I'm so sorry that the chapter took so long, I was aiming to have a long long chapter, but I only got as far as just over 9,000 words, so sorry everyone!! ;.; Next time I'll try to aim for 10,000 ok? I have the school holidays coming up soon, so a new chapter may be in order within the next two weeks. It all depends. Like I said, if anyone wants a made up character tossed in the story, email me the bio and I'll include them in. No worries. I know I didn't get any reviews last chapter, but hey, oh well! If you want me to email you when there's a chapter update, just let me know, ok?

I forgot to thank someone last chapter! So sorry Diana ;.; This chapter's dedicated to you and my younger sister, Caitlin. It's her birthday today, (29th June).

Diana@Lineluu2001: Thank you!! Sorry, you don't understand... gomen!!! . I'll try make it less confusing!!

Well, that's it. It's time to get on with the story, ne? *Karisa gets banged on the head with a mallet* OK, what did I miss? THE DISCLAIMER!! OF COURSE!

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS, but I own this storyline and plot, so please don't steal my ideas anyone. I work very hard on my stories, but if you're wanting to post it on your site or something, please e-mail me for permission. I usually don't get mad very easily, so you won't catch me in a bad mood. ^_^ If I ever get this done, I want to turn it into a fantasy series.

On with the story...

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* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~Witch of the Healing Woods ~ Chapter Four~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Winds swirling. People flying. Laughing and cheering. These were the sounds that surrounded Takuya and Rina. The sounds that could be heard for miles. Rina automatically winced and hesitated. That one moment of doubtfulness on Rina's behalf was enough to give the Manene the upper hand.

"Quickly!" one shouted, and he lunged forward and grabbed both of Rina's hands, quickly twisting them behind her back and he forced her arms upwards. Rina's teeth gritted with the pain and she felt herself being lifted off the ground. All Rina could think about was giving the bastard a good hard kick where it hurt. Her eyes narrowed as she looked over her shoulder at her captor. A young man, she could see. About twenty five years of age.

She saw that her brother was backing away slowly from the Manene. They hadn't even noticed that he was there anymore. They didn't think of him as a threat. Oh, how wrong they were. They shouldn't have underestimated her younger brother. As dim as he seemed sometimes, he had a decent head on his shoulders and he did use his brain, unlike the Manene that they were currently facing. Rina looked down at her younger brother and her free hand was paralysed by pain. It coursed through her. A groan escaped her lips and as Rina was dropped to the ground, a hand came over and struck her on the back of the neck, causing her to go unconscious.

Takuya saw his sister fall to the ground and he shouted out her name in fear. Big mistake.

The Manene turned towards him and Takuya instantly knew that he had done something dreadfully wrong. That was probably the most stupid thing that he could've done. Now he was the only one left that could help Rina and get out of here. If only... if only. But would it work? He didn't know.

Takuya's mind was working at high speeds. His eyes shifted from the unconscious Rina to the Manene that stood over her. Damn, he wanted to strangle the bastard. Takuya began running forward towards the Manene.

They looked at each other sceptically and smirked. He was an easy one to handle... or so they thought.

Takuya threw his hands out to the side and yelled as he ran, "Kia haere te hau!" and splayed his hands out in front of him, palms overlapping. He felt something answering to him again. He didn't know if it was strong enough to knock out the Manene that were there, but he just needed time to stall so that he could get his sister out of there. She needed time and healing to recuperate. She was drained and she had no energy left in her. He could see and sense it just by focusing on her.

Takuya watched the Manene narrow their eyes at him and he just glared back, hoping that his stormy winds would knock these people silly. They deserved it for all the hurt that they had done.

"Rina!" he muttered, and he ran over to his twin. He quickly hoisted her over his shoulders and ran off into the night, not looking behind.

"Damn teenagers," one of the Manene muttered before passing out.

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Nadeshiko stopped for a moment, bending over with her hands on her knees to catch her breath. She'd been running for a long time, never stopping. She had obeyed what Rina had said. She only hoped that the twins were safe. She would never forgive herself if they weren't. "Rina... Takuya..." she whispered. Her eyes closed tightly and she felt her senses opening up. They were in trouble. She could sense that now. 'I can't let anything happen to them!' Nadeshiko thought. 'They've done so much for me, I can't let them get hurt!'

"Fear not, nothing will happen to them," a voice said.

The hairs on the back of her neck prickled and a shiver ran down her spine at the voice. Hang on, she knew him! She knew that voice!

Nadeshiko spun around on her heel, her voice accusing. "YOU! Old man!"

"Indeed. I see that you remember. Of course, I should have guessed that Kohu would always remember a face. Yet names you seem to not be so flash on." The figure stepped out of the shadows and its features were illuminated to be that of an old man's. "So let me refresh your memory, Kohu."

Nadeshiko was confused. "Kohu?" she asked, her voice confused and querying. "Who is Kohu?"

"Oh, but Kohu is yourself, my dear. She is your past, your present, and your future. She is who you are. You were always part of her. I can sense her spirit residing within your body. She is the one that gives you this pure white aura that you carry. You are the one, together with Kohu, you are destined to help us all."

"Oh shut up, Kamatari. Spare me the history lesson. I already know it all," a voice snapped haughtily.

Nadeshiko blinked, surprised. "Where in the world did that come from?"

Kamatari smiled at the spirit's over-inflated ego. "Did I also mention that the spirit herself is also extremely arrogant?"

Nadeshiko could feel the spirit smiling self-satisfactorily. She could also feel its contempt for this conversation, and Nadeshiko squashed the spirit into a little pulp, so that it was just a mere presence at the back of her conscience, constantly itching.

