A/N: Song (c) Ma'aya Sakamoto (Dread 39 English trans.)


Rei shivered in the cold of the night, her eyes craking open slightly after a long sleep. She did not know how long it had been since she last slipped away on the cliff, but as she looked around, she knew they were nowhere near the village. They were in the middle of a large, grassy field, camping out in the shadow of a large stone. She was covered in her jacket, which had been removed and wrapped around her body, and one a dark blue jacket that she assumed to belong to Akisu. Her shoulder had apperently been relocated and bandaged and cleaned well, it was no longer bleeding. Her fingers and hand were wrapped with smaller bandages and tied in a neat know in her pal, her broken fingers supported with a brace. They throbbed painfully and the bandages on her hand were bloodsoaked, but they seemed to be healing well. She pushed herself off the ground sleepily, rubbing her eyes and looking around. There was a small patch of flattened grass a few feet from her, but no Akisu.

"Are you up, then?" came his voice from above.

"Akisu!" she said, tilting her head back. He was sitting with his legs dangling over the edge of the stone, smiling down at her as he brushed his hair from his yellow, snake eyes.

"Where are we?" she asked sleepily, looking out across the vast plain. There were large rocks scattered across it, poking out of the ground in several places.

"Just past the border of the Waterfall country," he said, looking around. "I had to carry you all the way here."

She remembered seeing Akisu before she passed out, his white wings and odd, green eyes. "What... What was that thing back at the village?"

His face darkened slightly as he thought about that, and his eyes darted aside as if he were embarassed. "Hikaru."

"...Hikaru...?"

"You of all people should know what Hikaru is."

"I...What?" She paused and thought for a long moment, raking her mind for an answer.


"No, it was supposed to be more powerful than even the Aohane," said Sugi through a mouth of noodle.

"More powerful?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow. "That's impossible...Isn't it?"

"The Aohane was the basic experiment, the first experiment, but Hikaru is a more advance version of the same concept. But the Aohane still has it's advantages-there are no side affects for using its powers, at least none too severe, and it can be called upon easily, at will. The Hikaru, however, will put great strain on whichever capsule it is placed in."

"But I thought the capsule got away. Ran."

"Keh," he scoffed, lowering his chopsticks. "The capsule was a two-year-old kid who couldn't even walk probably. My dad stole him."

"What? Why?"

"Well... Mum was the one to steal him in the first place, so he's just reclaiming what's his. But he knows what she did to him. I almost feel sorry for the kid, when he grows up he'll have a harder time in life than you have right now. He's like you, accept he's easier to hate."


"It's a monster that I was cursed with by the Raikage," he said, careful not to insult her mother again. Rei didn't know what to say to that, but inside she felt as if it were her fault for his pain. She lowered her head, staring at the ground absent-mindedly.

"I...I'm sorry," she muttered, at a loss of anything other to say.

"Why?" he asked in an almost cruel voice. It was the same voice he had used at the Ramen stand when she had first spoken to him, as if it were the complete opposite of his normal, polite personality. This one was cruel, and she could tell he was not voicing everything that was going through his head.

"I don't know..." she was not used to appologizing. When she had been blamed for things as a child, she usually became very defensive and went into denial, even when it was obvious what she had done. The words 'I'm sorry' seemed to always catch in her throat-she hated to admit her being wrong. She hated losing and she hated being wrong.

"Look, it's not your fault. It's the- nevermind," he said, breaking off and being careful not to mention the Raikage's name.

"Why don't you just say it?" she asked, still staring at the ground.

"...You'll get mad at me again and yell at me," he said, taking up his normal, quiet tone again.

