Kanbei and Shichiroji were leaving that day, finding no need to stay in a village that no longer needed their help and protection, Before they left, though, Kanbei had a few good-byes to say. He walked over to the cliff where the graves of his fallen friends were and stopped at the edge of the treeline.

Something felt wrong.

No, something WAS wrong.

He ascended quickly to the graves and looked around quickly. There was Kikuchyo's, Gorobei's, Heihachi's...wait.

'Where are Kyuuzou's swords!' he thought as he walked over to the grave. He circled it, looking for any signs of where they could possibly have been taken. He found no footprints, he felt no aftertaste of aura in the air, heard nothing...which was endlessly frustrating.

'They could not have vanished into nothing!' he thought angrily, eyebrows furrowing. He stood looking at the now unmarked grave for a long time before sighing and leaving after praying for each of the fallen. He looked back at the grave and did a double take.

No...it had just been a shadow. But how could there be shadows on a flat plane overlooking a cliff? He felt uneasy, but walked back to Shichiroji, and left with him for Hotaruya,where he could stay and think as he found a new home for himself.

Kyuuzou watched Kanbei leave, and felt a searing pain on his hands. He glared at nothing and turned around, and jumped down the cliff face. So, Heihachi and Kikuchyo had died as well. He was slightly saddened by the loss of Heihachi; the had been a good warrior, hardworking and intelligent. He did not mourn for Kikuchyo though. What was the point?

He came to the base of the cliff and sighed. He turned and started to walk towards the city, where the one who controlled him pointed him.

He had initially awoken, disoriented and mildly pissed, to find himself clothed only with his swords. He had stood shakily, and glared at the darkness that was gathering around him.

"Clothes. Now."

He had clenched his teeth at the pain that flickered through him at his act of mild defiance, but he was given clothing anyway. even supernatural demons understood human's need for clothing. As he had roughly pulled on what had been provided for him(apparently the demon,or whatever it was, could see into his mind, since the clothing was not unlike that which he had worn in life), he had looked around, getting his bearings.

We are near Kanna Village, where your lover is.

Kyuuzou had nodded and waited.

I will let you see him,but you will not be able to interact or talk with him. Not yet. I just wanted to prove to you that I will allow you to pursue both of your obsessions.

Kyuuzou had been annoyed at how the creature dare clump Kanbei with katsushiro, but had dealt with employers such as this one before. These were the ones you just nodded to and then went off and did what you wanted to after completing with all brevity the assignment that they were paying you to do.

After this...Kouguya.

Kyuuzou had nodded and turned on his heel, sheathing his swords on his back.

Now he was walking towards the city that held many memories,and wasn't a bit happy about it. He forced himself to stop thinking about Kanbei, and instead concentrated on the land around him. He walked along, ignoring whatever thought his mind decided to present him with, and instead focused on the land that changed beneath his feet. He walked and morning turned to noon, noon to evening, and evening to night, yet Kyuuzou felt neither hungry nor tired, and it was only because he feet began to ache that he stopped to rest in a hollow. as he massaged feeling back into his feet, he allowed himself to wonder at his physical condition.

It is because you are mine.

Kyuuzou waited for explanation. He winced when the writing began to appear on his hands and arms, and he knew it was working up his body.

You are more than human now, Kyuuzou. You are a half-demon,and bound to me. You no longer need food, water, or rest. All that you need is the suffering,anger, and hate of people around you. That will be your sustenance, and your strength will grow according to your bloodlust. But never forget... Kyuuzou jerked at a cold touch that drew violatingly down his spine... you are MINE.

Kyuuzou felt the being that he was slowly but surely learning to hate withdraw, and stood after putting his feet back into his boots. Physical exercise would be good right now. It would get rid of the cold of the night...and of the cold that still lingered from the demon's touch on his body. He started to sprint across the landscape, not even a shadow in the silver moonlight, only his breathing and the wind in his wake an indication that he was there.

Shichiroji looked at a pensive Kanbei as they sat beside the road that would lead them to Hotaruya.

"I haven't seen you this way in a while."

Kanbei was startled out of his revere by the sound of his old friend's voice. "What do you mean?"

"It's been a while since I've seen that face on you. You're feeling guilty about someone again. Who?"

Kanbei shook his head. "It's unimportant."

Shichiroji gave Kanbei a mild glare, which he pointedly ignored. Silence fell as Kanbei thought, and Shichiroji watched him. It took him five minutes to finally guess who Kanbei was thinking about. It wasn't the face of when he thought with regret about Heihachi's painful sacrifice, or of Kikuchyo's heroic effort to save the village, or of Gorobei's death. It wasn't the muted anger that Kanbei exuded when he thought of Katsushiro either. That left one person. That mixture of longing, sadness, possessiveness and competitiveness that found their way into his posture and eyes belonged to only one person.

"Why are you thinking about Kyuuzou?"

Kanbei sighed and gave his friend a half-smile. "You know, you're too good at reading me."

Shichiroji gave a patient smile that said he would not be deferred from the topic. Kanbei conceded defeat.

"Kyuuzou's swords are gone from his grave."

"What? How!" Shichiroji exclaimed, as alarmed as Kanbei had been.

"I don't know. No one around here would be dumb or audacious enough to take those swords. But then who would?"

Shichiroji frowned, and knew that Kanbei was still not telling everything, but that this would be all he would get out of him for the time being.

"Try to sleep, Kanbei. I'll smack you if you start making weird sketchy sounds."

His teasing provoked a snort out of Kanbei, and the two leaned against nearby trees, drifting off into uneasy sleep.

Kouguya had rebounded quickly from the brief war against the Amanushi Ukyo(who Kyuuzou was saddened that he hadn't seen die), and was prospering even more than before. he entered the town and nearly blacked out. He had to lean heavily against a nearby wall. and take few deep breaths to gather himself.

What was this feeling? He pushed himself off the wall and looked around. Things were different, yes, but...perhaps it was something else? He walked around slowly, and tried to figure out what exactly he was sensing. He felt tugged towards one street but ignored it, since he was distracted by his other senses. When pain flared up his arms he stopped, turned,and walked back to where he was being pulled. He walked down the sidestreet, and the feeling that had been distracting him quieted. His steps became quiet, and he felt that he was stalking someone. He hid in the abundant shadows and waited for a specific someone to enter the ally that led to the apartment complex. When someone came in and opened the door, he slipped in behind them, right before the door automatically closed. He waited until the person was gone, and then he slinked up the stairs, pausing at each floor. Once he reached the 6th floor he stepped out of the stairwell and walked quietly down the dimly lighted hall. His body stopped abruptly in front of a door and he looked at it and sighed. He made to open the door, but instead his fingers slipped right through the metal. Intrigued, he stuck his hand out and it passed through the door.

How useful.

He stepped directly through the door and looked around. He heard someone snoring from the main room and entered, never making a sound. His body, of its own will, pulled out one of his two swords and walked over to the man lying sound asleep on the floor.

Kill him.

So Kyuuzou did.

A quick stab to the throat, then a twist to snap his neck and it was complete. Swift, silent. He pulled his sword out of the man's neck and cleaned it on the dead man's clothing. He sheathed the sword again, and felt as if he had just woken from a very long sleep. He was finally starting to feel 'alive' again. He looked out an open window and saw that there was enough room to land, and places soft enough to break his fall. He swung out the window and fell the few stories and landed on a rag and trash heap. He stepped out, slightly disgusted, and felt the feeling of invisibility dissipate. He walked out into the sunlight from the shadows and squinted. Damn light. He melted into the ever present throng, his black coat melding into the mix of other dark colors.