She groaned. "This spirit is a pain." She massaged her temples with her fingertips.

The old timer grinned. "Better believe it. When she's not being a pain, she's thinking up ways to be a pain so I suggest that you keep some of your mind on that one. It's going to try and take you over, you know?"

"Fantastic," Nadeshiko commented dryly. "I deal with the Manene, then keeping Takuya and Rina safe, running away from the Manene, finding you, and now I have this ... rogue ... spirit inside of me. Ain't my life great!" she groaned.

"Hey, it's not all that bad, because once you get control of Kohu, she could probably become a valuable asset."

"You try being the one with her in your body," Nadeshiko grumbled, and got a splitting pain at the back of her head as Kohu tried to take over her mind.

"Watch your magic. Try not to use too much of it as well, ok?" Kamatari suggested.

"Yeah, thanks," Nadeshiko said back weakly. "I kinda figured that earlier."

"It's no problem." Kamatari was looking around. "I know it's sometime in the morning, but I really need your help in finding my children. Do you know where they are?"

Nadeshiko pointed in the direction of the way that she had just come and quickly told him that Rina had insisted that she leave and get as far away from the place that she could.

Kamatari smiled inwardly. So his daughter had caught on. She was a quick sly one, that daughter of his. She was one to be watched. Kamatari quickly asked again, "And what of Takuya? How is he?"

Nadeshiko thought back. She remembered Takuya being up in a tree and that was the last time that she saw him. She couldn't recall anything after that. Then again, she might not have been there. It might have been after Rina had told her to leave.

Why had she listened to the stubborn girl's commands? Why had she left? She should've stayed. She realised that now and all she wanted to do was head back and help them. There was nothing else that they could do and Nadeshiko didn't want to jeopardise the lives of Takuya and Rina if they had been captured. Maybe they already had been, she wasn't so sure. Nadeshiko wanted to ask Kamatari something, but she wasn't sure if the old man would take it so well. Kamatari had gone off at her when he had first met her and she hadn't quite forgiven him for that, but she was slowly progressing. Just a little longer.

Kamatari sensed the conflicting emotions within the young witch and he wanted to help her overcome them, but as he stared at her, he noticed her withdrawing expression. She wouldn't want help. Not from him anyway.

Nadeshiko watched the old man warily. He might try something and if he did, she wanted to be on her guard so that nothing would happen to her. She stared back at Kamatari, wondering where he had been, why he had left. Rina, Takuya and she had spent a long time searching for the old man. Yet here he was, standing in front of her, looking like nothing had happened.

"Where have you been all this time?" she snapped. She hadn't realised how much she despised him for that. He had left them alone, and come back, acting as if nothing had happened. It was getting on her nerves.

Kamatari chuckled.

Nadeshiko wasn't sure if she heard right. Kamatari, chuckling? It seemed incomprehensible.

Kamatari read Nadeshiko's mind. "Yes, it is certainly not often that you hear me laughing," he admitted.

Nadeshiko smiled a little in agreement. She knew that that was certainly true.

"You know it's true," Kamatari said, making the girl's smile widen into a grin. "By the way, what happened to Rina and Takuya?"

"I thought you would've known."

"Well I don't, so can you please tell me?"

"I don't know, I thought you would know. You are their father."

"Do I have to say something bad about myself? Say that I'm a totally useless father; that I don't know what I'm doing and that I would be of no help to anyone? Is that really what you want me to say?" Kamatari asked innocently.

Nadeshiko gave him a long-suffering look and narrowed her eyes a little. "It'd probably be a start," Nadeshiko muttered. She hadn't intended for Kamatari to hear that remark, but he did anyway.

He let it go. "Well, here-"

Nadeshiko interrupted. "It's isn't necessary, ok? You don't need to say those things."

"But I thought, --" he was cut off.

"Just deal with it," she snapped. He was really getting on her nerves. Nadeshiko began walking past Kamatari.

"Aren't you going to head back for Rina and Takuya?" he asked.

Nadeshiko had a retort on the tip of her tongue and she was about to say it when...

..."You're so caring, aren't you, Kamatari?" a voice interrupted Nadeshiko and Kamatari's conversation.

They both spun around, disbelieving hearing THAT voice.

"T-T-Tak-Taku-Takuya-ya," Nadeshiko stuttered. "You're alive!!" It was then that Nadeshiko saw Rina over his shoulders. Her eyes widened and she quickly reacted. "We need to help her," Nadeshiko said quickly and immediately helped Rina down off Takuya. "These need to be healed quickly," Nadeshiko murmured, observing Rina's wounds.

"Use your magic," Kamatari said quickly.

Nadeshiko looked at him, confused. "How do I do that?"

Takuya jumped in, happy to instruct the young witch. It appeared that she didn't know what to do when trying to heal someone. That much was apparent. "Basically, hold your hands out over here and concentrate on your own energy flowing through Rina's body," Takuya continued to instruct Nadeshiko and then added, "I'd do it, but healing magic doesn't run very strongly through my family."

Nadeshiko looked at Kamatari, as if asking him a silent question, to which he nodded.

"It's the same with my family," he responded. "However, healing magic does run through yours, and you and I both know that, Nadeshiko. It runs through from your mother, Amaya. Very strongly, might I add."

Nadeshiko looked at her hands doubtfully. How could they really heal Rina? She'd never tried something as complex as healing with her own energy before, Amaya had never taught it to her, only told her that healing with one's own energy was very difficult. So after that little lecture, Nadeshiko had decided that she'd just stick with herbs.

