that you must know something about all of this," Shota said as they continued into the woods.

"I figured some of it out from your very poorly disguised questions from the other day." He chuckled. "I'm not sure how you would've been able to disguise them anyway."

They reached the perfectly round pool of still water where the shrine of Seishin Ro stood on the little center island. It was completely devoid of ice or snow, unlike the rest of the forest, and the water was not iced over. Shafts of warm sunlight were filtering through the trees and penetrating the water's surface, showing clear paths down to the pebbly bottom of the pool. A particularly large shaft of light was shining almost directly upon the statue. Shota guessed that the entire statue would be spotlighted around noon.

Tsume pointed to a marble-sized hole in the statue's base, just below Seishin Ro's paws. "Place the orb there then come back to this spot between the lanterns."

Shota glanced down at the water and carefully stepped one foot in; it was shallower than he thought it would be. He made his way over to the statue and pulled the orb from his pocket, placed it into the hole, then turned and rejoined Tsume.

"That water is surprisingly warm," he remarked, shaking off his boots.

A strange sound pulled his attention back to the shrine in time to see the orb flash white. The sounds of the birds chirping all around suddenly ceased and the tasseled lanterns clinked as they lit up with golden light and began to sway out of sync with each other. It was almost as if someone was holding them by the tassels and wildly flailing them around for fun. Before he could ask Tsume what was going on, a strange yet familiar sound bellowed from the statue and a frosty white mist pulled itself free from the Spirit Orb.

The mist curled and grew, a tendril stretching out over the pool and steadily taking the shape of a large reptilian arm. The rest of the mist soon followed suit, shifting and changing until it had formed itself into the giant deer-like creature that was Seishin Ro. His appearance was just like the last time Shota had seen him in his dreams. A wintery, fluffy white coat with brown scaly forelimbs and dark brown antlers now decorated with icicles, but he looked less solid than in his dreams.

Ro rolled his head and shoulders then shook his pelt, the surrounding trees shook a little too, then he angled his head to stare down at them with his big unblinking eyes.

Shota had half been expecting this all to be a joke, so he was a bit taken aback and only stared up at the creature in shock as words failed him. He noticed Tsume out the corner of his eye. He had taken to his beast form and bowed to the spirit.

"Seishin Ro," Tsume said as he lifted his head. The tiger stood up straight and proud, smiling up at the creature.

Ro turned his head a bit to look at Tsume directly then bowed his own head slightly.

Tsume chuckled. "Don't you think you owe a bit of an explanation to our friend here?"

Ro turned his head and fixed his unblinking gaze upon Shota. "What do you ask of me?"

Shota had to catch himself as he almost stumbled backwards. The creature was speaking to him without the use of its mouth. It was a peculiar voice, too, serene but strong with the hint of an echo. "I… I just want a few answers."

"I have come to your call. Ask the question for which you desire my answer."

Where should he even begin? "Why have you been appearing in my dreams lately? Why did you give me that orb?"

"I am in danger. Whilst searching for the best guardian…I found you. My true guardian will not be born for another thirteen years from this very moment. I first appeared to you so that I may meet you and examine your soul. Our second meeting, I tried to speak but found that my words were not words to you."

"But you gave me that orb anyway. I can't take that. Why didn't you give it to Tsume? Or to Michi – er, Michiru? Or even Jaz?"

Ro tilted his head from side-to-side. "I have seen the future, and the future starts today. Though the Tora are, and have long since been my rightful guardians, their numbers are too small. The bronze and gold dragon grows stronger every day, but the black dragon is far ahead and growing too. His influence stretches far and wide and he has already taken several of my siblings. For the ancient spirits to fall, so too will the world follow. I must remain. I must carry on uncorrupted!"

"But what do I have to do with that?!"

"Those of us who remain… We must find hosts or guardians. Such is not an easy task in a world of corruption. The remaining three Tora cannot protect us alone and we have shunned the Ookami-Kage for their deeds. You need only keep my orb for thirteen years."

