"It's not that easy…" Kenmeri spat "There's spells and incantations, memory charms, and I'll have to find a way to gather all of the power to perform this…" as she spoke Kenmeri waved her hand in small semicircles, suddenly a feather appeared in her right hand and a long slip of parchment in the other. "I don't know how I'm going to do this…" she angrily mumbled. She touched the tip of the feather to top of her head, and as if magnetized, her hair clung to the feather. In one firm yank she pulled the feather down and began to scribble on the parchment, her hair had become the ink! Tenshi gawked as Kenmeri, oblivious to all else, scribbled on the parchment in bright red, flowing script. Tenshi turned at looked at Kenjutsu, who was just as amazed as herself. Ojiisan gazed at the both of them and smiled "My part in this escapade is complete; I leave you in Kenmeri's hands now." Before anyone could protest, Ojiisan began to fade, and then with one loud pop he vanished without a trace. "Damnit!" Kenmeri shouted, causing Tenshi and Kenjutsu to jump "He wasn't supposed to leave yet!" Kenmeri rolled her eyes and continued scribbling on her paper. Tenshi smiled at the place where Ojiisan had been 'he may be gone, but at least I was able to see him again' she thought to herself. Kenmeri looked up from her paper only long enough to shout "What are you two standing around for?! I need supplies!" Tenshi furrowed her brow and looked back at Kenmeri "What exactly do you need?" Kenmeri rolled her eyes once more and spat "do you know anything about herbs?" Tenshi had learned a little about herbs and remedies from a nearby village priestess, so she smiled and nodded as she said "I know a little…" for the first time Kenmeri smiled and sighed "thank God! At least one of you isn't a complete Baka!" Kenjutsu, upon hearing this, angrily growled "I'm not a Baka!" Kenmeri snickered and said sarcastically as she patted him on the head "of course your not!" Tenshi fought back laughter as she asked Kenmeri "what kind of herbs are you looking for?" Kenmeri glanced over her parchment and said "I need Edelweiss…Ague Root…Althea…Bracken…Crocus…Echinacea…Feverfew…Gotu Kola…and Hellebore." Tenshi frowned, those would not be easy to find. She had a good idea of where to find almost all of them, but Hellebore would be difficult, it only grew in the dankest of areas and anyone who could get their hands on it used it for evil purposes. "I think I can find them…but Hellebore will be difficult…how long do we have?" Tenshi said in a melancholy sigh. Kenmeri folded her list and handed it to Tenshi as she said "we have as long as it takes…preferably soon, but anytime should be fine I guess." Tenshi nodded and headed for the door with Kenjutsu at her heels.
Tenshi pulled out a small knife and slowly cut large pieces of Ague Root. Kenjutsu was watching smugly from his resting place high in the boughs of a bare, dead tree. Tenshi placed the root in a small leather pouch and began cutting at another piece, silently wishing Kenjutsu would help, the root, though easy to cut, was terribly difficult to dig up, it would grow down at least four feet in the ground, and Tenshi was digging using only her hands. As if Kenjutsu had read her mind he climbed down and sat next to Tenshi "here…let me help." Kenjutsu smiled. Kenjutsu leaned forward and quickly began scratching at the ground slowly forming a hole large enough for Tenshi to reach into and cut the root. Tenshi smiled and looked down at her bleeding knuckles, she tore a small piece of dark blue cloth from her Kimono, and cutting it into two long narrow pieces she wrapped it around each hand twice. Kenjutsu frowned upon seeing the blood, but he knew it would be no use to protest, so he continued digging for the root. After some time, and lots of digging, Tenshi and Kenjutsu gathered the root and headed for a small pond that was not to far away from their digging spot. Kenjutsu took off his long black cloak and spread it out next to the waters edge for the two of them to sit on and rest. Tenshi sat next to Kenjutsu and pulled out two small apples, she smiled and passed one to Kenjutsu and kept the other for herself. They sat in silence for sometime, slowly munching on their food and listening to the quiet hum of the water. Tenshi gazed at the shimmering surface of the water and let her mind wander, she thought of Ojiisan and Kenmeri, of spells and of Kenjutsu. Suddenly Tenshi found herself watching Kenjutsu intently, he was lying on his stomach, gazing at the water, his black hair was long, and it rippled down his shoulders, shimmering in the fading afternoon light. Kenjutsu apparently feeling Tenshi's gaze, turned and looked at her, puzzled he asked "What are you looking at?" Tenshi flushed and quickly looked away "I just sort of zoned out I guess…" Kenjutsu nodded and continued watching the reflection of the setting sun ripple across the still waters glossy surface with a smile on his face.