Nadeshiko hesitantly placed her hands on Rina's stomach and she looked up at Kamatari for confirmation, her eyes fearful. Could she do this? She wondered doubtfully. It seemed impossible.

Kamatari nodded, acknowledging the girl's fear. "Reach deep within you. You know that you have the power to heal, but it has not been awoken. All you have to do is wake it up, Nadeshiko and then it will do the work for you."

Nadeshiko nodded a little and then tried to calm herself. Her breaths became shallow, and her vision narrowed. She felt like she was going to pass out. She tried to keep her hands steady, but she could feel that they were shaking. Nadeshiko collapsed back onto the ground. "It isn't working," she said desperately. "My powers. They've failed me. They won't work." She looked down at her hands, horrified.

"I'm sure they'll come back," Kamatari said.

"Yeah, after all, you're the one with the white aura, right? I mean, there's nothing you can't do, right?" Takuya sounded a little discouraged.

Takuya and Kamatari quickly stepped forward to help calm the girl, but she was muttering to herself, not listening to their reassurances. "This is the first time they've short-circuited on me. Why won't they work? Have I done something to abuse my powers? Maybe I shouldn't use magic anymore. Maybe that would be a solution. To never use my powers again. Oh, I don't know. I like using my magic and I can help people. Damn, this is so confusing." She buried her head in her hands. "I've failed you, Rina. I'm so sorry." And she dashed off.

Takuya went to go after her, but his father put a hand on his shoulder, restraining him.

Takuya looked at his father. "But Nadeshiko -"

"Let her be, young one. She'll be fine. We have to attend to Rina."

Takuya looked worried as he glanced in the direction that Nadeshiko had bolted off in. He muttered a few words in his native language, "Nga Hau E Wha." That meant 'the four winds'. He hoped that she would understand...

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Koto walked quietly into her thicket. Water spilled down over the branch clad walls and trickles of little streams of water glistened in the light that bathed the chamber. Little birds twittered and sang as the healer made her way through the place that she called 'home'. She had just been told that a young girl was having a little bit of trouble. Koto had decided to check in the viewing pool on who the girl was and what she looked like. Koto looked a little more than a healer, and indeed she was. Koto was an angel, and a very magical one at that.

Koto was in charge of healing the ones that were sore and ill, and she was also in charge of assigning young guardian angels their charges. This young girl could turn out to be a charge. Koto had heard that the girl had amazing magical powers, and not only that, but the girl also had the spirit of Kohu, the legendary goddess, within her body as well. Amazing things for such a young age.

Koto herself was immortal. She could never die and she had been in this place since the start of 'Time'. It was true that they angels had gone through many stages during their long long lives, they had had many head angels through the ages and currently, they were led under a male angel by the name of Dayu. He had a younger son called Raidon whom Koto was sure would lead sometime after his father stood down. Koto could see the anticipation on the younger angel's face whenever he attended a meeting of some importance.

Just that morning, Dayu had sent a messenger down to Koto, saying that he needed to see her as soon as possible. He had said that there was some concern down on the world of Kapokapo. Quickly, Koto had gone to see the head angel and as soon as she had got there, she had been ushered into Dayu's office.

He had told her about the young girl and he had also told her to investigate her, see if she was special enough to become on of the charges for the guardian angels. Koto had agreed, she was intrigued about this girl and wanted to see what she was like. Heck, maybe Koto could visit Kapokapo again. It was about time that she had a vacation.

It had been a good few hundred years since she had been down there. Maybe she could think of it as an extended vacation or something. Her lips curved into a small smile at the thought. Yeah right, like Koto could ever take a vacation, she was always piled with work. It was the way her life was, she loved healing and everything that came with it, but there were some days that she just wished that she could have a holiday and escape from her work. But that was never going to happen. She knew that, and she had just learned to deal with it.

Yet a little holiday down on Kapokapo while doing work wouldn't be much of a problem and she could probably see all her friends as well. It would probably make things a lot easier for her, as well as for the probable charge. Koto wouldn't have as much stress and she could see her mentor while she was down there. It all worked out for the best.

Koto walked over to the pool that emitted its own light. Dim light that gently lit up the trails of water that trickled down the walls of the branch covered thicket. They were like veins, gently giving life to the thin trees that grew at the base of the wall, at the floor, and reaching over from the rain that collected on the top. Yes, it rained in the heavens. She knew the saying went, 'the heavens opened up', but it became more than a figure of speech. The heavens really did open up when rain fell down.

It was the heavens' way of releasing the pent-up energy from the heavens. It turned into moisture, formed into clouds and then bucketed down on the land below. The people below said that the heavens were always above them, yet it wasn't exactly true. While they might not be exactly above them, they were certainly nearby.

Koto's pond could see for miles. All one had to do was ask the viewing pool who or what they wished to see and the viewing pool would let them see it. Koto sat down on one of the big circular rocks that surrounded the pool. It was in a perfect circle, with its usually clear waters dancing a murky grey. Something was going wrong and the viewing pool was picking it up. Koto quietly muttered, "Whakakitea." Which, in her language, meant 'reveal'.

Koto's simple word meant to reveal what the viewing pool was hiding. She knew that it was something dreadfully wrong, but she didn't know what. She wanted to see how the girl was doing, and who she was, but first Koto had to get to the bottom of what was going wrong down below. It wasn't easy using the viewing pool because sometimes it didn't work.