"That's a pretty long time…"

Ro kicked up one of his hoofed hindlegs and lowered and raised his head like a horse. "I am willing to strike a deal in exchange."

"What?" He huffed. "Spirits make deals like that, huh?"

"Not traditionally. But I will not take without giving in return. I sense you have nothing to request of me. Take my orb and keep it with you. That is all you must do for me. When you have thought of something to ask of me in exchange, return here and place the orb within the shrine. I will eagerly await your return. I must go now. My time here is fleeting. May the best of your todays be the worst of your tomorrows. And if you lose your way, seek out Sa."

Before he could ask anything more, Ro's body faded back into a shapeless mist that dispersed amongst the trees. The lights in the lanterns disappeared in a puff and they suddenly fell quite still. Birdsong began to fill the forest again and he suddenly realized how cold he was standing in the snow with wet boots.

He silently waded through the shallow pool and took the orb from the stone shrine before returning to Tsume. "Doesn't seem like he's giving me much of a choice… And I only have more questions now than answers."

Tsume had returned to his human form and was looking down at him sympathetically. "Yes, the ancient spirits can be a bit…stubborn. Erm, for lack of a better term, I mean."

"Demanding, more like," Shota muttered.

"Hm." Tsume nodded. "Well, perhaps I can answer a few of those questions now. I did not expect Ro to be so vague with you. Ah, but first, let's get out of this cold, hm? Let's go back to the house. Pan has been wondering when you were coming to visit him."

"You can understand animals like Michi?"

"Just a bit." He led the way through the trees. "But Pan is no ordinary cat, you know."

"He has a quirk?"

"You could say that. Pan is a spirit that inhabited the form of a cat. He speaks in the ancient spirit dialect. …He also speaks cat." He chuckled.

"Is Yamada still staying with you guys?"

"Yes. We can't get him to leave. Heh, not that we've actually tried. He can be a bit excitable and eccentric at times, but he's surprisingly calm and relaxed behind the scenes. And very polite, I might add. He seems to find the most joy in interacting with Jaz."

"I've noticed."

"Of course you have!" Tsume smiled happily.

He wasn't entirely sure what that meant. "…What about the bird?"

"Ah, the little guy is doing quite well! He chirps and sings all day in the sunroom, but his wing is still healing. I'd guess it'll be another week or two before he can really get himself off the ground."

When they entered the house, they found Jaz and Hizashi playing some kind of dice game on the floor in the living room. Off in the corner and peering around the couch was Pan, who watched the dice with anticipation, his pupils wide. He looked on the verge of darting out to attack the dice every time they rolled, but was distracted when he noticed Shota and Tsume.

*Mrrow* Pan quickly stood up and trotted over to them, weaving himself through both humans' legs and purring loudly. He stopped against Shota, rubbing his head up and down the boy's shin before looking up at him with his smiling yellow eyes.

"Yo, Aizawa!" Hizashi grinned. "What are you doing here?"

He bent down to pick up the cat. "Nothing. I was just talking with Tsume."

"Um, hello," Jaz said timidly.

"Hey," Shota replied.

Tsume smiled at them. "Have you finally figured out that game, Hizashi?"

"Nope! Jaz is really kicking my tail here."

He laughed. "It is a bit complicated I suppose. Anyways," he glanced back at Shota and motioned for him to follow. "We can continue our chat in the sunroom."

"I think Michiru is in there," Jaz told them.

"That's fine. Come on, Shota. You can bring Pan, too! Ah," he said as they entered the sunroom. "I didn't hear the piano, so I figured you must be tending the plants."

Michiru was standing over one of the large potted plants in the corner. She was selectively trimming some of the old leaves and limbs from it. Perched on the edge of a rectangular pot on the windowsill was the little bird, looking much livelier than when Shota had last seen it. It hopped beneath the shelter of leaves upon seeing them and watched them cautiously but curiously.