That evening Tenshi and Kenjutsu gathered all of the herbs they had found that day, and headed back to the small hut. When they entered they found Kenmeri sprinkling a thick purple powder into a blazing green fire, causing it to produce a thick blue grey smoke that smelled strongly of lilac and chamomile. The smoke rolled about in the hut until finally Kenmeri stood up and ordered Tenshi and Kenjutsu to do the same. "Stand up…both of you…stretch your hands out above your head as far as they will go." Tenshi and Kenjutsu obediently did as they were told; stretching their arms up until their fingertips almost grazed the edges of the smoke. Kenmeri closed her eyes and began furiously mumbling something under her breath as she spoke the flames grew higher and began to turn to different shades of blue, green, and purple, before settling on a violent shade of blood red. Suddenly Kenmeri's inaudible mumbling ceased and the smoke began to clear, Kenmeri opened her eyes and shot the smoke a scowl, causing the smoke clear much faster, once it had completely dissipated all that was left was a beautiful view of the night sky. Kenmeri smiled at her success and began pouring over an old book of spells. Tenshi frowned and asked Kenmeri "What happened to the roof?" Kenmeri, without looking up from her book, replied "it's still there, it's just an illusion, plus it will help me with some of the spells I'm going to perform to send you into the future…" Tenshi nodded and walked out of the hut into the cool night air.
Tenshi folded her arms across her chest and sighed, she hated knowing that she was a half vampire, she knew she was part evil, and that knowledge was slowly gnawing at her heart. Tenshi walked in the silver light of the moon until she came to the waterfall. Bracing herself against the stone wall, she was able to slide behind the wall of water without getting very wet. Behind the waterfall was a small cave, Tenshi had come here often as a child, to escape from her emotions, and be calm and at peace. Tenshi sat in the shadows listening to the gentle rolling water for what seemed like hours, she closed her eyes and leaned into the damp wall for support. Tenshi felt movement at her side, she frowned and opened her left eye "Kenjutsu…What are you doing here?" she sighed. Kenjutsu chuckled and said happily "I thought I would find you here…" Tenshi positioned herself more comfortably on the wall and moved slightly away from Kenjutsu, she didn't want him there, she wanted to be alone. "What's wrong with you?" Kenjutsu asked startled at her sudden movement. Tenshi opened her eyes and shot him an angry scowl as she spat "I came here to be alone…but you followed me" Kenjutsu frowned and turned his gaze to the falling water before them, he thought for a moment, then reached out and grasped Tenshi's hand. Kenjutsu flushed slightly, and turned to look at Tenshi with concern in his eyes "What's wrong Tenshi? You haven't been yourself lately…" Tenshi felt her face grow terribly warm as she opened her mouth to speak. She tried to say 'leave me alone' or 'go away' but her mouth simply would not work. Suddenly Tenshi felt tears burn her eyes, she screamed in the back of her mind 'don't cry…your not going to cry…not now!' a worry line formed on Kenjutsu's forehead as he gently brushed a rouge strand of raven hair from Tenshi's face. His touch was so warm and gentle; Tenshi felt her sadness melt away just thinking about it, she felt all of the barriers she had placed around herself so carefully, fall away into nothingness. She felt herself break, and without warning she felt tears stream down her face. Kenjutsu wiped away her tears and pulled her into a warm embrace. Tenshi broke down and wrapped her arms around him, sobbing into his shoulder, all she managed to mutter was "I'm…half vampire…evil!" Kenjutsu leaned back and looked at her red puffy eyes "Your not evil Tenshi" he pulled her back into his arms and held her until she fell asleep.