Quickly, Koto dipped her hand into the cold water of the viewing pool and silver sparkles rained down from the ceiling. She chanted a few words under her breath, a song in a lilting tone of voice that would have enchanted anyone, had they been standing there listening. It was just very fortunate that there had been nobody there. Otherwise they would have been under Koto's spell, and this spell was only meant to help the viewing pool reveal its secrets.

Koto's hand disappeared under the murky water and she could see streaks of silver working their way into the murky grey. The dim light of the pool vanished and the only light that she had left was the light of the stars above her, twinkling. It truly was a beautiful night, but Koto had no concern for the beauty because she needed to find out what was wrong down on Kapokapo.

Maybe it was time to pay a trip down there. Of course, she would need Dayu's approval first and that was always a struggle because he didn't like anyone travelling to Kapokapo unless they took extreme measures to protect themselves. Usually that meant covering themselves with invisibility spells and un-detection. It was a lengthy process and that was the main reason that most angels didn't venture down below. They also didn't like risking their precious lives. No, but in some cases it was because the angels in question were too damn selfish for their own good.

Koto didn't know what had happened to the race that she had once been proud to be a part of. It was as if they had turned their backs on everyone else. The commoners never did anything, and most of the higher-levels couldn't give a damn about what went on below. The ones who kept everything in check were Koto and Dayu.

Koto had had some visits down below in the past for charges for the new and recently made guardian angels and she had just got back from training with a young one by the name of 'Fujitaka'. He was a trying young thing, she would say that. And he seemed pretty determined to become a guardian. She could see that that was nothing more than he wanted.

She was happy for him to become a guardian angel, but it involved a lot of work and the angel involved needed to be very trustworthy and be reliable, because if something happened to their charge while they were on their job, then something was going to go wrong and Dayu would not be very happy and the one that he would probably come and yell at would be Koto. She didn't want that.

Fujitaka had all of that and Koto was just concentrating on developing his magical skills. He had the right instincts and everything, but there was more to being a guardian than those qualities. They also had to be able to protect their charge from magical things, as most were not able to do that themselves. Most charges were people who had shown lots of initiative and spirit in what they were doing. They were people who had a pure heart and would always stand up for what they believed in. They were also people who would put other peoples' lives before their own.

Those were the sort of people who were protected by guardian angels. So far there were about fifty or sixty charges that had guardians, and this one that Koto had to observe was a potential one. He or she or it, could easily become a charge, depending on what they did to help others. The information that Koto had been able to squeeze out of Dayu was that the girl showed some amazing ability in healing, Koto's speciality. Now Koto was even more intrigued about the girl.

Koto gazed into the swirling shades of grey and silver water. She could see that her magic was starting to take effect; that it was clearing out whatever was blocking the viewing pool's, well, view. The intense grey colour washed away to the edge of the pool and faded, and Koto was left with the water glowing a deep blue silver. It swirled around within its contents and began forming a picture, and it was to this that Koto watched...

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Nadeshiko sobbed, her head in her hands. How could she have failed Rina at such a crucial time? Now there was a chance that she wouldn't live. Nadeshiko could just kill herself for taking that chance with Rina.

She pounded her fist on the ground in anger and tears flowed down her red-stained cheeks. Something was going to happen to them, she could sense it, and she didn't even have her powers intact. Fat lot of good that did any of them. "Why?! Why?!" she screamed, her voice echoing throughout the forest. Cold sweat mingled in with tears and it flowed to the ground in little streams, like veins on a leaf.

Nadeshiko just stared at the ground, her eyes unseeing. She was physically in that plane of time, but her mind was in a whole other realm. Something was pricking at her brain... it was that damned spirit, the one that Kamatari had called 'Kohu'. It wanted to get loose. Nadeshiko wouldn't let that happen. She didn't want that ... that ... thing ... to take over her body.

Not now. Not at this time. It wasn't right, she couldn't, WOULDN'T let it happen. Something was trying to reach her, contact her. Nadeshiko could feel a prickle of awareness coming. Something was trying to intrude in her mind, yet it wasn't that spirit. This presence felt more familiar, like family. NO!! Not that person!!

Nadeshiko abruptly tried to shut off her mind to outside influences. But no, it was too late. She would have to hear out what the presence had to say, and she didn't want to. Not in the slightest. That much was for sure. The person was her mother, Amaya.

Since Amaya had cast Nadeshiko out, Nadeshiko had felt absolutely no remorse for the woman. In all honesty, she still couldn't figure out why her mother had tossed her out of home.

Being on her own had probably been a better thing for her. She had met Rina and Takuya, and even though it was likely that Rina was going to die... no, she couldn't think that way! Rina was not going to die! Not if Nadeshiko had anything to do with it. She was going to try help the girl survive.

If Rina died, that would mean a terrible loss, not only for her family, but also for Rina's village, and this woman that Nadeshiko had heard so much about. She remembered that the woman's name was Hatsuyo. It was not often that she heard of a woman with such phenomenal powers. Nadeshiko wanted to meet her, maybe Hatsuyo could teach her something about controlling her own powers, how to bring them up when they were needed, and how not to let them fail, like they just had. She was still kicking herself for it.

Her mind cast over to her mother again and her eyes clouded with unshed tears. Her eyes narrowed and her fists clenched in anger. "I don't wanna hear from you again!!" she cried out. "You hear me, AMAYA! NEVER!!!!!"

Nadeshiko heard a soft voice singing, "Memories last forever, never do they die..."

Her eyes widened a little. That voice... she'd heard it before. Somewhere.