"No I won't I-" she broke off thinking about every other time. At the ramen stand she had run off after yelling at him, after their battle with the two Akatsuki she had punched him in the face and yelled at him, after looting the travellers she had yelled at him, after fighting Demoni she had yelled at him, and after he had saved her at the cliff she... yelled at him. She swallowed and bit her lip, feeling guilty for mistreating him so often. She remembered her words on the cliff exactly: 'Baka, baka, baka, baka, baka! What the hell were you doing before!? TAKING A NAP!? '

"Ah," she said, rubbing the back of her head as she thought about what he had done for her. She looked up at Akisu. He was had a faroff look on his face, staring out across the plain, his yellow eyes almost glowing in the night. She knew what Hikaru did to him, she had asked her brother about her mother's experiments several times. It was said that the side affects of releasing it which came several hours later felt as if each nerve in your body was set on fire, that evey bone was being broken, that you were being held in burning oil and being drowned. At the time, she had decided that would be as close to Hell anyone could get without dying, and this boy was the one to feel such endless pain. Twice over, she thought, thinking of the other curse seal, the one on his neck from his father.

"Look, Akisu," she said slowly. Appologizing really wasn't her thing, she rarely ever did it, and was horrible at it anyways. "On the cliff, what I said before, I didn't mean it. Whenever I say things like that, I'm not thinking about who I'm saying it to. When I was little I was spoiled and pampered like a princess, and when I got sick of it, I ran. But no matter what I do, parts of my former self always make their way into my current lifestyle." She paused, suprised at the maturity of the words coming out of her mouth. She had never spoken to anyone like that before, usually her brain was too ignorant to come up with anything to say. When Akisu said nothing, her spirits sunk slightly. He's mad at me, she thought glumly. I probably hurt his feelings this time.

"Please don't be mad at me, Akisu. I really didn't mean it. I... I can't help it when I say things like that, it just comes out before I can stop myself. Next time I say something like that, just whack me or something and tell me to shut up." There was another long silence. "I... I'm really sorry Akisu. And I mean it," she forced out the last words against her will, but they were true. She really did mean it. Usually, the furthest she would go with feeling sorrow or guilt towards someone was simply thinking about it, sometimes voicing it in a few words, but never like this. She felt horrible about what she had said to him, and she realized that it was somehow bothering her more than it should. It was as if she couldn't live knowing he was mad at her.

"I'm not mad at you," he said finally, turning to face her and smiling a faint smile.

"Huh?"

"I'm not mad," he repeated. "I was just thinking. And listening to you speak. You hardly ever say that much to me. I don't mind your yelling because I can tell you don't mean it, it's just the only way you know how to express your feelings. So I'm not mad, no."

She looked up at him as he stared out across the plain again. He was still smiling faintly, and his face was not pained or troubled, but his eyes said otherwise. His eyebrows were constantly furrowed, no matter how slightly, and his eyelids seemed to twitch or vibrate slightly. And as she looked into his slit-like pupils she could see boundless pain or sorrow. Inside he must feel the same as her, but he somehow managed to smile and laugh so oftern, to take everything lightly as if it mattered little to him. How can he be feeling like that inside and yet act so lightly about everything? She caught herself staring at him, and opened her mouth to say something, but thought better of it and flopped back onto the ground, pulling the jackets closer around her and bringing up her knees, wrapping her arms around them. Although she felt better knowing he was not mad at her, she had the same feeling as before. As if she couldn't live properly knowing what he was feeling inside. The same feeling that had been haunting her lately, of being trapped, helpless, suffocated, and chased.


"I wasn't completely out of it, you know," he said, smiling and handing her her own bag. "I saw where you hid them and I picked them up on my way, I did."

She grinned and shouldered her bag, slinging it over her right shoulder. She had no clue where they were heading today, and did not entirely care, but she looked around her happily. She liked large open spaces like this, she liked the way the grass moved in waves when the wind blew. It was like the ocean, which she loved, accept better because there was no water and it did not smell like fish and salt.

"We can just keep going that way until we reach the river and we can take a break to eat or whatever," she said absent-mindedly. Her shoulder and hand were both throbbing, and she held her arm to her chest in order to lessen the bloodflow to the area. The temperature had dropped drastically, and it was probably around five degrees celsius at the moment, a sure sign that winter was here.

