A/N – Goodness, it would seem that I have efficiently confused all my readers as to what the pairing is! ; Let me clear that up then. This fic is a Graham/OC story, the OC being Tiara's daughter.

I'm actually surprised by my decision to do this. I normally abhor original characters being paired with characters in the show, so this is really weird for me.

I claim no ownership over the Shamanic Princess characters.

Chapter 6 – The Soul

"Graham, behind you!" I yell. He jumps aside, and an angry red mist rushes by him. He takes the opportunity to head in a different direction.

We have only been in our designated area for a day before finding and engaging the target.

We did not find it. It found us. A wispy sort of cloud, it is almost indistinguishable from the surrounding atmosphere. We discovered it during our first nightly patrol of the city in the most curious way. Upon reaching a turn in the road, Graham had whispered in his quiet voice that he sensed something. He then took off down the street with me following. When I caught up with him he was on a rooftop, standing in one place, his head swiveling as he searched for the being that drew his attention.

This was not unusual. When they sense us, most rouge guardian spirits hide to avoid capture.

What was unusual was how the thing reacted when I joined my partner on the rooftop. The air around Graham had suddenly glowed neon red, gathered together in a bristling cloud, spitting angry sparks. When it dove at us we leapt out of the way, although Graham needn't have bothered. The slowly growing cloud seemed focused solely on me, and through no amount of strategic twists and turns could I loose it.

The strangest thing, however, occurred when my partner attempted to attack it, and divert it to himself so I could catch my breath. If possible, the thing had grown angrier, then proceeded to chase Graham with a murderous attention. As fast as it had chased me, the speed was multiplied insanely, forcing its target, Graham, to dodge it blindly or be hit.

And so I watch, helplessly, as our target turns the tables and becomes to us what we had been to it. My breath stops as a windowsill, upon which Graham is launching off of, crumbles under the force of his foot, and he trips. The mist is on him in seconds.

"Graham!" My voice echoes in the night, and, regardless of my own safety Graham is striving to ensure, I dive at his attacker. My fear is multiplied as I lose sight of his face in the crimson mist creature. He is clawing at it, but his hands slip through it, and he cannot run without risking flying headlong into a concrete wall.

"Get AWAY!" I scream, filling my hand with power and blowing it with all my energy at the creature. My attack seems to break something upon making contact with the mist, and I watch with relief as the color fades to nothing, and the creature's aura leaves us, disappearing back into the darkness. I turn to Graham, to see if he is alright, and gasp. The metal side of his face is tarnished and black with heat burns, while the flesh of the other side sports rapidly darkening bruises. "Oh, Graham.." I whisper, finding nothing else to say.

His eye flickers to look at me, and he touches the metal mask with the skin and bone hand. "I will… be alright," he says, and I feel my body relax instantly in relief. "Good," I sigh, briefly closing my eyes. In doing this, I miss the surprised look he gives me.

"We had better get back," I say. He nods, and we descend to the street below. I touch my left foot to the pavement, then my right- and stumble as a stinging pain races up my leg. Graham is there in time to catch me before I hit the ground. Held gently in his embrace, I clutch the ankle from which the pain originated.

"What is wrong?" he asks.

"My leg… I think I may have cracked it on something while I was running from that mist creature… I was going so fast I don't think I noticed…"

He lets me go, and I test my weight on the foot, only to wince and pull it back off the ground. "I can't use it until it's better… I suppose I'll just fly back-" "No." I turn to him in surprise. The surprise turns to shock as he places his human arm behind my back, and uses the metal arm to sweep me off my feet. (A/N – Sorry, couldn't resist! ) "You are too exhausted to fly now. This way you do not risk suddenly falling asleep, and therefore falling out of the sky." This said, he leaps onto the nearest rooftop, his feet making light padding sounds as he races to the edge, jumps, lands on the next rooftop, and continues on.

I try to keep my eyes open, but the world, racing by me at what seems to be a blinding speed, causes my eyes to drift shut.

My head sinks.

The softly glowing night becomes an endless black.

And the last thing I remember is drifting peacefully to sleep with my head resting on Graham's shoulder.

hops up and down Ooooo, that came out so well! I loved writing the fluff at the end. This is so much fun! I should update more often! ;;