"Always believe in truth, it's a way to get by..." There it was again. That voice. She recognised it. She knew that she did. She just couldn't put the voice with its owner.

Nadeshiko began to shakily get up, but fell back. She couldn't even manage to get up. How helpless was she! Her head still hung, until bright light struck her eyes, forcing her to squint and look up. She sheltered a hand over her eyes so as to block some of the light that blinded her.

The figure was surrounded in mist, but then a light shone from within her, lighting her up. Her blond hair was down her back, about halfway between her shoulder blades and her waist, but tied up with a small band of tiny white blossoms, her blue eyes twinkled mischievously as she watched the girl. The robes she wore were not of white, but of gold and silver twined together, forming a beautiful robe that clothed the figure's entire body.

Nadeshiko's eyes widened even more. She could see... an angel. Wait!! An ANGEL?!?! Since when did they come down from the heavens. Nadeshiko had never seen one in her entire life, yet here one was, right before her, floating. The angel's silver wings glittered in the twilight. She seemed to be emitting her own light. "W-what are you d-d-doin-doing h-he-here?" Nadeshiko stuttered, disbelieving.

The angel laughed, a pleasant sound, one of peaceful rushing water. "I am here to watch over you for a time, young one."

"Me? Why am I so special?" Nadeshiko asked, faintly surprised. Why had she been the one?

"You are the one with Kohu, young witch. She is inside of you," the angel sounded.

"I know that. But what is so important about her?" Nadeshiko asked desperately. She was confused about this whole situation and she wanted answers.

'WHY AM I IMPORTANT?!?!?!' a voice shouted in Nadeshiko's head. 'Ungrateful little witch, I'll show you important!!!'

Nadeshiko automatically winced.

"The spirit again, huh? She does have a violent temper, ne?" the angel said.

"Believe me, I know that better than anyone," Nadeshiko replied wearily, and she rubbed her head. "What are you here for anyway? Have I done something wrong?"

The angel looked abashed. "Angels don't come down here for that sort of thing, we're here to watch over charges or potential ones."

"Is that like some sort of prison magic camp or something?" Nadeshiko asked. She was clueless about this sort of thing.

"Oh no! Nothing like that!" the angel said quickly. "We watch over the people who really make a difference. The ones who put others before themselves and since they have no one to protect them, because they're too busy protecting others, it's our duty to make sure that they're safe, otherwise we really get yelled at by Dayu."

"Who's Dayu?" Nadeshiko asked. She'd never heard that name before.

"I forgot to tell you about him didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did. All this is so unreal."

"Oh believe me, it's all real. Dayu is the head angel. He's as real as your healing powers and magic."

Nadeshiko chuckled. Now that was something to laugh about. She remarked, "Well, my so called magic and healing powers are virtually none existent now, so I guess that doesn't really make him very real then."

The figure grimaced. "Has no one taught you anything?"

Nadeshiko merely shook her head. "No, I've had to do all my learning on my own." She glanced around. "Do you know where Kamatari and Takuya are? I lost track of them a while back. I don't know where they are now."

The angel cocked her head. "Well, use your senses. You know how to do that, don't you?"

Nadeshiko blinked. "I think so. They're like a net, aren't they?"

"Yeah, something like that. But anyway, this is how it goes, all you have to do is concentrate on what you know of their auras and then filter your senses through the forest, trying to locate where they might be. Believe me, it's a lot easier than it sounds."

"I know," Nadeshiko remarked wearily, pressing a hand to her forehead and rubbing her temples. "This is gonna hurt for a long time. I just wanna get this spirit out of me."

"She's not going to leave. Kohu's like that. She'll stick like glue."

"Just out of curiosity, who exactly is Kohu? I mean, what does she want with me."

The angel took a deep breath. "You really want to go who she is?"

Nadeshiko cocked her head. "Of course."

"OK, well, it's a bit difficult to explain, but I'll do my best. Kohu started out as a witch, just like yourself, except one day, in a freak act of nature; she was struck by lightning and given even more immense powers that she already had. She was given the powers of telekinesis, levitation and the power to read minds. Kohu abused these powers that she had been granted and ended up being cursed by a witch of her fellow family."

Nadeshiko's eyes were widened a little. "She did all that?"

The angel nodded. "Yes, she did. Anyway, the short story is that Kohu was banished to being a spirit and for some unknown reasons, she tends to try to possess the bodies of powerful witches, ones that are renowned to have great powers and abilities. Hence, why she was drawn to you."

Nadeshiko's eyes were now cast down, trying to absorb this knowledge. "So, she's trying to take over my body to get my powers?" she concluded.

The angel nodded.

"Oh geez. First I have to worry about the Manene, now Kohu. Great, just great. I should've stayed in Merekara. By the way," Nadeshiko looked up at the angel, "what's your name? What can I call you?"

The angel thought for a second. "Call me Koto. My full name's Kotomi, but most call me Koto."

Nadeshiko nodded, repeating the name to herself a few times. "Right... Koto? I guess I better be heading on my way. I have to go see Kamatari and Takuya."

"I thought you didn't know where they were," Koto said.

Nadeshiko smiled, turned around halfway and winked at the confused angel. "No worries, I know where they are, I was just trying to get to know ya, see ya round, Koto!"

Koto immediately winced. "Darn it, Kohu's got control. I should've destroyed that spirit when I had the chance... gotta be on the lookout for that one."

Nadeshiko, or should I say, Kohu began walking in the direction of where she sensed Kamatari and Takuya.