They walked slowly through the tall grass, sometimes speaking, other times remaining silent and simply enjoying eachother's company. By the time the landscape began to change, it was early afternoon, and it was no warmer than before. Rei spotted rocks ahead and a number of birds that had not been visible on the plain, and she knew that meant they had reached the river. She slowed down as she looked out at it, suddenly turning towards Akisu.

"Race you there," she said playfully, tightening her grip on her bag.

"What? I don't think you should be running around right now, after you've been hurt," he said quietly, trying to talk her out of it.

"You're such a stick-in-the-mud, Akisu," she said, dropping her head dejectedly. He sighed.

"I suppose I could race you, then," he said, giving in.

"Okay, ready? Threetwoonego!!!" she said quickly, her last words melting together into one, long, incomprehendable word. She dashed forwards, leaving Akisu behind as she darted quickly towards the river, jumping over logs and stones and nearly flying because of her speed. Akisu was just as fast though, and caught up to her with incredible ease. She was suprised at how quickly he moved although he seemed to not be trying in the slightest. She sped up, trying to leave him behind, but he sped up as well.

"How'd you... get so.... fast?" she asked between breaths, speeding up further. The river was only a few yards away, and she suddenly broke away from him, sprinting as fast as her legs would carry her. She slowed once she reached the trees, finally stopping a few seconds before Akisu.

"I win," she declared, catching her breath. Akisu was breathing heavily as well, but he didn't use as much effort as she had, and it showed.

"Because I let you," he said, grinning.

"Yeah right," she retorted, using a tree for support. But she had a feeling he was telling the truth. The world turned upside-down as she flopped onto her back, and her eyes viewed the world from the ground. The first thing she saw was a bright shimmering coming from the river, and it intregued her enough for her to get up and move toward it to examine it. It was beautiful.

The river was moving incredibly fast, rapids crashing over eachother as they rolled downstream. There were several large boulders along the edges of the river, and each was shimmering brightly, covered in ice which was melting and steaming in the sunlight. The air here was crisp and cold, but refreshing, and she dashed forwards, forgetting her bag on the ground behind her as she jumped on to one of the large boulders to examine the river better.

"Rei!" called Akisu, coming up from behind her. "Please don't go up there! What if you fall?"

"I'm not gonna slip, I'm a ninja, I have a good sense of balance," she retorted, turning to face him. He looked worried, but eventually joined her, standing further back on the ice-covered rock and looking out across the river.

"Really, Rei, if you fell I wouldn't be able to save you. This water is below freezing, if you fell in you wouldn't last five minutes. Please be careful," he said worriedly, his eyes darting between her and the water.

"Relax, Akisu." She turned back to the river, realizing she had left her walkman in her bag, but not entirely caring. There were many birds here, and they were all singing, which was music enough for her at the moment.

"Rei," said Akisu from behind. She turned to face him again.

"Ne?"

"You're the same as me. What was the thing you released at the cliff? It was just like Hikaru."

"Ah," she said quietly, thinking about the Aohane. "My mother sealed it within me, it was the prototype for the Hikaru, a less powerful version I suppose."

"Your own mother did that to you?" he asked, almost in disgust.

"She said it was for me to protect myself with. It was meant to help me."

"But still, to her own child, that's... cruel."

She turned around fully to examine Akisu, her mind wandering. There were many things running through her mind at the moment, but she was not good with words. It was not something that came naturally to her.

"What is it, then?" he asked, snapping her from her thoughts. She realized she had been staring at him again, and turned away, her face burning. The cool air felt soothing.

"Akisu," she said slowly. What am I doing? she thought helplessly. But she continued on. "What do you..." she shifted nervously, her face burning. "What do you see me-"

She slipped. Her right foot simply slid forwards on the stone, followed by her left as she shot out her arms for balance, but it was too late. She hit the stone hard, her head connecting with the icy surface as her feet hit cold water. Her head had hit the stone hard though, and the moment it connected, everythin went black. Again.