"I may play later," Michiru said. She turned and smiled happily. "Shota! How are you?"

"Erm, I'm fine… I guess."

Tsume sat at a small table in the other corner and observed with amusement the sudden bit of awkwardness that the boy displayed as Michiru approached him to tickle Pan's nose.

She smiled as the cat licked her finger. "You guess? Is something the matter?"

She looked up at him and he quickly looked down to avoid her gaze.

Tsume held back a laugh, but he was grinning toothily. "Ahem. Well, I took Shota here to speak with Ro." His sister suddenly turned to look at him with curiosity. "Unfortunately, Ro was rather…vague with some things. Anyways, I figured I might as well answer the rest of his curiosities. Is that okay with you, boss?"

Her ear flicked and she narrowed her eyes very slightly. "I'm not going to tell you what to do, brother."

"Heheh. Well, have a seat somewhere, Shota. That slinky of a cat is much more convenient to hold in your lap than your arms." He waited for him to join him at the little table while Michiru went back to her plants. "All right. First?"

"What is Sa?"

"Hm?"

"He said something about seeking 'Sa'. What does that mean?"

"Seishin Sa. Sa is the ancient spirit of the heart and mind and of time and space. Our father once explained that we have our strongest connections with the spirit whose domain our quirk falls under. Ro is the spirit of nature, of plants and animals. As such, we Tora already have a connection with him, but our other quirks play a role, too. Sa is the one that Michi and I are connected to, and Jaz is connected to Ra, the spirit of thunder and lightning. Mm…we Tora believe that quirks are gifts from the ancient spirits, though that's never actually been confirmed, believe it or not. So, we believe that the spirit relating to our quirk is the one that watches over us. This is something that has been said by the spirits themselves. Supposedly, one who reaches out to their ancient spirit will be able to communicate with them from anywhere. Of course, we've never actually seen or heard of anyone outside of the SuperBeast Clans succeeding in that. Anyways, a general rule we follow is, 'if you are lost, seek out your spirit guide.' Hm, I suppose your quirk would fall under Sa's domain. She's one of the most powerful of the ancient spirits, you know. Basically, Ro was simply saying the same farewell that the Tora say. 'May the best of your todays be the worst of your tomorrows. And if you become lost, seek out your spirit guide.' I suppose he said Sa specifically because he knows that your quirk falls under her category."

"Okay. …He also mentioned the Ookami-Kage."

Michiru stopped and looked back at them.

"Indeed," Tsume nodded.

"They didn't disappear, did they?"

"Yes and no," Tsume told him. "They left long ago, the whole lot of them, and we don't know where they are. But they are not gone and they still pose a threat."

"To the Tora?"

"To everyone. It is our duty to discover where they are hiding and to bring Kaze-Kage, their leader, to justice. Of course, that means that we must follow through with the whole hero thing. Otherwise, our resources and intel would be very limited. We are not the only ones who have been looking for them. Staying true to their name, they are like shadows and, so far, impossible to catch."

"So, you've actually encountered some of them?"

He nodded. "A few, very briefly. And maybe more without my knowing it. We can't exactly question every human out there with wolf-like ears and tails. Of course, the investigations relating to the Ookami-Kage fall under more…underground operations. That is why it is never on the news and no one outside of this knows anything about them. We have found a disturbing amount of sudden disappearances over the years, many of which we believe to be related to the Ookami-Kage."

"You think they're kidnapping people?"

"Quite positive, yes. The question is why." He sighed. "Another question is how they have managed to elude being caught by anyone all these years. Not a single member of their clan has slipped up. It's quite the dilemma, you see. Anyways, we remaining Tora are sworn to this task. After all, we know the most about them than anyone else outside of their clan."

"Is that why Ro is in danger? What is the black dragon?"