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"Where is she?!" Takuya yelled at Kamatari. "She's dying! Look!" Takuya looked helplessly down at his twin.

"I don't know where she is... maybe she got lost..." Kamatari suggested. He looked around for Nadeshiko, casting his senses out.

"No need to look, or sense," a lazy voice said from a nearby tree.

Kamatari squinted to see the figure leaning against the tree and was overjoyed to see that it was Nadeshiko.

"Have you got your powers back?" the question was voiced by a desperate Takuya. "She's going, Nadeshiko. She is, and I don't think she'll come back. We need you to heal her now."

Kohu smiled lazily as she sauntered up to the body on the ground. She held her hands over the body and they began to glow a faint silver. "There we go," she giggled. "All done and fully healed."

Rina's eyes slowly opened and her head turned a little. She smiled slightly at her friend. "Thank you," she murmured.

"Hey, no probs!" Kohu squealed, in Nadeshiko's voice, in Nadeshiko's body. "Cute cute cute!! Oh my gosh, you two are TWINS!!! So CUTE!!"

"Um... yeah... I guess..." Takuya looked a little sceptical.

Rina sweatdropped. "OK, what happened, Nadeshiko?"

Kohu pouted cutely. "Who's to say that anything happened?" she grinned a little.

Rina simply raised an eyebrow. "I know something did. Where's Nadeshiko?" she narrowed her eyes at Kohu.

Kohu's grin turned into a smirk. "She's in here somewhere..." Kohu looked down. "Yeah, she's in here somewhere."

A melodic voice rang around the trees, "Kohu, go back to where you came from! The girl does not need you interfering in her life."

"Aww... just like you to spoil my fun, KOTOMI!" Kohu sniggered.

Rina looked around to see an angelic sight. An... Angel. HANG ON A SECOND!! An ANGEL?!?!?! She stared from the angel that the strange Nadeshiko had called 'Kotomi'. "You're an angel?" Rina asked, raising a dubious eyebrow.

"Of course she is!" Takuya stated. "Only an angel looks like that."

Koto smiled gratefully at Takuya and he blushed under her gaze.

Rina just groaned. "On geez, Kotomi, you've made him red. It takes him ages to get back to his normal colour." Rina walked over to her dazed brother and grabbed him by the shoulder, pulling him along to where she was with Nadeshiko. "Stay," she instructed her brother, pointing her index finger at him and talking to him as if he were a dog. "You hear me, Takky? Stay..." she let the word drag on for more emphasis.

Kamatari could not help but laugh at the hilarious sight, and soon Koto joined in. Those two were definitely comical relief from what had happened earlier. "You two ought to be the village clowns," Kamatari said to his twin children.

To which Rina turned around and shouted, "SHUT UP!!!!"

Nadeshiko stepped back a little, feeling in the slightest, a bit hesitant.

"Oh no missy, you're not going anywhere," Rina said, and she pulled Nadeshiko over to Takuya, who was still staring at Koto in a daze.

"Takuya," Rina said. No response. "Takuya," she said a little bit more forcefully this time. Still no response. "TAKUYA!" she said through her teeth, her voice near a growl. Still no response. Rina had the urge to kick her brother hard, and she carried out this wish, giving him a good hard kick in the thigh, so that it would hurt like hell.

A screech of pain was heard throughout the forest and Rina grinned. She was meaning entirely for that to hurt. Her speciality was kicks to the thighs. It was always guaranteed to trigger siblings out of their dazes and it also had the added bonus of giving them a dead leg. "How the leg, bro?" Rina asked sweetly, a mischievous grin on her face.

"Oh shut up," Takuya said, a dry smile on his face. "You know damn well what that vicious kick of yours does."

"Of course, I'm the one who ends up using it on you," Rina's grin widened even more. "So how's it feel?"

Takuya narrowed his eyes at his sister. "Sore, if it makes you feel any better."

Rina smiled satisfactorily. "Good. It should've. Now, you make sure you stay, ok?"

Takuya grumbled and Rina took the answer for a yes. "You, Angel or Kotomi or whatever your name is, come with me," Rina directed at Koto, who looked at her with surprise. "Yes you."

Koto was confused. What did Rina want with her? She hadn't done anything wrong had she? Maybe she shouldn't have talked to the girl's twin. It might've been a bad idea because Rina certainly seemed to be in a bad mood and it didn't seem like there would be much to get her out of it. Koto had seen that enough when Kohu had been in charge of Nadeshiko's body. Mind you, Koto had been watching Nadeshiko and the people that had surrounded her for a fair while now so she knew basically what had been happening in the girl's life and she wanted to help her, she really did, but she had to report to Dayu soon.

Koto could sense Dayu calling out for her and she knew that she had to go see him yet she just couldn't right now, because she was tied up with this one. Somehow, Koto had to get away from the unruly Rina, make her way up to heaven, and give a report of Nadeshiko and whether she was fit to get a guardian angel. Koto was certain that she was and Nadeshiko's guardian would have to be a highly powerful one to keep Kohu in check. Even Nadeshiko could barely keep the highly temperamental goddess in check and the spirit was in her body! Who else could keep Kohu contained? Koto wasn't exactly sure. She would have to talk more to Dayu about it.

Koto snapped out of her trance and looked at Rina. "Sorry..." she struggled to remember the girl's name... "Rina? That was your name, right?"

"It is," Rina snapped. "And what do you have to be sorry about?"