Everything was cold and black as she stirred. Her limbs were numb and seemed paralyzed from the impossible cold water, and her eyes snapped open as she realized what had just happened. Water. It filled her lungs and stung her eys, chilling her to the bone. She was under water. She could see the light of the surface above her and the botomless darkness beneath her, threatening to swallow her up. She was moving quickly downstream as she began struggling, but her clothes seemed to slow her movements and drag her further into the dark depths.

She would have been pannicking had she been able to, but her entire body was frozen. She gave in and sucked in the surrounding water hungrily, eyes widening as it filled her lungs. I'm drowning, she thought numbly, not believing what was happening. I'm gonna die. Her head was pounding and she could only hear her slow heartbeat and the muffled roar of the water around her as she was tossed through the rapids. At one point, she managed to grab hold of a rock, but something strange happened. Pain exploded through her mind and she coughed out more water, her muscles freezing up as she lost her grip on the rock. Her eyes began slipping closed again, but she suddenly felt something grab hold of her. Two hands that caught her just before she passed out.

Those hands became everything, and she struggled weakly to hold onto them, her body pressing annoyingly into the rocks around her as they attempted to pull her from the icy water. They gave a particularly hard jerk and her head broke the surface, but something was wrong. Her lungs were frozen, not responding to her need for oxygen. And despite the fact that she was above water, everything was still dark and numb. The hands pulled her further out of the water before pausing. Whens she felt them again, they were pressing hard into her body, directly onto her ribs with an almost crushing force. Again and again they pressed into her, until she thought her ribs would snap from the pressure they were being put under. No more pain, she thought, if my ribs break, there'll be even more to deal with. Ugh.... open your eyes...

Her body suddenly convulsed with another push from the hands, and she coughed up a large amount od icy water, gasping for breath.

"Aiya... Are you alright, Raine-sama?"

Raine?...Raine-sama!? Her head was throbbing from the cold, and no matter what she did, her eyes remained sealed. Her body was shivering uncontrollably as the hands grabbed her again and lifted her completely out of the water, completely off the ground. She was put down on something soft and she could feel the warmth of a fire directly beside her as something else was draped over her. But the cold didn't seem to be leaving her body.

"Raine-sama... Raine-sama.... RAINE-SAMA..."

"You're... annoying," she rasped, opening an eye. She immediately spotted black face paint and a small headband with black cat ears on it. It was the cat girl from before.

"You're alive!" She shouted happily, squinting at her cat-like.

"I never knew," she said, coughing a few times. She was still shivering uncontrollably, and pulled the small jacket around her, opening her other eye as well. A moment later, a large piece of steaming fish was shoved into her face, and she took it gratefully, eating it quickly despite the fact it was burning her mouth.

"I went fishing but I caught a ninja instead," said the cat-girl amiably, munching on a piece of her own fish.

"What's your name?" asked Rei, licking her fingers and sitting up slightly.

"I don't have a name. Oyabun just called me Neko. You can call me Neko, Raine-sama," she said, finishing the fish and starting on another, large piece.

"My name's Rei not Raine... and why do you call me 'sama'?"

"Rei...? Because you got rid of Demoni and I escaped with my lives."

...Lives? What is this girl, a cat? She looked up at her headband... which was just that-a headband. No ears attached.

"You have cat ears..." she said slowly, not believing what she was seeing. The ears folded back against Neko's head dejectedly.

"Of course.... It's part of my bloodline."

Bloodline...? My brain's fried.... Where's Akisu? "How did you get over here?" she asked, noticing she was on the opposite side of the river than she had started out on.

"There's a bridge a little further up stream that I found," she said proudly, pointing upstream. How long was I floating there...? That bridge is a long ways down from where Akisu and I were... She sat up fully, crossing her legs and clutching her left shoulder, which had started throbbing painfully again. Blood was leaking through the bandaging again.