"The Ookami-Kage pose no threat to the spirits. Even they would not dare to harm or challenge the spirits. In all honesty, I am unsure of what this 'black dragon' truly is. Ro himself has referred to it as the incarnation of all human negativity. A 'mass of evil that has mimicked divine form.' It apparently has the ability to corrupt, or even destroy, the ancient spirits. If something evil were to corrupt and take control of their power… Well, I don't believe it would end very well. For any of us."

"Ro said that some of the others have already fallen to it."

"Yes," Tsume looked grim. "I have asked what we could do, but Ro tells me that fate lies with the bronze and gold dragon."

"What is that one?"

"Ro once called him 'Nozomu', as if it were his name. I know the black dragon slayed the ancient spirit of light and life. He was called Yan. That was when it first began, according to the spirits. Nozomu, this bronze and gold dragon, is the reincarnation of Yan. Where he is or what he is doing is completely beyond me. Anyways, to avoid meeting a similar, or worse fate, Ro and the remaining ancients have been searching for the best guardians or hosts to protect them. People that the black dragon cannot corrupt."

"I can't possibly be the best option he has…"

"For thirteen years, it seems you will be. Don't worry. It's not as much trouble as you're making it out to be. All you have to do is keep that little orb safe. Simple, right? Hey, Ro even offered you whatever you want in exchange!"

"I don't even know what I want…"

"I'm sure you'll figure that out," he smiled kindly. "In the meantime, do you have any other questions?"

"I don't think so."

"Great! Then you can join us for lunch!"

"Um, okay?" He followed him to the door, stopping to let Michiru go first. "How many of these ancient spirits are there?"

"I thought you didn't have anymore questions?" Tsume teased. "There are ten in all. Ro, Sa, Hi, Ra, Mi, Ku, Iwa, Yuki, Yin, and Yan, now known as Nozomu it seems. Ro is known as the ancient forest spirit, the spirit of nature and plants and animals. Sa, as I mentioned before, is the spirit of the heart and mind, and time and space. Let's see… Hi is the spirit of fire, Ra is the spirit of thunder and lightning, Mi is water, Ku is the sky spirit, spirit of wind, storms, and clouds. Then there's Iwa, the earth spirit." He chuckled. "A pretty self-explanatory name, just like Yuki, the spirit of ice, snow, and cold. Yin is the spirit of darkness and death, and Yan was the spirit of light and life. I assume his reincarnation holds similar abilities."

"Yuki will be coming to visit in four days," Michiru said.

"They visit?" Shota asked.

"Who?" Hizashi asked as they joined up in the kitchen. "You guys have a family member coming over for Christmas?"

"Sort of," Michiru replied.

Tsume chuckled. "We don't really celebrate Christmas. At least, not like other people do. We do exchange a gift or two, though…"

"The Tora Clan never adopted that holiday," Michiru explained. "But it happens to be the day that the icy spirit Yuki likes to visit."

Hizashi smirked. "Does she get you guys anything?"

"Usually, yes."

He hadn't actually expected that to be her answer. "…Cool!"

"Is that one not concerned with finding a 'guardian'?" Shota asked.

"She already has one," Tsume told him. "As long as that person keeps her Spirit Orb safe, she can travel without fear. As long as that piece of her soul is safe, it won't matter what happens to her body. She'll be using Ro's shrine to visit."

"You guys are serious, huh?" Hizashi tilted his head. "Neat! I want in!"

"Hm? Are you saying you want to meet Seishin Yuki?"

Michiru chuckled. "I honestly don't think she would mind. She's the friendliest of them all." She turned to Shota. "Yuki cannot speak. She's known as the Silent Snow. So, she wouldn't be able to answer any questions, but maybe you should come to visit her, too?"

He looked curious. "Should I? …Do I have to bring a gift?"

She laughed. "You don't have to. If you don't have plans for Christmas, then just come back here after lunch that day. Gift or not." She smiled.

To be continued…