"I have to get going. You know, back to heaven and all that sort of stuff... so I'm going to be going now... Nadeshiko, keep in mind that that spirit in your body may try to take over again as she just managed to before and if she has access to your magic, it could be disastrous. Not to inflate your ego, but you should try to keep her in check otherwise she will regain control of your powers and believe me, if you want these guys to stay safe, then you're going to have to make sure she stays put, ok?"

Nadeshiko nodded, still slightly confused about this sprit, but heeding Koto's words nonetheless. "I'll try."

Koto smiled and nodded. "Good. I will need you to try to contact me soon. If you can't reach me within the next three days, then I'll contact you myself, alright?"

Nadeshiko nodded. "OK. I'll be expecting your call then. I don't have anything to contact you by."

Koto smiled a little. "It's not that hard. You have telepathy, right?"

Nadeshiko nodded, still not understanding.

"Well, just concentrate on me, my presence or something like that. Even my aura would do. And all you have to do is try to concentrate on me and send a thought through. It should reach me, if no, then nothing will work and I will contact you via a dream. You'll be having some very disturbing premonitions soon; I can see it through the viewing pool. I will see you soon Nadeshiko." And with that, Koto vanished.

"Well that was a fleeting visit," Rina remarked.

"You scared her away," Takuya grumbled to Rina.

"I did not," Rina retorted hotly.

"Yes you did, and you know it," Takuya said back, a little irritated.

"So what?" Rina smirked and shrugged. "Deal with it, bro."

Takuya narrowed his eyes and was about to lunge on his sister when Nadeshiko stepped in. "Guys, please don't fight, don't we need to get to your village?"

Rina gritted her teeth, but nodded and stepped back from her brother. "You're right, Nadeshiko, let's get a move on so that I can finally get back and actually do something out here without getting hurt. I need to see Hatsuyo about something anyway."

"Yeah, she needs to teach me some more things so I can defend myself better. We don't know when the Manene will strike again and Rina nearly died as a result of this attack. We have to tread cautiously or else they could ambush us on the way there. It's still a few days walk ahead, unless of course you have a faster method of transportation."

Nadeshiko thought, observing their surroundings and came up with nothing. "Looks like we're on foot then. Kamatari? Any ideas?"

Kamatari shook his head. "Nothing, besides, I think the walk will do you all some good. Especially you, Takuya, you've been a bit of a couch potato lately."

Takuya glared at his father. He had a really strong urge to say 'shut up', but instead said, "Be quiet," with a rather annoyed look on his face.

Rina was laughing in delight. "There's nothing more that I love to see than you annoyed little brother, it's hilarious! You get this funny look on your face as if you're planning something, but we know you're not because you can't fool us and I'm your twin sister and I can read your mind, so I know exactly what you're going to do!"

Nadeshiko raised an eyebrow at Rina. The girl was babbling. That was even clear to her. Nadeshiko shook her head sadly. She had some really crazy friends.

Takuya turned his glare from his father to his sister. She was going crazy, he could see that, but he didn't know if she could. He decided to say something about it. "Umm... Rina? You do know that you're babbling right?"

Rina's hands instantly flew to her mouth, now that someone had actually pointed it out to her; it had become apparent to her too.

"A severe case of verbal diarrhoea," Kamatari deadpanned and his son looked at him with a grin.

"Ditto that," Takuya remarked.

Nadeshiko cocked her head at the weird family behaviour. Was it always like this in families? Hers had been nothing like this, hers had been all about learning spells and everything, these people were so laid-back, they hardly seemed to do anything. Maybe she could consider coming to live in their village; after all, she was going there for a while anyway. What was the harm in staying? She couldn't see any reason not to. "Uh... guys? Don't you think that we should be going to your village soon?" she voiced, a little bit doubtful.

Takuya and Kamatari immediately stopped laughing. "Oh yeah, I forgot!" Takuya said. "Oops."

"You always forget," Rina accused.

"Well, UI didn't see you saying anything, SIS," Takuya retorted back.

Nadeshiko was getting a headache with all their bickering. "Can we just go please?"

Kamatari had a soft smile on his face. "Of course. We'll go now, those two can catch up when they finish their little argument."

Nadeshiko had a dry smile on her face. "Right..."

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Dayu sat at his desk, impatiently waiting for Koto's return. She was supposed to have been back hours ago. Then again, Koto didn't have a very good sense of time. Dayu was just about to bury his head in his arms and think the worst when the young healer walked in.

"Sorry, I'm late," Koto said, walking in and setting herself down with a flourish and a big smile.

"I'm taking that it went well?" Dayu said.

"Better than well. It was great. I managed to see what that girl's power was like, and I was able to see that goddamn arrogant spirit again, so I guess that you could say I had fun. Heh, I managed to shut Kohu up for a little while. She's still as haughty as ever." Koto grimaced. "She kept calling me 'Kotomi'. She knows how much I hate that name."

Dayu shrugged. "Hey, it was the name you were given."

"I still prefer Koto," Koto retorted and stuck out her tongue. "Bleh... Kotomi... what in the world were my parents thinking? Yeesh..."

"That spirit's always going to be condescending, so you're just gonna have to deal with it. Until we find a decent guardian for that girl, I appoint you in charge of her."

Koto's eyes widened. "Dayu! NO!! Not that arrogant spirit! I don't wanna have to deal with her again. She talks back to me all the time."

"Does the girl?" Dayu asked.

Koto was clearly confused. "What do you mean by 'does the girl'?"

"I mean, does she talk back to you?"

Koto had to think for a bit there. "Well... no..."

"Fine then. It's settled. I appoint you, Matsuda Kotomi, temporary guardian of Amamiya Nadeshiko."