"Hey, Rei-sama, where's that other boy? That hot bishie?"

BISHIE!? "What!? You mean Akisu!?"

"Yeah, Akisu-sama. Where's he?"

"I...I don't know, somewhere upstream..."

"Alright, I'll go find him for you!" she said amiably. Her body shimmered as it had last time, before she vanished, leaving Rei alone by the fire to warm up. She looked around, the cat girl, Neko, had apperently been here for a few days. There was clothing hanging off of a tree branch, her whip at the base, and a number of smoked fish drying beside the fire. I guess she was fishing with her bare hands, she thought, trying to find any other means of catching fish around here.

"Rei-sama!" She turned at the sound of Neko's voice. That was fast, she thought, looking to where she was dragging Akisu behind her. More like clinging to him while he walked. Her eyes narrowed angrily at the sight of the cat-girl hanging off his neck, but she flopped to the ground as he saw Rei and sped up, his face unusually pale.

"Rei!" he sighed in relief, looking her over to make sure she wasn't hurt. "I told you not to get so close to the water! What would have happened if Neko hadn't been here to pull you out!?"

She had never heard Akisu yell before, and it sounded bizzarre. "S-sorry. I guess I just have crappy balance. Some ninja I am, ne?"

He paused for a moment, before snorting and sitting down, massaging his face. He looked like he had been really worried about her, really, really worried. Almost looking as if he had had a mental breakdown. She had never had anyone to worry about her for a long time.

"You can stay here for today, Akisu-sama, Rei-sama," said Neko, handing Akisu a piece of fish. Akisu looked as if he were about to be sick, but as he took the fish some of the colour returned to his skin and she stopped rubbing his temples in order to eat it. She shivered, moving closer to the fire for warmth as Neko gave her more fish.


"Why are you still following us?" asked Rei in irritation. She felt as if she were about to throw up, having eaten enough fish to last her a lifetime. Neko had been following them all day, staying a few feet behind and speaking loudly. There were times when Rei felt as if the whole forest would know of their passing through. She had been talking consistently for the last two and a half hours, oblivious to the fact that neither Rei nor Akisu had anything to say in response to her endless babbling. What irritated Rei even further was the fact that Neko was constanly flirting with poor Akisu, who tried in vain to escape her. Rei no longer knew what she was talking about, it had simply becom meaningless background noise.

"Because you were the ones who released me," she said amiably, pleased that Rei was acknowledging her for once.

Rei's head was pounding too hard for her to care, so she simple concentrated on the path they were taking through the forest. She sneezed often, having caught a cold from nearly drowning in the frozen river, and everytime she sneezed it felt as if she would vomit up all the fish she had eaten the day before. Never again, she thought, wincing and clutching her stomach weakly. Never again will I eat fish. Never ever ever ever.

"Are you alright Rei?" asked Akisu.

"I'm just fine," she snapped slightly too harshly. She had been in a bad mood ever since this cat-girl had started following them. Her frown deepened and she sped up as Neko began speaking again, and she turned up the volume of her walkman as high as her ears would allow, blocking out all noise entirely. The sun was beginning to set already by the time they broke from the forest's cover, looking out across a vast land of canyons and mountain ranges, the country of the Earth.

"We should find somewhere to spend the night," said Rei, directing it towards Akisu and completely ignoring the cat girl.

"Sure," he said, edging away from the cat girl, who was engaged in a loud, one-sided conversation. He pulled further away and turned away, walking along the edge of the canyon followed by Neko and then by Rei slightly furhter behind. She was lost in thought, wondering about the moment before she had slipped into the river. What was I going to say? She raked her mind to find an answer, slowing down further. Was I...? I don't think those words would ever come out of my mouth, I'm not that kind of person. But... She sighed, turning the volume of her walkman down further. Her head was pounding and her stomach hurt horribly, refusing to leave her alone. What would he say if I told him what I-

"Rei, are you coming or not?" She snapped out of her trance and looked over to where Akisu was poking his head out of a small, low-to-the ground cave.

