"Itsuko!"
The girl turned around and looked for the source of disturbance, "Yes? What do you want now?"
A pale wraith of a youth leapt out from behind a tall oak tree and grinned, "Nothing – just wanted to bother you." He leisurely smoothed down a strand of hair.
The girl turned to face the pond before her, "Go back to sleep."
"Without your enchanting lullabies? I don't think so." The youth approached where she sat and leaned down to her, "You know that, Itsuko."
Throwing an icy glance at him, the girl simply sat up straighter and looked into the rippling of the water.
"What do you meditate all the time for, girl?" He grabbed her hair and forced her eyes to meet his, "I don't have that much patience, even for my dear Itsuko, you know – you know what I want."
The girl slapped his hand away and closed her eyes, leaving him staring down at her in fury.
"Of course I know – you're just like those adolescent boys who can't hold themselves back."
"That's a bit harsh!" Suimei said hotly, "Aren't you supposed to be considerate of my feelings, too?"
"If you were considerate of what I wanted," the girl replied, "you wouldn't have interrupted in the middle of my meditation – or grab my hair like that."
"Why, is hair your sacred entity?"
Silence.
"Yes, how did you guess?"
The boy looked at her and seemed too angry to speak.
"Suimei –" She began after a long pause, eyes still closed, "stop calling me Itsuko."
"Why?" the youth named Suimei ranted, "That's all you've been telling me for the past week – 'Don't call me Itsuko', 'Stop calling me Itsuko'. What am I supposed to call you except by your name?" He sat down beside her and glared into the water.
The girl made no reply.
"And all you will do is sit there doing – I don't even know what is it that you do!" Suimei continued hotly, "What happened to you, Itsuko? What the hell did they do to you?"
The girl opened her eyes and stared at the darkening woods across the pond silently.
"Say something!"
"I'm not Itsuko." She said simply, avoiding his eyes.
"Of course you are!" Suimei exclaimed and jumped into the shallow water in front of her so she had to look at him, "I don't know what they did with you, but this – this whole being somebody else thing – it's just ridiculous!"
"I know who I am," the girl said calmly, "and you are the one who is mistaken."
Suimei shook his head in incredulity, "What are you talking about?"
The girl stood up abruptly and looked up at the sky, "You will find out in time." She tightened her obi and touched her hair slightly, "I have troubled you greatly – I will be leaving now."
Suimei bound after her, "Wake up, Itsuko, you can't let them do this to you – why can't you remember me for who I am anymore?"
"Stop it," she whirled around and gazed down at his feet intently. All of sudden Suimei's feet seemed to immobilize and his expression changed from one of anger to that of shock. "Do not try to find me." She looked steadily into his eyes and said quietly.
"Itsuko – come back. Itsuko – no!"
She heard his cries of anguish and felt his confusion.
But Kagome did not turn back.