He was walking on his own half-way back to the village, after giving off silent disapproval at being carried until Shichijirou finally lost enough patience to let him walk on his own, albeit with a walking stick. He seemed much calmer after that.

Heihachi was constantly pondering why Kyuuzou would feel as different as he did after only a little more than a month and a half apart. People change, yes, but not so drastically.

'It feels as if he lost what makes him human. As if ...'

The significance of the thought made him stop dead in his tracks, falling behind the others.

"Impossible!" he murmured to himself before running to catch up with the others, doing his best to hide his unease from the others...but most of all from Kyuuzou.

The group returned to the village during the night of their second day of traveling, arriving a little later than planned simply because Kyuuzou was not in his usual shape, but was recovering fast...strangely fast on too little food. Kirara, Katsushiro, and Kikuchyo came out to meet them, glad to see Kanbei,Shichijirou, and Heihachi back. Katsushiro looked over into the darkness behind the other three and caught the eyes of whomever was standing with Kanbei's coat around his shoulders.

His breath caught in his throat and he felt as if he was falling, even though he was certain that he was braced against a wall and standing up. There was nothing in those eyes. No emotion, no light, only cold, and disinterest in what was happening, in how Katsushiro was reacting. He felt as if his body was slowly being turned to ice, but was unable to look away, for those eyes repelled him as they drew him in. The man eventually looked away, and Katsushiro felt as if he suddenly had a fever, all his warmth returning to him.

'Who is that!' he thought, trying his best to recover from the shock. Gorobei came out of a nearby house and saw the youngest member of their group looking pale and shaken and looked where he was. In the shadows, there was a man standing, his body wrapped in Kanbei's cloak, a strong contrast to the feeling he was getting from him. He frowned and then the man looked his way, knowing he was being examined, watched, but did not make eye contact.

'Kyuuzou...' Gorobei thought to himself, but then revised the thought. It was Kyuuzou, but at the same time, it was not. There was something different, something almost...lifeless...about the warrior.

Kikuchyo realized the warrior was there after a long while.

"Kyuuzou!"

When Kyuuzou looked at him, though, Kikuchyo actively flinched and fell back a step or two. He then whipped out his sword, but Kanbei stepped in front of him, not permitting him to move any farther.

"Kanbei!"

"He is Kyuuzou. Trust my instincts."

Kyuuzou was amused by all the reactions of those who looked upon him, but didn't really care. It was unimportant. But when he had made eye contact with that boy, Katsushiro...he was for the first time truly conscious that he had lost something from the time before he had been imprisoned in the Nobuseri armor. He still couldn't name it, but he saw it in all the warriors around him, even the mechanical one, Kikuchyo. He had one. The thing he lacked. That made him mildly annoyed. It made them superior to him, to have something he lacked, and he would not tolerate it. He would find out what it was at the first opportunity he got. He watched the greetings, the reports, and then there came a silence that was expectant. He knew that he would have to introduce himself now. But as what? He walked over to where the rest of the group was, and stood next to Kanbei. He caught Kirara's eyes,and after seeing her fall, but unable to take her eyes off him, he could almost name what he was missing. He broke the eye contact and closed his eyes, withdrawing again into his cage of ice. When he opened his eyes again, they were cold, merciless, and once again full of a quiet hate. He would get better. He would achieve the same state of physical fitness he had been in before and then he would go and kill that son of a bitch.

"Who are you!" Kirara yelled at him, voice high-pitched in fear. "What are you?"

Kyuuzou looked other evenly, catching her eyes again, making her body quiver.

"I am who I am," was his reply before he turned on his heel and brushed past Kanbei,who followed him with his eyes as he faded into the woods.

"He will not leave,"he said and Shichijirou nodded. Kanbei was right this time. All the villagers and samurai began to disperse from the scene, ill at ease. Heihachi stepped in front of Kanbei, his eyes serious.

"I need to talk to you. about Kyuuzou."

Heihachi was grave as he sat across from Kanbei, trying to find the right way to phrase what he needed to say.

"Something is wrong with Kyuuzou," he stated as he looked evenly at Kanbei.

"Yes?"

"You heard him, how he spoke...his voice it's...dead. There's no warmth in it. There wasn't much to begin with, but now..." Heihachi shook his head. "after you touched him, it seemed to take a long time to warm your hands again. Remind me why."

Kanbei remembered the sensation as he looked down at his hands. "He was cold, even through my gloves. It was as if I had touched my blade after having left it out in the winter air..." he trailed off, thinking.

"Did you see how Katsushiro, Kikuchyo and Kirara reacted when they caught his eyes? I want to find out why. There is something deeply, seriously wrong, Kanbei. We must be careful."

He shifted into his more easy-going demeanor, having finished bringing up what he wanted to, "Not like we weren't careful before."

He stood, and opened the door,and hesitated. "I'll leave you with something to think about, something I have decided upon, after pondering for a while. Kyuuzou, as he is now, is both more and less than a Nobuseri."

Heihachi closed the door behind him, leaving Kanbei alone in the room to puzzle over his words.

He stood where the waterfall was, letting it coat him in mist. He could almost name what he was missing. He was so close to understanding. He felt he should be alarmed by the lack of it, but the reality, the truth only made him want to crush the skull of the man who made him this way. After slowly drawing out his death of course. He heard someone approach from behind him and he whirled around, hands searching for blades that were not there.

"Saa,Saa, don't panic," said a chagrined, relaxed voice.

He watched as Heihachi came out of the forest, hands held up in surrender.

"Kyuuzou."

He tensed as the tone of Heihachi's voice changed. He looked Heihachi in the eyes, and was proud of the small warrior when he did not flinch. Instead, Heihachi's eyes became slightly sad, and he was able to look away on his own.

"I'm sorry, Kyuuzou. Tell me, who did this to you?"

His eyes closed, the face of he who made him less than he was burned in his mind, his voice forever imprinted there.

"I do not know his name. But I know where he is. And I will kill him."

Heihachi gave a wry smile and said, "You won't be able to beat him now. Get better first."

He felt Heihachi leave,and turned back to the waterfall.

He needed swords. Yesterday.