"Oh joy..." Koto moaned, slumping her head against the desk and groaning. "Why me...?"

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"Why me...?" a voice grumbled. Nadeshiko was sitting on a tree stump listening to Takuya and Rina arguing about some stupid thing. Again. It seemed that all they did was argue. It was giving Nadeshiko an even bigger headache than it had before. And that was saying something because that spirit inside of Nadeshiko had given her a pretty big headache from the start.

"They giving you a headache huh?" a voice asked.

Nadeshiko looked up to see Kamatari looking down at her. "Yeah. I try to block them out, but somehow those two manage to penetrate into my brain. It hurts. They yell too loud. I mean, it's really quiet here and their voices seem to carry for miles. Ugghhh..." she groaned.

"Yeah, I know it does, but you just have to learn to deal with it sometimes. Most of the people in my village are sued to Rina and Takuya's bickering so whenever those two walk past, most people can tell that they're about to start an argument so they dive into their houses and bring out their earmuffs," Kamatari said, a hint of a smile on his face.

Nadeshiko brightened a bit. "Really?" she asked.

"No," Kamatari answered with a half-heartened smile, a bit amused. "I wish we had earmuffs though. I usually can't stand being in the same room as those two and they're my flesh and blood. I love them to bits, but they drive me insane."

Nadeshiko managed a half smile. "That's family for you. They're always like that."

"Yeah, I agree with you." Kamatari stopped when he saw Nadeshiko's face. She looked miserable and he suddenly remembered what Rina had been yelling at him about. He was immediately sorry about what he'd said. "I'm sorry Nadeshiko... I completely forgot..."

"It's ok. I'm not completely fragile you know. I can hear about other people's families. It doesn't hurt a whole heap." Of course she was lying. She knew that she was lying. All that she had wished when she was a girl was to have a family that cared about her and wanted her to become the best that she could be. Unfortunately, her family hadn't been like that and her own mother had kicked her out of home when she was just a mere eighteen years old. It did hurt, it really did.

Kamatari looked at the girl with concern. He could see that she was very skilled in hiding her true emotions, yet he could see right through them. It was what made his people so good at figuring out enemies. He wouldn't call his son and daughter very empathic though, they were taking no notice of the others around them, namely him and the witch. "I'm sure that they had their reasons. But honestly, are you honestly feeling ok?"

When Nadeshiko looked up at the old man again, there were tears in her eyes that she was struggling to hide. She wasn't going to cry. No, she wasn't. She was struggling to hold them in because they were going to spill at any moment.

"You don't need to hide them," Kamatari said softly. "It's ok to cry. It's what makes us different to others. We feel emotion where they do not. We experience fear, sorrow and hurt. It's all part of who we are. Don't hold it in, don't bottle it up. It'll just make it worse." Kamatari reached over and put an arm around the teenager's shoulders.

Nadeshiko leaned against the old man, grateful for the support. And for the second time that day, she sobbed.

"It's ok, let it all out..." Kamatari said in a soothing voice as he looked up in the night sky, thinking, 'We'll be there soon, mother, just hold out a little longer. I need you to help this girl.' He looked down at Nadeshiko, whose face was hidden. 'Just a little longer, young one...'

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It was well after nightfall when Nadeshiko felt herself wake up. She must've fallen asleep leaning against Kamatari. Once again, she silently thanked the old man for his support. He had sure been there for her over the past couple of days. She was very grateful to him for that.

Nadeshiko lifted her head from the ground where she must have been lying. She saw Rina and Takuya fast asleep and again, Kamatari silhouetted against the fire, in front of the dancing flames, the red light lighting up his nearly white hair. She smiled a little at the sight. When she moved to sit up, Kamatari said, "Sit down, young one. You need your sleep. There will be plenty of time for more adventure tomorrow."

"Yeah..." Nadeshiko yawned, suddenly realising how tired she was. "How long have I been out of it?" she asked, faintly curious.

"Long enough for when Rina and Takuya finally stopped yelling at each other, they noticed that you'd gone to sleep. And of course, Rina demanded to know what happened. I merely told her to leave you alone and to let you sleep because you've had a very rough day. I'm sorry, Nadeshiko, but I can see for your future that things are going to get a whole lot tougher."

"I know..." Nadeshiko whispered. "I can see it too."

"Go back to sleep, young one. You need your sleep for tomorrow's journey. We have a long day ahead of us."

Nadeshiko complied and laid her head back down on her pillow. As she stared at the dancing flames of fire, memories danced across her conscious, becoming one big blur, until finally, Nadeshiko fell asleep, ready to sleep the days' worries away...

~*~*~*~*~*~TO BE CONTINUED~*~*~*~*~*~

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Woohoo!!!! Longest chapter that I've ever written. I hit over 10,000 words! ^_^ I'm gonna aim for 11,000 now. Hmm... if anyone's got any fics to recommend to me, please let me know! I'm gonna read KayJuli's fics tomorrow... hers are so damn good. Conflict, description. Whoa...

That's the end of it for this chapter. I'm going nighty nights now, it's 10pm and I have big tests tomorrow. Damn the end of the school mid term... I wanna sleep. I'm gonna read HP 5 a bit though. I'm nearly finished...

Don't forget, permission, questions, bios. Just please... no... bad... stuff. Anything! Feel free to e-mail me, I guarantee that I'll reply. ^_^ Whoa! Time to get a move on! I've got a group meeting for a CCS RPG I'm in!

Review if you want to.

Karisa Temura

My email address:

karisa_temura@yahoo.co.nz