"Ah, sorry," she said quickly, speeding up and dropping to her knees. Inside, the cave was large and roomy, once she managed to squeeze through the opening. It was dry and slightly warmer than outside, and the air seemed fresh and crisp. The sun was very low, already having fallen behind one of the mountain ranges, and little light made its way into the cave.

Rei silently moved to her own corner, still lost in thought as she pulled out another jacket from her bag, which Akisu had brought for her from where she had left it, wrapping it around her shoulders and leaning back on the wall with her legs pulled up close to her. She was not depressed or feeling sad, but it apperently looked like it, because Akisu flopped down beside her, leaning against the wall in the same manner and examining her face.

'What's wrong?" he asked, snapping her out of her trance again.'

"Nothing," she said quietly, yawning and pulling the jacket closer around her.

"Akisu-sama, Rei-sama, I'm going to take a look around," said Neko, throwing her bag and whip messily on the floor and vanishing. Rei sighed in relief.

"She's finally gone," she muttered. The affects of Neko's absence seemed to have an immediate affect on her, her head went numb and her stomach pains lessened considerably. The two companions sat in silence for a few moments as the sunlight completely vanished, plunging the cave into complete darkness.

"Hey," she said finally, turning her head slightly to see the shadowy figure of Akisu. "Akisu."

"What?" His shadow shifted slightly as he turned to look at her through the darkness. But she suddenly froze up and turned away, looking back towards the ground.

"Nevermind."

"...What is it?"

"Nothing."

"Sure," he said sarcastically. "You've bee so quiet lately, you have. Tell me what's wrong."

But I can't, not to you, she thought, biting her lip nervously. She felt stupid, sitting there in the darkness. She wasn't used to talking to people like this, it was foreign to her.

"Back at the river, before you... fell in, what were you saying?" he asked suddenly, breaking the silence. She tensed, her heart beating faster as she thought about it. She honestly didn't know what she had been thinking at the time.

"Ah," she said nervously, fiddling with her hands. "I...I forget," she forced out, her lie obvious.

"No you don't. Tell me," he urged, shifting slightly. There was no way to avoid it. She sighed and opened her mouth, her voice quieter than a whisper in the darkness.

"I was just asking... What you thought of-"

"Back!"

She nearly jumped at the sound of Neko's voice so close to her. How long has she been there? She thought. I didn't hear her enter. As if to mock her further, Neko yawned widely in the night before worming her way between Rei and Akisu and sticking her feet into Rei's face as she leaned on Akisu, nuzzling closer to his chest and closing her eys. Rei felt her face burning in anger, and she suddenly stood, moving to the other side of the room and sitting as far away as possible, turning away and burying her face in her arms. Sleep would not come easily tonight.

Oh God! Please don't say that this request is worthless
This rude sparkle that suddenly appeared into my days of indecision
Please count his long eyelashes
among the true wonders of life

For just this once I'll feel true love
for a person other than myself
Even inside a body this small
lay sleeping courage and overflowing warmth
That boy has stolen my heart

Frankly speaking, having no destination in life,
and wanting to be at loss I could hitch a ride on the Moon
Sometimes I just wander around aimlessly
being unable to stop or keep going

The only hope I can see comes from hearing
the light footsteps of his red boots

For just this once I'll feel true love
for a person other than myself
his gestures, his bearing, his merrily awakening love...
Show him some more smile and don't stop for even a second
Let him stir up your heart

For just this once I'll feel true love
for a person other than myself
Even inside a body this small
lay sleeping courage and overflowing warmth
That boy has stolen my heart

By forgetting the present I'm entangled in and purely believing in tomorrow,
even dreams I that wouldn't come true before
are starting to come to mind again and again
Even inside a body this small
lay sleeping courage and overflowing warmth
That boy has stolen my heart